This is a very good example of a “God-incident” (some people might call it a “coincidence”). If you take the time to read it, you will be glad you did. It’s about a song that even silenced a cappuccino machine.
It was chilly in Manhattan but warm enough inside the Starbucks near Times Square to send the masses crowding indoors, vying for space and warmth. For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. That night, our basket was overflowing.
During our emotional rendition of the classic, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” I noticed a lady sitting across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.
After the tune, she asked if her singing bothered me. “No,” I replied. “We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on our next song?” To my delight, she accepted my invitation.
“You choose,” I said. “What are you in the mood to sing?”
“Well… do you know any hymns?” Hymns? This woman didn’t know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. “How about His Eye is on the Sparrow?”
My new friend was silent. Then she looked at me and said, “Yeah. Let’s do that one.” She faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing,
“Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?”
The audience of coffee drinkers was amazed. Even the gurgling noise of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped to listen. The song rose to its conclusion:
“I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”
When the last note was sung, the applause rose to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the roar, “Oh, y’all go back to your coffee! I didn’t come here to do a concert! I just came to get something to drink, just like you!” But the ovation continued.
I embraced my new friend. “You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!”
“Well, it’s funny that you picked that particular hymn,” she said. “That was my daughter’s favorite song.”
“Really!” I exclaimed.
“Yes,” she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual. “She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week.”
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. “Are you going to be OK?”
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. “I’m gonna be OK. I’ve just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing His songs, and everything’s gonna be just fine.”
She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.
Was it just a coincidence—or a God-ordained incident—that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular night? Coincidence—or a God-ordained incident—that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence—or a God-ordained incident—that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before?
I refuse to believe it was just a coincidence.
God delights in disclosing Himself to us. Sometimes He communicates with us in grand, unmistakable ways—“coincidences” that are clearly the work of His hands! At other times, He displays His unseen Presence in subtle ways. These are often so personal to us that others wouldn’t even notice them. Yet, these subtle signs can be a source of deep, intimate joy!
People laugh at coincidence as a way of relegating it to the realm of the absurd and therefore not having to take seriously the possibility that there is a lot more going on in our lives than we either know or care to know.
Who can say what it is that’s going on? But I suspect that part of it is that every now and then, we hear a whisper that goes something like this:
“You’ve turned up in the right place at the right time.”
God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it’s no stretch for me to imagine that He could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival.
It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting Him and singing His songs, everything’s gonna be okay.
Blessings, Ben
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