Chris was recently hospitalized and spent multiple days under hospital care. This is how he came to meet Marty, his roommate. Chris shared about his and Marty’s initial interactions and how their relationship began to grow while in the hospital together. He learned at this time that Marty was not a follower of Jesus.

Upon the news of Chris’ discharge, he was eager to leave the hospital and go home. Chris recalled a specific prompting from the Holy Spirit however that encouraged him to share the Gospel with Marty. “My immediate reaction to the prompting was rationalization, ‘No, please no. I’m not equipped or gifted to evangelize.’”

Chris’ discharge ended up getting delayed and gave him the opportunity to spend a little bit more time with Marty. This is where Chris received a second prompting to share the Gospel with him, which he ignored, and soon after, a third prompting. “…but this time it came with a message, ‘The stakes are so high. ‘I really thought about the enormous gravity of that seemingly simple statement. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I finally yielded and walked over to Marty’s bed and began to share the Gospel with him.”

Chris described the sense of failure that began to stir as Marty received what he had to say, but another prompting encouraged him to continue. “I barely remember what I said because the words that came out weren’t mine. But I could see a change come over Marty. Instead of looking perplexed, he was really listening and taking it in. When it was finished, I went back to my bed and sat down. Neither of us said anything.”

Chris concluded by reflecting on how God orchestrated this divine appointment. Through illness, God brought Chris and Marty together.

After the silence had completed, Chris witnessed Marty give his life to the Lord. “He prayed for about five minutes and concluded with, ‘God, I just want to be with You.’ My last day in the hospital was my one chance to be used by the Lord so He could reach Marty in his last days here, in this world.”

You can listen to Chris’ full Local Story on our PODCAST.