“When a team of Christians visited Stavropol, Russia, in 1994 to hand out Bibles, a local citizen said he recalled seeing Bibles in an old warehouse. They had been confiscated in the 1930s when Stalin was sending believers to the gulags. Amazingly, the Bibles were still there.
Among those who had showed up to load them into trucks was a young agnostic student just wanting to earn a day’s wage. But soon he slipped away from the job to steal a Bible. A team member went looking for him and found him sitting in a corner weeping. Out of the hundreds of Bibles, he had picked up one that bore the handwritten signature of his own grandmother. Persecuted for her faith, she had no doubt prayed often for her family and her city. God used that grandmother’s Bible to bring that young man to faith.
Paul encouraged Timothy by recalling the faith of his grandmother and mother. Although Timothy’s faith was his own, it was deeply linked to theirs. What an admonition to us who are parents and grandparents to be faithful.”
Do you believe in coincidences? Of all the helpers that day why did that young man pick up that particular Bible? Why is a certain person in a certain place at a certain time? God has a plan for all of us and we are where He wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do. Next time you find yourself in a situation where you may unexpectedly be able to help someone or even just to talk to a stranger, think about how you feel. Do you feel God’s presence surrounding you with His love and support?