A few years ago, I was part of an event in Kissimmee, Florida. Nothing was going as planned. The power point worked on the trial runs, but refused to work during general sessions. Conference leaders were delayed at airports, others were sick, lunch was delivered late, well…you get the idea, we’ve all been there. I was to be the last keynote speaker on Saturday morning. By Friday afternoon, I was not even sure I would be alive by Saturday morning.
The stress was building, and I knew it was critical to find some time alone with God. Instead of going to dinner with the crowd, I chose to stay behind and look for a quiet place to pray. I found my quiet place outside in a grassy area behind a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. It was there that I sat on the grass and poured my heart out to God. My plea, “God, please remove the distractions and stresses from my thoughts.” It was about then that I caught a glimpse of something moving in the water that had collected in a reservoir. “Was that an alligator?”
Almost stopping in mid-sentence, the conversation with God ended. Just a few feet away was an alligator. He turned his head and looked right into my eyes. My mind was racing. “Do you stare back at an alligator? Do you look away? Do you run? Do you sit still?” I had no idea what to do should the alligator decide to do more than stare at me. All I knew for sure was that he had very sharp teeth that had the potential to remove my shoeless feet from my body.
We stared at each other for several seconds (seemed like several hours). Without taking his eyes off me, he turned his body and started moving in closer. He stopped, continuing to stare. Then he moved yet a little closer. He stopped again, still staring into my eyes. And then, for no reason, he turned and went on his way. All I could do was laugh out loud and thank God for sending an alligator my direction.
You see, God had just removed all the distractions and stresses from my thoughts! An alligator was not what I had in mind when I asked God to refocus my thoughts. As a matter of fact, an alligator was nowhere in my thoughts. I was thinking in lines of a passage of scripture, or the memory of His presence, but no, God sent the alligator. And I might add, it was quite effective.
Before that prayer time began, I was totally stressed and physically and mentally exhausted. My heart and mind were not where they needed to be when I stood as a speaker in less than 24 hours. One glimpse of an alligator changed everything. It was immediate. It was complete. When the alligator left my mind, it never went back to the stresses of the event. God had answered my prayer with an alligator. And I praised Him with a very joyful heart.
It has been a few years since that trip to Kissimmee. There have been other stressful moments. And most certainly, there will be more to come! Whenever they do, I will think about the alligator and how God answered my prayer in a way that I could never have dreamed or imagined.
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”
- Gideon experienced it when he went to war with a few hundred men.
- Joseph experienced it when being sold into slavery led him to a place of leadership. (Genesis 37-49)
- Daniel experienced it in the lion’s den (Daniel 6)
- Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego experienced it in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)
- Paul and Silas experienced it one night when the prison walls came down (Acts 16:16-40)
- And I experienced it when God sent an alligator instead of a Bible verse.
The church and school year is about to be underway. My goals and plans are in place. But should this church and school year turn out to look differently than I planned, I will praise God for His work that always exceeds mine. And I will remember the alligator.
Are you looking for God in unexpected places and unexpected ways? When the stress of life shows up big, be watching for God to show up bigger!
Gayla Parker, Little Rock, Arkansas
Author, Speaker, Bible Studies Adjunct Professor
Guest blogger for Lean into Jesus Ministries