Back in 2011 right before the new year I already knew in my heart some things I wanted to establish in 2012. One of those things was obedience to the voice of the Lord.
I desired to be obedient to EVERYTHING the Lord said to me; from the smallest nudge to take this left turn to the greatest call of ministry. But before I could get to the "ruler over much" part of Matthew 25:23 I knew I needed to learn the "faithful over few" thing first.
So let's speed this story up a bit and jump into the year. Here I am more hungry for the Lord and the things of God than ever before. I desire to hear His voice just for the opportunity to obey. The bible says we have not because we ask not so I wanted to make sure God knew I wanted to hear his voice So I could be obedient in all things.
So here I am in the middle of one of my "seeking the Lord sessions" (my private time with God). I've got my christian music blaring, my hands are raised, and I'm reading my word in between my prayers and praise to God. My sessions with the Lord were great. As I spend more and more time doing this I found that I'm really beginning to hear the Lord's voice; even more clearly than ever before. I'm thinking "this is great". "You want me to sing in front of millions like David...OK...thank you Lord for declaring that in my life". "Oh you want me pray for the nations...OK will do...thank you Father". "You've called me to be prosperous like Jacob and blessed like Job...well amen I receive that". The Lord was truly speaking loud and clear or so I thought.
A few nights ago I was going to bed and I phoned my husband at work one last time before I feel asleep for the night. It was a little after 11 pm and I knew he would be home around 12:45 am. Well tonight I wasn't waiting up so I said my good night and told him I'll see him when he gets home.
At exactly 12:48 am I woke up from my sleep and looked at my cell phone to see what time it was. My bedroom light was still on and my husband wasn't home yet. Something in me said "call Ronnie and check on him". I countered the nudge with "He's probably just running a little late", because it's not odd for him to arrive close to 1:00 am. So with that notion I returned to sleep.
The next morning I'm kissing my hubby goodbye before I head out to work. He groggily tells me that he's so tired. He told me that last night on his way home from work he ran out of gas and had to jog down the highway to a gas station. He later learned that the gas can had a hole in it so when he returned to his car the canister was empty. He finally just had the truck towed to the gas station.
My heart completely sunk. Not only had my DH (dear husband) been out stranded in the middle of the night but I had missed the still small voice of the Lord. I was crushed.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1Kings 19:12
The Lords voice is that quiet nudge that directs you in what you should do. Yes the Lord will minister to you in the music, and give you revelation through the word; but once everything quiets down that's when he has the opportunity to speak to your heart directly without hindrance and noise. That's the voice of the Lord. It's that reminder to do something you've been putting off. It's that gentle voice that kind of pops in our head and we brush off. But don't brush it off, don't explain it away; and definitely don't miss it. Just follow it and He will direct your paths. Practice obeying that voice, the small voice of the Lord.
-Brandi
