A cliff diver in Acapulco, Mexico. Now that's what I call a leap of faith!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA woman I\u2019ll call Eva was a grandmother, a gentle woman, and one of the most mature Christians I had ever known. For many years she had served within her church by calling recent visitors on the telephone. Usually she\u2019d say how much their visit was appreciated and offer to answer any questions they might have. Most phone calls were short, pleasant, and appropriately superficial.<\/p>\n
But every now and then Eva would \u201chear from the Lord,\u201d as she described it. One time, she called a visitor and began her usual friendly spiel. In the middle of her script, however, she sensed the Holy Spirit \u201cwhispering\u201d in her heart. For no apparent reason, she felt that this woman was in a great deal of pain over a difficult marriage. She heard no audible voice and had no reason to know whether this was true or not. Yet she sensed that God had revealed something to her so she could care for the woman on the phone.<\/p>\n
Now Eva faced a challenge: to go with what she thought God was saying to her and risk offending the woman on the phone, or to avoid embarrassment by not bringing up the issue of her marriage but thereby missing the opportunity to help her. Eva chose to risk the embarrassment of following what she believed to be the Spirit\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I share something a little odd with you?\u201d she asked the woman on the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess so,\u201d was the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, as we have been speaking, I keep having this feeling that you\u2019re going through a tough time in your marriage. You probably think I\u2019m crazy, but I felt like I had to say something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman on the other end of the line was silent for several seconds. Finally she choked out, \u201cHow, how did you know? That\u2019s really why I went to your church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Lord told me,\u201d Eva answered, \u201cso I can pray for you and help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, a friendly phone call turned into the beginning of a healing encounter. Eva\u2019s sensitivity to the Spirit, her boldness combined with gentle love, opened up an opportunity for ministry that might not have otherwise presented itself.<\/p>\n
I have just related one of the more spectacular of Eva\u2019s stories. Things didn\u2019t always flow so smoothly and with obvious supernatural blessing. But even when she appeared to strike out, Eva kept on trying to listen for the Spirit and to obey what she heard. When nothing unusual impressed her heart, she didn\u2019t make it up. She simply did her job graciously, welcoming visitors and sharing a bit of Christ\u2019s love with them. When she believed that the Spirit had given her special guidance to care for a visitor, she stepped out in faith, knowing that God would confirm that which is truly his guidance.<\/p>\n
As I finish telling Eva\u2019s story, I can imagine the responses of some of my friends who are skittish about supernatural guidance of the sort I just described. \u201cThis opens the door to all sorts of nonsense,\u201d they\u2019d complain, \u201ceven heresy. How are we going to know if somebody\u2019s claim to divine inspiration is true?\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a fine question. Actually, it\u2019s one that Jesus himself anticipated and answered. In the Gospel of Matthew He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cBeware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20)<\/p>\n
Those who are truly inspired by God, who truly hear the whispering of the Spirit, who are truly in touch with genuine divine guidance, will bear good fruit. That fruit will be evident in their personal lives. And it will also be evident in the lives of those who have been touched by them. What sort of fruit am I talking about? We could start with the fruit of the Spirit, which is \u201clove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control\u201d (Galatians 5:22). To this list we could add such things as: people drawn to the Lord, works of justice and mercy, the building up of the body of Christ, and so on. One who claims to be guided by God will, if the claim is true, live a life that reflects the character and ministry of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part 19 of series: How Does God Guide Us? A couple of days ago, I suggested that we can confirm (or disconfirm) the Spirit\u2019s guidance in a variety of ways, but principally through stepping out in faith. I also acknowledged that this can be scary, since it may require us to do something that is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10251],"tags":[10252,21652,11105],"class_list":["post-1334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-does-god-guide-us","tag-divine-guidance","tag-how-does-god-guide-us","tag-leap-of-faith"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>