Obeying God’s Spirit

Every time I think of God asking what seems to be an unthinkable request, I’m reminded of the biblical patriarch Abraham.

God told Abraham to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. From our viewpoint, this seems like an unlikely request because Isaac was the son through whom God said He would build a great nation. Did our Lord know what He was doing? Obviously so, as this story is one of our best examples of how someone listened to and faithfully obeyed God’s Spirit. At the point of sacrifice, the angel of the Lord called out to Abraham, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad …: for now, I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:12, KJV).

Over the last few weeks, I, too, have sensed God’s presence in a way I didn’t expect. Since my husband and I are retired, our incomes are fixed.

But we are blessed that there is enough to live on with some extra. Tithe and offerings come off the top, plus we support a few charities.

So, when God’s Spirit whispered to me to do more, I was, in a word, surprised. In retrospect, my argument seemed trivial: “Father, I’m doing what is requested and a little extra. I don’t think there are any additional funds to work with.” That’s when God called my attention to the checkbook tucked away in my purse.

Sure enough, there was a little more than usual in our account after the monthly bills had been paid and savings securely tucked away.

Resigned to God’s leading, I asked, “What would You have me do?” The answer came immediately. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging across the globe, and I personally knew someone who was financially impacted through the closure of her small business. My first step was to send her a check. Then there were others whom I know who had lost loved ones. They, too, received a donation to help with likely expenses.

But God wasn’t finished. Since our little conversation, I have been convicted that every time the funds left over from our obligations reach a certain amount, a needy person will benefit from them. God is so good. I personally can’t thank Him enough for His love, mercy, and blessings to me. I’m just ecstatic to be called His child!

Yvonne Curry Smallwood