Hope to the Hopeless

Inside the Mind:

This post is slightly different from my other posts, but I believe it to be important due to some recent circumstances. I have been in a swirl of spiritual warfare as so many things are going on in my life at once. Over the course of this week, I might post more than once.

Just outside of Union Station, there is an older gentleman who usually stands on the street corner and sells peanuts or asks for money. The first half of the quarter, I usually ignored him or gave him some spare change every now and then. (I pass by at least five people every day who ask for money.) Recently, I have been stopping to talk to him and pray for him, every time I see him. He is in his 60s, homeless, and suffering from blood clots throughout his body. He often tells me of the treatment he is going though and how he does not know how long he will live. Tuesday, when I stopped by, he did not look very well and was going to be going to the hospital as soon as we were done talking. He told me that he would have gone earlier but he wanted to wait until I stopped by and talked with him before he left. When I heard this, tears came to my eyes. Here was someone at the end of his rope, with no hope left and just waiting for his end. He constantly told me that he wished the Lord would take him soon. To see a sparkle of hope in his eyes when I talked and prayed with him, encouraged me to no end.

What troubles me the most about the situation, is his lack of hope. His hope in man has failed – he has been rejected and reduced to a beggar. His hope in life has failed – he believes the blood clots have finally caught up with him and it is only a matter of time. His hope in Christ has failed – he seems to think of God as a distant being who has a will for his life but does not really care about him. His only hope is that of the very few people that stop to talk to him while begging. I have tried to talk to him about God, but he does not fully embrace what I have to say. We decided to talk (Lord willing) over lunch on Thursday, which is my last day of school. I want to make sure he knows about the hope in Christ, before I leave him.

During my first month of school, it was my dream and prayer to be able to sit down with a homeless person and share Christ with him. I eventually gave up on the idea and left it alone. What an amazing surprise it was to me when I realized God has given me this very opportunity on the last day of class for the year. This is one opportunity I will not let slip by. God truly does answer prayers.

Prayer Requests:

That this opportunity will not be thwarted, that He will give me the words to say, and that the man’s heart would be opened and willing to hear.

Verse of the Week:

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. – Psalm 62:5