Ears to Hear

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. ~Exodus 33:11

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. ~Matthew 24:25

Mondays tend to be a bit manic. They brim over with a full day's work and evening commitments.

Sweeping in the door around 6 pm this week, I scrammed to freshen up before heading back out. All systems were a go.

Then it came. The pause. The momentum stopper. The exhale.

The sweet nudge from the Holy Spirit – it stops us in our tracks nudging us to ask what's on His heart. "Lord, what do you desire for me to do this evening?"

And I felt Him respond, "Take the night off and go shopping."

"Not at all what I expected, but let's go!" I swiped my day planner clean and sauntered over to one of my favorite stores to mosey around. There that tender tap came again. This time it was to go to a particular grocery store.

Why that one? I rarely shopped there. And I'd just been grocery shopping.

But the directions were specific. Go to that store at 7. Not before. Not after. Right at seven.

Seven o'clock I swung into the parking lot swarming with shoppers loading their cars.

"Excuse me Miss. Excuse me. Do you have a cell phone I can borrow?"

Sweating, hot and tired, a sweet grandma, mom and her baby were locked out of their car without a spare key or phone to call for help. How easy it could have been for them to ask any of the twenty or so people in the parking lot that were there before me. But they asked me.

After she made her call, I figured I'd check out the store while I was there. Oddly enough, the entrance door wouldn't open so I tried the exit door. I didn't get far! One of the workers met me as I tried to enter. "Sorry ma'am, we're closed."

Closed?! What grocery store closes at 7 pm!?

And then it hit me. That's why God asked me to clear my calendar. Meander around for an hour. And visit a completely random grocery store at a very specific time.

To be His hands and feet to the neat family in the parking lot. Not only so, but they were Jesus to me.

Do you ever falter in the security of discerning the Lord’s voice? Whether it's the Lord refining, your flesh, other people's words and actions, or the enemy ... it’s easy to wonder if that voice you hear is you or God. Over the last few months I’ve been tottering on the edge of uncertainty myself. What has seemed so clearly from the Lord has taken some battering blows, making me wonder.

Driving home from the random, closed, grocery store, the presence of God filled my car. And I heard Him say (yes, this time I was sure!), "My daughter, you do hear Me." What a sweet, clear confirmation.

I pray any areas of doubt and insecurity you may be struggling with are defeated at the crossroads of God's divine intervention and your obedience to His voice. May you hear His sweet voice and rest assured that whether you turn to the right or left, you will hear His voice guiding you...speaking to you.

For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ~John 3:34