I was
inspired to write this message by a very important incident that happened to me
last week. I have a daily simple fitness workout (recommend it for your
physical wellbeing) and my commitment rate is 80 -90%. Sometimes, I am not in
the mood to work out and in those moments, I call for help from Heaven and I
bounce back to action (It works always).
However, last week Friday was
different. I woke up ready to begin my exercise regimen when my body just
didn’t feel right. I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong but it just
wasn’t right. So I thought, it was playing out in weakness and once again I
offered a silent prayer to God... to stir this lazy body to work.
But I was
shocked to hear that I shouldn’t do any workout. It was so clear that I
realised it was a command and not an option. So I obeyed and rested for that
day and next. My body was restored and by Monday I was back to my routine. I
took time to ponder on what happened and realised that God just saved me from whatever
danger signals my body was sending that all was not well.
Thankfully, I
responded and lived. But imagine the scenario if I didn’t and decided to push
my way through? I could have slumped, been hospitalised or even died. A
friend’s relative slumped and died at 26years but she had earlier informed her
friends that she felt some unease in her heart AND DID NOTHING. I was once saved from death from a counsel that
God gave me to have surgery in a specific hospital which I obeyed.
Incidents
like these occur daily in our lives – warning signs that prompt us to stop and
listen to what God is saying but the key question is are we listening. Consider
the traffic light and the three signs of which the amber is the most important
to get you ready for the go or stop sign. Many have disobeyed the amber sign to
their peril and endangered the lives of others.
God
gives us AMBER SIGNS all the time
but how many of us take time to hear Him. Here are some of those scenarios of
life. You are faced with a business deal that is a ‘great opportunity’ yet you
can’t shake off some strange feeling; You like a man/woman that seems to fit
heavenly description but your heart isn’t comfortable with this person; There
is a job that has attractive benefits’ the to die for’ type yet you have some
doubts and the list is endless. How do we respond?
Most
times, we are carried away by our senses; we push it away and think it is just
a feeling and will pass or seek the advice of others who unintentionally push
us in the wrong direction. Other times, we deny such cries of our heart and
push our agenda through only to suffer consequences from losses to physical
death. I am sure we have all experienced this in one form or other in our
lives. But we don’t have to undergo such needless suffering. The scripture only
wants us to experience the sufferings of Christ not disobedience.
What
does God say of such behaviour?
“Oh how blind and deaf you are towards God!
Why won’t you listen? Who in the world is as blind as my own people who are
designed to be my messengers of truth? Who is so blind as my “dedicated one”
the servant of the Lord? You see and understand what is right but won’t heed
nor do it; you hear but you won’t listen” Isaiah 42. 18-20. Living Bible
This is
a correct description of a lot of us for we are so busy and focused on getting
our plans in place, we don’t pause to
hear what God is saying about our lives and then we come crashing, fall and
fail and guess what? WE RUN FROM PILLAR TO POST TO HEAR GOD SPEAK. What
contradiction? And often too late to stop the consequences and then we suffer
and back again to deafness/ blindness...... the unending circle of disobedience.
The life of an average Christian but it DOESEN’T HAVE TO BE SO.
I have
been there many times taking the unnecessary knocks of life until I quit and
decided TO SEEK A BETTER LIFESTYLE. Why do we want our way when God who knows
the end from beginning wants to HELP US to have the experience of the ABUNDANT LIFE?
