Do you ever hear a still, small voice that nudges you to act?
A very talented college student I know was suffering with an untreatable brain malady. The crippling pain frequently confined her to a hospital bed at home. She had to put her dreams of graduation and medical school on hold. I suspected she, and her mother, were battling fear and anxiety.
For several months I ignored the recurring thought that I needed to call. I was ashamed of myself, and cowardly put it off again.
When I finally spoke to the mother she was grateful. I apologized for my delay. She repeatedly said that the call came at just the time she most needed to share the burden with someone else. I was humbled to realize my call was more than a polite token. For her, it was significant encouragement.
Another friend told me that she was prompted to visit an ailing member of her church. She delayed, and he passed away. She was sorry that she'd missed the opportunity to give him a big final hug.
She took a walk on the beach to think through her remorse. She said she recognized the nudge had come from God, and she asked him to boost the nudge to a shove next time. She was really upset by her failure to act.
Then she found a whole sand dollar. For Christians the sand dollar is a symbol of Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. The ultimate message of His ministry is forgiveness. It was appropriate that she came upon a reminder of His continued work in her life. Now she has an object that reminds her of the lesson she learned: listen and act.
Have you acted, and been blessed by the result? Conversely, have you ignored the prompt and regretted it?
Don't delay to make what could be a divine appointment.
I was on a late flight from Houston to Dallas several years ago, working on a bible study to pass the time. An inebriated woman sitting a few rows behind me asked if that was a Bible I was reading. I said yes. She continued to yell questions but I was intimidated by her drunkenness and didn't answer.
ReplyDeleteThis failure to interact with her has bothered me for years. I've prayed that God bring someone else to her when she was in a better frame of mind to respond.
I finally found peace in the truth that God is in control and understands my reaction. He used that experience to teach me to respond to His prompts in the future.
That's a tough one. But remember, demons used to cry out from the tormented.
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