July 9, 2017

The Shepherd's Corner

[:en]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Pastor Paul Freed was on his way to catch a train to attend a pastors’ conference when out of the blue a man stopped him and asked to speak to him. He said it was urgent. Knowing that he’d be late if he entertained this man’s request, Pastor Freed declined. But, this man didn’t take no as an answer; he insisted that he talk to Pastor Freed. After going back and forth for a while, finally Pastor Freed relented. He talked to this man—and missed his train.

This man, then, told Pastor Freed that his wife had kicked him out of the house. You see, this man was an alcoholic; he often got drunk and became abusive to his children. After tolerating his behavior for a long time, his wife finally acted and asked him to leave. This man was heart-broken and had no one to turn to except to Pastor Freed. It was, then, that he opened his heart to Jesus. Later Pastor Freed went to his home and talked to his wife. She accepted her husband back and more importantly, she too accepted Jesus.

Reflecting upon that incident, Pastor Freed said, “It was God’s timing, and I almost stopped His clock.” Yes, he almost missed the opportunity to be used by God simply because he didn’t want to miss his train. We would have done the same thing; we had rather miss talking to this man than miss our train. So many times we stop God’s clock because, “to be there for someone” is not our priority.

Contrary to what we think, God’s mission for us is simple: He wants us to be there for someone else. Perhaps that someone would have gone off the cliff, had we not been there for him. You see, it’s that mission that we need to complete. But, before we can complete it, we first must obey His direction. In exchange for being used by God to be there for someone, we must be willing to miss our train.

Pastor Paul[:id]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Pastor Paul Freed was on his way to catch a train to attend a pastors’ conference when out of the blue a man stopped him and asked to speak to him. He said it was urgent. Knowing that he’d be late if he entertained this man’s request, Pastor Freed declined. But, this man didn’t take no as an answer; he insisted that he talk to Pastor Freed. After going back and forth for a while, finally Pastor Freed relented. He talked to this man—and missed his train.

This man, then, told Pastor Freed that his wife had kicked him out of the house. You see, this man was an alcoholic; he often got drunk and became abusive to his children. After tolerating his behavior for a long time, his wife finally acted and asked him to leave. This man was heart-broken and had no one to turn to except to Pastor Freed. It was, then, that he opened his heart to Jesus. Later Pastor Freed went to his home and talked to his wife. She accepted her husband back and more importantly, she too accepted Jesus.

Reflecting upon that incident, Pastor Freed said, “It was God’s timing, and I almost stopped His clock.” Yes, he almost missed the opportunity to be used by God simply because he didn’t want to miss his train. We would have done the same thing; we had rather miss talking to this man than miss our train. So many times we stop God’s clock because, “to be there for someone” is not our priority.

Contrary to what we think, God’s mission for us is simple: He wants us to be there for someone else. Perhaps that someone would have gone off the cliff, had we not been there for him. You see, it’s that mission that we need to complete. But, before we can complete it, we first must obey His direction. In exchange for being used by God to be there for someone, we must be willing to miss our train.

Pastor Paul[:]

More Shepherd's Corner Articles

The Shepherd's Corner - June 12, 2022
“God’s time is not our time.”  That is what one of you reminded me of upon finding out that our latest test results were still positive. Thank you, Brother! Yes, God’s time is not our time. We thought we would recover from Covid infection in a week, but we are now in our third week. [&h...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - February 2, 2020
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER After Bible Study last Wednesday, at a little after 5, Oom Anthon slipped into the eternal presence of the Lord. Prior to that he had difficulty breathing, so he was taken to ER and while there in the hospital he suffered cardiac arrest and had to be put on life support. So, ...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - April 6, 2025
First, thank you for celebrating my birthday and feeding me plenty of rice and noodles! This week I gained three pounds! My tummy is happy even though my doctor may not be 🙂 Thank you for all youhave done for Santy and me; thank you for your love and care. May God’s goodness and mercy […...
Read More