Craig Clouston

Listen to God, Then Do What He Says

To prepare God’s people for works of service …
Ephesians 4:12

It had been a rough year. Medical issues had left a seemingly insurmountable amount of debt. Yet they trusted in the Lord’s provision. This morning’s mail brought an unexpected bill. Molly had forgotten to include the quarterly water bill in the budget. She prayed, asking God to meet the need. Then Molly sent her pastor an e-mail asking if the church’s benevolence fund might cover half the water bill; they could handle the rest.
The phone rang. It was the bank asking Molly to please come and pick up an envelope someone had left for her.
So, grabbing her coat, she headed out. Upon arriving, she was handed a nondescript, white envelope. Thanking the young woman, she returned to the car to open it. To her amazement, she found two five-hundred-dollar money orders with an unsigned note. “Molly, we know how God uses you and how you say, ‘Listen to God, then do what He says.’ We are listening to God. Please receive this gift and use it as you see fit.”
Molly, tears in her eyes, ran back into the bank and asked the young lady, “Who did this?”
“I’m sorry, but they asked to remain anonymous,” the girl answered.
In her excitement, she drove to the church to share the miracle with her pastor! Unknown to her, he had responded to her e-mail, telling her to drop by with the bill so they could pay it. When she showed up, he assumed she was bringing the bill.
His smile grew as Molly shared her story of how God had moved on the hearts of His people to meet her need before it was known.

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God wants to move us to do good works on His behalf. He’s given us Scripture to help us understand how to hear His voice. He has also raised up others to aide us in distinguishing between His voice and the world.
Through their instruction, His Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and with persistent practice, we can learn to filter out the world’s noise.
The Father’s desire is for us to listen to His voice and then do what He says.

Prayer

“Speak, Lord. Then help me do what You say. Amen.”