Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day
To exercise, I like to walk. In the town where I live, I take a roughly rectangular route that skirts the outside of our little community. One day I set off to walk, but when I looked up into the cloudy sky, I had second thoughts. I saw big dark clouds coming from the south up the valley threatening to rain. My natural mind said, “No, I don’t want to get wet”. However, as I turned to go back home God spoke and said, “Don’t worry, the rain clouds will miss you.” Looking again at the ominous cloudy thunderheads, I spied sheets of rain like fingers of a gigantic hand dropping down to earth. I said, “Are you sure Father?” “Yes,” came the reply and so I set off on my walk.
To tell you the truth, I was sure I was going to be soaked. That cloudy mass just kept on coming, but I decided to trust God, figuring that if I got wet I would just be miserable for a while until I made it home.
Having faith doesn’t mean you don’t get nervous
It is not like I distrust God, but sometimes there is a doubt in my mind as to whether or not I am hearing right. Remember, it is a still small voice and not a shout. If you allow yourself to become fearful, or agitated, or overthink the situation, sometimes it can muddy the waters. Over the years, through simply doing what He says, I have come to know what is and is not God speaking. Frankly, it does not always unfold the way I think, but more often than not, when I trust what He says, it turns out just fine.
The first leg of my walk towards the east, about a mile, came and went without rain. I turned north and walked another mile; no rain either. The cloud seemed to be right on top of me now and I was sure that any second I would feel the first raindrop. I turned west, for the third leg of my journey…still dry. Finally, I walked in my front door and looked out the window only to see the cloud disappearing into the distance.
Learning to walk in the Spirit on a cloudy day
Walking in the Spirit can be learned through practice. God taught me to “Listen, Hear, and Obey on Time” in the mundane things too. Mostly, hearing God comes down to trusting His voice more than yourself. It is good to practice on simple tasks where the worst that can happen is that you get a bit wet, so that you build confidence to believe your heavenly Father when it really matters.
I encourage you to set aside time to just wait on God and ask Him to lead and guide you. When you hear His voice, simply do what He says and see what happens. Most of the time there will be little real consequences other than possible embarrassment or feeling foolish. Walking on water is not the first thing Jesus ever did. The son of God started out believing His Father for small things too. We can all have our own adventures in God as we step out and walk by faith!
