"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." — Isaiah 30:21
Soon after I accepted Christ as my Saviour in 1975, my wife, Kathy, and I decided to visit our friends in Minnesota. While planning the trip, we decided that we would first stop by Wisconsin to visit my family, and from there we would head on up to Minnesota.
The town in which my parents lived was the same town in which I had grown up. I had spent twenty-three years there before I moved away, and while I was back there I remembered a friend of mine that I wanted to visit—Gary.
This friend had had a very rough life growing up; his father was involved in the Mafia, and would arrive home at night drunk and would attack his family. Gary hadn't had it easy. After my father died when I was twelve years old, I became really good friends with this boy. However, once we grew up we lost touch. Now that I was back in town, I decided to visit him so we could catch up.
I knew where to ask concerning Gary's whereabouts because Gary spent more time in jail as a young man than he spent in school. He was a very large, strong boy, and would often get into fights and trouble of the kind. So, I went to the police station and asked if they could give me any information on where Gary was.
They informed me he was in a certain town a few miles away, and that he now owned a bodybuilding store. The town was conveniently located on our way to our friend's house in Minnesota. My wife, Kathy, and I decided that we would drop in and visit Gary on our way to Minnesota on Friday.
Friday came, we took off, and eventually arrived at the town Gary lived. I immediately felt like I should stop and go see him, but I talked myself out it. Instead, I promised myself I'd visit him on our way back. We passed through town and continued on our way to visit our friends.
During our stay in Minnesota, Tabitha—our infant daughter—became very ill. She had a high fever, and Kathy and I were up all night taking care of her. By the time the weekend was up, Kathy and I were exhausted. On our way home on Sunday, we again passed by Gary's town, and again I was prompted to stop by and see him. But I was tired. I wanted to go home. So I did.
We got home, and early the next morning I got a phone call from the police who told me my friend Gary had committed suicide that past night.
What I learned the hard way was that when the Holy Spirit prompts us to action, we ought to obey. Our duty is to make sure we are devoted to Him, and then when we are prompted to do something—do it. Don’t double guess; don’t wait. Do what God directs you to do.
That way you can avoid the sad events of my life. If I had stopped, if I had listened, if I had obeyed, I may have been able to have saved Gary’s life.