WHY was the Holy Spirit given to us? Perhaps we need a constant reminder that
it was to GUIDE US INTO ALL TRUTH. Jesus emphasised this:
“But when He, the Spirit of Truth (The
Truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all truth (the whole full
truth). For He will not speak His own message (on His own authority); but He
will tell whatever He hears (from the Father; He will give the message that has
been given to Him) and He will announce and declare to you the things that are
to come (that will happen in the future) John 16.13. Amplified
What
does this imply? That regardless of our intellectual abilities, the truth is
not always so OBVIOUS. The TRUTH cannot
be gleaned from our own wisdom (as we often think). The TRUTH is God guiding
us. If we and the world would understand this even in a small dimension, the ‘merry – go – round’ of global
misdirection that we are all bearing the consequences from terrible climate
changes, terrorism, wars, famine to inhumanity to mankind would be nonexistent. The TRUTH is neither in the world nor our
senses but in CHRIST. Contrary to what we have been taught, our senses were
not given to us to act independent of God, our Creator but to reflect His
wisdom. That is why the Bible speaks
about the “mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.16, Philippians 2.5)
Our
minds are meant to function with the truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit in
order to bring about the right results. The
world is suffering from a very cancerous disease called DECEPTION. SIN has
never seemed as attractive as we have it today in various areas of life yet
Christians are falling for it hook, line and sinker. The outcome is a
weakened position to exercise spiritual power to deal with life’s challenges.
Who can deliver us from all this? The TRUTH
REVEALER – THE HOLY SPIRIT. Again are we listening to Him? There is no
aspect of our lives we don’t need HELP. Therefore we must be attentive at all
times – keeping our hearts open even in small matters. A lot of times we CANNOT SEE THE WARNING SIGNS because they are not
within natural sight and often times when it does, it may be TOO LATE. I
was reminded of this when I listened to Gulliana
Ransic, the top anchor of E News, and the hit show ‘Gulliana and Bill’
speak of how she discovered she had breast cancer. It was undetected until an
off chance decision by her fertility doctor to conduct one. She almost didn’t
accept but went with the decision when the doctor made it a condition. That led
to its discovery and surgery to save her life by removing her two breasts. A
refusal would have led to her death if detected too late. I know because I lost
a beloved cousin to cancer two years ago.
When you make a commitment to hear from
God, it is not just a decision but a LIFE SAVING ONE TOO. For in the end, that
warning sign may be the last sign before danger strikes. As I
look back on that Friday when I didn’t insist on my way but LISTENED, It could
have been otherwise and led to consequences that may be life threatening or
fatal. I know this because it happened to a close relative. He was a workaholic
even in retirement and sometimes does not know when to quit and rest. On this
unfortunate day, he had come from rigorous pension screening exercise and he
didn’t feel well. The right thing was to rest but he barely finished his meal
and insisted on working with the generator repairman to fix the generator for
over six hours. He went to bed and had a
heart attack a few hours later. If ONLY HE LISTENED.
We think
God’s counsel will come in dramatic ways like the parting of the Red Sea. Don’t
be deceived. God speaks in a multitude of ways but mostly from within you to
nudge you to action. He will DO
EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO GET YOUR ATTENTION if only you are LISTENING. Elijah
thought so too when God wanted to speak to him but he found that God was not in
the obvious – strong wind, earthquake and fire
“But the Lord was not in the fire and after
the fire, a small still voice. So it was when Elijah heard it....” 1 Kings
19.12-13 NKJV
Many of the problems we encounter,
challenges we face, frustrations we feel and sufferings we undergo come as a
result of our not LISTENING TO GOD CALLING TO US. That is why He said who is as blind and deaf
as His children (Isaiah 42.18).We can begin a fresh start TODAY by repenting of
our arrogance and receive His mercy and grace to respond when He calls. The
solution is before us but can only be discerned by spiritual guidance.
I
understood more of this truth as I trimmed the hedge in my house. I usually use
a chair to raise me up for a better cut but this is a tough challenge because
the chair is not suitable. But I bore it for three years. Just recently, I
stepped out in wisdom and made a CHANGE to use A DIFFERENT CHAIR and it was a
beautiful partnership (I and the chair) which made my work so much easier. The LESSON? I didn’t have to experience
that discomfort because the new chair was also there when I made the choice of
the first one and continued to endure until I had enough. I DIDN’T HAVE TO WAIT
THREE YEARS TO EXPERIENCE THIS GOODNESS.
You can begin today to make
changes in your relationship with God. Ask Him for help to listen and then when
He speaks, OBEY. The more you allow God into your affairs, the better your
decisions and more experience of the abundant life that Jesus spoke about (John
10.10). It can’t get any better than
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE. What is God calling you to do today? LISTEN UP AND LIVE.
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