The game was on—fast and furious.
The crowd was cheering for family and friends.
And there I sat…
sick, miserable, and wanting my bed.
I hid it to the best of my ability, but at some point my pastor walked by and asked if I were doing all right.
I lied.
I assured him I was.
A while later he passed by again, watching me, and asked if I were ok.
Yep. Lied again.
Call it speaking in faith if you want to, but I was flat out lying and we both knew it.
The third time, instead of passing me, he stopped. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and asked something like, “Isn’t it great to be healed, whole, and serving God?!”
In that instant, I was healed, completely healed, and a joyful, “Yes!” came out of my mouth.
And he grinned and walked on.
I went from enduring that event to enjoying it because one man was ready in season and out of season—prepared to care for a member of his flock at a sporting event—and stubborn enough to keep coming back until I was ready to receive.
We’ve all heard the latter part of Mark 16:18 (KJV)
… they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So we understand that God can heal people through the laying on of hands. That is exactly what happened here, even though I had no idea in those first few moments that this was precisely what his touch on my shoulder was all about.
We weren’t in church.
I didn’t go to an altar and ask for prayer.
He didn’t have me stand to be prayed for.
He didn’t ask someone else to join him to pray for me.
He didn’t pray for me at all, or not when he was around me.
We were very much in public, but this was a private interaction. Only the two of us had a clue what happened in that ten seconds, and neither of us mentioned it again…unless at some point I thought to tell him how much I had appreciated him listening to the Holy Spirit and continuing to reach out.
But I have never forgotten that day. More than once, I’ve cried as I remembered how my pastor, Pastor Ronnie, cared about me enough to go the extra mile. His seat was rows in front of mine. From a human perspective there was no reason for him to walk past me three separate times. But the Holy Spirit had given him a reason, a nudge; He must have. Pastor Ronnie saw a need, responded to God’s prompting, and didn’t give up on me before I was ready to receive.
And I, as a result, was not only healed in that moment, but learned the type of lesson that lasts a lifetime.
We are all called to minister this way,
ready when the Holy Spirit points out a need,
in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2 NLT).
Wherever. Whenever. However. And for however long.
As was true that day, ministry opportunities won’t always look like we might expect them to. They may require us to get out of line at the fast-food restaurant (That would be me!) or visit a hospital when hospitals are the last place on earth we want to be. They may mean reaching out to someone who despises us or risking a relationship by saying what a friend doesn’t want to hear. We must stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we don’t miss His promptings.
This is what ministry looks like after it leaves the building.
It usually won’t happen inside the church building.
The other person may not be ready to receive the first time we reach out.
We may need to persist, even when it feels awkward or uncomfortable.
But when we get it right… oh, when we get it right as Pastor Ronnie did that day… the miracle may go far beyond meeting an immediate need. It may change a life forever.
Because when ministry leaves the building, lives are changed.
I know.
Mine was.
Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C