Wayne from Writers in the Spirit asked: Another topic I'd like to see you address at some point in the future is how you hear from God. How do you discern the right timing? How can you tell when to share what is laid on your heart in your writing?
Just so ya know, I had not forgotten about this question. I have been taking this time to figure out the right way to answer this question.
My one disclaimer before you read any further is - Everyone hears from God in different ways. Some people hear from Him through other people, some through songs, some through circumstances. I don't have some special connection to God because I hear from God. He doesn't call me up on the phone and speak to me. There is nothing special about me! You can hear from Him, too!
How do I hear from God? I hear God in various ways. Clayton King wrote a book called Amazing Encounters with God. This book is all about how to see God in all areas of your life. After I read this book, I became more in tune to His presence in my life. God is everywhere. There are times that I hear from God through a song, just a comforting pat on the shoulders. Sometimes I hear from Him through a difficult circumstance, as a reminder that there are struggles in life but I need to rely on Him through them.
How do I discern the right timing? What a difficult question!! I can't give a step-by-step rule book to this. Let me tell you a story...
Last year, my best friend was having a hard time at college. I had it on my heart to write her a letter. I sat down and wrote her a letter. The letter was all about finding strength in the Lord, not giving up on her dream, and doing what God has called her to do even if it didn't make sense. I addressed and stamped the card. I got in my car to send the letter off to her. The post office was closed. I felt like it wasn't the right time. Months went by. I would look at the card and say "not yet..." Finally three months after I wrote the letter, I dropped them off at the post office. A few days went by and she called me. She said that the letter was perfect and just what she needed. All I could think was, God knew that I had the right words at the time to write the letter but it wasn't the time for her to get the card.
I don't know what made me not send the card right away. I don't know why I waited for three months. I don't know what it was about the day that I sent it off, that I thought it was the right time to go off. All I know is that God knew the right time for her to get the letter. And, surely she got it at the right time! :-)
How do I know when it is time to share what God has laid on my heart? For the majority of this blog, it is all about writing what He has laid on my heart. God will lay a topic on my heart and sometimes weeks will go by before I write about it. I know that the timing is write when I sit down to a blank post and the words just flow out through my fingers onto the keyboard to the page. There are many times that there is something on my heart to write about and I will open the page and the right words won't come out.
Keep the questions coming!
Good answers.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why but your story about your friend and timing reminded me of this Christian girl i met in my early 20s. We were on a blind date and she spent the entire time telling me about Jesus. I gave her a pretty hard time. Never saw her again. I'm sure she left thinking she had wasted her time with me. Perhaps it was the wrong timing she may have thought. But as it turned out it was perfect timing.
Shortly thereafter i unexpectedly met Jesus.
A witness in my heart brings her to my attention from time to time and has done many many times over the years. Though i don't remember her name, I'm convinced she played a role in my meeting with Christ.
Thank you for your blog.
I don't remember where I heard someone talking about this recently, but all that story makes me think is...
ReplyDeleteYou may not remember her name all these years later, but she planted a seed in your heart. She planted good seed. And she was a miracle in your life.
As Pastor says, sometimes we get to be the miracle and sometimes we get a miracle.
Oh, I could write a whole blog on what you just wrote!! :-)