Intuition

"The secret of fortune is joy in our hands." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 24 Assignment: Intuition by Susan Piver

If you could picture your intuition as a person, what would he or she look like? If you sat down together for dinner, what is the first thing he or she would tell you?



I picture my intuition as looking amazingly like an older version of me. She's that old woman in the rocking chair on a country porch, with a glass of lemonade, waiting to freely give information when asked.

I imagine that my intuition would study me for a while, look deep into my eyes and simply say: "I've been waiting for you... I've been waiting for you to believe in yourself and to trust that inner voice."

I think that true intuition is Divine Knowledge.

The Bible has a lot to say about knowledge and wisdom.  In Hosea 4:6, we are told:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."

Makes sense. Without knowledge we make foolish choices. Not only can these choices affect our daily life and circumstances, but they can also effect our eternal life.

We spend a great deal of time seeking knowledge. We read, we get a formal education, we attend seminars and classes, we get one-on-one advice. But, we often spurn and ignore the source of true wisdom. Hosea says that we reject knowledge.

Yet, it isn't difficult to know what to do.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." 

~ James 1:5

In fact, most of the time we really do know what action we should take and what path we should walk. The problem is, we don't want to. We have our own ideas and preferences.

In fact, it's typical for us to look for validation for doing it our way (is that Frank Sinatra singing in the backround?). I've seen people ask one person after another, hoping to find someone who will agree with their point of view so that they can convince themselves they are doing the right thing.

All the while, there is a still, small voice saying "do it this way."

Most parents can identify with this. We give our children advice, but frequently they ignore our advice as if we have never been teenagers and don't know what they are going through and, in fact, we appear to know very little in their eyes. So, they do it there way.

All we wanted to do was save them some time, pain and aggravation. But often they choose the hard teacher, experience, instead.

I think God must look at us, His children, the same way sometimes. We ask for His advice in prayer, and then don't follow where His Spirit leads. He has given us an instruction manual for life, but we seek advice from our peers instead who know no more than we do.

All the while, God waits patiently for us to take the path that He has prepared for us. Pastor Susan Allen puts it this way, "Instead of taking the path that already has God's blessing on it, we want to take our own path and then ask God to bless it."

The good news is, we serve an amazing God who can take the messes we make in our lives and turn them into good.

Abraham and Sarah tried to take their own path and Ishmael was the result. But, God still blessed their union and gave them Isaac.

I don't believe in predestination, except that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son. (Romans 8:29-30)  Even then, we still have free will and choice in the matter. We can reject this amazing gift of life if we so chose.

I do believe that God has a preferred path for our lives. I think He tries to guide us in that path. But we often don't hear or follow His leadings and make our own way. That doesn't mean all hope is lost. Our God is a God of limitless possibilities. If we miss our turn off, we can always take the next exit and make a U-Turn.

Some day I believe we will see how different our lives would have been had we chosen, or trained ourselves, to listen.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

~ Jeremiah 29:11

#Trust30 Day Twenty Four