I have heard the stories and read the world race blogs where people talk about hearing God speak to them. I always envisioned this as actually hearing his voice, and the voice I always think of is Aslan’s from the Chronicles of Narnia. Let’s be real, this is partly because I have always been an avid reader and partly because Liam Neeson is just spot on as Aslan.
Last night in a strong moment of doubt about my calling to the World Race and my frustration with fundraising, I prayed that God would speak to me or show me a sign, something that would let me know that this is where He’s calling me to go and that He is bigger than the money I have to raise. I should point out that I have never heard God speak to me. We have a different relationship. A relationship that comes in any form of quotes, song lyrics, and scripture. These things speak to me more than I could have ever imagined they would; I know this because I have been an avid reader since I started reading at three years old.
And Papa showed up. I finished praying, the song on my iPod finished, and the next one to start was Taylor Swift’s “A Place in this World”. I wasn’t fully paying attention as I was attempting to fall asleep, but then the words called out to me: “maybe I’m just a girl on a mission, but I’m ready to fly.” I started the song over and listened to the whole thing, smiling. Papa does have a sense of humor.
As I listened to the song over again, I began to recall all the different ways Papa has spoken to me since I have been accepted to do the World Race. There are so many, it was overwhelming. Here are a few of my favorite:
Nothing I hold onto, by United Pursuit
“I lean not on my own understanding,
my life is in the hands of the maker of heaven”
Called me higher, All Sons and Daughters
“But you have called me higher,
you have called me deeper,
and I’ll go where you will lead me Lord”
Isaiah 6:8 NIV
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying ‘whom shall I send? and who will go for us?’ And I said ‘Here am I. Send me.'”
All I am, by Phil Wickham
“Take these hands,
I know they’re empty,
but with you they can,
be used for beauty,
in Your perfect plan,
all I am is Yours”
Kisses from Katie, by Katie J Davis
“Opportunities to make someone else’s life better were so much more attractive to me than the thought of the comforts I once knew.”
Kisses from Katie, by Katie J Davis
“God taught me, over and over, that it did not matter what the world said, that it did not matter that almost none of the people closest to me believed in what I was doing or believed it would succeed, that it did not matter what they said was impossible, because God did this, and he was going to continue doing it.”
Bittersweet, by Shauna Niequist
“And when we pay attention and when we grow, we become freer, more flexible, more faithful, more able to ask for help. We become less fearful, more able, more comfortable with the idea of life as a beautiful mess.”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.”
So while I still have yet to hear Aslan’s voice, I know Papa has made himself known in other ways that speak deeply to me. I know that this is where He has called me to go. And I know that even if fundraising is frustrating or exhausting, He has plans to make the full amount happen, in His way, not in mine. God is so good.
