Friday 7 October 2016

Our Inability is God's Opportunity

“Until you know that life is a war, you cannot know what prayer is for.” – J. Piper

I was talking to some friends, and the topic of canvassing came up. They asked, “Are you coming canvassing tomorrow?” I replied, “Of course! You don’t have to convince me.” Little did I realise it would be more difficult than I had anticipated. I woke up the next morning with a very sore throat, struggling to talk, and coughing a lot. I determined to go out anyway.

After lunch, my team leader said, “Are you ready to get out Ash?” I hesitated as I really don’t like letting people down, but I said, “I’m really sorry I’m not feeling to good, and I have lost my voice…”

After a while, I decided I was going to try, although I knew in my own strength I was incapable but with God all things are possible, so I said, “Can you drop me off – I’ll give it a shot!” With a prayer and some encouragement I was sent to canvass with a friend, and as soon as we got together we knelt down and prayed, asking God to bless, open hearts and doors as he saw fit, prepare the way for us and fill in for our insufficiency.

Not long later we came to this door, and the elderly gentleman who answered expressed he wasn’t really interested, but was more than happy to have a chat. So we talked about religion, God, the misery in the world, loving your neighbour, and a number of different areas of religion. Throughout the conversation he inferred he thought we were doing a great job, but he had looked at all the religions and he had set his mind on the right one. He then mentioned that, loving your neighbour is the underlying principle of his religion. After discussing with him, I asked if he would be willing to take a Path to Peace or a DVD and just have a read/watch, He said, “Okay, I can do that.” I then asked if he would mind if we prayed with him before we left, and he agreed. So he turned from not being willing to look at anything, to committing to read the book.

A couple of doors later we met a very devout atheist. He was handicapped and rarely left his house; it took him a while to open the door. I handed him the Great Controversy, but he was not interested. He told us he had been through enough and seen enough years to know what was right and wrong. But I wasn’t convinced. He wanted to donate to us, but I didn’t have enough change, so I radioed the team leader and asked for some change.

As I walked to the van to get the change, I was trying to think What could I say to this man? I kept thinking, He just doesn’t know what he is missing out on. I got to the van, talked with the leader, and asked a few questions, as well as sharing the experience, and went back to the door – with a new fire to ignite this man’s candle. After some discussion he agreed to take a DVD and watch it. Praise the Lord! I was just delighted. It is one thing to sell a book, but it is another thing when someone commits to study and take a serious look into Christianity. Especially an atheist!

Time always passes too quickly, and it wasn’t long later when I heard the call, “Get ready for pick up. We will be there in five minutes.”

My heart almost sank, I thought, We can't finish a day here. So we walked quickly on to the next door and to my surprise, after a drawn out conversation, we sold a Great Controversy. My friend was over-joyed and laughing just as the van came to pick us up. Our team leader said, “Looks like you two are having to much fun; I might have to just take one of you!” We were both enjoying it so much, we requested to continue and our request was granted – thanks to our team leader!

As we went on, we came to another door, canvassed the lady, and smiled as we told her about Bountiful Health, which she had already taken a vested interest in. I canvassed her the Great Controversy and without any convincing she told us she liked it and would like to get both. But she only had a fifty-dollar note, so I suggested, “Well, you could get any other book we’ve got as well for that much.” She said, “Oh okay! Can I get another cookbook?” We agreed, and the deal was done!

That day was a blessing, and although I found it challenging to talk, between coughing and being unwell, God intervened and through my weakness He was strong! On the first door we got out two Bountiful Health and one Great Controversy, and on the last door we got out two Bountiful Health and one Great Controversy!

God’s grace is sufficient for you. His strength is made perfect in your weakness. Don’t doubt what He can do for you; pray and except miracles! He is waiting for an excuse to bless His ambassadors! 

-Ash

2 comments:

  1. Praise God! Absolutely! His strength is made perfect in our weakness! Thanks for sharing this encouraging testimony Ash :)

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  2. Praise the Lord! We are but vessels in the hands of the great potter! Used to bring life and light to souls in need.
    Thanks Dianne for your comment :)
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete

Your encouragement is always appreciated!