Lessons in the Airport

Going to Israel was an incredible experience, and it once again confirmed in my mind the urgency of the Gospel message. The Lord gave me so many opportunities to share the Gospel during this trip, and I wanted to share with you what I learned from those experiences because my mind was blown away at the goodness of God.

On my way to Israel, my flight from Pheonix to New York was delayed. This would cause me to miss my connecting flight to Tel Aviv, so I went to customer service to reroute my ticket. They informed me that the best option was to fly to London then Tel Aviv to still arrive relatively on time, so I gave them permission to do so.

Normally, this would have caused both me and my mom to panic, but the Lord graciously granted me an inexplainable peace because I knew that He allowed this to happen for a reason. My mom told me, “There’s someone on that flight to London that needs to hear the Gospel.” And that’s exactly what I was thinking. I kept praying that I would be faithful to fulfill it and not miss the opportunity He wanted me to take. I didn’t know who I was supposed to share the Gospel with, but I prayed the Lord would lead me to the right people.

However, the ladies helping me at customer service were having issues confirming the ticket. And there really wasn’t another good option unless I wanted to miss a day in Israel and spend yet another day in the airport. I wanted to be a Christ-like example to them by showing the patience and joy I had that could only come from the Lord despite the crazy circumstances.

Quite honestly, they were more worried and frustrated with American Airlines than I was. As they tried calling several different agencies to confirm the ticket, I stood there and waited. A lady not much older than me with a little girl stopped by the counter, wanting to know where the urgent care place was located. I couldn’t tell what was wrong, but she seemed pretty desperate. The customer service agents gave her directions and she left. I instantly regretted not handing her a tract and decided to say a little prayer for her, asking the Lord to somehow give me another opportunity.

Two hours passed since I first went to customer service. The flight from Phoenix to London was about to board, so time was no longer on our side. Last minute, the ticket was finally confirmed! The customer service agent called the gate to let them know I was on my way even though boarding had already closed and gave me directions, urging me to get there as fast as possible. I left her with a tract and sprinted for the gate (the main lady who was helping me had clocked out earlier, but I was also able to give her a tract—they both seemed very appreciative).

On the way, it was absolutely amazing, but I came across the lady and her daughter on their way to urgent care. I knew the Lord had answered my prayer by giving me a chance to redeem myself. I pulled a tract out of my bag as I was running, quickly handed it to her and said, “I overheard your situation and just wanted to let you know that I’m praying for you.” I can’t begin to express the depth of sincere gratitude in her eyes as she replied, “Thank you.” If that was the whole reason for my flight getting delayed, it was worth it. I’ll most likely never meet her again, but I hope and pray that when I get to heaven, I’ll see her there.

And with that, I boarded my flight and safely made it to London. On the way, I was also able to share the Gospel with the lady next to me on the plane, and she willingly listened to what I had to say, even though I don’t think she was ready to accept it herself. But the seed was planted, and God is the one who waters and grows.

We landed around 10:15 a.m., and I had a full day to spend in the London airport because my flight for Tel Aviv didn’t leave until 9 p.m. My phone had died and my charging cord was on its last leg and no longer working. I needed to buy a new one, but I knew my debit card wouldn’t work in a foreign country until my bank verified it wasn’t a fraudulent charge…which I couldn’t do without calling them on my phone…which was dead. I had about $40 in cash, so I traded it in for pounds at the currency exchange station even though they only give you about half of what it’s worth. I had just enough to either buy a cord or an adapter (European plugins are different, so I couldn’t even charge my computer).

I was hesitant to buy a cord because although I was pretty confident that was the issue, I didn’t know for certain. If I spent all my money on the cord and it didn’t work, I’d have no money left and still no way to call the bank. I was also hungry because I had no food with me for the day other than the yogurt and granola they gave us on the plane that morning, so I was also tempted to buy lunch.

As I stared at the appliances in the little store wondering what to do, there was another lady buying something. She commented on how expensive the adapters were, and I laughed and explained my predicament. She graciously offered to let me use her charging cord, and let me tell you, she was an answer to prayer!

