When Urgency Leads to Love
On my drive to Bend today for a meeting, I became unexpectedly aware that time is precious. It wasn't necessarily a prediction that life was about to end. I've had this feeling before and, in the past, wondered if that's what it meant. But today it became an invitation to pay attention to what matters most.
As I drove, I prayed, "Lord, if this urgency is from You, show me who needs encouragement today. Help me spend whatever time You've given me loving You and loving others well. If this feeling comes from fear, replace it with Your peace. But if it is Your prompting, don't let me miss the person You're sending me to."
Almost immediately, I the first person the Lord brought to mind was a dear sister in Christ. She has shared with me her feelings of failure because she doesn't pray enough or feel as close to God as she thinks she "ought to be."
Yet, as soon as I thought of her, none of those perceived shortcomings came to mind. Instead, I thought about how powerfully she prays over others. I thought about how naturally she weaves Scripture into her prayers and how faithfully she carries the burdens of those around her before the Lord. Tears filled my eyes as I wondered if she truly knew just how deeply she is loved—not necessarily only by me and so many others, but by God Himself.
The thought became so overwhelming that I pulled out my phone and called her. I simply told her how much I love her, how thankful I am for her friendship, and how greatly God has used her life to encourage mine.
As I reflected on the drive home, I realized something.
Today, that sense of urgency produced something very different than it has in the past.
It led me to encourage someone. It led me to speak words that might otherwise have remained unspoken. It led me to remind a sister in Christ of who she is when she couldn't fully see it herself.
I know from my own journey how a few sincere words spoken at the right time can stay with someone for years. I've shared before about the woman who faithfully invited me to Bible study, prayed for me, and eventually became part of God's work in drawing me to Himself. I imagine she had no idea how significant her simple acts of faithfulness would become.
My friend may feel inadequate because she compares herself to an ideal of what prayer or intimacy with God "should" look like. Yet I see what God has already cultivated in her: compassion, faithfulness, and a willingness to carry others before the Lord. Sometimes we recognize God's grace in one another before we recognize it in ourselves.
I also noticed something about my own heart today. When I sensed that urgency, my instinct wasn't to buy something, accomplish another project, eat, or protect myself. My instinct was simply to love someone more intentionally.
That echoes Jesus' words:
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34)
Whether these moments come from my personality, my experience of grief after losing Alex, my awareness that life is fragile, or simply the Holy Spirit prompting me to encourage someone, I don't have to decide immediately what they mean. I don't need to give away all my passwords or rush out to buy a burial plan. I can simply receive the moment with discernment.
If the urgency consistently leads me toward love, encouragement, gratitude, reconciliation, and faithfulness, then it’s bearing good fruit.
Today, someone hung up the phone knowing she is loved, valued, and seen.
Regardless of why the urgency came, that was time very well spent.
As I sit here writing, my thoughts keep returning to something Mordecai said to Esther:
"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)
We often think of those words in terms of great moments in history. But perhaps "such a time as this" isn't always a defining moment before nations.
Sometimes it's one phone call. One word of encouragement. One reminder of God's grace arriving exactly when another person needs it.
Today, by God's grace, I was faithful to obey the prompting and make that call.
May we all be willing to step out in obedience and holy curiosity to see where Jesus wants to lead us when those moments of urgency press in. Perhaps they are not given to make us fear the future, but to help us love well in the present.