THE ELEVATOR ENCOUNTER

I glanced at my watch as my husband and I waited for the elevator in a large hotel in Baltimore. The meeting had lasted much longer than I had expected and it was nearly midnight. Impatiently I reached out and pressed the elevator button for a second time. We were on the twentieth floor of the building and I wondered if the elevator was ever going to arrive. "Perhaps the elevator doesn't run this late at night," my husband suggested. Finally the elevator door opened and we stepped inside, pushing the button for the parking garage on the lower level. The elevator began its downward descent and we were finally on our way.

But wait! The elevator only went down one floor before it came to a halt. Two more passengers joined us, a young man and his attractive girl friend. He pushed the button for the ground floor and we all moved to our respective corners to stake out our little piece of territory. With a slight jolt the elevator once more started to move.

Suddenly I heard the voice of God speaking to me very clearly in a still small voice within my heart and I heard Him say, "It's no mistake that man is on this elevator with you. I want you to sing to him so he knows that Jesus loves him. Just open your mouth and start singing."

I could hardly believe what God was asking me to do. "You've got to be kidding, Lord," I responded. "He'll think that I'm crazy."

But I knew I was hearing from God. There was no mistaking His voice and I really had no choice but to obey. Taking a deep breath, I looked the young man straight in the eye and began to sing. "Jesus loves you this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong."

I watched his eyes open wide in amazement as the familiar words of the song began to fill the elevator. There was a look of utter panic upon his face, but he had nowhere to run. He was trapped. The elevator moved at a snail's pace as I continued to sing.

The young man averted his eyes from me and looked down at the floor. His girl friend also lowered her eyes and I couldn't help but notice that even my husband was looking down at his feet. I could hardly believe how slowly the elevator was moving. I had enough time to sing the verse and two choruses before we reached the ground floor. As the door slid open, the man bolted out of the elevator like he had been shot from a cannon with his girl friend following closely behind in rapid pursuit. As the door closed behind them, my husband turned to me with a smile and said, "Nice song. He'll probably remember this elevator ride for a long time."

What a foolish thing to do! Can you imagine singing to a total stranger on an elevator? But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God is seeking those who will be obedient to the leading of His Spirit. We are not to question His purposes, but merely to respond to His voice. The Lord may not call on you to sing in an elevator, but He may prompt you to pray for someone in your office who complains of a headache. Or perhaps to present a tract to the waiter in the restaurant. Or to visit a friend in the hospital. Or to tell a stranger in the grocery store that Jesus loves her.

I am convinced that the young man will never forget the woman who sang to him about Jesus in the elevator. When his thoughts turn to spiritual things, my simple song will once more resound in his mind and he'll remember that Jesus loves him. God's word never returns void.