IA-NE Obedience

 November 21, 2021

IOWA

    The word of the day from God was 1 Corinthians 4. It prepared me to not judge, not seek attention from others and position myself in humility. 

The One who evaluates me is the Lord. Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts.

~1 Corinthians 4:4b-5

    Iowa was full of very high winds. On these highways I've been traveling, there are many big trucks that travel at high speeds. At one point, all the big trucks around me came to a screeching halt, pulling their emergency brakes. Praise Jesus, I had room on my right to pull into another lane so the truck that was traveling too close behind me could keep rolling forward. It definitely makes me uncomfortable how close these trucks can ride. Moments like this remind me why. 

Fields to the left, fields to the right. 

    Fields of farmland stretched as far as the eye can see in every direction. Through this monotonous sea of beige and light green under pale blue skies, God was teaching me about wealth distribution. God's word was: SOW! I past a sign about corn walls to protect your property. God gave me an amount to give away. I went up to the house and knocked on the door. No answer. A small part of me wondered if I heard correctly but then God spoke to my heart. He told me He just wanted my obedience. 

Place of obedience.

    Maybe that's all that God wanted me to do but I felt like that money God asked of me should now be directed elsewhere. I was looking for opportunities to glorify God with that money. Meanwhile, God told me to get rid of some of my clothes. There was a clothing drop and I had a bag of clothes in the back of the truck. When I went to get the bag, he revealed to me that I only needed to get rid of my favorite sweater (not my sweatpants that keep me warm). I wasn't too happy about my hesitance in wanting to get rid of my pants but God is so gentle. 

    This whole leg of the trip was about putting obedience over sacrifice. Pay for the person before me at the register, pull over here, drop off your clothes there. Then, God gave me a revelation. A fire came upon me as a result of that obedience in time, finances and doing as He tells me. The release of the video testimony that Jennifer Turner and Devon Stone put together at C3 Church was part of this blessing of God's fire upon me.

Testimony of God's abundance

    God didn't just want my money. He wanted obedience from me in every area of my life. At one gas station, I saw a woman across from me at the pump. God gave me a word for her. As I walked over to her, I introduced myself and asked if I could pray for her. She agreed. I said her daughter was going to be ok and not to worry about her. I prayed for good health for her family and for financial abundance. I encouraged her to rise up and pray. When God told me about her daughter being ok, I had no idea if I heard correctly. Did she even have a daughter? How dare I question God but I did. God is so gentle, as I came toward her, I saw two girls in the car. It gave me more confidence, being the chances of them being her daughters were pretty high.

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

Stock photo from internet on Omaha, Nebraska

    I arrived in Omaha after dark. It surprised me. I didn't expect it to look the way it did. It was a mini-city with a lot of bars, neon signs and looming debauchery. The next morning, I was told a shooting happened that night, not far from the hotel. 

Breakfast at the hotel.

    I was delighted that I was able to get spinach for breakfast. Getting greens on the road isn't easy, especially for breakfast. A lovely woman greeted me at breakfast. Her name was Betty. She confided in me her story of ill-health, leading to her losing her job followed by her apartment and how she was just getting back to work. She had asked for prayer. Remember that money God told me to give? Well, I felt led to transfer that to Betty. I wrote her a check and left. 

    Later on, Betty contacted me. She had gotten my number from the hotel. She told me the money was stolen from her and asked if I could send more. I told her I would be available for prayer anytime but never to contact me about money again. After hearing this, many would say I should have never given that money. Did I do the right thing? Honestly, I won't know until I get to heaven but I would rather be financially generous when in doubt than miss an opportunity or a test God sets before me. 

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

Matthew 7:1-2