Saturday, March 21, 2020

Listening to God's Messages

Now I recall the quiet messages God was giving me in 2019.  The first message that stands out now occurred  in April of 2019.  In December 2018, I had paid for a 10 day small group tour of China.  The trip was to occur in April 2020.  In April 2019, I contacted my travel agent to begin the process of  arranging flights to and from China one year in advance, in order to get "good seats".  My travel agent informed me that when she contacted the tour vendor she was told I was the only one signed up for the tour.  She anticipated others would be joining the tour.  With no one else signed up I could not make airline travel arrangements as I desired.

During the year I periodically checked back with the travel agent.  I  even called the tour company directly to find out when I would be given a reimbursement if they could not fill the small group with enough people to make the trip.  Then in late December early January, I was given the opportunity to switch my tour date to May instead of April.  They apparently had a group big enough to continue making plans for the May small group tour.  I could have said yes, but a voice told me something wasn't correct and to decline the offer.  Plus, I could use the money I would eventually be refunded if my April tour was cancelled.  I declined the May offer.  I listened to God's message.

My April tour was cancelled in early January shortly before the explosion of the news of the Corona virus in China.  My money was refunded in total.  I was able to pay down the debt on my main credit card.  It was timely as I needed to get my debts down for another venture God was guiding me through.

A second message had been given to my wife and I in early December 2019 while on a vacation in Florida.  We met a gentleman who explained how he had retired to Florida from another state.  That conversation got my wife and I to thinking more seriously about pursuing a retirement home. We still did not have a clue on how to find a retirement home.  What location to move to?  How would we pay for it?  Over a year ago I had been told about another community in Florida by a friend/former co worker.  I started searching for homes in that area and the area the gentleman had mentioned also.  My friend emailed me about  a new community in the area he lived and I followed up to gather  more information.  That resulted in a planned trip to the community to see homes in person.  God was giving us the answers to our retirement home questions.

My Florida travel day approached during the early stages of the Corona virus epidemic in China.  The morning of my flight to Florida, I checked in at the airport for my flight.  The flight departed on schedule.  About 5-10 minutes into the flight, the pilot announced that the landing gear would not retract into the plane, so we had to return back to the airport.  Now my mind is thinking, "Does God not want me making a move to Florida?"  After the plane landed, I had the opportunity to reschedule the flight for later on that day.   But, I thought about the "China message" I had been given before and decided to postpone my trip for another day.

At that point I was not sure whether to pursue finding a retirement home in Florida.  So I prayed about it and continued searching for homes.  I rescheduled the trip for the next week.  This time the plane departed with no problems and arrived in Florida.  I met with the realtors I had contacted to view several homes and the new community my friend had told me about.  Within a day after chatting with my wife, we decided to go with a new construction home.  I signed documents and made a deposit on the new home construction.  We were able to get a lot with a prime view of vegetation without a neighbor's home obstructing the view.  If I had not returned a week after my initial canceled trip, the lot we chose would have been gone.

We are scheduled to close on the home in July of this year.  I had planned a trip to Florida to visit the construction site and to do some research on furniture for the new home.  But the Corona virus event resulted in my canceling the trip next week.  Again, I could have ignored the warnings to not travel and gone ahead with my plans.  But, I remembered the prior two messages.  Sometimes we as people think just because we have the ability to do what we want to do, we should take action.  In my case I had to continuously humble myself and not take action just because I could.  I listened to the quiet messages of God.  They have all resulted in positive events.  I know this doesn't mean listening will always result in getting what I originally wanted.  I just need to understand that the eventual result is part of the plan for my life.  God's plan, not Arnell's man made un Godly plan.

My message to you is to listen to your messages.  They may not always be clear and loud.  They could be subtle quiet messages directing you into another course of action.  Continue to pray that you are humbled to listen and hear.  Then react accordingly.

No comments:

Post a Comment