What do I do with what God told me?
We continue now with our Listening Series which started with these two:
So, what do I do with what God told me?
It is ironic that the moment I received instructions for my next post, I did the opposite of what I was supposed to write about. You see, God wanted me to write about the importance of obedience when hearing from God. And here I was, not obeying by procrastinating on writing this one.
But you see, the Holy Spirit is gentle, but He is also persistent. If you hear about it the first time and don't do anything about it, you best believe He will prompt you again and remind you about it. And this is exactly what happened to me in the past few weeks of me dilly-dallying about writing this article.
What do I do with what God told me? Simple. OBEY.
James 1:22 says "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." When God tells you something, it is important that you do what He asks you to do. Of course, when He speaks to us, there are times when He doesn't give instructions. Sometimes He will just tell you He loves you, or He will simply affirm or confirm you. The response to that should be thankfulness and praise.
But if God gives you instructions, don't second guess them - just obey!
In 2019, I was trying my best to save up money for my Israel Trip in February 2020. I had a second job that paid really well but despite all my efforts to earn more and save, something would always come up and I just couldn't reach my desired savings. In my prayers, I then remembered something that my dad would always say - "When there's a need, plant a seed."
Then I heard God say, "Sacrificial giving. Something that would hurt." So I took on the challenge and then I asked God who He wanted me to bless. While I was praying, the face of a former officemate came to my head. I was a bit surprised because I have not seen her in a while since she resigned. So I asked God to confirm if it was truly her that He wanted me to give sacrificially to. When I opened my Facebook feed, the first post I saw there was of my former officemate. I was satisfied with the confirmation. It then made sense to me because I knew she had dialysis two times a week. She had to quit her job to focus on her treatment and I knew that money was tight. I remember talking with her about this and her telling me all the government agencies that she had to go to so that her health expenses could be subsidized.
So I messaged her and asked how she was doing and that when she was free, I would love to catch up and meet. Weeks passed, and to be honest, I sort of forgot about it. But then sometime later, I was going to get my commission from my second job. It was a substantial one because it was nearing Christmas and I was able to book a lot of gigs for this band that I was managing. On my way to meet the person who would give me my commission, I heard God impress in my heart, "You will give her the money today."
I was okay with that because the commission I would be getting was good but when God told me the amount, I was a bit taken aback. "It has to hurt," I remembered. Ok then. So I met up with the client at this newly opened mall to get my commission and just as I was about to leave the mall, guess who I see? I saw my former officemate in the same mall on the day that I had money coming in! I told her that I had something to give her and that I needed to get it ready first then we'll meet up. She was very calm as if she knew this was going to happen. And then when I gave her the envelope, she simply said thank you as if she herself knew that God would bless her that day. When she left, God told me, "That was for her dialysis session." That felt amazing. It didn't make sense that I needed money for a trip and instead of giving me money, God wanted me to give to someone else. It felt good to be a blessing!
I then decided to take on a loan from SSS so that I could have enough pocket money during the pilgrimage. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was enough to cover our daily meals and probably a few extra souvenirs. But on the night before our pilgrimage, a fellow pilgrim on that trip talked to me and told me that God told her to bless me on this trip. When she gave me the amount, I was surprised because it was times three the money that I gave to that former officemate of mine! Now I had more than enough! But it didn't end there. Each time our group went to a Souvenir Shop, my dad would give me $100! And then another fellow pilgrim also gave me money to buy a special necklace that I wanted to get to remind me of my trip. How amazing is that?
Listening and obeying God will always pay off!
That former officemate of mine passed away last year. Though I am sad that she is no longer with us, I am happy that her suffering has ended and that she is now with the Lord. I am also happy that I listened and obeyed God, and allowed myself to be a blessing to her. No regrets. Imagine if I said no? I would have felt guilty when she passed on, plus I probably won't be blessed during my trip to Israel.
I have more stories about God telling me outrageous things to do and me following along despite the weirdness of the instructions. And I have to say, it always pays off. There's always a beautiful plot twist.
One time as well during my devotion, I was led by the Lord to pray for the husband of my friend. Her husband was a deacon in their church and I felt in my heart that he would be given a big responsibility soon. After I prayed for them, my friend sent me a message. (Literally 5 minutes after I prayed for them.) When I told her what God told me, she said that it was spot on. She told me that last Sunday, they had a meeting and her husband was appointed as OIC in the church.
God speaks to us! We need to pay attention because God sees everything. He sees the beginning, the middle, and all the way to the end. And because of that, we need to obey what He says.
What happens if we do not obey? Well, God still remains God. His plans will still push through because He can still use someone else. But you will not get the blessing that you could have had if you obeyed Him.
I hope you get to read my future blog posts as I continue on with my Listening Series. I feel in my heart that there is more that God wants me to say through this blog and I do pray that you come along with me on it.
If you want to be notified, let me know on messenger that you wish to be alerted when a post is out. Til then, learn to listen, and when God speaks, learn to obey.
wooww!
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