Break His Legs!
Photo by jack atkinson on Unsplash
Break His Legs!
Around six years ago or so, my wife went out witnessing with me a few times. Several of my closest friends and even some acquaintances have done the same and just like my wife, they all say the same thing. They just can’t handle the God-mocking, blasphemy and cursing. At first, I didn’t understand this attitude, but after years of street witnessing, I have come to realize that God hasn’t called all of us to be street evangelists. I really thought so when I first got saved. I thought if you are truly saved, you would be out here witnessing. But now I realize that not everyone can handle the God-mocking, blasphemy and cursing. My friends and I that do street ministry don’t like hearing these things either, but we understand that lost people will act like lost people. But I want to share about one time when my wife was with me and she prayed, “God, break his legs!”
If you knew my wife, you’d know that she is one of the most gentle, kindest people that you’ll ever meet. I can’t even kill most bugs in our house. She only wants me to kill flies or ants, but any other bug, she wants me to catch it and take it outside. I’m sharing this with you because her praying “God, break his legs” was very out of character. But that’s how upset she got about a blaspheming, God-mocking young man that was skating around me. I was open-air preaching one Friday night in downtown Springfield, Mo about six years ago and it was truly a circus-like atmosphere.
Like An Annoying Mosquito Or Gnat
While the young man was skating around me, trying to distract me while he was cursing me and blaspheming God, there was a God-hater in a pickup truck right in front of me that kept revving his engine and backing his truck up, rocking it on the curb in front of me. Frankly, I was more worried about the guy in the truck. His tailgate was down and I was preaching on a step stool. All I kept thinking was if he jumps the curb and comes at me, I’m going to jump up into the back of the truck instead of letting him hit me. Thankfully, he never did back fully at me, but I was leery of him. So, he was my main concern at the time. The guy on the skateboard was tough to listen to his blasphemy, but overall, he was more like an annoying mosquito or gnat.
But my wife saw it differently. She didn’t perceive the guy in the truck as a threat at all (maybe because I had a different viewpoint in that he was going to come right at me if he really jumped the curb). But the annoying skateboarder really upset her over him constantly blaspheming God. That’s why she prayed, “God, break his legs!” Again, this is very out of character for my wife, but I think it shows that she had righteous anger over him blaspheming God.
After the night was over and we headed home, she confessed that she prayed that way. I was shocked. I said, “Honey, we aren’t like the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17); the apostles James and John that wanted to call down fire from Heaven against those that opposed the Lord.” She just continued that the blasphemer made her so angry. Then she said that she doesn’t know how I handle the God-mockers and haters all the time. Again, I don’t like it either, but it’s just to be expected when you do street ministry. All we can do is share God’s truth with them and pray that God will break their hard hearts of stone instead of their legs.