There were a couple of instances last week when I felt that God spoke to my heart. Instances when He told me to do something in particular.
Now I must admit when I hear people say that “God told me to” do such and such I cringe, especially when it doesn’t seem to line up with the word of God.
How do people hear from God?? It doesn’t seem to me to be like Moses in the Old Testament where they met on Mt Sinai and spoke together.
It seems to me it comes more in the form of scripture which speaks to our heart or we get an idea or feeling about something.
Now I also cringe when I use that word “feeling”, I don’t believe we should use our feelings to decide anything.
A couple of weeks ago I had an incident at church with a certain lady. A lady who just doesn’t seem to like me and she had a go at one of our children. Now I don’t know about you but you can have a go at me, but start on one or more of my children and my hackles rise, especially when he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Now I let my emotions take over and although I didn’t really have a go at her my tone of voice showed signs of frustration.
At the time I thought I was justified, my child wasn’t in the wrong, how dare she. You must see where I am going with this I am sure.
I must admit also to harbouring feelings of frustration and annoyance and this stayed with me until one evening last week, when I was in the shower. (I tend to have these thoughts in the shower, maybe it is because I am not focused on anything in particular).
The thought that I had was the following: I shouldn’t have spoken to that lady that way, (even if she was wrong). I should show her love even when she doesn’t like me and last but definitely not least I really felt the urge to apologise.
I believe this was God speaking to my heart and I remember saying to him, really I need to apologise???? and guess what, the answer was yes.
Now you can dodge doing what God wants you to do for a certain amount of time until you just need to do it. So instead of wasting time I decided that I would apologise and I really felt better about the whole thing immediately. Unfortunately our younger two children were unwell and my husband asked me to stay home with them, so I didn’t make it to church. Instead I wrote her a nice card and apologised to her for my words, I didn’t justify myself by saying that my son did nothing wrong, I plain and simply apologised to her for my attitude.
My attitude is all I can work on, I am my own problem, she isn’t my problem, she is in God’s hands.
I also have to come to a place where I can forgive her even if she doesn’t apologise. This I believe to be one of the hardest things, but so very necessary for my own spiritual health.
Dear Lord, please help me to love this lady, to help her, care for her and forgive her. Please help her to forgive me and let us come to a place where we can be friends. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you
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It’s funny how God has a way of speaking to our hearts, even when we are not in prayer. He loves us and wants us to be the best that we can be. I’m sure you feel so much better now that you are not carrying around those feelings. Much love Romany
Thank you Romany for your comment and you are right I am feeling so much better to get rid of those thoughts from my heart. I still need to keep on top of them and give them and her to God and ask God to bless her. Thanks for stopping by, have a fantastic week. Blessings
Thanks for pointing this out. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit! We do feel so much better when we forgive, too. Unforgiveness is like drinking a poison and expecting someone else to get sick! Never works out! Blessings, Leslie
Thank you so much Leslie for your words and I like your analogy about drinking poison, you are so right. Blessings to you this week and thanks for stopping by.
I so love how God is faithful to speak to us. I too often hear Him speak things to me in the shower – some of the best God idea’s come from those moments. Thank you for sharing and being obedient to His voice. Stopping by from – WJIM’s Monday’s Musings
You are so right Debbie some of the best thoughts come when we are in the shower, definitely for me. I appreciate your thoughts and comments and feel blessed that you shared them with me. Thank you for stopping by, have a great week. Blessings
I have had so many of these instances where I knew God was impressing on my heart to apologize for things regardless of whether I wanted to or not. Sometimes it turns out well, and sometimes it doesn’t, but at least I know I did what I was supposed to do. I have to tell myself that it’s not about their response, but about my obedience to what I know to do. Good for you, stepping out that way to follow God’s leading. 🙂
You are so right Kristi it isn’t about their response but about our obedience to doing what God wants us to. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. Hope you have a fantastic week. Blessings
Terri, I have had to do that many times. We often don’t like to do what God asks us to do, but ultimately, when we do, we feel so much lighter, even if the incident isn’t resolved. As Christians, to know that we’ve done everything we could on our end, that’s all that matters, I suppose. I hope and pray that the Lord resolves whatever enmity is attempting to place itself between you. A friend once told me that sometimes when we have troubles with someone else, the Lord intends to use that very person in our lives, perhaps even to collaborate with. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Mary for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. It is amazing that once we step out and do God’s will how much better we feel when we do, you are right also we feel so much lighter. It will be interesting to see where our relationship goes and I will definitely be praying that the enmity can be removed. Thanks and blessings
Oh WOW! BTDT for sure! Even if the other is in the wrong, when our attitudes are wrong, we are wrong. Funny thing about repenting when we are wrong, WE feel better in obedience, huh? Hopped over from Small Wonder link up today.
God bless,
Christy
You are so right Christy, we feel better in obedience, exactly. Thanks for stopping by and blessing me with your words. Have a great week. Blessings
Oh, my! I know what you mean. It is so much more hurtful when it is directed towards our children. I so appreciate your humility and obedience to the precious Holy Spirit.
Thank you so much Cheryl for your kind and encouraging words, you bless me so much. Obedience is definitely necessary for peace of mind. Blesisngs
It’s such a hard thing to put into words, but I really do believe the spirit of God speaks in our inmost being. Praying you find peace and joy as you reach out in love.
