"I'm a satanist," said the voice in the backseat. It was night time and I was driving alone with this guy in my car.
Some years back, this statement would have sent chills up my spine and I would have been silently praying, binding up devils and speeding to get this guy out of my car; but pain, hard times and suffering will either turn your bitter, or it will humble you and give you a greater compassion for hurting people.
My suffering and hard times had done the latter. So, when this man told me he was a satanist, I knew there was a reason he had got in my car.
Let me back up......
One thing after another had happened, and I found myself going through some financial hardship. To make ends meet I had to make some extra income and quickly. I decided the easiest and quickest way to do this was to be an Uber driver. It would provide flexibility with my full-time job and I could get paid immediately.
Now, did I want to do this? No. It wouldn't be much money compared to what I was used to making, but what we want to do and what we have to do, sometimes are two separate things.
I was in a bind and needed money, but I decided I wasn't going to complain about having to Uber, and I was going to trust His word that says, "All things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
So that night as I got in my car to drive I prayed:
"All right Lord, if I have to be out here Ubering then I am going to trust You that it is for a purpose. I pray that You send me divine connections, people that need salvation, prayer, encouragement and people that You will give me prophetic words for."
God answered that prayer.
This is one of the many divine encounters I had while Ubering.....
On this particular night, I had stopped to get gas in between rides. As I was pumping my gas I got a ride request and had accepted it. For those who don't know how the Uber app works for drivers, a ride request will show up on your phone and it will show you how far away the rider is. You can either accept it or decline it.
A driver doesn't get paid for their time driving to pick someone up, only for the distance once they pick them up and drop them off. So, for obvious reasons, a driver prefers to get requests that are close because you make more money.
Well, as I was pumping gas I got a request for someone only four minutes away. I tapped the screen and hit accept. I finished pumping my gas and ran into the gas station real quick to grab something to drink and got in line to pay for my drink.
They were taking a long time and I was getting a bit frustrated because I knew if I didn't hurry up the rider would cancel their request and I may get one that was much further away. Sure enough....they cancelled.
My initial thought was to gripe.
Dang it, if these people hadn't taken so long I wouldn't have missed my ride request. My next one will probably be a lot further.
However, I had been working on trying to stay positive in the midst of circumstances that were unfavorable, and train my mouth to only declare positive outcomes.
So, instead of complaining about losing the ride request that was close by, I said out loud, "Lord, I thank You that ride request cancelled because this next ride is going to be a divine encounter."
Right after I prayed that, I got another ride request that was 15 minutes away. I accepted it and drove to the next destination. I pulled up and a man in his 20's got in the back seat with a bag.
I greeted him as I always did, "How's your night going?"
"Oh good," he said. "I just got some fresh corn on the cob out of my boss' garden."
"Nice, I love fresh corn," I said.
"Do you want some?"
"If you're offering it, I'm not gonna turn it down," I answered.
He handed me a few pieces of corn and I thanked him. As we drove together in the car, we got into small talk, which then led into talking about politics. We both were agreeing with one another when he said, "My guess is you probably lean to the right..."
"I do...."
"See...I'm a gay man on the left and you're on the right, but here we are agreeing with one another..."
"Exactly, just because we have difference of opinions that doesn't mean we have to hate one another or we can't agree on things," I said.
We went on to discuss and agree how there was a concerted effort by our government and media to divide Americans on everything from religion, to race, sex, political affiliation, etc...so they could divide and conquer our nation.
This then led into a discussion about religion. He went on to say how he grew up in the Christian church, but had since left the church for a new religion.
"What religion is that?" I asked.
"Satanism," he calmly replied.
As I mentioned, years ago this statement would have sent chills down my spine. However, dark times can change your perspective.
Years prior, I was going through one of those dark nights of the soul moments when I heard a voice (it wasn't audible, but it was darn near close) whispering to me:
Where's your God? Where has He answered any of your prayers? What good is it doing you serving Him? Serving Him has only brought you suffering and pain, and yet He has not even helped you. If you pray to me, I will give you everything you've been asking for. You don't have to call me satan, you can call me Universe or Higher Power.
The crazy part is, I thought about it. I knew this was the enemy of my soul talking; satan, lucifer himself...but yet here I was in the midnight hours of desperation considering it.
I somehow had this eerie feeling that if I uttered those words, everything I had been praying for would suddenly come to pass like magic. But I knew that it would come with a much greater price; a price that no amount of money could ever redeem.
It would be my eternal soul that I would pay with.
I knew that if I prayed that prayer, satan would come for me with a vengeance once I got all my so called prayers answered, and once he had the opportunity to enter, because I had given him an open invitation, I might never make it back; and my soul would forever be in hell.
And that thought right there, scared the hell right out of me. So I declined the invitation.
But later on I thought about how close I had been to tipping over to the other side. And if you've never been in a desperate situation, you might not have the compassion or understanding of how people can make some of the decisions they make.
But I do.
So, that night when the man in my backseat told me he was a satanist, I wasn't alarmed and I didn't feel fear. I knew there was a reason he got in my car, and I felt compassion for him. I instantly began silently praying and asking the Holy Spirit what He wanted me to say.
I calmly responded back, "So what made you become a satanist?"
"It's not what you think it is," he began.
As he continued talking I continued silently praying and driving him to his destination. Once we pulled up to his house, he didn't get out. He kept talking.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked.
"Sure," he answered.
"Did something happen to you in the church?"
He got silent, then he said, "I was molested by a priest when I was a child."
"I thought something had happened to you," I said. "I understand how you turned away from God. I almost did myself. Do you mind if I pray for you?"
With no hesitation he answered. "Sure, and then can I pray for you?"
I didn't want a satanist praying for me, but I also didn't want to ruin the moment.
"Okay, let me pray for you first though," I said.
I began praying for this young man's healing and that God would reveal Himself to him. When I finished, he looked at me and said, "I know this is going to sound weird, but do you mind if I give you a hug?"
"Absolutely!"
We both jumped out of the car and as we hugged I felt this tangible Presence of God's love embracing us both.
"Do you feel that?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes!" I exclaimed. "That is God's love."
"I was supposed to meet you tonight," he said.
"Yes, you were."
As we hugged one last time, we said goodbye without him ever praying for me. We both knew that the true God had visited us both, and there was no need for any further prayers.
I'll never forget that night and what God can do with our yes in the midst of adverse circumstances.
And by the way...the next day I ate that corn on the cob, and it was the sweetest, best testing corn on the cob my mouth has ever tasted.
Indeed, life is sweet...when we give God our yes.
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