The Whispers Of God.

A few weeks ago while passing through Oklahoma City, Kim and I were able to stop at LifeChurch.tv where we used to attend church. It was great to be there again and experience the fellowship & powerful messages.

That weekend they had a guest speaker, Bill Hybels. His message was on hearing the “whispers” of God, and deciding what to do with them. I had already planned on writing this column at the time, so hearing this message was both educational and a confirmation.

The gist of his message can be summarized in one sentence: Listening to and obeying the whispers of God results in the unleashing of His favor and anointing.

That’s it. You want to be blessed in this life? You want God to give you His favorable Hand in what you do? Then pay attention to what He’s telling you. And DO it.

This is a lesson that He continues to show me slowly, day-by-day. And just like Hybels said, I find He rewards me in accordance to my direct obedience to Him.

About two months ago I was driving in the car and praying. My lawyers (who helped me set up Mills Creative Minds as an LLC) were going through tough times, financially. The landlord of their building decided to stop paying the electric bill, so everyone in the entire high-rise were about to be cut off and thrown out. (If that’s not the textbook definition of “hard times,” I don’t know what is…)

So I prayed for them. I asked God what more I could do for them. He said to pay my lawyers an extra $500 IN ADDITION to the $1,600 I owed them for making Mills Creative Minds an LLC. I readily admit it: I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes, turning things over in my mind. Was that really God who said that? Or was it my mind playing tricks on me? Wouldn’t that just be awkward? Telling them I was giving them money because “God told me to”?

This is what we often do when God speaks to us. We try to discount the message because we find it unpleasant or painful. In this instance, paying $500 was quite painful. I have a set amount of funds set aside this year to get Mills Creative Minds off the ground. Most everything is earmarked for certain areas already. That $500? That was going to buy me a new monitor, which would in turn allow me to work more efficiently when designing ideas.

But there was no doubt in my mind: it was God who spoke. How did I know? Well, for one thing, it was a specific answer to a specific question. And secondly, my fleshly self was resistant to the idea. Which means it didn’t come from ME at all. So these two facts were enough to convince me to do it. I wrote them a note, apologizing for the awkwardness of it all, and sent ‘em a check for $500. I figured if I began Mills Creative Minds by following His leading, why in the world would I stop now?

The following week they sent me a thank you note, along with a very unexpected confession. In addition to their property woes, their practice was going through a particularly hard time overall that month, and they weren’t going to get a paycheck at the end of October. (It’s a small family practice; father, son & daughter.) They said that receiving the two ADDITIONAL checks for $250 apiece was heartbreaking for them, seeing how God was using an everyday schmo like me to meet their needs. (My words, not theirs.)

Surprisingly, my giving also had a direct result on me as well. Quite simply, God’s favor was suddenly unleashed in my life in ways I had never imagined. Not only has He provided for me financially, but mentally as well. Simply put, my brain is on FIRE since then. Pieces of the licensing puzzle are falling into place left and right. It’s fantastic. Things that previously stumped me are suddenly clicking, making perfect sense. I have a renewed sense of understanding. Of insight. Wisdom.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”     – Luke 6:38

So the moral of this story is this: do what God is telling you to do.

Listen for His voice. Read His Word. Seek His insight. Hear what He’s been saying to you.

And then DO it. Obey Him. Follow through.

You will be blessed in ways you never imagined.

-Kevin