The Nudge

A couple of weekends ago, I was asked to speak at a men’s group at Arcade Church in Sacramento.

My flight out of San Diego was delayed, so by the time I landed, instead of going to the hotel, I went straight to dinner. When I finished, I decided I wanted some ice cream, so I stopped at Cold Stone.

As I walked in, I noticed a man sitting outside with his wife and two young sons.

His name was Travis.

I didn’t know that yet.

What I did notice was the brace. It ran down his back, around the front of his body, and high up around his neck. It was obvious that something serious had happened.

Years ago, I played football with a friend of mine, Bob Grimes, who broke his neck on the field. I remembered Bob wearing a very similar brace, so immediately I wondered if Travis had suffered some type of serious neck injury.

It was a hot day, and because of the brace and the heat, Travis wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was simply sitting there with his family, trying to be comfortable.

And then I felt it.

The nudge.

Stop.

Talk to him.

Maybe pray for him.

I didn’t know this man. I didn’t know what had happened. I didn’t know what he believed.

And I kept walking.

I went inside, ordered my ice cream, and eventually headed back toward my car.

And wouldn’t you know it?

My path through the parking lot took me right alongside a car with the passenger door swung wide open.

Sitting there was Travis.

There was the nudge again.

Only this time, I stopped.

I introduced myself and asked his name. Then I simply said, “Would it be okay if I prayed for you?”

He immediately said yes.

His beautiful wife and their two sons leaned forward from inside the car.

I asked Travis, “Would it be okay if I put my hand on your shoulder?”

He said, “That would be nice.”

Before I prayed, Travis shared that he did believe in God.

So I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed.

I prayed for healing. For strength. For comfort. For his wife and his boys. And especially for today.

Because when you are going through something like Travis was going through, it is so easy to want to speed everything up.

When will I feel better?

When will this brace come off?

When will life get back to normal?

But sometimes you just need God’s strength for today.

Afterward, we talked for a while about his accident and the process he was going through. What struck me was that Travis could already see God doing something through it. He could see that his story, his testimony, might someday become an encouragement to someone else.

I told Travis that I was speaking to a group of men the next morning and that I had a book I wanted to give him because its title was connected to what I would be speaking about.

I went and got a copy and brought it back to him.

The title was:

Are You Ready?

Travis looked at it and smiled.

There was something almost humorous, but also incredibly meaningful, about those words in that moment.

Are you ready?

Was Travis ready for what had happened to him?

Are any of us really ready for the unexpected things that can suddenly change our lives?

I walked away thinking about something else.

Was I ready to respond when God nudged me?

Because I almost didn’t.

The first time, I kept walking.

Thankfully, God gave me another opportunity.

Romans 8:14 says:

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Maybe being led by the Spirit sometimes looks much simpler than we imagine.

I wonder how many of these nudges we experience every day.

Maybe it’s someone in our family.

Someone at school.

Someone at work.

The person standing next to us at the grocery store.

Someone walking through TSA who has probably heard complaints all day, and we simply stop and say, “Thank you. I appreciate what you do.”

Maybe it’s holding a door.

Offering a smile.

Speaking a kind word.

Calling someone whose name suddenly came to mind.

Or maybe it’s looking at a complete stranger and asking:

“Would it be okay if I prayed for you?”

Galatians 6:10 says:

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all.”

As we have opportunity.

I love those words because opportunities are all around us. We don’t necessarily have to go looking for them. Sometimes God puts them right in our path.

Or, in my case, sitting in a car with the passenger door wide open.

Not every nudge has to become something big.

It just requires us to notice.

And then to respond.

I’m grateful that God gave me a second opportunity with Travis that day.

But I don’t want to always need the second nudge.

When the Holy Spirit puts someone on my heart, when He directs my attention toward someone, when that quiet thought says, Stop. Speak. Encourage. Pray. Serve. I want to be ready.

Because you never know what someone is walking through.

And you never know how God might use one small act of obedience.

When you feel the nudge…

Don’t just keep walking.