It was November 11th, 2022, and my family and I were driving home from the annual National Bible Bee Competition in Lexington, Kentucky. I had just experienced my first "all-nighter" before pulling all my luggage down to the main level of the hotel to begin loading the car at 4:30 am. I had been awake for over twenty hours straight and now all I wanted was to sleep—I didn't care where. With over a 13-hour car drive ahead of us, my sister and I were already grabbing the blankets to prepare for plenty of naps in the backseat. The rain slid down the windows of our SUV as the streetlights made unique reflections on the road, shining through the night. Several hours into our drive we made a quick stop in Indiana to pick up some morning beverages (Coffee? Not an option for me).
I woke up to the feeling of the vehicle coming to a stop and seeing rain-filled clouds still covering the sky overhead. Though I was completely unaware of my surroundings, I still chose to get out of the car and walk around a bit before we continued our journey home. As you can imagine, the last thing I wanted to do was carry on a conversation with strangers. So I stood outside in the light mist, half asleep, waiting for my mom and sister to get their drinks from the coffee shop. I took this time to reflect on all God had done at Nationals, how He has been glorified, and all the fun memories we had made. I was leaning on a fence post, with nothing keeping me awake but the cool chill of the morning air. Then a couple of moments later I saw a young woman with a black hoodie come out of the coffee shop and stand by me. I stood upright (to not look as exhausted as I felt) and continued looking off into the distance (again, not wanting to engage in conversation). "She's waiting for her drink, but maybe she's outside because she doesn't want to be around people either," I thought to myself. With that conclusion in mind, I happily remained silent. Then she broke the silence. "Do you know this song?" She asked me while gesturing up at the speakers that were playing secular music from the coffee shop's roof eave. I stared at her. "No," I responded. "I don't actually listen to the radio or most of the modern music." "Oh. I don't either," she replied. "I don't like some of that stuff on the radio!" We continued our small talk conversation, and I soon realized that the Lord may want me to share the gospel with her. Still quite exhausted and trying to formulate sentences that made sense, I quickly became aware of the fact that the Lord would have to give me His strength. My words wouldn't be sufficient. Our conversation continued: "Are you from...around here?" I replied. "This is Indiana, right? I was just in the car sleeping and don't know where we are. My family and I just took a quick stop on our way home," I replied while making known how sleep-deprived I was. "Yeah! Are you...not from around here?" Perfect I thought to myself. This was my chance to tell this young lady about the purpose of our trip (which has proven to be a great segue into gospel conversations in the past). I began to explain to her that I was from out of state but was traveling from Kentucky where I had attended the National Bible Bee Competition. After telling her about the ministry and its purpose, I was surprised to find that she had a great interest in what I was saying. "So do you believe in God?" I asked her bluntly. "Oh yes, I believe in God," she replied as she proceeded to tell me about the Bible verses she memorized as a kid and the church programs she was in. I continued to ask her questions that caused her to expound. She soon replied with hesitancy in her voice, "Well, I think I'm a good person... I do all the right things." At that moment, verses rushed to the forefront of my mind that I didn't know were there. Ones I had studied and memorized in time past were suddenly readily available for me to use. It felt as if someone just handed me a tool belt full of the tools I needed - and just when I needed them. Verses came to mind, references were pieced together, and gospel truths flowed like a river. I began to tell her about Isaiah 64 and about how all of our works were filthy rags in God's sight. I told her about Christ's righteousness, His perfect sacrifice, the beauty of imputation, and the eternal life that He gave to those who believed in Him. I was able to answer her questions about sin, the fall, the current state of our world, the purpose of our life (to glorify God), and the imminent return of Christ. Verses from Genesis, Romans, and Philippians poured into my mind and came from my mouth. All the while, my Bible was sitting in the car. Our conversation ended with her in tears and me in utter amazement at what God had done. This lady had a new understanding of Jesus Christ - she had previously seen Him as One to strive to live a good life for in her strength. She now saw Him as the One who became righteousness for her and took her sin upon Himself out of love. Some of the last words she said to me in this conversation were, "I want to be able to memorize all that Scripture like you have been talking about - like those [Bible Bee] kids! I cannot believe you told me all of this today. This is just what I needed!" As she wiped the tears from her face I said, "And none of this was me. Anything you just heard was all God. As I told you before, I was just sleeping in the car before I got here and am extremely tired from an all-nighter I just did last night. God ordered our paths to cross at this moment and He