Amazon and God's Providence
Two months ago, a strange thing happened to me. One morning, I received an email from Amazon confirming that my book order had been received and was being processed. There was just one problem: I had not placed an order. After some investigation, it turns out that the book in question was indeed one I had placed in my shopping cart earlier. However, I hadn't planned on checking out until I was done shopping and had qualified for free shipping. No problem, Amazon's customer service replied. If I didn't want the book, I could simply refuse it when it arrived and they would credit my account.
Soon after, the book arrived. It was a busy week, so I just left the box on a table intending to return it. As the days passed, however, I felt the Lord impressing upon me to keep it. I didn't know why; I just assumed it was a book He wanted me to read. So I left it there on the table.
The book was Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul.
A couple of weeks later, a family situation suddenly came up and I had to fly to Hawaii. As I packed for my trip, I thought I should bring some reading material along for the flight. I looked around and saw the Amazon box still on the table. I guess this is a good time to read it, I thought, so I quickly opened the box and put the book in my laptop bag.
After boarding the plane, I took the book out and stuck it in the seat pocket in front of me. I glanced at my neighbor for the flight, and a friendly looking lady smiled back and nodded hello. That was the extent of our connection at that point.
Later during the flight, I left my seat to go to the restroom. When I returned, I noticed that my book was missing. That's odd. My neighbor had taken it out of the pocket. "Is this your book?" she asked. I nodded tentatively. "Would you mind if I read it while I'm on the plane?" I said, "Sure, I don't mind." She leaned over and confessed that she was drawn to the book for some reason.
She began reading and almost immediately began to weep. She kept reading a little, putting the book down, crying, then picking it up, reading a little more and crying again. I was astonished; I didn't know what to think! I kept glancing at her out of the side of my eye thinking that at any moment I'd spot a movie camera pointing at us because this didn't seem like it was really happening; it was like a scene out of a movie. I tried to think of something to say, but before I could come up with anything she fell asleep!
As she slept, I prayed and asked the Lord for wisdom.
She woke up quite a bit later--almost as we were getting ready to land--and that's when we finally got to talking. Why is it that I can think of the perfect thing to say after an event and rarely at the moment of need? Don't groan, but what came out of my mouth was, "So...how did you like the book?"
As she handed it back to me, she replied that it was very powerful and exactly what she needed to hear, so much so that she couldn't help but cry. The Lord had used the words in the beginning of the book to speak to her heart and confirm His previous messages to her.
Jenny (not her real name) is a Christian single mom who had recently gone through one heartbreaking event after another. During her darkest moments, she had gotten down on her knees and asked the Lord what to do. She said that He told her to move to Hawaii. This was not the answer she was expecting, but after months of prayer, waiting and seeking the Lord, Jenny came to believe that this was His will for her. She got on our flight with a one way ticket purchased on faith.
We continued to discuss her situation as we disembarked and walked to the baggage claim area. In the short time I had gotten to know her, I was amazed to learn all the ways God had worked out the details in her life. Clearly, He was looking out for her and guiding her every step. I encouraged her to find a new home church as soon as possible, and recommended a specific one to her. She exclaimed with excitement that it was the same church her local friends attended. I gave her thumbs up; another confirmation!
As we were approaching the baggage claim area, the Spirit said: give her the book. Of course. I handed the book to Jenny and gave her a hug. This time, both of us had tears in our eyes. She was astounded at God's goodness and so was I.
This incident gave me a whole new perspective on the providence of God. I didn't have any idea why that Amazon order snafu happened weeks before, but He did. The book wasn't for me; it was for Jenny. He cared so much about her soul that He had orchestrated a divine appointment, a very special book delivery if you will. As for me, I received the incredible blessing of participating in one of His Grand Schemes. One that I will never forget.
How it encourages me to know that our Lord cares about all the details in our lives--the journeys we take, the decisions we make, the people we meet, the conversations we have and even the books we read. What assurance we have as we rest in His promise: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8).
What marvelous work of God have you witnessed lately?
Soon after, the book arrived. It was a busy week, so I just left the box on a table intending to return it. As the days passed, however, I felt the Lord impressing upon me to keep it. I didn't know why; I just assumed it was a book He wanted me to read. So I left it there on the table.
The book was Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul.
A couple of weeks later, a family situation suddenly came up and I had to fly to Hawaii. As I packed for my trip, I thought I should bring some reading material along for the flight. I looked around and saw the Amazon box still on the table. I guess this is a good time to read it, I thought, so I quickly opened the box and put the book in my laptop bag.
After boarding the plane, I took the book out and stuck it in the seat pocket in front of me. I glanced at my neighbor for the flight, and a friendly looking lady smiled back and nodded hello. That was the extent of our connection at that point.
Later during the flight, I left my seat to go to the restroom. When I returned, I noticed that my book was missing. That's odd. My neighbor had taken it out of the pocket. "Is this your book?" she asked. I nodded tentatively. "Would you mind if I read it while I'm on the plane?" I said, "Sure, I don't mind." She leaned over and confessed that she was drawn to the book for some reason.
