The Things to Come by Lisa Burkhardt Worley
When the world shouts one thing but the Lord whispers another, who do you listen to?
When we attempt to live upright lives, obedient to God, there’s a bonus we receive: direct revelation about our lives from our Father in Heaven. Multiple, sometimes countless signs through Scripture, circumstances and messages from other sources, direct our paths. Often times the revelation is about the things to come, not our current setting, and believing the direct word from God takes faith and trust in what God is telling us. Sometimes the vision or dream is difficult for us to accept so it’s understandable that it’s even more difficult for others to believe. They may scoff at what they may think is absurd. God understands this so he generally provides at least one friend who believes and shares the revelation with you.
I call this current day “walking on the water.” I can remember over ten years ago when I was in charge of an event in San Antonio designed to draw people from the media/pr/marketing industries. I decided to ask well known Christian apologist and author Lee Strobel to be our keynote speaker. I found Strobel in California but when I asked him to speak in Texas, he said he was booked for two years and would be unable to commit.
I was disappointed and started to move on, but God began to show me through repeat supernatural messages that Strobel would be drawn to San Antonio and that I needed to plan the event even though the well known author said “no.” So our team walked on the water, trusting that God would do the work to get Strobel to the Alamo City.
We secured a venue, planned the event, booked a hotel room and worked on airfare. We walked on the water three weeks. There were a few times where I thought, “What if I’m not right and people think I’m a fool?” But after the three week stretch, Strobel called me and said, “Let’s talk about San Antonio.” God had done the work in him and we ended up with four sold out events with Strobel as the keynote speaker. We had faith that the multiple messages from God were correct, not coincidental, and God blessed our trust in Him.
What I’ve found is that when God gives you direct revelation, you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out how it’s going to unfold. Instead, you need to focus on the day at hand and trust God to guide you each day to do the work required to reach the goal of whatever he has planned for you. Isaiah 48:17 says,
This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
Psalm 143:8 echoes this thought:
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
God has called me to “walk on the water” numerous times since the Strobel exercise and I’m currently wearing my water shoes again. I realize I have to trust the countless confirmations no matter how impossible the scenario looks. I will keep my eyes fixed on Jesus to wherever he leads, because I know when I hit dry land, there will be a blessing waiting for me through my obedience.
Has God ever shared your future with you? Where is He leading you?