Hearing God's Still Small Voice - You Have to Keep Your Ears Open

I've heard people say this many times, "I wish God would speak to Me." or "How do I hear the voice of God?"  I think as God has grown me I am beginning to understand.  I have met people who have the amazing gift of revelation from God in audible words, dreams, or visions and that is amazing for sure!  And when I tell my wife that the Lord gave me a verse today she wants to know how I heard it.  I have a hard time explaining it.  It's not audible but it’s not just a thought either. It’s clear and direct and unmistakable.  But most times, I think, God’s voice is small and quiet and we need to be open to hear it.  Today I want to share with you a story that reveals how God sometimes speaks to us and gives us the choice to listen and be amazed or shrug it off and miss a blessing.  This is a story of Don Frey, a man made in the image of God.  I called Don this morning for his permission to share this story and he seemed pleased to have it told so here it goes!

A couple of years ago I was asked to fill in for my pastor and preach from the pulpit (or I guess not from the pulpit if I so chose).  I spent a few weeks praying and seeking God's direction and I felt Him leading me to speak about man's being made in the image of God.  I had recently learned of Nick Vujicic a man who was born without arms or legs but was preaching the Gospel all over the world.  A man who swims, trades commodities, and types with the toes of his small, deformed foot.  I planned on showing a video clip of Nick and his ministry "Life Without Limbs" in the middle of my message. 

On the Saturday before I was to preach I was meeting with Ivor (my partner in this ministry and our worship leader) at a small local coffee shop.  We were discussing the I-61 Project and while we were there a man came into the coffee shop and walked up to the counter.  I was not aware of this but Ivor happened to be at the counter at the time.  The man appeared to be in his late fifties.  He was somewhat disheveled and his shirt was buttoned up wrong.  He told the young woman working at the counter that he had schizophrenia but was on medications and was looking for work.  Ivor came back sat down and our meeting went on as before.  I never saw the man that day.

Sunday morning comes along and I am on the platform getting ready for worship when I see Ivor walking up to me with that look on his face.  It was one of those, “I just heard from God” looks.  Here is the dialogue:

“David, the man from the coffee shop is here!”

“What man from the coffee shop?”

He tells me the story I told you from Saturday at the coffee shop then continues,

“David, he walks in and the Holy Spirit pushes me to introduce myself and when I do he says, ‘My name is Don. Do you have any doughnuts?’ So I tell him that I don’t think so but when I look down the hall a lady is walking toward me with a plate of . . . you guessed it . . . doughnuts!  So I say, ‘I guess we do have doughnuts after all.’  Then Don asks me if we have a piano in our church so I show him the piano in our fellowship hall.  He sits down and starts playing Chopin, like I mean,  flawlessly.”

So they we were looking at each other with the same crazy thought:  “God wants Don to play for us at church today.”  Alright, I reckon that I’ll never be asked to preach here again but let’s pray about it and see where the Holy Spirit leads.  So I preach the first half of my message and queue up the video of Nick Vujicic, sit down, and begin to pray like crazy!  In my spirit I hear the Lord say, “Chuck your notes.”  I’m like, “No Lord.  I worked for three weeks on this message!”  Again I hear, “Chuck your notes.”  I look up and see Don sitting in the front row and Ivor sitting behind him.  Ivor was smiling a “God said go for it” kind of smile.  OK God, this is your service not mine.  I stood up and said, “I had a fair amount more to say to you today but the Lord has other plans.  God wants us to see one of the people made in his image. God made music and made Don to share that music.  Don would you like to play the piano for us?  Don smiles, stands up, gives the congregation a somewhat lengthy but interesting introduction then sits at the piano and plays like an angel from heaven.  I wept and others wept as well.  Some, as you would expect were like, “Who in the world let this random guy, off the street, play piano during a ‘church’ service?! His name is not even in the bulletin!”  What if Jesus showed up?  Would he be permitted to play?  Hmmmm?

Here is the moral of the story.  God by the power of his Spirit directs our lives but we have to be willing to listen and obey.  I have spent way more time with my eyes closed and in willful disobedience but as I walk with God I am starting to see miracles and they are blessing me almost daily.  One last bit of trivia and a little icing on the cake (God does that I think just because he can):  Don’s father (Eric Frey) invented and holds a US patent for one of the Braille Typewriting machines. Don just wanted you to know.

Grace and peace,

David