I was locked out of my apartment. As my thoughts went swirling around in my head, “Jesus, help!” is all I could say. His response? “Keep your peace.”
If I went down in the elevator, I knew I couldn’t get back up without the fob. I live in Long Beach, CA, where my neighbors protect themselves with bars on their windows. So, the fob is for safety, which is great, unless you’re locked out at 10:00 PM.
I wanted to freak out! I wondered what I was going to do, but that still small voice said, “Keep your peace.” I wondered if the “small voice” knew I had no phone, no wallet, no one’s phone number, and no GPS to get anywhere.
“What do I do next, Jesus?”
“Keep your peace; I will show you, Lindsay.”
Then I remembered that there was an emergency number in the lobby. I headed down knowing that if I left the building to use a phone, I would not get back in without the fob. I went to a restaurant to use the phone. I called the emergency number with no avail. I called a locksmith, but it was $90.00. I knew I didn’t have any money, so I figured I might try one more thing first.
I borrowed a friend’s 1979 baby blue Ford that morning to move some things, so the keys I had in hand were to that F-250. I realized I knew how to get to my friend’s house where we hold our church community group. I jumped in the truck and headed north, but when I got there, no one was home. I paused as the Holy Spirit said, “Getting upset won’t help, Lindsay. Ask me, and I will give you wisdom.”
I realized I needed a locksmith, and I needed a phone. A hotel would be the safest place at 11:30 PM.
I finally made it to the hotel. Hoping the hotel clerk would help me, I looked a little bedraggled as I walked in wondering if he would even believe my story. He did, thank God, and we called the locksmith.
He then said, “I like your cross necklace.”
I exclaimed, “Are you a Christian?”
He said, “Yes.”
We ended up exchanging stories, prayers and encouragement. He also let me use his phone to get on Facebook and get my friend’s phone number. My friend said, “Come stay with us. Cancel the locksmith; you don’t have $90.00.” Moments later the locksmith showed up. I started to tell him that maybe it was best to cancel because getting into the building was nearly impossible at this time of night. The locksmith had just driven 30 minutes, so he was livid. It got intense; he wanted to call the cops because I couldn’t pay him unless we got into my place where my wallet happened to be. So, we then decided after some heated conversation to try to get into the building.
After about 30 more minutes of waiting, we got in. As we were going up the elevator, he said, “Sorry, I am not a bad guy. I work hard, and people just cancel.” I totally understood and apologized for my part in our fight earlier.
When we got to my door, he couldn’t get it open. He worked on it for an hour. I was praying under my breath. I then heard that still small voice say, “Lindsay, you need to tell him about Me.”
“LORD,” I thought, “this is so awkward, and I am SO tired.”
But, I heard again, “Lindsay, you need to tell him about Me, and pray out loud so when the door opens he will know it was Me.”
“UGHHHHHHH, no,” I thought.
I waited a little longer, but the door was not opening.
So as awkward as it was, I said “Sir, we need to pray.”
He said, “Pray to who?”
I said, “Jesus. We need to pray that He helps us.”
He said, “I believe in God; I am Jewish, but I don’t believe God helps us with things like this.”
I said, “Well, He does; He helps me all the time.” So, I bowed my head and prayed a short prayer out loud.
Five minutes later the door popped open. He looked at me and said, “Do you think that was because we were talking about Jesus?”
I said, “YES.”
We walked inside; I paid him and then gave him a Jesus Calling Devotional. I said, “Read about Jesus; He is awesome.”
My heart was jumping for joy! Jesus showed up, and for some reason, I was shocked! But, deep down I knew, Jesus loves that locksmith! He was turning a bad situation into something good because that is what He does!
I then got a text from the locksmith saying, “As I am driving and thinking, you might be right. Your prayers helped, thanks.”
As Jesus does, He teaches us things like “losing your peace doesn’t help any situation,” and I was kindly reminded of Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
