Am I Listening?
God has given me many creative and organizational talents. Unfortunately due to those gifts, one of the things that I’m guilty of is doing things in my own strength, wisdom, and ability.
Yesterday while busily preparing the evening’s program for Wildmen I realized that my stress levels were rising. I had taken notice that I was the only leader in the room. I knew that one of the leaders was scheduled to be out that evening to celebrate his wife’s birthday; and that another leader was returning that evening from an out of town trip and probably would not make it. However, the remaining two were nowhere to be seen.
Just as the waves of worry started to lap at the edge of my consciousness, something much higher up flicked me on the head. It was as if a voice said,
“Have you asked Me about it yet? Do you think that this has caught Me by surprise?”
I was tempted to ignore it, but thankfully I realized that it was God.
But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in bed. He whispers in their ear and terrifies them with his warning. – Job 33:14-16
The enemy was trying to get me to focus on temporal things, not eternal.
I stopped, prayed, thanked God for the fact the He has everything under control and knows exactly who should be there.
The moment I concluded my prayer, one of the other leaders walked into the room. Shortly thereafter the other expected leader arrived. But wait, there’s more. The one I didn’t expect also arrived shortly thereafter!
God knew. He wanted me to listen. He wants me to rely on him, not on me.
Lord, thank you for a lesson in focus. May I go to you first and not last. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Are you listening? Jan
My Journey in God's Word 