Shift Your PerspectiveMostra

Have you ever had an idea pop into your head, and you're not sure if it's something from the Lord, or if you just made it up? Then you try to use logic to figure it out, but it only gets worse? I'm asking because that used to happen to me a lot. I had to learn how to recognize God's voice the hard way. Let me tell you about it. A few years ago, there was a woman who I had done some business with. She was a little older than me, married, always dressed nicely, and drove an expensive car. She was a lovely woman that I really enjoyed but never got too personal with. One day, out of the blue, I felt in my heart to send her a check for $1,000. Now, I was not yet in the habit of giving, and that was a lot of money. I thought that was a random thought, so I didn't. The next day it popped into my head again. I considered the idea of sending her the money but also including a note that said, "God sees you and He loves you, and here is a gift from Him." I still felt it would be weird because she clearly did not need the money. I was afraid she would think I was strange for sending that gift. I let fear and logic talk me out of being obedient to God. For days and days, I would wake up every morning with the same thought, "I need to do this; I need to do this," and every day I would say, "Nope, I'm not going to do it," and I would give in to fear. This went on for two weeks. I finally became so irritated and tired of thinking about it that I decided to just send the gift. I instantly heard in my head, loud and clear, the words, "It's too late; you blew it." It was a voice of sadness, not anger, and I knew something was wrong, but I didn't understand. What did that mean? What happened next is going to shock you; it did me. I got up and drove my kids to school. I was literally sitting in my car, getting ready to pull out of the school parking lot to head to the store to pick up a card so I could send the money when I get a phone call. It happened to be this woman. She called to ask if I was hiring any servers at the restaurant I owned. I asked her who was looking for a job. She answered, "It's me. You probably don't know this but about six months ago my husband was in a terrible car accident. He is now a quadriplegic and under 24-hour nursing care. Unfortunately, I am really struggling to make ends meet." I felt so small at that moment, but that's not all; it got worse. She went on to add, "I'll be honest, money isn't even my biggest issue. I just wish I knew that God saw me. I just wish I knew that He cared. My faith through this tragedy has really started to waver." I knew at that moment the voice I had heard was right. I had blown it. The Lord had put something on my heart, and I failed to be obedient. I will never forget that feeling and I never want to be in a situation like that again. God didn't need me. In fact, He ended up using someone else to help her. No, He was giving me an opportunity, not only to know Him, not only to learn His voice, but to be a blessing to someone. The Bible says we are blessed to be a blessing, and I missed that opportunity. I want to encourage you today to learn God's voice. The best way to do that, so that you don't mess up like I did, is to get into His Word. God's voice will always line up with His Word, and He speaks to us through His Word over and over and over. Get to know Him, spend time with Him, and spend time reading His Word so you don't blow it like I did. Now go let your light shine.