A Red Hot Grandma Story on Hearing God

Do you ever wonder if you're hearing God right when facing a difficult decision? Like, maybe if you aren't, you'll be making a really big mistake? Me too.We'd just gotten home after a month's vacation abroad when we realized that our 14-year old Honda Civic had to go.The retirement years before us were going to be a financial adventure, and we didn't want to be hit with car repair surprises. We thought it wiser to be making manageable monthly payments on a new car with a good warranty. Besides, the Honda October sales were begging us to help clear out the dealership of this year's cars.If the next car lasted as long as this one had, our kids would be demanding our keys around the same time a new car became obsolete.

We headed out to our local Honda dealer.

Since Tom had just been given a new truck, he decided that the new car would be MY car.I picked out a bright red Honda Civic EX.Rather than close the deal right away, we decided to wait a few days allowing us time to pray more about it.We got home in the later afternoon, and Tom headed over to Home Depot to grab a few things for a project he was working on. The problem was, he couldn't find his wallet.We spent a half hour looking in all the usual places wallets hide. Finally, he thought to call the sale's person at the Honda dealership and see if he had left his wallet in the demo car we had looked at.He had.Since we had to go back for his wallet, we decided to start the process of buying the car while we were there. It was late in the day, and this would give the salesperson time to do a credit check and other paperwork without us having to sit around.We planned to finish the process the next day.

All the way home I found myself second guessing this decision.

• Were we heading out of God's will?
• Did He want us buying this car?
• What if we got in over our heads financially and couldn't afford the payments in a year ... because ... you know ... anything can happen to mess up your budget when you're retired and living on a fixed income.

Within a few minutes, I had a picture pop in my mind of Tom's wallet sitting in the demo car. I felt the Holy Spirit whisper, "Put your money here."That immediate brought a sense of peace that we were doing the right thing.

However...

...the next morning I woke up with those same nagging doubts rumbling around in my mind AGAIN!Was I really hearing God in this decision? What if it was just "me" and not the Lord who had spoken the day before?So I grabbed my phone and clicked on Facebook to distract myself and find something to create happy thoughts. (Not real spiritual, I know. But hey, it happens.)And wouldn't you know it ... the first thing my Facebook newsfeed serves up is an image of a beautiful mountain meadow with Psalm 32:8 written on it.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye (NKJ italics mine).

Have you ever used your eyes to guide someone? For example, you're talking to a child and telling him to pick his toys up off the floor. As you speak you look at the toys in question so your child will follow your gaze and know precisely the instructions you're giving him.When I read that verse in my Facebook newsfeed I knew God He was guiding me with His eye. His gaze came in the form of a mental image of Tom's wallet sitting in the demo car. His words of "put your money here" was His instruction for me to buy the car.So I confidently bought my Red Hot Grandma Car.Now my grandkids will know when it is Grandma pulling into their driveway. *big grin*

Hearing God can be confusing

We assume He doesn't communicate like we do. But, if you think about it, He usually does.He will use His gaze and His voice within you, as well as Scripture to help you make decisions. Sometimes He combines all three!But perhaps you don't have confidence in recognizing the voice of the Lord?Since I know that a lot of women desire a deeper intimacy with Jesus and long to clearly hear His voice, I decided to offer a HOLIDAY SALE on my signature How to Master the Art of Hearing God's Voice course.No pressure. I just want to make your walk with God "doable" and deep.Hugs, Susan