God knows where you are!
Posted by: tz8cy5 <tz8cy5@...>
and what you're doing every minute of the day?
I certainly do after an amazing experience I had several years ago.
At the time I was driving on 1-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife
and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment
stop. My wife Barbara and children went into the restaurant. I
suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them off ahead
saying I'd join them later. I bought a soft drink, and as I walked
toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self-pity enshrouded my mind. I
loved the Lord and my ministry, but I felt drained, burdened.
My cup was empty.
Suddenly the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out
of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station
on the corner. Wasn't anyone going to answer the phone?
Noise form the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must
have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant
continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant
ringing.
"Why doesn't somebody answer that phone?" I muttered. I began
reasoning. It may be important. What if it's an emergency?
Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and
picked up the phone. "Hello," I said casually and took a big sip
of my drink.
The operator said: "Long distance call for Ken Gaub."
My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice. Swallowing
hard, I said, "You're crazy!" Then realizing I shouldn't speak to
an operator like that, I added, "This can't be! I was walking down
the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing...
"Is Ken Gaub there?" the operator interrupted, "I have a long
distance call for him."
It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally
replied, "Yes, he is here." Searching for a possible explanation,
I wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera! Still shaken,
perplexed, I asked, "How in the world did you reach me here? I was
walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just
answered it on chance. You can't mean me."
"Well," the operator asked, "is Mr. Gaub there or isn't he?"
"Yes, I am Ken Gaub," I said, finally convinced by the tone of her
voice that the call was real.
Then I heard another voice say, "Yes, that's him, operator. That's
Ken Gaub."
I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. "I'm
Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don't know me, Mr. Gaub,
but I'm desperate. Please help me."
"What can I do for you?"
She began weeping. Finally she regained control and continued.
"I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note,
when I began to pray and tell God I really didn't want to do this.
Then I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought
if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was
impossible because I didn't know how to reach you, I didn't know
anyone who could help me find you. Then some numbers came
to my mind, and I scribbled them down."
At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for
wisdom to help her. She continued, "I looked at the numbers and
thought, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and
He has given me Ken's phone number?' I decided to try calling it. I
can't believe I'm talking to you. Are you in your office in
California?"
I replied, "Lady, I don't have an office in California. My office
is in Yakima, Washington."
A little surprised, she asked, "Oh really, then where are you?"
"Don't you know?" I responded. "You made the call."
She explained, "But I don't even know what area I'm calling. I just
dialed the number that I had on this paper."
"Ma'am, you won't believe this, but I'm in a phone booth in Dayton,
Ohio!"
"Really?" she exclaimed. "Well, what are you doing there?"
I kidded her gently, "Well, I'm answering the phone. It was ringing
as I walked by, so I answered it."
Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I
began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and
frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me
words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she
prayed the sinner's prayer and met the One who would lead her out of her
situation into a new life.
I walked away from that telephone booth with an electrifying sense
of our heavenly Father's concern for each of His children. What were
the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of
phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God
could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at
that moment in time.
Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed
back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. Maybe
I better not tell this, I thought, but I couldn't contain it. "Barb,
you won't believe this! God knows where I am!"