Hearing the Voice of God

     A few weeks ago, the boys and I went on vacation to the Biloxi area to visit family. I took Judah on a wagon ride on that Sunday morning while Josiah, his older brother, was spending time with a cousin close to his age. We walked about a half mile from the hotel. Then we turned around because Ju said, “Mommy, it’s hot.” I was hot too but enjoyed the fresh air. My nicely coiffed hair was melting in a mass of sweat. I was gettin’ it down the side walk just thanking God for His creation. (There is nothing like just being able to see a body of water for a sense of relaxation that takes over a hyper worked mind.) Even still, a divine interruption  came gliding in along side of us.

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     On the way back, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He gave me a name of someone I owed a debt at one time, but she had forgiven. The Holy Spirit told me to give her the money I owed. He replayed the whole conversation we had regarding the money. Seriously word for word. As it was being replayed I knew this wasn’t my mind “playing tricks on me”. Wow! So, guess who took care of that after the trip? Why did the Holy Spirit bring this up at this time many years later? She and I have been friends, and she had not brought it up.

     So when I mailed her the check, she sent me a text stating that she was confused. I proceeded to explain to her about the walk on the beach and how Holy Spirit spoke to me. She told me that Holy Spirit was on time with this money. It was needed. Wow! Without going into her story, let me tell you that He blessed them. She and her husband honored God as a couple and acted as one flesh in a situation, and the decision had a financial aspect to it. Wow!

     Why am I telling you about this exchange with Holy Spirit? It’s all about transparency here. See, I wrestle with Him when it comes to money. (And the crowd gasps in horror and disbelief or is it “that’s my testimony!”). Finances…one of the areas where we give Satan an open door into our personal lives as singles or in our marriages. For me, I wanted instant gratification early on in my adulthood. I did, and still do at this point, have credit card bills. (Yes, more than one.) I wasn’t paying tithes to my local church before getting married. With hindsight, I realized that I only tithed in the past thanks to my former spouse who, despite our circumstances discussed in my previous testimonial blog, made certain we did. Looking back over my own life, I have a back story of having debt which promisingly will be taken care of by 2017. My goal is to only have overhead debt (mortgage, car and student loans).

     When the Holy Spirit told me to pay her back, I had only enough money in the checking account to finish up our vacation. I had some money in savings. Needless to say, the money wasn’t there to give. Before now I would have ignored the voice or reasoned my way out of it. Oh, I could find the most creative reasons. Do you have the same testimony? Guess what that is saying to the Holy Spirit? “I trust You in this area and the other, but not with the money.” Hmmm. That just doesn’t sound right does it? This realization made me drop my head in momentary shame. This lead to a true repentance. I couldn’t believe that I grieved Him.

     Bottom line, His ways are not our ways, and because of this He can just speak out of nowhere. This journey is turning out to be more than just me finally giving my weight and health over to Him. I am realizing that He has a work He wants to do in me if I relinquish control. This message is part of that work. May you, Reader, be blessed and encouraged in your own journey.

Scripture Reading:

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.

(Note: The misquoted version (“money is the root of all evil”) makes money and wealth the source (or root) of all evil in the world. This is clearly false. The Bible makes it quite clear that sin is the root of all evil in the world (Matthew 15:19; Romans 5:12; James 1:15). However, when we reflect upon the correct citation of this verse, we see that it is the love of money, not money itself, that is a source of all different kinds of trouble and evil. Wealth is morally neutral; there is nothing wrong with money, in and of itself, or the possession of money. However, when money begins to control us, that’s when trouble starts.)