I wanted to share an experience I had this week of hearing from God. It wasn't an audible voice, but rather a whisper in my mind, a thought that came through during prayer that I know was not a thought of my own. I explain it this way because I'm new at deciphering the voice of God & I think many people struggle with knowing whether or not certain thoughts are from their own minds, from God, or from the enemy. So, I'll get on with it…
Thursday night, I was sitting in silence asking God to speak to me– to speak to me about things I need to be doing, things I need to not be doing, etc. I sat in silence for a long time– such a long time that I think I may have started to drift off into sleep– when I heard a word from him. I heard him tell me to give away my savings– not just some of it… ALL of it! I wanted to believe I heard incorrectly, so I asked, "Really, Lord? You want me to do what?!" I heard it again, "Give it all away."
I've been pondering this the past few days. I have a pretty decent amount of money saved up to fall back on if needed. I planned on using it to pay for World Race if I was unable to raise support, but I really intended to have it as a nest egg when I returned & prepared to start a life. Thus far in my support raising, people have been so generous & I feel pretty confident that the necessary funds are going to come in. I also feel confident that if I'm obedient to the Lord that he will provide for me. He will provide a job opportunity for me when I return. He will provide the funds for securing a vehicle & place to live when I return. He will provide everything I need… as long as I'm obedient.
So, this morning I wake up at 5:45am and I 'm given the verse Jeremiah 33:3. I was staying with family & didn't have my Bible with me, my phone was literally seconds away from dying (so the Bible application on my phone would probably use that last little bit of power to even start up), and I'm asking the Lord how he expects me to read this verse.
I'll go on to say that I didn't feel I was actually being told to read this scripture by the Lord because I had just watched a video the previous week about a Christian speaker by the name of Bob Hamp who woke up in the wee hours of the morning, felt led to read Jeremiah, looked at the clock & it was 3:33 so he turns to Jeremiah 33:3 because there is no 3:33. I felt like I was just recalling this story rather than actually being spoken to by the Lord… boy, was I wrong.
I turn on my phone, start up the Bible application, start reading Jeremiah 33. God tells me to read the entire chapter & to have enough faith in him to believe he can make my battery last long enough for me to do so. Isn't it funny that I would even doubt that the Creator of all things would make it possible for me to fulfill his request– no matter how low my stupid cell phone battery was!! Of course Jeremiah 33:3 hits home "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
Well, obviously as I was calling to God a few nights ago & asking him to speak to me, he did– although it wasn't exactly what I would have liked to hear– give it all away!
This is where it blows me away– I clearly heard God say to read this chapter all the way through not stopping at verse 3. I get to the last verse… Jeremiah 33:25 …"For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them." WOW!
This clearly confirmed what I thought I heard from the Lord on Thursday night.
Later today, as I received a message on God's vision and timing for us, there were many relevant points, but the last one further confirmed this idea of giving my monetary possessions away in the name of the Father. This last point of the message was focused on Treasure: God's provision for your vision. We don't necessarily need money or worldly possessions– above all else, we just need Jesus. Luke 10:3-4 "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Don't take any money with you, nor a traveler's bag, nor an extra pair of sandals"…
I am still not terribly excited about draining my savings account or being obedient to this particular word from the Lord. Also, please take this post for what it is– a testimony to hearing the voice of God and having it confirmed twice in one day. I just had to share how cool this was. I am not asking for a pat on the back at what a good little Christian I'm aiming to be. Nor am I asking for anyone's 2 cents (pun intended) on how stupid I would be to follow through with this. What I want you to take from my story is this… if we LISTEN for the Lord instead of talk TO him, we will hear from him… and if we are obedient, he will reward us and look after us.
I will soon be traveling to 11 countries where this money could make a huge difference. I look forward to hearing more from God about how it can be used for his glory!
