We recently went to the Mary Magdalene House in Guatemala City, a street ministry that provides Spirit-filled worship, food, ministry, and medical clinics for people that live on the streets. Many are high on paint thinner. Some have been shot or knifed. Some have a place to live but almost no money, and many are homeless. Little children come to this ministry too. Many people return week after week, but every week new people come in to hear the Word of God and have a hot meal. They truly accept the invitation – “Come as you are.” It doesn’t matter if you’re high, or dressed in rags, or grotesquely scarred, or haven’t bathed in weeks. Let’s gather and worship the Lord together.
In the middle of worship recently, several of us stepped outside to make room for newcomers. A girl walked up, hysterical, overwhelmed, desperately needing prayer. After we prayed with her, and she was able to look up and receive the peace of the Lord, we sat down next to her on the sidewalk, in the doorway, to offer encouragement and listen to the message inside.
As we sat there, a man came up. He was drunk, very loud, very agitated. He got into an argument with me and then started to manifest what the enemy was doing to him. It wasn’t me that laid a hand on his arm, which he described as a sword that cut through him. It wasn’t me that looked into his dark, tormented eyes and told him who he is in Christ. It wasn’t me that put a hand on his heart and told him he has the heart of God. It wasn’t me that told the enemy to go to the foot of the Cross, and the Holy Spirit to fill those empty, tormented places. It wasn’t my tears that fell on his feet. It wasn’t me that spoke the Word of Truth like a laser. It wasn’t my voice that told him to rise up and walk in the calling God has for him. It wasn’t me speaking Spanish to him, when I don’t speak Spanish. It wasn’t me whose words broke the chaos off of him and silenced him with peace.
None of that was me. It was Jesus. I was hardly conscious of being there. I’ve prayed with people for years. I’ve ministered to people in tough situations.
I’ve let the Holy Spirit fill me and use me to reach people. But I have never experienced what happened that morning. That one encounter unleashed the Holy Spirit in me, and I started walking up and down the street, speaking or praying with people as the Lord led. Once again, it was not me. I’ve never been so “un-present” in my years of ministry. And I’ve never been so bold in all my life.
That encounter with the Lord changed my life. It is seared on my heart, to where I don’t dare forget, or walk backward from that experience. I don’t think I could if I tried. I can’t UN-know what that felt like, to let Jesus take over and use me with a boldness I don’t have. There’s no hiding anymore from God. I can no longer allow “fear of man” to affect my ministry or my Christian walk. God will hold me accountable for what I experienced that morning. There is no turning back, or the conviction of the Holy Spirit will be all over me.
Written by: Janet Eriksson
Tom and Elisabeth Allan
Project Number 1022014
Hearts for the Children Ministry
Project Number 1022047
© 2011 Church of God World Missions