Want God to Use You? It Starts With a Willing Heart
- The Secret Place Ministry
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
In this blog post, I want to share a powerful story that unfolded on the very same day as my last podcast episode and blog post, “In Your Anger, Do Not Sin: A Journey of Honesty, Healing, and Surrender” If you’ve listened to it or have read it, you’ll remember I was at Virginia Beach, walking the boardwalk when the Lord began working on the anger and hurt I had buried toward Him. That moment marked the beginning of a healing process.
But what happened after that moment will be with me forever.
An Unexpected Encounter
After resting on a bench and having that intimate moment with God, I decided to jog back to the hotel.
As I ran along the boardwalk, I passed a homeless man digging through the trash cans. I remember thinking how heartbreaking that was, but I kept running. Then I noticed a large dumpster truck approaching. I turned around to see the man rushing from one trash can to the next, trying to grab what he could before the trash was collected.
That’s when I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “That is my son whom I love.”
I stopped mid-run and pulled out my phone, searching for a place nearby where I could get him something to eat, but since it was still early everything was saying it was closed. I looked back up and saw that this man had walked too far in the opposite direction by then, and I convinced myself that someone else would help him. I turned to keep running.
But God wasn’t finished.
He spoke again: “I put him on your mind and heart to help him.”
I stopped once more and prayed, asking God what to do. I pulled my phone out again and suddenly, a pancake place popped up on my phone. I hadn’t seen it the first time and it was just a short walk away.
I looked up, and the man was gone. Disappointed and ready to give up, I felt the Lord urge me again: “Run.”
And so I ran.
As I ran, doubts filled my head. Is this safe? Will I even find him? A song called “In Jesus Name” started playing through my AirPods. The words moved me to tears. I began praying the lyrics over this man I didn’t even know and yet, because of God, deeply cared for.
I finally saw him lying down on a bench. As I got closer, I saw that he was crying.
My heart shattered.
I stopped and gently said, “Hello.” He looked up, quickly wiping his tears. “I’m supposed to take you to breakfast this morning,” I told him. “Would that be okay?”
He nodded quickly and stood up, showing me a half-eaten container of donuts he had found in the trash. I smiled and said they looked good but invited him to get pancakes with me just a few minutes away.
God Pursues the Lost
Before I continue with what happened next, I want to pause here and reflect on what this moment revealed: God was chasing after this man.
Luke 15:3-10 says,
“Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15 tells the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In both stories, something of great value is lost—and the one who lost it stops at nothing to find it. Jesus says there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need to.
God chases after those who are lost.
From the very beginning, God has pursued us. After Adam and Eve sinned, they didn't run towards God, but ran and hid from Him. But God didn’t abandon them—He came looking, calling out, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8–9).
It was God who pursued Adam and Eve and he has never stopped pursuing us. He did it through Jesus, and He still does it today.
John 3:16-18 says,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
One of God’s most beautiful forms of pursuit was him coming down in the flesh as Jesus to reconcile us to him, Amen!
The Conversation Over Pancakes
I think about how God so intentionally highlighted this man. He was being sought after by God.
As we walked together to the pancake shop. I let him know I wouldn’t be eating with him, but I would stay until the check came. The check took forever to come and at first I was anxious about the conversation to come, but God reminded me that when he came in the flesh this is what he did. He sat with people and got to know them. The bill that took forever to come was, I believe, God’s way of giving us time to talk.
He shared his life with me.
He told me how all his friends were gone and how life just seemed to be pain and suffering until people die without hope. It was a heavy conversation.
I asked if he had ever heard of King Solomon. He hadn’t. I shared how Solomon wrote that life is meaningless—that whether you do good or bad, all eventually die. He nodded in agreement.
But then I told him what Solomon concluded: Everything is meaningless—except life with God.
We talked about the darkness of the world, how love and peace seem to be fading. I admitted how hard it is to believe in a good God when pain feels overwhelming. I’ve asked those same questions. I’ve felt that same despair.
His honesty opened a door to a real, vulnerable connection.
He told me about growing up Baptist, about serving in the military, and about the time he spent in prison.
Then he asked, “Are you with a church group?”
I smiled and said, “No. I’m just here with my family for a few days when I ran into you.”
The Moment God Spoke
His food arrived. So did the check.
He said, “Oh, you have to go now.”
I nodded, but first I asked, “Can I tell you why I took you to breakfast?”
He said yes.
I looked at him and said, “When I passed you earlier, God spoke to me and said, ‘That is my son whom I love.’”
His eyes widened. He pointed to himself and asked, “Me? Out of all the people, God highlighted me?”
I smiled and said, “Yes.”
I could see the weight of the Lords pursuit for him and that hit me also.
I told him God will always love him, and then asked if I could pray for him. As I left the restaurant, tears filled my eyes—not just for this man, but for the beautiful, relentless way God pursues us. I felt that the bitterness in my heart that had started to form began to receive cracks.
Through this encounter with this man I not only saw how God so relentlessly pursued him, but how God was also pursuing me.
God Can Use Our Pain
We often hear the phrase, “Maybe God is using all that you're going through to help someone else.”
On that February morning, God allowed me to deeply feel This mans pain because I had felt those things too. I had asked those same questions. And in that shared brokenness, there was connection.
God reminded me that being used starts with being willing.
I almost ignored the Spirit’s nudge. I almost gave up when I couldn’t find an open restaurant. I’ve ignored His nudges in the past out of fear. But that day, I listened—and God used that moment for both this man and I.
If the Spirit nudges you—whether to speak, pray, or help—say yes.
It may be uncomfortable. It may feel inconvenient. But there is no comparison to the joy of walking in obedience.
We ask to be vessels used by God, but too often we hesitate when the opportunity comes. There must be action and truth behind our words to God otherwise they are empty and weightless. May our hearts always be willing when God calls. Because if he shows up and you aren't ready, he will move onto someone else.
I hope by sharing this story, you see the heart of God.
He pursues. He loves. He sees. And He calls us to join Him in that pursuit.
This experience reminded me not to just ask to be used, but to be ready to be used. To say yes when it counts. To move when the Spirit moves.
And most of all, to trust that God sees us in our pain—and uses our brokenness to reach others.
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Remember you are so loved, valued, and cherished!