His Voice My Choice

 Disclaimer: Obviously I am not an actual angel. However, I feel like God speaks to my heart and I would love to share it with you. Please enjoy.

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Thank you. Janice Austin Bates

This morning, I was reading a wonderful book called “Learning to Pray” written by my friend Deborah J. Kern. In it she is talking about the children of Israel wandering through the desert. She says, ”Their God, Yahweh, had revealed Himself to the children of Israel through signs and wonders---freeing them from slavery, delivering them from the Egyptians, parting the Red Sea, providing water from a rock, and giving them supernatural food to eat. Then He literally began to talk out loud to them from a mountain on fire. It was simply too much for them. They couldn’t handle it.”

It got me thinking about when I was very young. Our parents told us to pray for God’s will in our lives, but I was afraid to. “I couldn’t handle it.” I was just sure if I asked God for His will He was going to send me to be a missionary in Africa, China, South America, or some other land far, far away, and I would never see my family again. I would hate every minute of it and my life would be ruined.

The Bible teaches us that if we pray and ask God, He will give us the desires of our heart. Thinking like a child, I just knew He meant He would give me everything I wanted. It sounded like Christmas to me. As an adult I came to understand that what He is really saying is that He will give us the desires, the proper desires we should have in our heart. Totally different thing.

My father was a wonderful preacher and Bible scholar. I remember him telling me that God is always a gentleman. He will never force Himself on us. He will show us what He wants, but then it is our choice as to whether we do what He is showing us or go our own way.

If He wants us to be a missionary He will make that the desire of our heart. Therefore, becoming a missionary will be fulfilling and a great pleasure to us. If we don’t feel that strong desire then He hasn’t called us to go.

My mother, being the pastor’s wife, was his right-hand person. She taught Sunday School, lead prayer requests and the song service. We had many parties, dinners, and outings, due in part to her helping organize them. She also prayed for the church and her family every day. Those things were her calling.

God does have a calling for each of us, but it will fit in perfectly with who we are.

There was a wonderful lady who went to our church as I was growing up. Her name was Marie Burge. Marie had the worst stutter I have ever heard. Consequently, she never wanted to do anything up front in the church. However, she was at church every service, was a tremendous prayer warrior, and she crocheted beautifully. She prayed for our church and our missionaries all the time. When the ladies in our church embroidered pillowcases or runners for our missionaries, to decorate the tables or dressers in their houses, Marie would always crochet around the edges to make them extra special. God had a calling for her, it just wasn’t public speaking. Because she loved God, she followed the calling He did give her, and she did it well. I absolutely believe she is receiving as great a reward in heaven for following her calling as what my parents are receiving for being ministers. They each followed what God called them to do.

I love to write, and I believe God has called me to write my children’s Christian books, poetry, and this blog. You see, God didn’t give me every desire I have ever had, (if so, I would be living in a medieval castle). Rather, He gave me the desire to write and called me to use it for Him. Then He gave me the choice as to whether or not I would follow the calling.

I am learning more as I go through life, to not be afraid to hear from God. He has never told me one bad thing yet. Even when what He says to me is some type of correction, it is still always good.

God always knows what we need, whether it is physical, financial, spiritual, or if we just need to be comforted by feeling His loving arms around us.

What about you? Does the thought of hearing from God scare you? It shouldn’t. After all, we were created to be companions with God. Companionship includes communicating. If we don’t have that communication with God then we have our spiritual ears plugged and cannot hear what God is saying to us. Yes, God is always talking to us. The question is, are we listening?

Think about it.