"I haven't bought any new dress clothes in...I don't even remember when," Debra said. "Yesterday I felt the Lord leading me to an expensive dress shop downtown where I have never shopped before. So I went. Guess what? They had a whole rack full of executive-looking clothes marked 2/3 off the usual price!
"I prayed the whole time I was shopping. I have learned that when I buy stuff I don't need, God just requires that I give it away. I actually left some clothes in the store that looked great because I bought only what I felt the Lord was saying I needed.
"The store owner was boxing up the sale rack items this Saturday and shipping them off. If I had waited a few days in obeying the voice of God, the opportunity would have vanished! God is good. He wants to bring balance and self-control to every area of our lives."
It's true! God guides even shopping details for those who have a listening ear.
I love the line in Numbers 10:33 that says the Ark of the Covenant went ahead to find them a place to rest. To follow the Holy Spirit is to follow our resting place. As we follow Him, we find a rest in our spirits.
Who would not want to follow what God declares to be a resting place for us? Well, the Israelites, for one. "Now the people complained about their hardships," we read a few verses later (11:1). Surely the Holy Spirit would not have led them through hardships after promising to find them a place to rest! What is the answer to this mystery?
This is a picture of what happens in our spiritual lives. What God calls a resting place may at times look to us to as a hardship, and we complain just like the Israelites. To enjoy the rest God provides means we accept His choices, and then we find His choice is the best.
Only after Debra handed God control of her finances did she acquire the listening ear while shopping. She became willing to allow Him to choose her purchases and then to delight in His choices. When she no longer craved more than He wanted her to have, she found rest in her spirit!
Dear Jesus, I find my rest in allowing You to choose for me.
"Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (Romans 8:5).
"I haven't bought any new dress clothes in...I don't even remember when," Debra said. "Yesterday I felt the Lord leading me to an expensive dress shop downtown where I have never shopped before. So I went. Guess what? They had a whole rack full of executive-looking clothes marked 2/3 off the usual price! 