Godward Nudges

I believe and I must believe in Godward nudges. Let me give you three examples of what I mean:

Tony told me that there was once a pastor who asked him a question. “If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and He were to ask you, “Why would I let you in my heaven, what would you say?” Tony acted as if the question had no effect on him and left the pastor’s house but years later, soul-searching in the middle of the night, he remembered the question, turned on the television and became a devoted follower of Christ. The pastor had asked him a question that nudged him Godward.

Ken was a young man in the naval reserve from Ohio. He was stationed on Grosse Ile in the downriver Detroit area many years ago. Experimenting with his new-found freedom as a young man he went out with buddies and did some drinking. It was a Saturday night. He spent a restless night fighting off dark guilt and unhappiness. He got up early the next morning to attend chapel on the station. He was the only one there. The chapel was conducted by a local pastor who volunteered because there was no station chaplain at the time. The young man would not find the Lord for a few years, but that experience was a Godward nudge.

Craig attended the funeral of a friend. While the pastor was trying to eulogize his friend he got to thinking about what it would be like when he died. What would the pastor have to say about him at his funeral? It turned his life around. The funeral was a Godward nudge.

Tony never told the pastor the effect his question had on him.

Ken was eventually converted and entered the ministry but never met the pastor on Grosse Ile again.

Keith never told the humble country pastor about what happened to him at the funeral of his friend but God used him to nudge him Godward.

People write books about profound things, overt miracles, the out-of-the-ordinary – but the thing that keeps me plugging away in ministry is the potential of Godward nudges.

Maybe someday in heaven we will hear the stories of how God took our feeble attempts at ministry and worked wonders in the hearts of people that we never imagined. I want to be there some day when the Lord shows my faithful Mom and Dad how many multitudes he fed with the loaves of fishes they gave to him through their many years of faithful ministry. I believe in Godward nudges. If I didn’t I might get discouraged and give up.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan