Devotion 8 in the series Have You Seen a Miracle?

How to Follow God’s Voice and Be the Miracle! – Part 1

Inside: Would you like to learn how to hear God’s voice and follow through on God’s nudges? You could be the miracle God has planned for someone else!

How would life be different if we could learn to follow God's voice and be the miracle?

The harsh, demeaning voice startled me as I passed the mom and daughter in the aisle of the expansive grocery store.

“You’ll never amount to anything. You are nothing.”

The hurtful words stung, and they weren’t even for me! The little girl’s eyes stared blankly downward. She was maybe eight, her innocence shattered long ago. In tech speak, this beautiful child had flat affect.

I felt a clear nudge from God to turn back, look the girl in the eye, and tell her the truth: She was worth more than diamonds, she was beautiful, and the God of the universe loved her more than she could imagine.

I didn’t do it.

I didn’t follow the nudge.

As I continued shopping, I couldn’t get the little girl with her big brown blank eyes out of my mind. I decided I should circle back, find the girl, and speak life into her.

I looked in every aisle of the super store, ready to speak a word. I didn’t find her. I was too late. I hadn’t followed God’s leading, and I felt terrible. I still do. Tears have flowed as I have typed this.

That precious child needed to hear the truth, God had asked me to convey it, and I had not followed the call.

Oh, friends, this could have been so different! We can hear God’s voice and follow it!

A few weeks ago, Delores Liesner, having noticed our series “Have You Seen a Miracle,” sent me her book, Be the Miracle. I stashed it in my bag and headed out the door to a Kansas City Royals baseball game.

I took quite a ribbing when in a late inning of the losing game, I pulled out the book and started reading.

Soon, though, I tucked the book away, the lump in my throat growing and tears welling, so moved was I by Delores’s ability to hear God’s nudges and to trust the results to God as she follows through on them.

Do you long to hear God’s voice and be part of His plan? What miracle does He want you to be a part of?

Surprise Us for Dinner, God!

Delores and her husband, Ken, felt the same nudge, though separately, to support a missionary. Without discussing  it, they had even been led to send the same amount of money. Together as a couple, they discovered this unified nudge from God and decided to evaluate their budget. Delores tells the rest of the story in her book Be the Miracle:

“Once home, we tucked the children in bed, sat at the kitchen table, and spread out the budget. We’d been right. There was no extra money. Perplexed, Ken noted the only amount on the budget that equaled the commitment: food. ‘How can we go without food for six months?’ he asked, as I wondered if God would really ask us to do something like that.

“We both felt that God speaking to us separately was a miracle in itself and therefore decided we should obey.

Having found only a few meals left in their freezer, Delores “conversationally told God that He’d have to ‘surprise us’ for dinner.”

Imagine Delores’s astonishment when her brother, Chris, who came to visit several days later, arrived with several huge plastic coolers filled with packages of freshly butchered meat.

“Chuckling and tossing packages into the freezer, which Ken had quickly plugged in, Chris explained, ‘I was butchering with Fran’s dad yesterday and felt this big urge to get you some meat, and to do so right away. I don’t know what made me go ahead, but I’m sure glad you have a freezer.

“Ken started to tell him he was an answer to prayer when I burst out laughing. I’d just noticed all the odd-shaped packages they’d tossed into the freezer were stark white! There wasn’t a word on any of them. Noticing my glance, Chris looked sheepish, admitting he didn’t take time to mark the packages. He offered to take them out and identify them, but Ken’s eyes smiled into mine, remembering the prayer from the night before–God, surprise us for dinner–and we told Chris the packages were fine just the way they were.”

What If?

Delores and Ken were not surprised that there was exactly enough meat to last through the six monthly payments pledged from their food budget to the missionary.

Can you imagine how Delores’s faith must have been renewed each day, as she unwrapped a mystery package and planned a meal using the surprise?

Imagine what she and Ken would have missed out on had they not followed God’s direction to support the missionary, even though they had no idea how to solve the problem of their food budget.

And what if her brother, Chris, had ignored God’s leading to bring meat to Delores and Ken right away? He would have missed out on being part of one of the biggest miracles of their lives!

When is the last time you sensed a nudge from God? Did you follow it? Why or why not?

Be sure to continue the devotion below, with a treasured passage from 1 Samuel and the Digging Deeper questions.

Next week, in Part 2, we’ll look at practical tips from Delores and others on how to hear and follow God’s voice.

Cover of the book Be the MiracleYou can order Delores’s book, Be the Miracle, here: ORDER HERE. In this book, Delores recounts 31 stories in which Delores followed God’s voice and participated in miracles of God’s design. Each story ends with a life-changing lesson, verse, and challenge that you can apply to your own life.

Check out Delores’s website at https://deloresliesner.com.

Digging into God’s Word: Be the Miracle

When the young boy Samuel first heard the call from God, it took him a long time to realize God was speaking to him. In our busy world, it is easy to not notice nudges from God. Once we notice them, they are not always easy to follow through on. If you read further in 1 Samuel 3, you’ll find that God asked Samuel to speak a hard word to Eli. Yet Samuel obeyed, and “all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord” (v. 20).

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (ESV)

The Lord Calls Samuel

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Digging Deeper: Be the Miracle

Enjoy this quiet time, just you and God. Reflect on or journal about the following questions, listening for what God has to say to you.

1. When is the last time you sensed a nudge from God? Did you follow it? Why or why not? What have you learned from the experience?

2. To be the miracle, we have to not only hear from God but follow through in obedience, leaving the outcome to Him. What fears or doubts do you have about following a leading from God? List each fear, and ask God to help you resolve each of them. Ask God to show you how to follow Him.

3. If you have trouble hearing from God, carve out time to listen to Him. The biggest key is finding a block of time in a quiet place. If you’ve not done this in a while, try starting with just five or ten minutes. Keep a notebook nearby to record what you hear God telling you. Then, throughout your day, stay in tune with God, keeping your heart open to sense nudges from Him.

Next week, in Part 2, we’ll look at practical tips from Delores Liesner and others on how to hear and follow God’s voice.

4. Help others know that God is still at work today! If you have experienced God’s overwhelming love in the form of a miracle, share as much as you’re comfortable in the conversation below, or on the Digging Deeper with God Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DiggingDeeperwithGod. (Look for the post with the graphic “Have You Seen a Miracle?”)

5. Worship with these songs as you reflect on how to listen to God so that you can be the miracle. Choose one or all of the songs to listen to, or come back to these songs throughout the week.

Mighty to Save (Hillsong)

Trust and Obey (Chelsea Moon w/ the Franz Brothers) This is a really nice, new version of this old, cherished hymn.

Miracles (Jesus Culture, featuring Chris Quilala)

Frontiers (Lead Me to the End of Myself; Vertical Church Band)

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If you are enjoying these devotions, please help more people find them. Sharing these devotions on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter is a safe way to communicate Jesus’ love with other people. Thank you!

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Find Past Series

You can find Past Devotions from other series on the website under the Devotions menu or at www.diggingdeeperwithgod.com/past-devotions/.

Three of the most popular series have been Lead Me to the RockHope Springs Eternal, and All In: A Study of Elisha.

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Comments

  1. Eric Mott says:

    The experience you shared about Delores, her husband Ken, and Delores brother was very inspiring.

    • Digging Deeper with God says:

      Isn’t it fantastic? It is a wonderful example of how surrendering the outcome to God leads to overwhelming blessing.

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