A PIECE OF MY HEART...follow the leader

Yesterday I posted about following God's directions. It amazes me how easy it is to follow someones directions when they are leading us down the right road. I don't know about you but if someone gave me a map to follow and it ended up leading me down a dead end road, I would probably not trust their leading any longer. But God gives us a map to follow that will never steer us wrong. He always has our best at heart. When it comes to explaining the importance of following God's instructions, I can't help but think of a story that a Missionary from Brazil shares:

As a family in Brazil got ready for their day of work and school, the mother had to explain to her family that there was no food in the house. They had nothing. The husband would have to go to work with no breakfast to eat and no lunch to carry. The children could eat lunch at school, but there was no cereal or oats to fix for them for breakfast. As her family scurried off hungrily to their day, the mother found a place to kneel in her living room and prayed to God.

She prayed that somehow He would provide because at the end of the day, her husband and her children would return from their day very hungry and she had nothing to offer them to eat for dinner. She got up from her altar place and even though she did not hear an answer that moment from God, she knew that somehow He would provide. Later in the day, she heard God speak to her. He told her to go down to a local grocery store. It was a store that she had never been to before.

"I have no money to go to the store?"

God told her to go to the store. She was obedient and went. Upon arriving, she said "OK God, I am here now what am I to do?" God said get as many buggies as you need and go get everything you need for your family for a months supply.

"But God, I have no money, I don't have a check or a credit card. I have no way to pay for this."

God said go. She was obedient and went and filled up not one buggy but two buggies full of everything she needed to feed her family for the next month.

"God, I have done what you have said. Now what? How am I going to pay for this?"

God told her to go to check out lane #7. She wheeled her buggies to lane 7 but nobody was there checking out. But she knew God said to go to lane 7. She stood in lane 7 waiting. The check out clerk in lane 6 saw her and said, "Lady, you can't check out in that lane. You will have to come to this lane!"

"God said I was to check out in lane 7!!" She replied.

Alittle perplexed the cashier told her again, "I'm sorry lady but you CANNOT check out in lane 7."

"GOD SAID I was to check out in lane 7!" She explained.

The cashier just shook her head and said "OK lady, but I'm going to lunch now so you will have to go to a different lane to check out."

ONE HOUR LATER...

The cashier returns. The lady is STILL standing in lane 7! "Seriously?", the cashier thought, she went over to lane 7 and said to the lady, "Why are you still standing here?" The lady said, "I told you, God told me to check out in lane 7." So the cashier said, "Alright, put your things up here and I will check you out."

The lady still had no idea how she was going to pay for her groceries. But she began to put her items up on the check out one by one. As the very last item crossed the scanner and the cashier printed off her receipt, a loud voice came across the PA system..

"Hello shoppers. I am the District Manager of this grocery store chain and today is the 7th anniversary of our Grocery store. To celebrate our anniversary, we are going to give away some groceries. Whoever just checked out in aisle 7 - your groceries are FREE!"

I don't know about you, but when I heard that story and heard that last line, I just about did a Jericho march! Isn't God awesome! Just like the widow lady who had none, this lady had to follow some directions before obtaining her miracle. So many times we don't want to do that. We want to see instant answers. But miracles come by faith, and faith sometimes is trusting in the things we don't see.

God is in the miracle business.

PSALMS 46:10 "Be still and know I am God."

In order to follow His leading though, we have to know His voice.

Would you know It if you heard It?

and this has been a piece of my heart today;