Look out for Chance Meetings

“But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion.“ Luke 10:33 BSB

“So grateful for the day Melissa just happened to go for a run with a group that included Dan! That chance meeting has been a blessing to literally hundreds of kids in Pulaski County. Sometimes those chance meetings aren’t really “chance!” Thank you, Melissa, for showing love to all those kids. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus!” Those were the words my dear friend Gayla Wells wrote after the completion of another OneSolePurpose Pulaski County Project (this time for Crocker Elementary) Friday—a project that began after asking the Lord to provide a way to meet our need for shoes in our area and having that prayer answered in the form of partnering with the OneSolePurpose Project that Dan Wells and his wife started so many years ago. Do you just love that or what? 

And you know, when it comes to “chance” meetings, the Bible is very clear that God intersects the paths of people (especially His children) to help them in times of need. Consider the story of the man who was beaten, robbed, and left for dead as he traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. Both a priest and a Levite passed the injured man. But (and this is where it gets good) “when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion.” The Samaritan ‘just happened’ to be on the same road at the same time as the unnamed man and made sure that he received the healing care he needed. 

Friends, we’re all on a journey from this life to the next. And while we’re on it, we would all do well to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit who prompts us to go this way or that way so that we won’t miss out on any “chance” meetings. It may seem crazy (as it did for me when I drove to Springfield for a training run I could have done at home and ‘just happened’ to run into Dan) but go where you are called, when you are called to go there. I promise that you won’t regret it. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for arranging the paths of Your children to intersect with the paths of those who might have a need that we can fill or have a way to fill a need that we have. Help us to recognize Your voice by having a relationship with You through the pages of the Bible. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!