God Moves In Mysterious Ways

God moves in mysterious ways.

For the past year and a half, I’ve had the opportunity to play guitar and sing at Street Light Ministries in Grand Rapids (on Division). Street Light Ministries provides food and other services for the poor and homeless in Grand Rapids. I’ve played there about once a month or so and typically have played with Greg Howard and Jimmy Howard (not related). Greg, Jimmy and I are part of a band named Seven Days and we do contemporary Christian worship songs.

Anyway, it’s funny how God works. You see, I’ve always thought that I’m the one ministering to the people who come to enjoy their meals. The music that we play in inspiring and uplifting, and on one occasion last year, many of the people listening got up from there meals and started dancing!

Well, Greg and I played at Street Light this past Saturday. I was in the middle of a very busy and hectic weekend, and I arrived at the ministry feeling tired and worn out. We set up the stage and started to get ready for our "gig." At 5:00 pm we played a 45 minute set for the workers who serve the food and who go out into the community to invite people to the ministry and to evangelize. The music was exceptionally good this weekend, and I felt that we were definitely helping people worship.

However, what happened next was truly amazing to me. You see, the doors were opened and people started coming in to get fed. We started our second set of worship music and got about four or five songs in when an old man with a tattered backpack and a cane hobbled up to the stage. He asked us if he could pray for us. Now, there are many kinds of people that are ministered to by Street Light, and we have sometimes encountered people who aren’t quite all there. Nevertheless, Greg stopped the worship music and we let this old gentleman pray for us.

I will never forget his bright, clear eyes (which were a contrast to his old and broken body) as he painstakingly knelt down to the floor to pray. He looked up to heaven and clenched his hands together and then uttered the most anointed and beautiful prayer on our behalf. "God," he started, "bless these men and the ministry of their music." Even as he knelt down, I felt chills running down my back. As he spoke, tears welled up in my eyes. I don’t even remember all of what he said, but I remember how I felt as his earnest prayer touched me. When he finished his prayer, which only lasted 20 seconds or so, he took his cane and used it as a crutch to get his old body up off of the ground. Once up, he just hobbled off without even noticing how his prayer had touched me and the band in such a powerful way.

In that moment, when an old man with a cane struggled to his knees to lift a prayer on my behalf, God just reminded me that he is the God of the poor and the homeless and the hopeless. I came expecting to minister to the "poor", but instead, I was ministered to by one of the very people who I expected to minister to. This old man humbled himself before God and everyone to pray for me....what a blessing it was!

Jesus holds a special place in His heart for the poor and downtrodden of this world, and we should never assume that worldly poverty means that a person is suffering from spiritual poverty. God opened my eyes this weekend, and I'm so glad that He did.

Blessedly Yours,

Blawgerman