You Want Me to Do What?
/Go In the Strength You Have – Part 2
“Send this text, 'How can I pray for you today?'”
“O…kay. Who I am I supposed to send it to?”
“I’ll let you know.”
So began my day almost two weeks ago. My persistent and fervent prayer has been for wisdom, guidance and discernment of the Lord’s will for my life and the grace and courage to follow His leading. I found myself receiving the instruction to send the text in the wake of asking Him to align my ASKs (Asking/Seeking/Knocking) with His desires for me.
I sent it. But it went more like this: “Hi. This may seem random and strange, but how can I pray for you today?” I really didn’t expect much in the way of a response. I was nervous, so I was really proud of myself just for sending it. The response was not only overwhelming, but overwhelmingly positive.
Fast forward 12 days to yesterday, when I was driving to church. I was instructed to take a different route. My brain was on automatic pilot as I proceeded on my usual route. After being instructed, (not once, but twice), to make a right turn that would place me on the alternate route, I finally obeyed. In sharing this experience with one of my team members, I explained that by the time I finally obeyed, I had to back track quite a bit. I had no idea why I had to go that route. I just knew that I did.
Fast forward to this morning. I receive an instruction to send an e-mail request to “the bully”, through my attorney. In my estimation, the request seems pretty audacious, and like something they would have already done if they were amenable. I’m tired of getting spanked, so I will send it. I type the e-mail at around 5:50 a.m. and start to wonder if this is all I’m supposed to say. I add some things. Should I have? I decide to save it as a draft and seek clarity on exactly what to say.
In my quest for clarity, this is what I discovered:
In certain situations, I still have a fear of judgement. If I had only been instructed to send the text to people in my bible study, church or other “spiritual” group, I would never have felt the need to qualify it with, “This may seem random or strange”. I am so grateful for the people that God used on that day to affirm for me their understanding that I was simply being obedient to the Holy Spirit. You were my vessels of confirmation.
Sometimes God, in His infinite grace, will lead you just outside your comfort zone in baby steps. Extending an unsolicited offer of prayer to a person I know is open to it is completely within my comfort zone. Extending that same unsolicited offer to someone about whom I’m not sure, (and especially via text), a little less so.
Sometimes God will give you an instruction for no other reason than to see if you will follow it. There was no discernable benefit to my doubling back to take an alternate route to church yesterday. In that moment, it made no sense.
Sometimes God will place you face to face with the very thing you fear. While the response was overwhelmingly positive, I did have one person tell me that, “Praying is just talking to yourself since all gods are imaginary! … don’t text me any more religious nonsense.” Instead of taking it personally, I just smiled, shook my head and moved on. Receiving the judgement I feared wasn’t the end of the world.
If you are believing God for something right now, consider:
- Where has God used something that seemed to make no sense at the time, to get you to the place He needed you?
- How open are you to the idea that a coincidence or seemingly random occurrence is actually part of a bigger plan for your life?
- How receptive are you to His voice?
The more things you recognize, the more things you will begin to recognize. My four insights helped me realize that the “random and strange” text two weeks ago, the “re-routing” yesterday, and a couple of other things, were all preparing me for the instruction I received this morning by systematically addressing the fears that would have stopped me from following through. Even now, He’s doing the same for you. Do you choose to you see it? I'd love to hear how or why not. Please post a comment below to share your thoughts.
Blessings!
Dawn
Your Toolbox Diva® (and fellow Champion Under Construction®)
Building Tomorrow’s Champions Today®