May we never forget that God is always at work.
Yesterday at church, a representative from Gideons International came and spoke. He’s a friend of our pastor’s and he comes every year. He always has an inspirational story to tell and this year was no different.
One evening in 1898, there were two traveling businessmen who were out on the road. He pointed out that back in that time, most business required lots of travel because there was no internet or e-mail. On this particular night, one of the men checked into a motel. Sometime later, another man came looking for a room, but was told there were none.
I’m sure he must have been frustrated and discouraged, away from home, weary from work and travel and nowhere to rest. Can you relate?
The person at the front desk asked the man if he was willing to share a room with another traveler who had checked in for the night. The man agreed.
Can you imagine a scenario like that these days? Can you imagine two perfect strangers agreeing to share a room for the evening? Can you imagine a motel employee even asking?
We got absolutely no back story on the conversation or emotions of those two men that evening. My writer’s mind races with the possibilities. Were they annoyed? Were they uncomfortable? Was the first man gracious? Was the second grateful? Were either the least bit frightened? Personally, sleeping in the room with a complete stranger would terrify me.
But, we do get some information, as it turns out, the important information. As the two men got ready for bed, they learned that they were both Christians, something that people at the time, must have been more open about. They decided to do their nightly devotion together and they both felt that God was calling them to do something more.
They prayed about it and Gideons International was eventually born from that chance meeting that evening. They felt strongly about getting God’s Word into the hands of as many people as possible and decided that hotels were a great start. They felt that once people actually read the Word, the Holy Spirit would be activated and lives would be transformed.
They spoke to different Christian groups and churches in the years to come about placing Bibles in various places. In 1908, some churches got behind funding the hotel idea. Between 1899 and 1971, a hundred million Bibles had been handed out or placed.
In 2015, they hit the two billion mark. Let’s pause a moment and let that number sink in.
Two strangers just happened to share a room together one evening. They just happened to pray together and they just happened to have a dream together of sharing God’s Word with as many people as possible.
They got to see some of that dream accomplished, but God kept on realizing that dream and in 116 years, two billion Bibles had been passed out to people on the street, to college campuses, prisons and to soldiers in the military. They were also placed in hotel rooms and hospitals, not only in this country, but around the world too.
I love this story because we get to see God at work. These men were not placed together by coincidence. It was part of God’s plan. He was at work then in the lives of those men. He is at work now in your life and in mine.
This story reminds me to not get frustrated and to keep my eyes open when life looks bleak. It reminds me to trust God. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