Jesus Saves:3 Bus Stop Miracles

God Knows Your Need

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” 

(Philippians 4:19, NIV)

I had just begun a new part-time job and wanted to be a blessing. I consulted with the Lord about it, and he encouraged me to give my offerings to men. What men? I didn’t know. But as the weeks went on, he showed me. The first happened at the bus stop near my apartment, when a gentleman missed the bus to work. Another gentleman and I were standing at the bus stop when another bus that wasn’t ours pulled up. We waived it by not seeing the other gentleman running for it until after it had turned the corner. He was so distraught. And the Lord spoke, “Pay for him to get to work in a cab.”

I turned to the gentleman and handed him a twenty-dollar bill, “Here, sir, God asked me to give you this to take a cab to work.” He thanked me and called his cab, which picked him up before our bus came. I didn’t see him for about three days, but he reported to me that God had saved his job. If he hadn’t shown up on time that day, he would’ve been left behind by the boss who was heading out to a project, and if he had not been there, he would’ve been fired.

Another time a young man got on the bus with just pennies, not even enough to pay for his fare, but the driver gave him grace and let him ride. Our community bus service charges just $1.00 per ride. The Lord spoke as the young man sat in the seat in front of me, “Bless him.” I pulled out a ten-dollar bill, which was all I had on me at the time, and tapped him on the shoulder, handing it to him in secret.

“God bless you,” I whispered, not wanting to embarrass him, as he looked at me in shock and thanked me.

Miracles On The Way

This bus stop blessings happened on a cold, rainy April day. That morning when I got up to go to work, I was craving sushi. I had never wanted sushi so badly before; but that craving was intense. I made my way to work and spent the entire day thinking about how I was going to get myself some sushi after work.

On the bus headed home, I stopped by a Chinese buffet which was at the bus stop, where I would have to transfer buses to get home. I got off the bus and headed toward the Chinese buffet. As I did, I passed two gentlemen having a conversation about how they were stuck. They weren’t talking to me but trying to figure out between themselves how they were going to get back to the city. We were located in one of the counties.

As I passed them, the Lord spoke, “Bless them.” I heard him, but I kept walking to get my sushi and debating with the Lord about interrupting their conversation. "I can't just go over there and jump into their conversation all "willy-nilly"; that's rude," I offered, and went into the restaurant.

On my way back from getting my sushi, I passed by them again and kept going to the place where my next bus would pick up. I was standing in front of a store in the little strip-mall when a young man walked over to me and proceeded to lay all his burdens on my shoulders. He complained about how terrible his day had been up to that point, and how he had spent his last few dollars to go see his son and didn’t have any money to get back home.

As the young man was talking, one of the two gentlemen walked past us. My eyes followed him as he made his way to the laundromat. I was still listening to the young man when he walked past us again to go meet back up with his friend. “Bless him,” I heard the Lord say. That morning the Lord had told me I would be giving out $20 that day. But I didn’t know who the recipient would be.

Just as he walked by, I shouted, “Excuse me, sir, God told me to bless you with this,” as I handed him a $10 bill. He was an African American man about 40 years old, and his friend seemed to be about the same age range, but he was Caucasian. Stopping, he turned to me, took the $10 bill and praised God, “My heavenly Father told you to bless me? Girl, you don’t know that you’ve just saved two people’s lives. We are stuck out here and didn’t know how we were gonna' make it back to the city. What’s your name?” he inquired, and I told him. “My name is Andre. May I give you a hug?” he asked.

“Sure,” I agreed as I braced myself for a pungent odor, hearing God tell me to give him another $10. "God wanted me to give you twenty dollars, so I'm giving you the remaining ten," I offered.

Both gentlemen seemed to be homeless. By the look of their clothing, they had not been bathing much, but he had on a pink babies blanket which was wrapped around his neck, that he must have retrieved from the laundromat, because it wasn’t on him when he first made his way passed us, or when I first noticed him. As he leaned in to give me a hug, I noticed how good he smelled, like a fabric softener sheet. Afterward, he smiled and made his way to his friend, and they got on the bus that had been sitting there when I first arrived. Just as they got on, it pulled off, heading to the city.

“Oh my God, I just witnessed a miracle!” the young man shouted, frantically flailing his arms and pacing the sidewalk. “Bless him, too,” the Lord added. So, I gave him my last $10 bill. Then his bus came, and he left. Shortly afterward, my bus came, and I made my way home.

When I walked in the door, I couldn’t wait to get into some warm clothes and to my plate of sushi. As I sat at my table, I contemplated what it would taste like, and my mouth just watered. Opening the container with bated breath, I looked down and noticed a long hair sitting just on top of the sliced sushi roll. I was livid! And threw the entire container in the trash can.

It was then that I realized why I had been craving sushi all day long. If I hadn’t gone past the two homeless gentlemen on the way to the restaurant, I wouldn’t have heard their conversation and known that God wanted to bless them. And in turn, bless the young man, who just happened to witness God’s miracle.

Prayer:

Father, you always amaze us. Thank you for allowing us to participate in your miracles. They are not just stories, but lives being impacted by your grace and mercy. Help us, never to walk away from an opportunity to be a blessing, especially when you have blessed us so graciously. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Divine Protection

One afternoon, I got a message from the Lord, warning, “You will encounter danger in the street. Fast and pray.”

I had no idea why he had given me that preemptive warning, but I fasted and prayed. A few days later, as I was leaving my house about 6 A.M., I caught a glimpse of a man hiding behind the dumpster, which was on my way to the bus stop. I was in my early forties, attending college, and on my way to class. Again, the Lord spoke, “If he tries to harm you, bring him to his knees with My Name (Jesus)."

I had no fear as I locked up my house and made my way to the bus stop. Initially, he didn’t see me because his back was to me, but as I walked toward him, he turned and noticed me. Just as I passed the dumpster, he immediately ran up behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see how close he was, while I quoted scriptures under my breath. He was so close to me that if I had stopped suddenly, he would’ve bumped into me.

I continued to make my way to the bus stop, which was just a few more feet from the dumpster. I could still see my apartment from the bus stop. There was no traffic out that morning; and the only people moving about were him and me.

He stayed on my trail; every step I took, he took just behind me. I crossed the little street to get to the bus stop and turned to see him standing eye to eye with me. He stared at me briefly, then ran back across the street and spun in circles as if he were disoriented. He did that about five minutes and then he walked back up the street as daylight broke forth. Just as he walked away, the bus came down the street. I got on and went to school.

I’m grateful that God thought enough of me to remind me to put on my armor. Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV), “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Because he prepared me, no one was hurt; not me, and not anyone of the people that walked to that same bus stop every morning, usually before I did. The young man who had planned to do harm of some sort could have harmed himself if he had come across the wrong victim. The funny part about it all was that he looked just like the young man I had blessed a couple of days prior to that encounter.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for your all-knowing ways, your all-seeing eyes, and for the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” And I thank you, Lord, that no one was harmed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.