Sitting in a darkened movie theater I was unable to focus my attention because I was worried about whether I’d remembered to close my garage door when I left the house. I was also troubled over our air conditioner that wasn’t exactly working at peak performance and it was 115º outside and we couldn’t afford a costly repair. I’d left my dogs locked in their kennel in the kitchen and I worried they’d be too warm in an overly hot house.
Oh … the many silly things we worry about. Yet, even though it seemed silly to bother my Lord with such inconsequential problems, I did what I typically do when I’m anxious – I prayed.
I began with, “I know it sounds stupid, Father, but … and I outlined all my worries to God. To me they seemed like unimportant prayers too minor to bother the Creator of the Universe with, yet I’d barely finished my prayer when I instantly heard a whisper in my spirit that was nearly audible over the movie trailers. “I love you, my daughter. Every concern that you utter is important to Me because YOU matter to me.”
An indescribable peace poured over me. The entire exchange lasted no more than 30 seconds, but it was powerful and reassured me that God heard me and He cares for me.
Years ago while working at a part-time job, I was in the middle of a long, tedious data entry assignment when I found myself silently praying, “Dear Lord, please help me to do this job with a good attitude and not lose my mind with this overwhelmingly boring task!”
Within seconds of my desperate plea, I grabbed another file and began inputting pertinent information. The email address on the file I needed to log was: godrules@…. I had to stop and smile because it was clear to me that God was listening. In the thousands of email addresses I had recorded at that point, I’d never seen an email address that made any reference to God. Godrules@ … was more than an email address – it was a wink from God.
Once while praying in my car, I was having one of those days when I was feeling lost, confused and wallowing in anxiety and fear. Approaching a stoplight as I prayed I glanced at the car ahead of me whose license plate letters were “ABA.” Those three letters felt like another wink from my Abba Father and not just a coincidence or random letters on a piece of metal.
The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17 (NLT)
I love that God is not limited in how he chooses to speak to His children. Our Heavenly Father can speak through the reading of Scripture, through music, through a timely spoken word of encouragement or from a message from the pulpit. Sometimes God whispers to us through the sound of the wind in the trees, the morning song of the birds or yes, even through a license plate or a bumper sticker. The point is — God is ALWAYS talking to us … we need only to be still and know that he is God.
Blessings in Christ,
Kathy K.
Thank you for this sweet reminder!
Thank you for this!
I love those divine exchanges like the one you mentioned, Kathy, when God speaks to our hearts and completely changes our feelings and outlook about a particularly difficult or troublesome situation. And I love that you refer to these power encounters as “winks” from a God that is always reminding us that He cares.