Name brands are all around me as I sit typing in the Westin lobby. Signs of wealth & affluence abound. The sheer dollar amount to stay at this hotel alone is indicative of the wealth of those staying in it.
Outside, my attention is drawn to a homeless man passing by. And I can’t help but notice the stark contrast — inside, people are paying $20 for a burger, $50 for buckets of mimosas & roaring in laughter as they sit gabbing with family & friends.
Yet outside, a man is passing by, without a place to lay his head at night.
He lingers near two women who are removing their thick jackets as they bend down to lower themselves into the vehicle the valet attendant just brought around. The woman standing on the sidewalk with closest proximity clenches her body and keeps her head facing the street. She is aware of the homeless man’s presence. And I imagine, knows his request.
Matthew 25 begins running through my head — “For I was hungry and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and you didn’t visit me.”
When the Lord is asked when did these moments occur, He replies, “…when you refused to help the least of these my brothers & sisters, you were refusing to help me.”
Don’t lose sight of the intention behind this messaging — I’m not telling you to help every homeless person you see nor that the women’s actions were wrong — but there is something for us to pause & consider — when we stand before God, will He say these same things to us? Will He show you the areas you did not help another?
When the scene with the two women played out before me previously, my spirit felt a nudge to speak to the man. But I didn’t. I sat there and watched. And then he was gone. God’s conviction got a hold of me and I asked Him to have the man pass by again if His will was for me to talk to him.
And here he came, the same homeless man came strolling by on his city bike.
This time, I couldn’t just sit there. God was calling me to move. So I stepped into His word and put them into action.
Trey is a homeless man living on the streets of Austin, TX. When I first approached him and asked his name, he eyes grew wide and he was hesitant to speak. Before I could respond, a young woman who works at the Westin Hotel, Chelle, approached us, seemingly trying to figure out my intention.
I began to share with Trey how the Lord had highlighted him to me when he passed by the first time and how I had asked the Lord to have him stroll by again if it was His will for me to speak to him.
Tears welled up in his eyes as Chelle exclaimed, “see I told you! God is working in you and sees you!”
Little did I know Trey had heard the exact same words I just uttered months ago from the young lady who joined us. God was speaking to this man. Going after him to bring him back to the 99 and we were baring witness to it.
A few feet away a man stood by watching; he had given his claim ticket to the valet and was awaiting arrival of his vehicle. On his sweater in bold capitol letters read the word: LOVE.
As the three of us laid hands on Trey and prayed over him, reminding him that God really does see him, and knows him and wants to prosper him, the presence of the Lord was so strong. There was a thickness in the air around us and little bumps popped up all over my body indicating the Lord’s spirit was with us.
After a few minutes passed, Trey composed himself and stood from the city bike he was riding. He lifted his eyes and hands to the sky and began to praise the Lord. Then as he looked back down at us, his reply was, “you have no idea how much this has changed my day and my thoughts.”
I glanced down at the black rubber bracelet on his left hand and read the words printed in white ink aloud: “GOD IS BIG ENOUGH.”
There it was. Right there on his wrist — the message God wanted him to see and know — God IS big enough. He is big enough to see him. He is big enough to hear him. And He is big enough to move mountains to reach him.
Whatever area of life you aren’t believing God is BIG ENOUGH — think again. Realign your thoughts with His word because surely He loves you enough to be BIG ENOUGH for whatever lack or circumstance you’ve found yourself in.
From His heart, to mine, to yours….
—Amanda
