Big Ears Are BeautifulSample

An example

Be reassured that the Word of God and the Spirit of God will always combine to honor God. They will not contradict one another. If you ever sense a directing in your heart that dishonors God or is contrary to His Word, toss it out the window! The Holy Spirit and the Word of God together lead to the discovery of God’s will. With these two resources, you will be deeply grounded in truth. When a “sustained movement in the heart” points you to something that honors God, trust it. Over time, the Spirit’s still, small whisper will become more and more familiar to you, and you will become more adept at hearing (and heeding) it.

If you are wondering how this works, here is an example from my life. I love to give. Kelly and I have tithed for decades now. The sustained voice of the Spirit and the teaching of the Bible have combined to show us that our money, and the fruits of it, is not really ours. Often my heart or hers will sense the wonderful Counselor advising us to give to other ministries and causes. These promptings are discernable, sustained movements of His Spirit, not dependent upon our emotions.

I felt the Spirit prodding me to give a portion of the royalties of a book I was writing, to another ministry. The prompting would not leave. I shared this with Kelly, and we began to pray. As we did, T Bar M Camps kept coming to mind.¹ This nondenominational Christian sports camp was influential in my wife’s college years as she served as a counselor there; now my kids, nieces and nephews attend each summer.

I made a phone call to the camp’s director to investigate how my gift could be used to help T Bar M’s camp for kids in Peru. The kids along the Amazon River don’t have access to the blessing of Christian retreat centers and the kind of camps that we do. So, they are building Camp Amazon and training Peruvians to run it and minister to kids through an exciting, encouraging and enthusiastic camp experience. Since we love camp and we love missions, it seemed like a perfect fit. The director teared up on the phone, telling me that at that moment, Camp Amazon was meeting. We were both overwhelmed with the timing and plan of God.

Note
1. See www.tbarmcamps.org.