Show notes
You may be listening today because you are pursuing God, but I assure you, God pursued you first. He created you, he knows you, and he pursues you. And no doubt, he will find you! He will use absolutely anything to get to you, draw you in, and bring you into a relationship with him.
Let me tell you about an encounter with a young man who was clearly being pursued by God. On Saturday evening, I was on a United Airline flight from Denver to Miami, returning home to the Florida Keys after hosting the BIG Life Healing Retreat in Colorado. I had slept outside in 40 degree weather for 3 nights in a row. Sleep had been at a minimum, and living had been large, so I was tired. The flight would be 4.5 hours, so I looked forward to resting all the way to my midnight arrival. But, God had other plans.
I’ve come to love when God has other plans. Even when it’s inconvenient for me. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it’s totally out of alignment with my plans, I get excited, and here’s why … because anytime God’s plans ruin my plans, I know I’m stepping into something much bigger and better.
I was sitting by the window in row 36, and although the entire airplane had filled, somehow the two seats next to me were empty. They announced boarding was complete and I couldn’t believe my good luck with this jackpot! I would be putting my feet up! I would be knocked out in minutes!
Suddenly, a young man comes barreling out of the restroom and plops down in my row. However, not just my row, but the middle seat. There was no one sitting in the isle seat … we could have had space between us, but no …. My jackpot of an empty row had just hit major disappointment. Little did I know what a jackpot this was.
Hiding my confusion over his insistence to be hip to hip by me instead of scooting on over to the empty seat, he starts an immediate conversation. You know how you can just tell you’re not getting out of talking? Yeah, I knew … that nap wasn’t going to be happening.
In the 30 minutes we sat on the runway, he proceeded to tell me how nervous he was about flying and how he had already researched the odds of the plane going down. He had also intentionally chosen row 36 because it was the safest. I had chosen row 36 because it seemed more likely I might be alone at the back of the plane.
His name was Dorian, he was 22 years old, traveling back home to Florida after flying in to see a concert at Red Rocks. Guys, I have to admit, I even tried to slip out of the very close, face to face conversation by asking about the band he saw, pulling it up on Spotify, putting in my airpod and listening to his music. Fail. There was no getting out of this. Music or no music, we were talking.
As we begin to take off, he looks at me with absolute fear in his eyes and says, “Will you pray for our flight?” So, I grabbed Dorian’s hand and I prayed. It was then that I knew, this boy was being pursued by a God who loved him wildly and had him right where he wanted him.
Three hours into our flight, the isle seat is still empty, as Dorian and I are leg to leg, face to face, in economy seating and I’ve discovered he’s a total seeker. He was one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever spoken to, however when you’re that intelligent, faith can be a struggle. Faith was indeed a struggle for him. He’s studied all the religions, he’s read all the great philosopher’s books, even quoted them, but he didn’t know Jesus.
So here I sit with a young man who is terrified of flying, clearly actively being pursued by God, and of course it was the bumpiest,