A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (December 20, 2016)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)
This devotional by no means will cover every single way God can speak to us. He is a big God and He has many different ways He can get our attention. There are however two main ways He speaks and that is through prayer and through prophetic words. The following are just two real life examples.
Our friend Chris Musgrove was a youth minister in Live Oak, FL for years. One day, as Chris was praying, he heard God say, “One year from now you will be going into the public schools to do an assembly program.” It made such an impression on Chris that he wrote it down in his prayer journal. One year later, as Chris was preparing for his very first school assembly program, he was experiencing anxiety, fear, and inadequacy. The attack was so strong that it literally made him sick and was causing him to second guess himself. As he was looking back through his notes, preparing for the next day’s assembly program, he came across the words that he had written in his journal almost exactly one year earlier. Immediately the peace of God, along with the boldness of God came all over him, and the fear, anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy left. At that point he knew God was with him and that the assembly would be a total success. Why? Because God spoke it to him a year earlier! That was the first of many successful school assemblies for Chris and Future Now Ministries, which at last count was over 200.
In 2002 my wife Cheryl and I were living in North Carolina. The ministry project that we were working on had come to an end and we were seeking God as to where we were to go next. Cheryl’s sister and her husband wanted us to move to the Atlanta area, which on the surface made the most sense. They had a house big enough to accommodate us temporarily until we could buy a home. On the other hand, my mother was living by herself at this point and needed some help in my old hometown. However, Cheryl and I had said repeatedly we would never live in that town again. (Be careful what you tell God you will never do!)
I proceeded to make plans to move to Atlanta. I took off several days and arranged to look for houses and neighborhoods in that area. The first night I was there I went out to eat at a local restaurant and got food poisoning. I was sick for three days and never did find a house. I called Cheryl and told her I was getting the feeling we were not supposed to move to Atlanta.
Shortly after that trip to Atlanta one of our old friends (that did not have a clue what we were facing) called us with a word she felt God gave her for us. This is what God gave her, “You need to return to land of your forefathers and in that land you will be blessed.” Well, that did it! We returned to my hometown, took care of my mother until she passed, and have been thoroughly blessed.
God is still speaking to His people. We just have to learn how to listen and then be ready to obey. We could have gone with our natural inclinations to move to Atlanta, but we would have missed God. We could have been stubborn and held onto our promise to never live in my hometown again, but we would have missed God. Our friend Chris could have become so overwhelmed with fear and doubt that he could have cancelled that first school assembly, but he would have missed God.
It is so important for all of us to learn how to hear God and obey His voice. Just remember, He loves you and He will not lead you astray.
