I watched a sermon where the pastor demonstrated hearing God’s voice via a blindfolded lady following directions to be guided around the interior of the church onto the stage. It was powerful and left me wondering if I truly listened to God? I had to ask myself if I was not only listening but pausing, no stopping to hear his reply. Or was I even asking him questions? Did I only come to him with a monologue of things I wanted to say in order to check the box, pray? Did I even have a desire to listen and hear his reply when it came or was I letting, yes choosing to let the noises around me drown him out? Do I even know his voice? Can I tell the difference between his voice and the many sounds around me?
It was a few weeks before my surgery that I was also trying to pack in a whole summer of fun activities with my boys as well as 3 months of work and school planning into 6 weeks. I wanted to be able to go into surgery with the peace-of-mind of having completed my curriculum purchases. As usual, a few books in particular were giving me trouble. I searched several times a day for any new additions and prayed to find the right one and for the right price in time to be done before my surgery. This was an expensive little book on Ferdinand Magellan, but it was the one my consult advised and therefor, I had to have it. I made an offer on ebay but was denied my offer. The seller even tempted me a few days after the bid had ended with purchasing it at his offered price.
Then I listened. I heard him say to wait.
What? Wait? I argued a bit with him about this because my goal was to have everything purchased before surgery. He offered me the standing option to follow my own way but reminded me that I had asked for his help and he was offering.
I have figured out that his way is better than mine so I stopped searching for that book. I didn’t look for it on book-finder, ebay, or Amazon. I just prayed, and waited.
He kept saying wait. I didn’t understand but He said you don’t need to always understand, you just need to trust. I beamed inside because when you choose to listen to God, trust and wait, we can know that something great is going to happen! So I praised him for the path he was paving for me. He was going before me to make a way for me to have this little book.
I had my surgery 2 weeks later without all of my goals met but my goals had changed and I had listened to God and it was so good to hear his voice and follow his guidance.
Each day I would ask, is this the day? for 4 weeks, he said no, not yet.
I was tempted to go look for myself, to assure myself that nothing new was there yet but I reminded myself that looking was just a waste of time and that when he said, “Go now,” the book would be there waiting for me.
Then the day came, “Go now, today is the day!”
Now Lord?
Yes, I have paved the way.
I found myself typing in Magellan Ferdinand, wait that’s not how I put in his name, I need to change it, correct it to Ferdinand Magellan. But enter had been pressed, and there it was. The book, the long awaited for story about a man on an ocean, in a boat, chasing a dream, for half the price I had seen before.
It couldn’t be true. Surely it’s a mistake. Well, let’s purchase it quick before it gets away. How did I even get to this page, I’m not sure! I don’t think I could go back and find it again if I tried.
Well, I can’t tell anyone about this because it’s probably just a mistake and the seller is going to send me an email tomorrow that this book listing was an error. Thomas had doubted too.
The next day the shipping confirmation showed up in my in-box. Wow! I wonder what kind of shape this book will be in when and if it gets here.
It arrived a few days later and is perfect. This book will forever be the one that I listened to God for, the one he paved the way for, the one I waited for.
His timing is perfect! Listening to him and obeying his voice is so fulfilling. Lord may I talk to you more and truly listen for your reply.
