As I was praying, I was thinking about times when God led me to do things that seemingly made no sense whatsoever. For example, there was a young lady I went to college with. I knew that she went to school with me, but I'd never talked to her. One day after I told my family and friends that there wasn't anyone at my school I was interested in, and planned to wait till grad school to look for my wife, I noticed this young lady walking the same way I was going one morning. She looked stunning. And I thought, wow, she's very pretty. And I knew from friends on campus that she was a sweet girl and very serious. So I said, "Hey, God. If you want something to happen between me and her, have HER call ME today." And then I promptly forgot about it.
I often do this, and I feel like God has answered this prayer throughout my life. It's been funny how obviously He answers the prayer. One time I was talking to a girl at a conference, and we were really hitting it off and laughing and seemed really into each other. She went to the restroom and while she was gone I prayed, "OK, God. If this is the one I should be with, bring us together. If not, then push us apart." And when she came back from the bathroom it was like she was a different person. She barely spoke to me, didn't seem at all interested, and treated me very coldly. I almost laughed because it was so clear that God had answered my prayer very directly.
Well, that day in college, the girl I saw walking near me that morning called me. THAT day, the day that I asked God to have her call me if He wanted something to happen between us... she called me that day. Out of the blue. We'd never spoken before. It's a long story why she called, and I won't bore you with the details. But she did.
And then I asked Him to do a couple other kind of impossible things, and those things happened too! So I was sure at this point that He was telling me that we were going to be together. Well, many years and tons of drama later, we didn't end up even dating. Now she's married to someone else and has kids.
So what was that about? Well, the strange thing about it is that it makes it all the MORE likely that God was in fact answering my prayers. Because it did NOT go the way I expected. Do you see the truth in that? See how that works? If every time I ask God about something, He gave me the answer I wanted to hear... after awhile I really have to ask myself... is this God or is it just my imagination?
But when God tells you to do something... VERY CLEARLY... and you do it... and then you kind of look foolish and don't benefit from it whatsoever? That's almost for sure God talking to you.
So the prophets in the OT... the ones who were telling Israel that everything is fine and they shouldn't worry about God being mad at them... they were lying. They were NOT hearing from God. They were saying things that they WISHED were true, but in the end the things they said that God told them didn't happen.
But when God speaks to you... and you listen, and obey Him... and then the thing He said would happen does happen, but doesn't benefit you. That's hearing His voice. Sometimes God has us do things that we never see the reason for. That keeps us humble.
If you've heard Him speak to you lately, listen to Him. Do what He says. Most times, it will totally make sense and you'll see why He told you. But even if you never do, He treasures your trust and obedience.
God, thanks for telling us things, even when they seem to make no sense.
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