An Amazing Truth!
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. Psalm 25:14
God confides in us. That's amazing!
One more blog post from my personal journal, to show how God has spoken specifically to me in the last week:
I think I’m getting more of a sense of God’s urgings, in even the littlest things. I may be wrong about these urges, but I don’t think it will hurt anything if I step out on faith, as if they are from God. This morning I picked up my Bible from the nightstand and Prison to Praise was under it. I felt I needed to pick it up too, as if God might want to say something to me from it.
I always think it’s best to read my Bible first, before any other book in my quiet time, but this time as I asked God where I should read I felt Him say to read the book first. I turned to my bookmark and started reading [the author's] chapter on the power of praise—really the heart of his message. It was a powerful read, and again I sensed the urging of the Spirit to blog a passage from the book. So I got up and did it, afraid if I didn’t obey immediately it might get lost somewhere in the shuffle.
My blog posts are coming so much easier and more frequently since I relinquished my right to play Spider Solitaire! I’m convinced I can’t develop the discipline to do what God wants me to do until I exercize the discipline to quit doing the other things that get in the way. So I wonder if that blog post has a specific purpose in God’s Kingdom, since it seemed so specifically inspired? I might never know, and that’s all right.
Later I added this:
I said above that I might never know if the posting of this blog was God’s idea, but in the depth of my spirit I asked God for some kind of confirmation. A little while later I checked my e-mail messages and got this message from Lisa:
“I really enjoy reading your blog. In fact, I sent part of it to a friend who is feeling overwhelmed today. Thank you for posting this! I want to always bring the sacrifice of my praise to Jesus.”
I learned several things from this experience:
I was reassured that God does speak to us specifically if we make the effort to ask Him for specific wisdom AND if we take the time to listen for Him to speak. He spoke to me in prompting that blog post. He spoke to Lisa, asking her to send it to her friend, and He spoke encouragement to Lisa’s friend through her obedient action.
I realized that when we feel God’s prompting, we need to obey instantly. If I had waited to write that blog post, it might never have happened. I know, because I’ve lost good ideas like that before. The idea comes, and I think I’ll do it later, and it never goes any farther.
If Lisa had not responded immediately to send the message to her friend, she might never have done it, and her friend would have missed that blessing.
Lisa was doubly obedient to God’s prompting. Her encouraging message to me had impact because she sent it right away. If she had waited a day or two, I would not have had the specific confirmation I asked God for.
I also saw a demonstration of God’s love here. God went out of His way to encourage Lisa’s friend. He prompted me to write the blog post. He prompted Lisa to read it, and then to send it on to her. When God goes to a lot of trouble to say, “I love you,” the message is powerful. This friend of Lisa’s must be greatly loved by God, and He wants her to know that.
Next post will move away from these personal experiences. I want to talk about three other ideas before I leave this subject. I want to discuss how God speaks, what kinds of things He says, and I want to ponder the “sound” of His voice. I hope those discussions will help answer the question, “Is it really God speaking to me?”
I love the comments I’m getting. If you have something you’d like to share with others, please e-mail me (see the sidebar for my address). I can then include your comments in the body of the blog posts.
God confides in us. That's amazing!
One more blog post from my personal journal, to show how God has spoken specifically to me in the last week:
I think I’m getting more of a sense of God’s urgings, in even the littlest things. I may be wrong about these urges, but I don’t think it will hurt anything if I step out on faith, as if they are from God. This morning I picked up my Bible from the nightstand and Prison to Praise was under it. I felt I needed to pick it up too, as if God might want to say something to me from it.
I always think it’s best to read my Bible first, before any other book in my quiet time, but this time as I asked God where I should read I felt Him say to read the book first. I turned to my bookmark and started reading [the author's] chapter on the power of praise—really the heart of his message. It was a powerful read, and again I sensed the urging of the Spirit to blog a passage from the book. So I got up and did it, afraid if I didn’t obey immediately it might get lost somewhere in the shuffle.
My blog posts are coming so much easier and more frequently since I relinquished my right to play Spider Solitaire! I’m convinced I can’t develop the discipline to do what God wants me to do until I exercize the discipline to quit doing the other things that get in the way. So I wonder if that blog post has a specific purpose in God’s Kingdom, since it seemed so specifically inspired? I might never know, and that’s all right.
Later I added this:
I said above that I might never know if the posting of this blog was God’s idea, but in the depth of my spirit I asked God for some kind of confirmation. A little while later I checked my e-mail messages and got this message from Lisa:
“I really enjoy reading your blog. In fact, I sent part of it to a friend who is feeling overwhelmed today. Thank you for posting this! I want to always bring the sacrifice of my praise to Jesus.”
I learned several things from this experience:
I was reassured that God does speak to us specifically if we make the effort to ask Him for specific wisdom AND if we take the time to listen for Him to speak. He spoke to me in prompting that blog post. He spoke to Lisa, asking her to send it to her friend, and He spoke encouragement to Lisa’s friend through her obedient action.
I realized that when we feel God’s prompting, we need to obey instantly. If I had waited to write that blog post, it might never have happened. I know, because I’ve lost good ideas like that before. The idea comes, and I think I’ll do it later, and it never goes any farther.
If Lisa had not responded immediately to send the message to her friend, she might never have done it, and her friend would have missed that blessing.
Lisa was doubly obedient to God’s prompting. Her encouraging message to me had impact because she sent it right away. If she had waited a day or two, I would not have had the specific confirmation I asked God for.
I also saw a demonstration of God’s love here. God went out of His way to encourage Lisa’s friend. He prompted me to write the blog post. He prompted Lisa to read it, and then to send it on to her. When God goes to a lot of trouble to say, “I love you,” the message is powerful. This friend of Lisa’s must be greatly loved by God, and He wants her to know that.
Next post will move away from these personal experiences. I want to talk about three other ideas before I leave this subject. I want to discuss how God speaks, what kinds of things He says, and I want to ponder the “sound” of His voice. I hope those discussions will help answer the question, “Is it really God speaking to me?”
I love the comments I’m getting. If you have something you’d like to share with others, please e-mail me (see the sidebar for my address). I can then include your comments in the body of the blog posts.
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