Thank you so much Kelly for sharing your thoughts with us, thank you also for your prayers, they are much appreciated. Blessings to you this week.
Thanks for your honesty! I think we have all been there and like you said, the faster we obey God, the better!
Thank you so much Stephanie for your kind words, blessings to you this week.
Terri,
I agree with everything you wrote here, especially how the Lord uses Scripture to speak to our hearts and convict us.
I find instances like you described when the Lord convicts me deeply as my “urge to push” convictions, where I have to follow through in what He is leading me to do, no matter what, no excuses.
Thank you for being so transparent and sharing your story with great humility so that we can learn from your experience and be spurred on.
Thank you so much Karen for your kind words and for stopping by. Sometimes it is so hard to do the things God urges us to but there is a definite feeling of peace when we follow His leading. Thanks and blessings to you this week.
I call it the ‘Mama Bear’ that comes out when someone says or does something to my daughter… Thankfully, it hasn’t happened very often. And apologizing is difficult – especially when you don’t add a ‘but’, or ‘however’. You did good. God was right (I know, He always is…and I love the way He answered you back – no doubts – been there – just smiling at the memory…) I really enjoyed your post; it’s life as we live it, isn’t it? You put your faith and trust in God and it is good. I like that.
Thank you so much Janet for your encouraging words, I appreciated them so much, and it is nice to know that I am not alone in my walk. Blessings to you this week.
Oh I know this oh too well. This happened to me with my ex husband about our daughter. I ripped him up one side and down the other. And then I felt convicted…about it. I get so frustrated with him and it is usually about his treatment of our daughter. God is so faithful. He tugs at our heart strings when we are wrong. And oh, I so thank him for that.
Thank you so much Trish for sharing with us and I appreciate your words and I too am thankful that god tugs at our heart strings when we are wrong. Conviction is hard but oh so necessary. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings
It is so hard to hold our tongues sometimes! Especially where our children are concerned. Good job doing the right thing and thank you for sharing it and inspiring me!
Thank you so much Heaven for your encouraging words, may you be blessed this week. xxx
Oh I know that mama bear feeling! So hard not to react out of emotion when our children are wronged or “threatened”. Great job on listening to God’s leading. It’s so true that being able to forgive even without an apology is so important to our spiritual health. Neighbors with you at Coffee for Your Heart.
Nice to meet you Laura and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me here, thank you for stopping by and for blessing me with your comments.
I’ve had similar conversations with God in the shower.
Mmm Susan it seems to be a popular place for talking with God. Thank you for stopping by and for sharing. Blessings to you this week.
Such courage to apologize even when it really just comes as an act of obedience. I firmly believe forgiveness and reconciliation are miracles because we just aren’t capable of them on our own.
Thanks for sharing!
You are so right Stacy, thank you for your thoughts, I appreciate you stopping by and sharing. Blessings to you.
I have a very similar story about someone who was stirring up things around my son. After a year or more, God finally got through to me to forgive and let it go. Difficult to do, but forgiveness and obedience to God are always the right thing to do.
Thank you Karen, it is so nice to know I am not alone in this area. Sometimes it is so hard even when we know it is what God expects of us. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings to you.
I’m not sure I would have “felt” like apologizing, but you are the wiser person and obedient to the Word. Featuring this on my Tuesday Talk next week. Come on back and see how I shared this in my Real Life theme.
Thank you so much Michelle for featuring my post, it is truly a blessings. It was difficult but I did feel so much better after it. Thanks for stopping by and for hosting. Blessings to you.
I’m so glad you listened to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. I’ve heard God urge me to do things before. But it’s truly God, it will ALWAYS line up with His Word. People who say God told them to do stuff, and it directly contradicts the Bible, they weren’t hearing from God.
Here from Grace and Truth Link up
Thank you Melinda for your thoughtful comment and I agree if it doesn’t line up with the Word of God then it isn’t God. We so need to stay in God’s word. Blessings to you and thanks for stopping by.
My hackles rise when anyone is coming after one of my kids or what I perceive is coming after them. I understand where you are coming from but I know that God wishes us to extend kindness and love to all as hard as it may be. I hope your letter of apology binds a possible wound for both of you.
Thank you Mary for your thoughts on this and I sometimes it is very hard to extend kindness and love but you are right that is what God wants of us. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings to you.
I have had several of these instances too, where God has spoken to me and I couldn’t shake the feeling until I apologized. After that I knew I had done what I could do and I felt much better. Thanks for sharing at Women With Intention Wednesdays! 🙂
Thank you Jenny for sharing your thoughts on my post and thank you for hosting each week. It is amazing how we feel when we do what God wants us to. Blessings and have a great week.
I love this entry! I get these nudging from the Holy Spirit as I call them, and they often have me apologizing, but sometimes it’s doing something, like giving someone money or purchasing something for someone. Once I do what the Lord “asks” of me, I feel better. I am thankful for the Lord providing me with a conscience that allows me to acknowledge my wrongdoings and my trying to right them, especially if I feel the Lord impressing it upon my heart.
Thanks again Shelbyfredericalynn for your thoughts on my post. I glad you liked it and it was good for me to go back and read it again to be aware of how God speaks to us. Blessings