Testimony of Use 23
Here is another wonderful witnessing of God’s intervention – Testimony of Use 23. I forgot about this one, praise God that I wrote it down in an old journal. This one was so cool. If I find any others that have not been posted, I’ll get those up here as well. I pray it blesses and edifies you, in Jesus name. Amen. Enjoy –
Use 23 Testimony
4/4/08 – I started to help out at a local mission tonight. On my drive there, I accidentally took a different path than I would normally take to get to this area of town. I knew I still could get there the way I was going though. Then, I missed an exit to take down to the mission. So, I found yet another way. As I was coming up to 496, I thought “which road should I take to backtrack north?”.
As I merged into the right lane, I had to hit my brakes pretty good for a slow moving minivan. I look at the license plate that said “Use 23”. I had that feeling/unction that this was from the Lord. I said to God, “ok, what is 23 that I’m going to use?” I contemplated this while I was driving. I wondered if it was the exit # I should take, but nope, the exits were not near the 20’s. Then I thought if there was a road I can take north that was something like 23rd street… nope. So I just kept driving on the way to the mission and wondered what “Use 23” meant.
Homeless Shelter
While at the mission, we served the homeless, cleaned up, and everyone began to go about their own business. In the dining area, a man named Steve and a woman named Susan were placing labels on some envelopes (they would receive an extra nights stay for helping out at the mission.) I pulled up a chair at the dining table. As I sat down, I hear that they are engaged in a religious discussion. Steve then says, “I really love Psalm 23”. I was blown away. I said “What is Psalm 23?” He said “It’s the Psalm that this verse on the wall is a part of.” (as he points to a verse on the wall of the dining area).
I told Steve what I saw on the way to the mission and how I was looking for what “Use 23” meant. It was obvious that Psalm 23 is what God was saying. I asked if there was a bible lying around. As I asked this, I turn my head to look at an end table in the room and my eyes instantly fix on a bible on the desk. I picked it up and read Psalm 23. Steve was having a very bad day with missing his child and he was talking about how he was praying and crying on the streets today. (Lord, as I recall Steve, I hold him up in prayer. Please comfort Him Comforter, in Jesus name. amen). As we started to discuss Psalm 23, he became very joyous and he felt the Lord’s presence. All 3 of us were full of God’s glory, smiling, enjoying how the Lord works, and sharing testimonies. Perfection was present.
During this time, my phone rang and I had to step outside for a minute. I came back in and continued the discussions in the dining room, which now had some other people there. When I walked in, I heard Steve say “I respect your opinion, but I don’t agree” as he was walking out. Another man was reading the bible and they had a disagreement on a topic. After I was there for a few more minutes, I decided to leave and say goodbye to everyone. As I’m saying goodbye to everyone in the living room, Steve walks up and hands me a book. He said something along the lines of “I want you to have this. This book is all about Psalm 23.” I refused it, but he insisted because it was of the Lord and he felt it was to do with the “Use 23”. The first section of the book is: How to think of God – The Twenty-Third Psalm. Thank you for this tool Lord, now please show me how to “Use 23”.
Testimony of God’s Intervention
4/5/08: Earlier this week and last week, I prayed and asked God to help me to help a friend. My friend has been going through a lot and they could use God’s touch. I have been trying to help, but through our conversations, it has been determined that I’m not helping, even though the help is greatly appreciated. At first, I took this personally, but I later realized that this was selfish on my part. At any rate, I recall praying to God a couple of nights ago, and once last week, asking Him to help me to help this friend. I recall praying to God, “If I’m not helping, please make me a tool and work through me.” See, we had a falling out and my friend confessed that there was still a grudge. There is a barrier to any words of advice or recommended reading that I offer. Thus, I prayed a petition to the Lord and asked Him to intercede and help.
A day or 2 later, I see “Use 23” and then the above-mentioned took place on 4/4/08 at the homeless shelter. The testimony came full circle today. My friend came over and after we ate, this book about Psalm 23 was on my desk. My friend picked it up and started to read it. My friend just left w/ the book around 10min ago. I have recommended and tried to loan many books, have given different advice, suggested God’s Word, and so on… and because of it being “me” doing it and not God (as well as the barrier of the grudge), nothing ever appeared to materialize.
This one book on Psalm 23, which was directly from the Lord’s intervention, is what worked. “Use 23” Joseph. Use Psalm 23. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. You’re very awesome God. AWESOME! Thank you so much for these testimonies in life.. You’re truly my Lord and I am truly yours. Praise be to You!
There ya have it. Again, I pray this witnessing of God’s testimony blesses and edifies. In Jesus name, amen.
