By Guest Contributor, Dean Boersma | January 20, 2022
I’ve been a believer all my life. Church services, Sunday school, bible studies and even tithing were all things I was accustomed to and practiced regularly. Throughout the years, I’d hear certain phrases within my Christian circles, such as “being led by the Spirit,” and always knew what that meant, at least intellectually speaking. It wasn’t until the last few years, however, when I began experiencing a spiritual revival within my soul, that the idea of being Spirit-led started to take hold in my life. God has been revealing himself to me in fresh and clear ways through the bible and prayer. My faith has grown, and even my giving has become more much intentional and personal. More recently I even had a first-hand experience of what it means to be “led by the Spirit” in a very real and powerful way, and it had to do with generosity.
The day started like any other day; coffee and morning devotions. Yet this time I began feeling a strange prompting that I should go to the bank and withdraw a sum of money because someone was going to need it. It was a rare feeling that I couldn’t quite explain, but it was real all the same. That morning as I drove to the secondhand resale shop where I volunteer, that same prompting grew more intense and lead me to make a detour to the bank where I withdrew the sum of cash. With the money now in my possession, I continued my commute to work and prayed along the way that God would direct me in how to use it that day. As I walked into the resale shop, I noticed a staff member whom I hadn’t seen in several weeks. There was nothing apparently different in her countenance or appearance, but the prompting I was carrying all morning moved to an undeniable conviction that she needed my money. I gave her the envelope and simply said, “I think you need this,” before walking away and beginning work.
Later that morning I noticed the same staff member in the breakroom by herself, crying with her face buried in her hands. I went over to ask if she was okay and was informed that she was in the midst of a financially trying time. Recent health issues had put her out of work and as a result she had fallen behind on rent and utilities. Just that morning she was praying for God to provide a way for her to cover her month’s expenses, and then I showed up and gave her the money she needed to make ends meet. She was overcome with emotion for how quickly and tangibly God answered her prayer.
As I reflected on this experience the following day over my coffee and morning devotions, I was lost in gratitude for the beautiful and mysterious ways God works. This year I’ll be turning 70, yet God continues to use me for his Kingdom. He continues to reveal himself to me in fresh ways. He continues to mold me more into his likeness. God’s not done with me yet. And he’s not done with you either. Regardless of our age or level of faith, we can still grow and be the instruments God chooses to use to do something powerful for his Kingdom. We simply need to remain available, and when we feel that nudging deep in our souls, don’t fight it. Good things can happen when we’re following the Lord in this way.
Photo Credit: Jonny Swales
Bio:
Dean and his wife Connie are busy retirees and live on a quiet acreage on the southern edge of Northwest Indiana in Chicagoland. They have one adult daughter and three grandsons that occupy much of their care and attention. Dean is a jack-of-all-trades that’s been known to have the tools and equipment, and skills, for any project. With careers in driving concrete trucks and carpentry, he now dedicates his time in service to others, especially at the bustling Second Life Resale Shoppe in Crown Point, Indiana – a very fitting place by name because of Dean’s personal testimony of miraculously surviving multiple life-threatening events through the years.
