The Voice

"Do you know how to hear the voice of God?" I asked my friend Chelsea at work on Thanksgiving.  It was 5:30 in the morning.  I was brewing coffee and she was stocking the pastry case full of yummy breakfast goodies.  She looked at me and shook her head no.

She has been a Christian her whole life, 24 years now, and relies on "signs" and  "open and closed doors" to know what the Lord wants for her.  How odd that would be if we treated all our relationships like that.  Instead of asking your sister what she wanted for Christmas she left little hints all around the house in hopes that you would get what she wanted.  Instead of talking through a decision with your husband you just made a choice and hoped he was on board when things started taking place.  

I talked with Chelsea about the importance of seeking the Lord, discerning what direction He was leading and learning what His voice sounds like.  I shared with her our current situation...We believe the Lord has spoken that we are to be XA pastors.  We believe that through His Word that He is leading us to the campus of OU.  We were told a couple of weeks ago that the deadline for the national appointment application was 3 weeks earlier than we had first thought and that we needed to have an interview with a specific person who coincidentally was no longer taking any more interviews.  One would point at this and say "closed door!"  But what use is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1)  if we don't put it into practice?  Of what value is our faith?  

We knew what the Lord had spoken.  We had scriptures we could read to be reminded of the Lord's plan for us.  So we did not shrink back, we were not destroyed (Hebrews 10:39).  Much prayer, plus a few phone calls later and Kyle had his interview.  We finished the 52 page application in one night and overnighted it the next day.  We were told there was no way we could have the application done and turned in on time; it arrived 3 days early. We choose to believe and obey what the Lord has said, but we can only do that because we first seek Him to know what His plan is.  

So, the application is in!  Now we wait for our references to turn in their paperwork and for AG to process it all by the end of January.  Please pray that everything gets processed in time and that we can move forward with this national appointment.  Thank you so much for your support through this awesome time of seeing God get us to Athens, Ohio :)