How Does God Get Your Attention?

The train from Bangalore was packed with passengers after our group of about sixty people entered with our luggage. A young man in his mid twenties was frantically pushing his way through this crowd and their luggage. As he made his way closer to where I was standing, I said to him, “Where are you going?” He said “My seat is on the other side and I need to sit down.” I said “Look, you’re not getting very far through this thick crowd any time soon.”

Just then the train jolted a bit and all the passengers were shoved to one side with the movement of the train. I saw this young man grabbing his leg with a painful expression on his face. When I asked him, he told me that for over two years he had been suffering pain from torn ligaments. He opened his bag and showed me all the medicines he had just purchased. For two years, he had been back and forth from one doctor to another. When I asked him if I could pary for him, he reluctantly agreed. After a short prayer, he was instantly healed. Soon, other passengers began tugging on my shirt, asking for prayer.

I was astonished at the response of the people and the extent of their needs. So many are in pain and in need of God’s touch. And it is this pain and brokenness that God uses to draw us to him. If it wasn’t for the pain, we may not realize our need of God. One of Job’s friends recognized this and said “He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity (Job 36:15).

That young man who was healed on the train is now a follower of Jesus. It took two years of pain for God to get his attention. His Ligaments were torn due to natural causes – God didn’t cause it. But God decided to show him mercy and kindness when he healed him. It was God’s mercy that drew him to God.

What are the situations in your life that show your need of God and his mercy? What are the ways in which God is drawing you to him?

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