I was bone tired—the kind of tired where two days of sleep might, maybe, take the edge off—when I got the text inviting me out. On autopilot, I began to punch an excuse into my phone.
And then Holy Spirit said, “Nope.”
But Lord, I paused my message to plead my case, I’m a single mom of a toddler, I’m in law school, I have this thing and that thing and the other thing and most of all, Lord, I am flipping tired.
I need rest. I need time to myself. And this isn’t just out with a friend – it’s out with a large group, with a group I don’t know, with a group who mostly speaks a language I don’t speak well. Lord, it is going to be exhausting.
And Holy Spirit said, “Nope.”
He reminded me He knew those things already. He knew I was tired, worn, done. He knew, and He still wanted me to go.
So I said, “Yes.”
I punched out an “I’d love to,” into my phone, and then replaced it with an “I’ll be there,” because I’m kind of a stickler about honesty. I packed up the kid and drove to the place and spent time with the people and something amazing happened.
My friend, a Muslim man who previously showed zero interest in my faith, took a seat next to me. With no context, and the abruptness of someone whose brain was itching to discuss a certain topic, he began pelting me with questions about Jesus.
In a mixture of English and Arabic, I answered question after question. I shared the whole gospel, piece by piece, to someone thirsty to know what I believed. This wasn’t an outreach or a Christian event—it was just a meeting of friends. It wasn’t a conversation I sought out or planned out or even wanted to have in my worn-out state.
It wasn’t planned by me, but it was planned.
I don’t know the rest of the man’s story, at least not yet, but the day was an important part of my story. Because on the way home, when I should have been in a brain fog from using my rusty Arabic, when I should have had an extreme people-hangover piled onto my exhaustion, I felt more refreshed and full of life than I had in a year.
Five days of sleep could not have given me the energy I felt driving home, with the toddler crashed out in his car seat and me talking to God about how cool He is.
And Holy Spirit said, “Think of what you might have missed.”
I don’t always say yes. Sometimes I stubbornly turn away from what He’s asking, and sometimes the moment to act passes before I get around to agreeing to His direction.
Mostly though, I say yes.
I say yes because of this day.
I say yes because I know I don’t have to worry about having the energy or the words.
I say yes because the joy of following Him is always worth it.
I say yes because I hear the echo of Holy Spirit saying, “Think of what you might miss.”