I constantly remind our staff and residents at
the Dream Center to get used to saying yes
more often than no. I have found that it is so
much easier to try to do something than to
explain why it cannot be done. We cannot
always calculate and rationalize everything in
life. We must instinctively live it and figure it
out along the way.
A man has been coming to our church for over
two decades. He rides the church bus for every
service, and it is incredible that he has been
coming to the same church for so long. Every
service he comes up to me and says, “I like
your shoes!” This precious man is dealing with
mental disabilities. One day I said, “Next week
I’m going to give you some new shoes.” He was
so happy and excited to get his new shoes.
The only problem was I needed some size
14 shoes. About fifteen minutes later, I was
standing at the back door of the church, and a
man who trains NBA pros said, “I’ve got a pair
of size 14 shoes if anyone needs them.” I looked
up at God and smiled at the familiar provision
of heaven that occurs when we choose to act
in faith. I said, “I’ll take them.” The next week
before church, he brought a whole bag of
brand-new size 14 shoes. I walked up to the
man and said, “I got you some shoes!” He made
a squeaky sound of joy when he saw the sack
full of size 14 basketball shoes, and he looked
like a little child opening his Christmas gifts.
This really was not a heroic deed at all, but
then something else happened. Another man
was sitting nearby, watching all this unfold five
minutes before the service. He had just started
to go to church again and was curious about
28
faith. This one simple deed touched his heart
profoundly. He came to me later and said,
“Seeing you give that man those shoes inspired
me to give my life to Christ.” I was thrilled to
hear the news, but I could hardly believe that
this man would give his life to Christ simply
because he witnessed one good deed. He
later went on to explain that he had not seen
anything good in a long time and something
about that experience drew him to want to
know the goodness of Christ.
Stay Spiritually Strong:
COVID-19 Crisis
We live in such a selfish, cutthroat world. That
means that any good deed stands out, and it
really can spark an interest in faith. As John
wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
My new understanding of this verse is that one
good deed can overwhelm years and years of
darkness. The world seems to be more and
more astonished by ordinary acts of kindness.
I have noticed that simple things carry more
weight than ever before. The rush of life to
accomplish more, be more, do more has stirred
people into such a frantic pace that when