The Providence of God

Today I had the privilege of serving the Lord at "Our Daily Bread."  If you don’t know what that is it is Pascagoula's version of a soup kitchen where hungry people come and get a good tasty hot meal once a day. 

I always enjoy seeing the people. People that God dearly loves and created for His purposes.  Each of them has an individual story, a past and another day of life to live for God's glory.  Today I saw many seniors, kids, women and men, but the one that stuck out above the rest was a tall guy with many bumps, scars and wrinkles from a hard life. It was one of my childhood friends. He and I grew up on the same street in Moss Point, MS over 50 years ago. He lived across the street and four doors down. We road bikes together and played sandlot football together. He was brutal, strong as an ox and quick on his feet.  My how the years of a difficult life had broken Him down. He is all by Himself now. No family and only a handful of friends, most of which are the shady type.  These days he rides a worn out mountain bike from place to place. His past is full of hair raising experiences and he is always looking over his shoulder to see if someone is about to hurt him.  

Then here is me. More friends than I can shake a stick at, a nice comfortable home, two cars and a retirement plan.  I get to pastor the greatest church family in town and have two grown kids both serving on staff at great thriving churches. I have three healthy beautiful smart grandkids and the best wife a man could desire.  So I began to wonder, how could two boys from the same side of the tracks be so different. One blessed beyond belief and one living from hand to mouth? Grace was the answer I got from God. Yes, by grace I had been saved at a young age and it was by grace that God made me to be who I am. Again it was by grace that blessings had fallen on me.  Even through the difficult times in my life it was God's grace that sustained me.  

I can't help but remember what God told the prophet to tell David when he got a little to big for his britches. "I took you for the pasture from following the sheep and made you king of my People Israel." I don’t begin to know why God called me from that short street on the west side of Moss Point and why He has let my friend journey through such a tuff life, but I do know I and my friend can have faith in knowing that by his grace we shall walk the streets of Heaven together one day in eternity.  

Thank you Lord for your kindness and provision.  My prayer is that You will bless my friend above and beyond all that he can think or ask today and that You will use me to be a blessing to his life.  Jesus be Jesus in me so that I can be Jesus to my friend.