“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27
For the people of God, discerning God’s voice has never been more important. Over the past few months we’ve seen God bring many of his people through intense seasons of discernment training. We have heard story after story of God leading his people through difficult and intense seasons where they were regularly forced to sift and discern what was truly the voice of God. For our family, this summer proved to be one of those seasons. It was a summer in which God tested and tried our ability to hear his voice and discern what was true.
A Roadtrip: The time God told us to move without telling us where…
Truth be told, I’m not a huge road trip fan. I’m also not really car guy. Perhaps the two go hand in hand. I know when a car is working, and when it’s not, beyond that, I’m really not much help. This summer, much to my chagrin, God took our family on a road trip. The road trip however, was more than just a roadtrip, it was a move across the country. We were to move with the promise that God would show us where we were to go.
We moved out of our home at the end of June not knowing where we were headed. The only thing we knew was that we were to drive west. We left Houston, setting off west towards New Mexico by way of San Antonio. After a quick overnight in San Antonio, we began the long drive towards Alamogordo, New Mexico.
A Recipe For Stress: check engine lights and West Texas
Texas, to no one’s surprise, is an insanely large state. It’s a long drive to get out of the state and, west of San Antonio, there. is. nothing. Not an hour outside of San Antonio one of our car’s check engine light popped on with an accompanying shudder that instantly caused our hearts to sink.
A Choice: 110 degrees and open road
Sitting at a gas station, an hour outside of San Antonio, we were faced with a choice. We were nowhere near an auto shop. We were acutely aware of the fact that before us was nothing other than 110-degree heat and open road. After a check under the hood, we could discern nothing. So, we prayed.
“Lord, what do we do? What is true?”
A soft response bubbled forth, “You’ll arrive safely. I will protect you. You will be ok.”
Those simple words brought us a choice: go forward in faith, or dismiss them and turn back. Was this truly God’s voice or simply what we wanted to hear? When faced with these moments it can be a challenge to know if what we’re hearing is truly the voice of God or some other voice. We had already taken a large step of faith as God called us to simply drive west. As we sat with the invitation to trust despite the circumstances, we sensed that this was yet another key moment in which we were being asked to trust God’s provision and protection.
Faith: Acting on hope
The thing was, God had been preparing us to move for months, leading up to this trip. Over the past few months we had regularly heard God say that he would protect us and provide for us fully and completely. By and large, he had. His invitation in those months had been to simply step forward in faith. His voice offered a hope rooted in his faithfulness. God had been consistently speaking to us and leading us.
There is nothing quite like staring at a blinking check engine light behind the wheel of a car that is struggling to accelerate when you have nothing but wide open road before you. Stress. Fear. Uncertainty. It all bubbles forth in those moments.
Our invitation became clear. We were to step forward and physically act as if the goodness proclaimed in God’s words of hope were actually real and reliable. This is the crux of faith. Faith acts and steps forward in a way that proves God’s hope filled words.
7 Hours the desert
We left the gas station somewhere outside of Kerrville, Texas and started towards New Mexico. The check engine light never stopped flashing. Driving through the desert of West Texas with a flashing dashboard light and little cell phone signal is not for the faint of heart. I’d be lying if I said my soul and body were at rest throughout the journey. But we made it. Over 7 hours of driving and we pulled into Alamogordo. We arrived safely, just as the Lord had said.
We arrived on a Saturday night. Naturally no auto shop was open. Nothing would be open until Monday morning, when we needed to start the next leg of our journey.
We prayed again and asked the Lord, “what do we do?”
The Lord responded us with such a gentle and calm, “find a shop, it’ll be easier than you think.”
First thing Monday morning, we found a shop not even a four-minute walk from where we were staying. I called the shop and explained our situation. We had to get back on the road by the middle of the day. They found a way to squeeze us in and got right to work.
An hour or two later, we received a call with the prognosis. “Not one of your cylinders is firing correctly and one is not firing at all. I’m surprised you were able to drive it so long.” In the end they were able to fix everything that morning. We were back on the road right as we needed to check out of the Airbnb we were staying in. It went about as well and as quickly as it could have. God had clearly carried us and provided for us as we followed him.
Discerning the voice of God requires faith (and practice)
In the end, we were indeed ok; we made it to New Mexico safely. The car’s maintenance was, in fact, easier than we anticipated. We could have turned back and found someone in San Antonio to take care of the car before proceeding. Perhaps that would have alleviated some of the stress we felt driving through the desert. But it also would have cost us at least a full day or two of driving time towards our new home.
Throughout the journey we saw how the previous months of prayer leading up to the trip prepared our hearts to know what was true and what we needed to do. We had heard God’s voice and acted on it a number of times. We saw him come through in very consistent ways.
When we are obedient to the voice of God, we are effectively stepping out in faith with a trust and reliance solely on him. Obedience leads to a humility that will ultimately tune our ears to his voice. Humility, in the sense of complete dependence allows us to see God clearly and cultivates discernment. We practiced (a lot) listening to God’s voice and stepping forth in trust. We had to actively choose to rely upon God. As we did this, we began to better know the Shepherd’s voice and dwell in the safety that he promises.
The first step however is always obedience. The fruit of obedience and complete dependence is what leads us to tread safely on the lion and the cobra. Or, in our case, drive hours through the middle of nowhere with an engine that shouldn’t be able to make it, and arrive safely with provision as we need it.