“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Do you remember the very first time that you heard someone say, “God spoke to me” or “Take time to listen to the Lord” or perhaps you were asked, “What did God tell you do to?”
I don’t know about you, but the first time that I heard these things, I immediately concluded that the person on the other end of the conversation was in a spiritual zone that was way beyond that of my own. In fact, I figured that they were so far beyond me, that I undoubtedly never even considered the possibility that I would be the very one saying these same things a little further down the path of life.
Well, I was wrong and you just might be too.
A few days ago, I mentioned the overwhelming feeling that washed over me after finding out that I was going to be deployed on my first disaster response with Samaritan’s Purse. I was able to look back on the years, months, weeks, and even days leading up to that phone call and see a glimpse of the way that God has perfectly orchestrated my path in leading up to that moment; to this opportunity.
What I didn’t mention the other day, is that one of the things in which I was able to look back on was the very words that I had written that morning. That day, the Spirit had led me in writing a post about the season ahead.
It read, “As I look around in the world today, I see that we are often left with two options. To turn and run in whatever direction we think is best for ourselves or to come together in unity and fight this battle as one body.”
Just hours later, I received the invite to band together, and fight this battle with the body of Christ. My faith has been so greatly stretched in the past few months as I have grown increasingly consistent in my writing for two reasons. First of all, my dependence upon the Lord has been stretched as I rely on His sustenance for the message of every single day. And secondly, my ears have been more greatly inclined to the Spirit of the Lord. If I were to rely on myself or to write without listening, these words word be empty.
Because of these things, because I know that it is God who is providing and the Spirit who is leading, I trust that every day there is something within these words that needs to be heard by someone. In the moment that I hung up the phone from Samaritan’s Purse on that day, I realized that God had written to me… through me.
Fast forward to today. After a busy day in the ward, in which our team was met with unforeseen circumstances and tough situations, I came back to my hotel room and took my dinner over to my desk space to begin writing. There laid my journal, still open to the page that I had written on this morning.
“We, as Christians, aren’t called to blend into the ways of the world, but to lavish others with the love of God. His love is so different than that of the world, and it is by our love that others will know that it is the Lord. This week I have been reminded of the magnitude of love that can be spoken through the smallest gestures.”
The page in which this was written began with the prompt, “How do I go the extra mile?”
I cannot even begin to explain the peace that came over me when I read these words. Though they may have been written in my own handwriting, they were not my own and once again, I am amazed in the way that God is so incredibly personal with His children and how deeply He cares to the smallest of details. I have found so much comfort in knowing with all certainty that my teammates and I went the extra mile today. We loved our patients and we loved each other, and not in a way that blends in with the world, but in a way that points to God our Father.
So let me tell you. God does speak and if you listen, you will hear Him. He speaks to all of His children in a personal way; an intimate way. He knows you and He knows your heart. He knows what you need to hear, how you need to hear it, and when it needs to be heard. Through His words you will be strengthened, comforted, overwhelmed, joy-filled, and loved.
Open your ears to Him today, listen to what He has to say, and respond in a faithful obedience.
