Three questions. One storm. Forty souls.
A severe storm was approaching a small town in Iowa. Inside the grocery store, families rushed to grab last‑minute supplies. Suddenly, a loud siren blasted through the building — earlier than the meteorologist predicted.
Anxiety spread quickly as customers realized they were not allowed to leave. The “OPEN” sign flipped to “CLOSED.” The store manager wished he had called out that day; the flood of questions overwhelmed him so badly that he locked himself in his office. Knocks kept coming, but the door never opened.
Moments later, every cell phone went dead. Towers were down. A “Code Red” alert appeared on every screen:
“We apologize for the separation of your cell phone service.”
Forty customers — a number that always seems to appear in Scripture during seasons of testing — were now panicking, separated from their families and cut off from communication. Physical separation mirrored spiritual separation.
On Aisle 5, three wives — Mary, Kelly, and Susan — stood together with tears flowing and hands trembling. In that moment of fear, three spiritually piercing questions surfaced.
1. “What if the pleasure you're currently enjoying is not from God?”
Mary felt the conviction immediately. The Holy Spirit exposed something she had been ignoring — hidden compromises she hoped would stay buried.
2. “On Judgment Day, when you stand before Jesus Christ, will your lifestyle be acceptable before a Holy God?”
Kelly dropped to her knees. Her emotions overwhelmed her. Her mind left the earthly chaos and entered the spiritual reality. Her thoughts about how little effort she had given to pursuing holiness shook her deeply.. In a trembling whisper she prayed, “Holy Spirit… help me, please.”
3. “How often do you read and study the Bible? Do you have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ? And do you understand
Matthew 24?”
Susan felt exposed. Her favorite phrase — “Do as I say, not as I do” — echoed in her mind. Her Bible went with her to church every Sunday, but she knew she didn’t truly know Jesus intimately. “I know of You… but I don’t know You,” she confessed silently.
None of the three women had ever been taught Matthew 24. Their pastor avoided the chapter — and many others that awaken the spirit. But now, with their lives feeling threatened, the urgency of spiritual diagnostics became painfully clear.
Forty people in that store suddenly realized what they had ignored for years: You don’t wait until the last minute to seek God.
“Behind the locked office door, the store manager picked up his Bible and read Romans 10:9–10 and 13 over the intercom.”
Romans 10:9–10 (NKJV)
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:13 (NKJV)
“For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Don’t let time pass you by.