The "inspired mind reading" that led Mr. Rogers to a dead man’s front door
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
When Lisa Hamilton opened her front door, Fred Rogers could immediately tell something was wrong. "I was praying, and I felt you needed some help," he told her. Fred had no idea that Lisa had become a widow that morning.
"I was really panicky," Lisa said of the morning she awoke, still holding her husband’s hand, to discover he had lost his battle with cancer during the night. But then, Fred appeared out of nowhere, wept with Lisa, and stayed to arrange the funeral.
Another time, Fred "had this very strong urge" to visit a marginalized friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. Toward the end of the visit, the friend said, "Mr. Rogers, did you know this was my birthday?" He didn’t. Explaining this seeming coincidence to a journalist, Fred wondered aloud, "Why did I stop in? If it’s mind reading, it needs to be called inspired mind reading."
I long to be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit as Fred was. And as I’ve studied his life and the life of his Savior, there appear to be three critical components to this type of "inspired mind reading."
#1: Silence. Fred was "aggressively quiet," to quote his son, constantly fighting for silence and solitude. He once paid to have the radio in his car removed just to create more peace and quiet. And it was that habit of silence modeled after Jesus’s love of "solitary places" that allowed Fred to hear the still small voice of God (see Mark 1:35).
#2: Surrender. I’m ashamed to admit that my prayer times are often dominated by asking God for what I want. Rarely do I ask what he wants and then shut up to listen. But Fred did. He frequently sat surrendered to God in prayer and expected to hear the Spirit calling him to action.
#3: Sacrifice. When the Spirit prompted him to act, Fred was willing to sacrifice his time and agenda in obedience. James 4:17 says, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." Fred glorified God not just by knowing the good he ought to do, but by actually doing it.
Join me this morning in taking a few minutes to be silent before the Lord. Surrender your day to him and ask who he’s calling you to bless. Then be willing to sacrifice your time to show his love to those you work with today.
