Isaiah 30:21 – And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (ESV)

I used to be not so good at listening — I was better at the doing. Now, as the doing gets harder, the listening becomes more vital.

Earlier in life when I was working, I used to like to zoom up the motorways to visit customers. These days, driving is more of a bind. Out-of-town family visits take their toll, so I am grateful to have my modern car that is more comfortable than those of yesteryear. The new features like cruise control, sat-nav (satellite navigation), etc. mean that driving is not the same now as it was then.

To ease the pain, I like to use the car's sat-nav to tell me the expected time of my arrival, etc. Sometimes in heavy traffic, I bluntly ignore the sat-nav, using my earlier knowledge of travelling on the minor roads, because they are reassuringly familiar and less stressful, but not always quicker.

Lately, I have felt that God was requesting me to take a step back for a while, to allow God to be God for a change, so I have taken a break from meetings of intercession for the moment. Surprisingly, the world has kept turning. I have used some of the time to fulfil the jobs that I needed to get done in the summer, such as mending the leaking roof in our office and replacing the rotten floor and walls.

Despite being on my self-imposed sabbatical, with my jobs done, God has shown me that He was not finished with my journeying. On the way to church in Rochdale at my mother-in-law's, I didn't use the sat-nav because it is a local journey. However, from previous visits, I could hear the car's voice in the back of my mind telling me where to go. As I made a "turn to the left" at a junction, I became aware of another voice burbling up from inside.

The voice said something similar to today's verse: "Listen to My voice and I will direct your path," or to put it another way, "Follow Me. Pay attention to My voice. I will direct you." During the church service, I realized that this was not my imagination but a word prompted by God to pass on to someone in the service. In my being obedient, it was also a reminder to me of His words from an earlier time:

Isaiah 58:11 – And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. (ESV)

John 21:15 – When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." (ESV)

God's ways and timings may not be what we expect, but we are called to take heed and to be ready to speak or to do. Today, let us not be surprised when God calls out, "Follow Me, in whatever way that may be!"

Prayer: Lord, You are the Shepherd, and we recognize Your voice when You speak. Enable our ears to hear and our hearts not to be afraid to obey. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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