Uxbridge end Feb 2020
The weather was challenging today! Cold, windy and wet with sleet mixed in. The roads were like small lakes at certain points on the way in to town but it felt good to be out, nonetheless.
With coat fully zipped and hood fully up I braved it out onto the High Street. Being lunch- time there were still people out and about, but they were scurrying with umbrellas and dashing into the shops. At one point I spotted a poor charity rep, standing in his “patch” on the open street with only an umbrella as shelter. My heart went out to him, as I know these reps stand for hours on end as they try to engage passers-by. Today was not an easy day for that!
Before going over to him, I retreated into a shop nearby and just asked Holy Spirit if there was a special encouragement He had for this charity rep. I had one of those moments where it’s hard to know whether you heard something through the Spirit and it was echoed elsewhere or the “elsewhere” brought it to you first and Holy Spirit echoed it and highlighted it within. What do I mean?! Well, I had this phrase just pop into my head “Brothers in arms” and around the same time there was a song on the shop sound system (No, not Dire Straits!) and I distinctly heard in the song the word “brother”. Never heard that song before, can’t tell you what it was even now – only that the word “brother” caught my attention. Which “brother” did I hear first?! Or did they come together through the Spirit? I have no idea, but I knew that “brothers in arms” was somehow going to be important for my charity rep guy!
Asking Holy Spirit a bit more about the phrase, I felt He highlighted that charity guy had gone through some really tough stuff in life with at least one brother (I sensed it was an older brother). Father God was saying to the “umbrella man” that this older brother had gone to some places deeper and darker and more serious during that time than he would ever know, but that who he had been to this brother and the rescue he had brought to him were more than he could ever imagine. He must never underestimate the impact he has had on that brother and on his whole family. So off I went to tell him the message
For a start this young man (I’ll call him Thomas) was so surprised that anyone was actually stopping to talk to him in the rain and cold! After some initial chat, I was able to tell him about the “brothers-in-arms” phrase and its meaning. He then told me his story. He had previously come from Nigeria and has three brothers (!) – one older, two younger. Their father had died when he was quite young and the whole family had really gone through hard times. Very hard. He knew that the brother I was talking about was indeed his older brother, Michael, and he kept nodding and saying “Oh my”, Oh wow” when he heard about his role in rescuing his brother at that time. It’s like a light had gone on and he was seeing those times in a whole new way. Oh thank you, thank you Jesus.
I explained that this ability to bring rescue was something that was inside Thomas, not just for his brother and family but for others too. That God was going to put him in situations and with people who needed rescue. A bit like Moses in the Bible….it was always only possible because God was with him. He seemed to understand and receive this. He said He had felt far from God, especially at times. Today God was coming near, showing Thomas that He knew, that He saw, that He cared, that He loved. I encouraged Thomas to start talking to the Heavenly Father again, being real with Him about his hurts and disappointments. Even His disappointments with God. It was such a tender, precious time and a time also to bless His dear mother who had gone through so much to raise her four sons alone, in a strange, new country.
What a privilege to meet this dear man under the umbrella of your compassion today and to be to him and his family your voice, Jesus - You, our true Brother-in-arms whose love alone rescues us and carries us safely Home.