DAY 31

Deirdre O'Reilly | Re:Hope West End

One morning, a friend shared with me that he could not read the hymns in the hymn book as he had lost his spectacles several days before. He had looked 'everywhere', but they were nowhere to be found at home. Perhaps he had put them down somewhere outside and someone had moved them?

He would have to pay £20 if he requested a new pair of spectacles from the optician. As he was on benefits, this seemed a lot of money to him.

I said a silent prayer to Jesus, saying 'You know where these specs are. You can see them. Please let the person find them.'' However, thinking that the specs might have been lost outside, my faith in Jesus wavered and I began to pray about whether I should offer the person the £20 for a new pair, rather than trust Jesus.

My friend and I went our separate ways at lunchtime but we both ended up attending a short church service in the afternoon. He came into the service beaming. He had found the specs. He had been sorting out his washing to put it into the washing machine. When he lifted up a pair of trousers, he could feel something in the pocket. Lo and behold, it was the missing specs!

''It was God!'' he said. ''It was God!''

We both thanked God for the appearance of the lost specs. I was left to ponder my lack of faith in Jesus's ability to show us where the specs were!

Deirdre O'Reilly | Re:Hope West End

I had missed a couple of opportunities where I had not tried to direct a conversation to Jesus. I regretted the failure and was hoping that God would arrange for new opportunities. One lunchtime I was just arriving home when I passed a young man. ''Can I help you with your bags?'' he said. 

I replied, “It's okay. I just live over there,” indicating my home.

However, the young man began to chat. He told me that he lived in a flat with four other people who were really friendly and he enjoyed staying there. He had a girlfriend who was very friendly with everyone. He asked if I would like to meet up with her. I was somewhat hesitant about this as I was not sure if the girlfriend was interested in meeting up.

But the conversation became an opportunity, as I told the young man that God was my best friend. The good thing about God being your friend was that He was always there. Other friends were there sometimes but other times not. God, however, was always there for you.

“Do you believe in God?” I asked. The young man replied: “No. I don't believe in God.” 

“Well, where do you think that all this world came from?” I questioned.

“Did God make the world?” he responded.

“Yes, God made the world and He would like to be your friend. He really cares about you,” I continued.

We chatted a little more but before we parted, I asked the young man if I could say a little prayer for him. He said, “Yes.” So I prayed for God to bless him and show the young man His care and friendship for him.

I thank God for the opportunity to speak of Him to the young man and I ask God to lead others to the young man to share more about God's love for him.