HEAR THE VOICE

There have been numerous times when I have experienced and sensed the voice of the Lord. No, not an audible voice that I could hear with my natural ears but a voice from within that I could sense and hear by my spirit. I have not always understood the reasons and purposes of the instructions or revelations that I have sensed and heard, and I know that any such revelations should be evaluated and tested to see if they conform, and are in alignment with, the teachings of the known word of God, the Bible. The following is an account of something that happened a few months after I had made the decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27   NIV

One day, as I was leaving work and had driven a short distance down the road, I glanced over to my right side and saw a man, sitting in a chair, between the door and the driveway of a house. I immediately sensed that there was something about that man that was important. I continued to drive down the road but the sense and insight that there was something about that man that was pulling me, became a stronger and stronger force. I wheeled into a driveway,  turned around, drove back to the house where the man was sitting and slowly drove into the driveway, stopping about 30 feet from where he was sitting.

The man was about 90 years old, a small, slender individual. He was neatly dressed with a small cap on his head. I would refer to it as a Ivy League Cap with a small bill on the front. I approached him and told him that I noticed him as I was driving by and believed that the Lord wanted me to stop and talk with him. He smiled a little and told me that I was welcome. I sensed some excitement within me but I did not know the reason or purpose that I was there. We talked for several minutes about a lot of things and I liked the man and enjoyed talking with him. I told him about my experiences of repentance and turning my life toward Jesus and he thought that it was wonderful. I asked him if he knew the Lord and he said, "Yes, I know the Master". I told him that I thought that was wonderful, using the same word that he had used.

We talked for quite some time and during the conversation a lady came out from within the house to see what was going on and after being assured that everything was fine, she went back inside. To my knowledge I had never seen either of them before. Before I left, I told the man that I would like to pray with him and for him, and he said that would be very welcome. As I placed my hand on his shoulder, he removed the little cap from his head and held it in front of him, against his body, and closed his eyes. I thought at the time that he was honoring God by removing his cap. I prayed, thanking God for the opportunity to speak with the man and asking God to bless him and take care of him. When I finished praying I looked at the older gentleman and there were big tears rolling down both cheeks but he was smiling and looked happy. That caused some tears to start in my eyes. I told him that I had enjoyed the opportunity to speak with him and believed that God would continue to bless him.

I never saw the older gentleman again. I never sensed the need or direction to stop at the house again, but some few months after speaking with him I was in a restaurant one evening and happened to meet the lady that had come out of the house to check on him while we were speaking. I recognized her and told her that I was the one who had stopped at the house. She remembered me. I asked her about the older man and she told me that he had passed away just a few weeks earlier.

I still don't know the reasons or purpose of my visit with the old man but I don't have to know. I am sure that in God's plan, whatever He wanted to accomplish was accomplished. The blood of Jesus has made all things possible.

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Isaiah 55:11  KJV

And that's the way it was that day, on Pilgrim Jim's Journey.
Jim Clark

    Next Article:   A lesson from the Master Teacher                                                                   Back to HOME page