[: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[:]