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“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”
John 10:27 (ESV)

So it’s come to this? Lovely. I’m now an official “dumpster diver”!

I was searching through bags of trash for a check. It hadn’t arrived like clockwork as it had for the last two months.

I figured it had to be among the household waste—the most logical among other possibilities which barreled through my mind: Was it lost in the mail? Was it stolen and already cashed?

No, I must have thrown it away during one of my brain fog moments!

Finally, I finished inspecting every trash bag. No way it had been thrown away. It was time to navigate my way around the issuer’s website.

But when even the website search didn’t work out so well, I threw in the towel, thinking I’d wait until Monday to find out what was going on.

A simple call on Monday showed me two things: 1) The company sending me the check had a system I did not understand and 2) the information I was looking for WAS on their website.

In my haste to look for what I needed, I didn’t take the time to see what information the website contained. It also didn’t take long for me to remember, oh yeah; early on someone did tell me how and when the checks would be issued. To top it off, I had not explored all of the “tabs” on the website. Had I listened to what had been spoken to me or taken the time to fully look at the site, I would have saved myself an afternoon frolicking through the rubbish. I had to admit, it was my own fault, so I looked for a greater lesson to be gleaned from it all.

There was. I heard that still small voice in my heart beckoning me to listen…

In our relationship with God, it is no different; we have to understand how the “system” of His “Government” operates. We do this by spending time reading and studying His Word and through an intimate time of prayer and worship.

I am so thankful that as we keep ourselves grounded in Him, immersed in His written Word and sensitive to His Spirit, we can hear His voice! If there is one time in my life I need to hear Him, it is now!!!…do I move?…do I buy a place or keep renting?…do I home school my children again?…how do I help my children, who are so different from each other, heal?…how will I know when I’m to take my wedding rings off?… The Father already has the answers to all of our questions. Some will come sooner than others, but it is up to us to ask them and then quietly wait and listen for Him to answer.

Father, as a citizen in Your Kingdom, I thank You for being our Source. It is You we turn to first; there is no plan B. I thank You that through Your righteousness in us, we have access to all that is Yours; that we don’t have to try and figure things out; that we do hear Your voice because we spend intimate time with You. And when the voice of circumstance tries to infiltrate our minds and negatively influence our actions, we recognize the voice of Truth, speaking peace! Everything we need of, Lord, is found in You. We thank You, Father, that we don’t react or make decisions based on how we feel but respond according to the Word. You are the Word, Lord, and You cannot fail. As our Shepherd, we hear Your voice, recognize it and follow You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.