Approaching With Boldness

"Excuse me, do you have any spare money, change, anything?" 

It's not the first time I've heard that. We get it all the time, outside grocery stores, at intersections written on signs, and at gas stations. What was odd was the location this time.

Between a visit to a physician's office and a stop in at the (ahem) Social Security Administration Office Medicare Division, I spent a couple of hours shopping. There is a very popular locale called the St John's Town Center in our city. It is actually quite the tourist attraction and has hotels nearby. High-end shopping and restaurants entice you at one end, (Tiffany & Co, Apple, and Louis Vuitton). The 175-store shopping venue is anchored at the other end with Marshalls, Ross, and Target, where nearby you will find the obligatory Starbucks. 

This was where I was when I heard the words spoken to me by a woman sitting on a bench outside of Old Navy, between Marshalls and Ross. I slowed down just long enough to let her know that I didn't, that I was using a debit and credit card. I drew to a complete stop at her next words, however.

"Well then could you use your credit card to buy me a pair of Crocs? They're on sale today."

Once I resisted the initial impulse to laugh out loud at the boldness of her plea, I glanced down at her feet to find them encased in much nicer kicks than I was wearing. She was also surrounded by shopping bags.

"Those shoes look pretty comfortable. I think I'll pass today." I went about my business.

Now, try not to judge me too harshly. I will hand cash out the window to a person if the Spirit leads me. I will buy extra groceries with the sole purpose of returning to the 'hungry' person standing outside the grocery store. But this was not something I felt a nudge from God saying was a cup of water in His name. 

I also don't believe we have to do everything we do for a reward. Sometimes it's quite all right to do something nice just to do something nice. Feed someone just because they are hungry, not for the kudos. Give them shelter because otherwise they might be out in the cold. Say a kind word just to see them smile, and nothing else. 

This incident, however, caused me to ponder later. I laughed about it with a couple of people because of the boldness. Then I began to consider: I wonder if she ever got her Crocs? Maybe she did. And if she did, it's because she unashamedly sat on a bench and asked people whom she believed had the means to buy them for her. Not a need, but clearly a want.

Isn't that what we all have? Access to Someone far greater than a middle-aged woman randomly shopping on a Tuesday in Jacksonville, Florida. We have a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and has nothing but our best interests at heart. A God who loves us beyond our needs and into the desires of our hearts.

We've all quoted the verse, or had it quoted to us, "Ye have not because ye ask not.' Well, yes and no.

James 4:2-3 says: (ESV)  2. "........You do not have, because you do not ask. 3. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." 

So while God may want to grant us the desires of our hearts, and has gracious, large, open hands; He also  has a prerequisite than our desires not be harmful to us. 

So, approach boldly, ask for those Crocs if you desire. If you don't, you will definitely not get them.