One day as my custom was, I visited our church's drug and alcohol rehabilitation and discipleship house. I met a new resident, and spent time making him feel welcome, and encouraged him in the Lord.
Then I left, and got in the car to drive home. And the Lord said to me, "Go back and give him 25 cents".
If the Lord had said, "Give him $10", it might have been easier to do. To give him 20 cents sounded almost embarrassing!
But I still felt compelled by the Lord. So I turned the engine off and went back upstairs.
"The Lord told me to give you this," I said, and handed him 25 cents.
A big grin came on his face. He told me that when he was at church the previous Sunday [the house program required that residents attend the church], he heard it promised during the offering message that if you give to God, He will give back to you.
"I'm going to test this out," he said to himself.
And he dug into his pocket and gave his last 25 cents in the offering.
And here God was giving him back his 25 cents.
It left an indelible impression on him. It was one of those experiences which helped lay a foundation in his early discipleship. He went on to graduate from the program, become a leader in the program, get a full-time job with a car, return to the program as Director - and now he is married with children and is in full-time ministry.
You never know what will be the significance of your obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit - in someone's life, or in the overall scheme of God's work in the earth - even when what He's leading you to do doesn't make a lot of sense to the natural mind.
God has some roles for us to play which cannot be planned by the natural mind. So ask for His leadings in your life, and you'll experience the joy of knowing that you were part of His work in ways far more fruitful than you could ever have strategised.
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