I charged my phone and explained the situation to my mom, who called the bank to activate my debit card for London. When the lady who loaned me her charger returned before heading to her gate, I thanked her and handed her a tract. The Lord graciously provided in my time of need!

I still had a lot of time to kill in the airport, so I did some reading, listened to a sermon and walked around. With all that time to myself, I observed the many people around me. I assumed most of them were unbelievers, and the verse where Jesus said that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” came to mind. I felt burdened for them, knowing that nearly all of them would spend a Christless eternity in hell if they did not receive the Gospel.

I became overwhelmed at the amount of people and felt like it was my duty to share the Gospel, but I didn’t even know where to begin. This thought plagued me, and I soon felt discouraged. Towards the end of the day, I decided to pour out my heart to the Lord with the following prayer:

Who would have though I was going to spend the day in London? I pray that I was faithful to use those change of plans for Your glory. I had peace knowing you allowed this to happen for a reason. I only pray that I was obedient to fulfill it.

I must confess, it’s overwhelming seeing all the people here who are probably facing a Christless eternity. It’s too much for one person like me, and I’m ashamed to admit that I’m too afraid to talk to the people right next to me. Is it wrong not being in a gospel conversation almost all of the time?

I talked to people on the plane and passed out tracts, but I don’t feel like it was enough. There is still so much opportunity and time I wasted. Is it wrong to not be the one initiate a conversation knowing that these precious souls are destined for hell? Or is it okay to let You bring people to me?

I promised that if You brought people to me or had them initiate [a conversation] or even just say something to me, I’d at least give them a tract…

Is that enough? Shouldn’t I be talking with every person that passes me? At the very moment these questions were floating in my mind, a man who was charging his phone next to me asked if I could watch his stuff while he bought something at one of the stores. It was the simplest question, but for me, it was the Lord answering my prayer even before I finished.

I had promised to be faithful to share the Gospel when someone initiated a conversation with me (it was my “fleece” so to speak), and what were the chances that the man would need me to watch his stuff? So, when he returned, I gave him a tract. I picked up in my journal where I left off.

Lord, I can’t believe how good and wonderful You are sometimes! Thank you for laying aside my doubts and reassuring me just now in that moment. I can’t let myself get overwhelmed by all the people who need the Gospel, but I must be faithful to share it with those God brings me.

Every time I prayed for You to open up an opportunity, You placed it right in my lap…God, You are faithful to answer my prayers, and I praise You for that. I can’t even begin to describe how blessed I feel. You are so, so good!

There were many similar situations that happened to me, but unfortunately, I don’t have time to tell them all now.  However, the Lord taught me some important lessons that day.  

First, If we focus too much on what needs to get done (such as evangelizing to the whole terminal), then we will become overwhelmed by our insufficiencies—possibly incapacitating us from doing anything fruitful. I’m not the only worker in God’s field, so I must instead fix my eyes on Christ and focus on the specific tasks He gives me rather than try to accomplish someone else’s.

Second, I am not the one who saves people. That’s the Lord’s work, and He knows those who are His. He knows exactly who I need to talk to and when, so I need to be on the lookout for windows of opportunities that He opens and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

And thirdly, our countenance and actions often speak louder than our words. We can be a testimony of Christ simply with how we dress, smile at those who pass by, demonstrate respect and politeness, and the list goes on. We never know who might be watching. That is why we must be diligent to make sure our lives line up with what we claim to believe (see 1 Peter 3:1-2).

That being said, I still think it would have been a great opportunity to share the gospel with all those people at the airport. There’s always going to be ways we could have done things better because we never stop growing. But don’t get discouraged and overwhelmed to the point of giving up. The one who is faithful with little will be faithful with much (Luke 16:10). Don’t focus on what you can’t or didn’t do, but I encourage you to start today, right where you’re at, to be faithful to what God is calling you to. He will provide the strength to enable you!