Pat Jones / Lead Pastor - Open Eyes

Our recent trip to Israel had an interesting start. The fifteen of us who were flying out of Buffalo got to the airport on time and the weather was good, so we anticipated meeting the rest of the folks in Philadelphia and making our overnight flight to Tel Aviv together. That never happened and I don’t have time or space to tell that part of the story here. But ask me and I’ll be glad to share.

While we were waiting that Sunday night to see whether we would get out to Philadelphia or not, we were in the terminal area with others who were headed to Philly. A Jewish woman heard we were going to Israel and was talking to me about her trips there. During that conversation, I asked a man beside me where he was heading. He was going to Philadelphia to be treated at the Cancer Treatment Center of America. He was told locally that he had until perhaps May to live. It opened up a door for me to share an encouraging word to him about what the Lord could do and about that treatment center. I ended up praying for him and it seemed that the Lord used it to encourage both him and his wife. A God-ordained moment even though we did not get out that night.

While in Israel, we arrived at our hotel in Tiberius. We were having a team meeting after supper as a review in a room above where we ate. The bar tender stood at the door and listened into our meeting. He was English. Through him, we were connected to an English family who found that while they were in the air flying to Israel, the company that was to care for them upon arrival went bankrupt. They got themselves to the hotel but had no guide, no transportation, and no idea what to do next. And because it was the weekend, they could not resolve anything with the company they set things up with back in the UK. I met with the family, and they asked it they could join with us. At first I thought it was for a day or so until they got things worked out. But it ended up they were with us for the remainder of the trip. 

The mother was a believer and the father a seeker who was the impetus behind them coming. And they had a teenage son with them who had some learning disabilities. God used the connection to pour into that family through our team to show them His love and to touch our lives as well. Another God-ordained moment.

When we keep our eyes open, times of inconvenience or unexpected opportunities to show kindness from our stand point may simply be God-ordained moments that He prepared long ago. How exciting it is for us to see and experience them. They are all around if we just keep our eyes open.  He has them ready for you too. 

So keep an eye out…