Same Plan, Slight Detour

AUTHOR: Jennifer Lescano

Hearing God Continued…

Ever have one of those days where what you planned didn’t turn out exactly how you thought it would and you felt the temptation to be disappointed or even throw in the towel or had a tantrum in the midst of it only to find out later it was all for your good?

Or ever get a “no” from God and wonder why he’s saying that?

Just yesterday I found an umbrella on the marketplace. We needed an extra patio umbrella and it seemed like every place I tried was sold out. So I found one on the marketplace on Facebook. As soon as I saw $20, I ran for it. Well. First I checked with Joe and then I ran for it. On my way there, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart about the umbrella. It was green and most of our decor is blue. And I started to tell him how I really wanted a blue one while I was on my way to pick up the green. LOL

And I started to feel like the umbrella wasn’t for me, but since I was so close I decided to go anyway. When I got there, I asked the man to open it up and he said, “Except for a few holes, it’s a good umbrella.”
I was so rushed to pick up the umbrella that I didn’t read the description.
I was still debating on getting it out of desperation and I called Joe even though I knew I was getting a confirming “no” in my heart.

At the end of the day, I asked if anyone knew where I could find an umbrella and I went to the right store and found a blue umbrella. New and for less than $40.

This post isn’t about umbrellas.
It’s about knowing God’s love for us and resting in knowing his wanting the best for us and wanting the best for ourselves.

A few years ago, I was about to serve myself ice cream when I heard in my heart, “No.” And I thought, “Why not? I really want the icecream.” I was sad that God was saying no to my ice cream craving. Can you believe it?
So. I had the ice cream. And that night, I suffered one of the worst episodes of acid reflux.
So here’s the question. Was God’s “no” because he felt like having his way? After all, he’s God, right?

NO!

God’s no was grounded in his love for me. He knew I’d be miserable so he gave me the heads up.
I was at Costco once and saw chairs for $20 each once. I had just started a workplace lunchtime ministry at the time. And the chairs we had in the place were stained, dirty, dingy. So bad that I had to bring my cloth napkins to place over them for people to sit in a room that could seat about 12-15 people.
And when I looked at the chairs, I felt the Lord say, “No.” I felt he wanted me to wait. So I waited.
What I didn’t know was his “no” was because he knew that a pastor down the hall was going to offer his church to me at no cost. And guess what. He had the EXACT chairs I saw Costco. And there were about 100-150 of them.
My point? This post isn’t about God’s “no’s,” but it is about his love. And when we live an abundant life in Christ, we get to know his “no’s” are just as safe as his “yes'” and it’s because he wants the best for us.
It is impossible to live an abundant life without being grounded in the knowledge of God’s love and without being able to hear and receive that love.

Paul was on a ship and had an “I told you so” moment in the following scriptures, but even with the mistakes, God kept them.
Acts 27:21-22
Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss.
But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
Learning God’s voice and following his leading is an adventure. It’s fun. It can be uncomfortable at times and we may have some tantrums on the way, but when we lean on our Heavenly Father and live this life in an assurance that he only wants the best for us, we will learn to hear and follow his lead and enjoy the gift of life he’s given us in every detail.

Father, fine tune our hearing. We surrender to you our will. And we thank you for teaching us and taking us deeper into the depths of your love for us. Where we can be so sure of your unending love.
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Activation:
Write down an area you might be unsure about and ask God what he thinks about it and why. And give it to him. You may need to fold it up and put it in a jar as an act of surrender, but give it to him and follow his lead and trust his goodness for you.