She began reading and almost immediately began to weep. She kept reading a little, putting the book down, crying, then picking it up, reading a little more and crying again. I was astonished; I didn't know what to think! I kept glancing at her out of the side of my eye thinking that at any moment I'd spot a movie camera pointing at us because this didn't seem like it was really happening; it was like a scene out of a movie. I tried to think of something to say, but before I could come up with anything she fell asleep!
As she slept, I prayed and asked the Lord for wisdom.
She woke up quite a bit later--almost as we were getting ready to land--and that's when we finally got to talking. Why is it that I can think of the perfect thing to say after an event and rarely at the moment of need? Don't groan, but what came out of my mouth was, "So...how did you like the book?"
As she handed it back to me, she replied that it was very powerful and exactly what she needed to hear, so much so that she couldn't help but cry. The Lord had used the words in the beginning of the book to speak to her heart and confirm His previous messages to her.
Jenny (not her real name) is a Christian single mom who had recently gone through one heartbreaking event after another. During her darkest moments, she had gotten down on her knees and asked the Lord what to do. She said that He told her to move to Hawaii. This was not the answer she was expecting, but after months of prayer, waiting and seeking the Lord, Jenny came to believe that this was His will for her. She got on our flight with a one way ticket purchased on faith.
We continued to discuss her situation as we disembarked and walked to the baggage claim area. In the short time I had gotten to know her, I was amazed to learn all the ways God had worked out the details in her life. Clearly, He was looking out for her and guiding her every step. I encouraged her to find a new home church as soon as possible, and recommended a specific one to her. She exclaimed with excitement that it was the same church her local friends attended. I gave her thumbs up; another confirmation!
As we were approaching the baggage claim area, the Spirit said: give her the book. Of course. I handed the book to Jenny and gave her a hug. This time, both of us had tears in our eyes. She was astounded at God's goodness and so was I.
This incident gave me a whole new perspective on the providence of God. I didn't have any idea why that Amazon order snafu happened weeks before, but He did. The book wasn't for me; it was for Jenny. He cared so much about her soul that He had orchestrated a divine appointment, a very special book delivery if you will. As for me, I received the incredible blessing of participating in one of His Grand Schemes. One that I will never forget.
How it encourages me to know that our Lord cares about all the details in our lives--the journeys we take, the decisions we make, the people we meet, the conversations we have and even the books we read. What assurance we have as we rest in His promise: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8).
What marvelous work of God have you witnessed lately?
posted by Linda at 12:12 AM
9 Comments:
Linda, last night, I did not want to go to church because I was really tired, but I had to be there to do something. It was cold, I was tired, and I kind of grumbled a little bit. On the way home, however, we were driving and we caught the most gorgeous, beutiful view of the Northern Lights. It brought to my mind Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God. Later on, I was reading a book that had a quote from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins and the words were "the words is charged with the grandeur of God."
It was worth going out in the cold to see them. I had a discouraging week and weekend, so I really felt that this was God's way of reminding me that He is indeed in control.
I loved your account of the woman on the plane. Thank you for sharing this.
Wow! What an awesome story! I love it when God uses us in special ways.
I have just a little story to tell, but it was a blessing to me. Yesterday while at church, we were all praising the LORD in song and when it was over we were asked (as usual) to turn around and say hello to someone behind us. So I did and as I turned around I saw a friend seated behind me crying. I am normally afraid to pry into people's business because some don't want you to pry, but I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she was just feeling so terrible about herself because she was a really bad person the day before. (Who can't relate?) So I felt the LORD wanted me to share what I do with my little ones to help them know how much I love them. I told her what I like to ask my 4 yo: Do I ALWAYS love you? Yes. Do I EVER stop loving you? No. Do I love you EVERY minute? Yes. Do I love you when I'm angry at you? Yes. And then I shared how my daughter responds to me, "Why do you love me?" and this is the part I felt God wanted my friend to hear the most. My answer to my 4 yo is "Because you're my child." I went on to tell her that because we are God's children, He loves us no matter what, even when He's angry at us.
This was just a little incident, but I am thankful God used my love conversation with my children to encourage her as His child. How much our heavenly Father loves us!
Btw, the second Kim is not the same as the first Kim.
Kim #1: I have always wanted to see the Northern Lights; it must be a glorious sight! Isn't the Lord gracious to send encouragement to us when we're in desperate need of it? His grace abounds. Thank you for sharing your story.
Kim #2: I'd definitely call that a divine appointment. What a blessing it is to be a messenger of God's love to someone who needs to hear it!
Perhaps our two Kims can identify themselves by: Kim/Upward Call or Kim/Coffee & Muffin. :-)
I changed my "Display Name" so now I am easier to identify. :) Thank you for your encouragement, Linda. You have blessed me so much in such a short time.
Linda L: Mother Teresa, who was known for her acts of mercy said that she met Jesus in every person she encountered, "Christ," she said, "in all his distressing disguises." Thank you for sharing your story with us!
These things that seem so little at first almost always turn out to be the most important in God's kingdom. It's when we try to be Mr. Big that we get in trouble. That's when we focus solely on ourselves at the expense of others.
Thanks for sharing!
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