wanted you to hear all of these things this morning." I prayed for her before we departed. I had just witnessed God's incredible strength in my incredible weaknesses. The fact that this young woman received anything that pointed to Christ from that conversation was evidence that the Lord was present and doing it all. A couple of moments later my mom and sister finally walked out of the coffee shop. As we were heading back to the vehicle, I asked my mom what took so long. She informed me that they had gotten their drink order wrong several times and had to remake the drinks. Because of these supposed "delays" the woman at the coffee shop was able to hear the gospel and when our ten (or so) minutes of discussion were finished—so were the drinks. As I witnessed this cold rainy morning in Indiana: 1. Whenever you share Christ, it's not you doing it, but Christ in you. When someone commits their life to Christ, it's not because of you, but because of Christ. This is one way that God receives the glory. Without Him opening the hearts of the unregenerate, none will come to Him. We are just the means by which He pours His truth into the lives of His own—the weaker we are, and the more incompetent and incapable we feel—the more Christ will shine through. 2. You won't always have a Bible in your hand when you want to evangelize, but you will always have the Scripture that has been memorized and is hidden in your heart. A gospel-sharing opportunity never has to be a lost opportunity when God's Word is in your heart. Will you memorize God's Word to store up tools in your toolbelt for the day when God may decide to put someone in your path to share the gospel with? Will you memorize it until you no longer fear sharing the gospel, and until you are confident in the very truths that brought you to salvation? Do you want to memorize more verses to equip you in sharing the gospel with others? Are you unsure of where to start? Check out this helpful resource of 84 key Bible verses on the truths of salvation: https://scripturememory.com/146 All glory be to Christ, Hannah Kohner [email protected]
13 Comments
3/7/2023 09:40:06 pm
Wow! That's wonderful! God definitely will give the words to speak in such situations! Praise God He used you for His glory!
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Hannah K
3/8/2023 07:48:42 am
Thank you for your comment, Trinity! To God be all the glory
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Anna
3/8/2023 06:03:56 am
Aw, this was so special!!! <3
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Michael Goddard II
3/8/2023 09:07:12 am
Praise the Lord! It's an amazing thing when people open their hearts to His Word and accept Christ as their Savoir. I'm thankful the Lord provided you with the strength to share what needed to be shared. May the Lord continue to use you for His glory and be your strength and courage to bring people to Christ!
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Hannah K
3/10/2023 02:42:51 pm
The Lord is good to open the way to salvation for His own! Thank you for your comment, Michael!
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Angela
3/8/2023 12:32:31 pm
Praise the Lord!! It's so encouraging to hear how God worked through you in your situation! <3
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Hannah K
3/10/2023 02:45:13 pm
Amen, Angela! That's wonderful to hear! I'll be praying for you and your coworker as you seek to share the gospel with her! Thank you for reading. :)
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Mikhenna
3/9/2023 07:42:01 pm
Wow, Hannah! What an awesome story. I'm so glad God orchestrated that conversation!
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Hannah K
3/10/2023 02:41:44 pm
Amen! To God be the glory!
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3/10/2023 02:00:24 pm
Hannah, what a beautiful testimony!! Praise the Lord for what He did through you that morning...what a perfect culmintation to everything that had just gone on at Nats! ❤ Thank you so much for sharing -- it's so incredible to see glimpses of the ways that He makes His glory to shine through such weak vessels as ourselves. All glory be to Christ!!
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Hannah K
3/10/2023 02:43:49 pm
Praise God, Sierra! Yes, you're SO right about that. Thank you for reading!!
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Wow, that is so so amazing. How beautifully God orchestrated that entire interaction so that you could share the love and wisdom He has given you. I love that you were able to share those verses to. Honestly, it inspires me to want to start memorizing more scripture. It's sometimes scary to wonder how many opportunities we miss out on when we don't go looking for ways to share His love.. you know? I'm so glad you took advantage of that one.
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Hannah K
5/29/2023 11:50:27 am
Thank you for your comment, Kyla! The Lord certainly is the perfect Orchestrator of all things!
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AuthorHello, I'm Hannah and I'm so glad you're here! I'm a twenty-year-old Jesus-loving writer, National Bible Bee Alumna, and homeschool graduate. Jesus redeemed me, and now I give my life, and this blog, to serve Him. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage each other daily, lest we be hardened by sin. I hope that reading each blog entry that I post you will be encouraged and challenged to become more like Christ daily. |