Day 24- Listen

Recently I had a situation happen where all kinds of drama was created over an aspect of my business. It became a huge to-do with all kinds of people involved. Things were said about my business and my talents that I didn't like. It flowed through Facebook and onto my work website. It made its way through many people, text messages, phone calls and emails.

But, little of this was done by me.

You see, when it started God plainly and clearly told me to be quiet. I'm not kidding. He almost literally whispered in my ear as soon as I found out what was going on to "be quiet" and to calm down and not to start a war. It was very clear that I was to let the other side go-at-it themselves.

I did my best to keep quiet. I kept my comments off of Facebook and I made my husband delete his. I kept my phone calls to a minimum only making a few so that I could vent to a friend. I replied to a few emails trying to respond with love. Other than that I just kind of stopped and let the whirlwind happen on the other side. And it did. My life kept going on instead of declaring a war.

I am not telling you this because I think I did the right thing and so in return you will think I am a good example of being calm in crisis. I am telling you because it was completely God and not me. All I did was listen and obey. As I am growing in my faith I am learning to listen more and to understand cues from God. It is definitely something learned over time. Like I said, if it wouldn't have been so clear I would have reacted in a completely different way.

And do you know what? God did not steer me wrong. In so many ways He blessed me in this situation. I still hear things from time-to-time and I never get that feeling that I would have had on my own. Yes, I still need to vent to a friend (and thank you to that friend) but it really isn't a part of my life or business at all.

So here is what I am trying to say, even if you are not a believer, God will give you cues in certain situations. Maybe it will be the feeling in the pit of your stomach or a whisper in your ear. Maybe it will be the overwhelming feeling of right over wrong or just a distinct dream at night. Listen to it and see what happens. I am trying to learn to distinguish these feelings between cues from God versus my own doubts and fears. It's hard. But I can feel in my heart that feeling when He told me to be quiet and I try and measure it against that.

Today in church one small snippet of a bible verse caught my heart:

"In quietness and confidence is your strength." from Isaiah 30:15

I think I am going to keep this snippet somewhere where I can see it, as a reminder of what God taught me, but more importantly of what I learned by listening. That situation really built my faith and was a catalyst for starting this blog, knowing that there is a lesson and a blessing in every situation.