Personalized Passwords from The Holy Spirit
Having sweet fun with God to help in your discernment. (He loves you so.)
Good morning, dear readers! I hope you enjoy this read as much I enjoyed experiencing the tale. I would love to hear if you’ve had experience with this!
PERSONALIZED PASSWORDS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT
I was scrolling the other day (isn’t that funny how we talk now? A hundred years ago I would have handwritten “I was strolling the other day,” that, don’t you think, is preferable?) But on my scroll a young woman shared a story about dating a man and how she wanted to make sure she was within the will of God to continue to see him. So she came up with a silent and private password just between her and God that she never said out loud. Because the Lover of your soul can hear your thoughts. But the enemy of your soul cannot. (Thank God!) In her case, it was an image.
She chose a yellow pear.
Now isn’t that interesting? I wouldn’t choose a yellow pear. But she did. She stressed how unusual seeing a yellow pear was, that normally you’d see a green pear. Where was she in the world? I don’t know but I thought how seeing a yellow pear was not that hard. Maybe in her neck of the woods it’s downright odd. (after searching for picture of a yellow pear I am now convinced that it is harder to find.)
Within a relatively short amount of time wouldn’t you know, yellow pears started showing up in her life. Not once, not twice, but three times. (wink, wink)
I loved this idea, so I tried it out.
As you may have read, I’ve been going through quite a year with new family members most of whom have been welcoming but we live in a fallen world and so there are roller coasters and hiccoughs. (Why is “hiccup” spelled hiccough? I mean I see what the speller was trying to do…he ponders, “well it’s kinda like a cough with a ‘hic’ sound at the beginning so I’ll just combine it.” And now no one can spell it.) Despite the bumps in the road there are light snow showers of grace throughout. I thought I’d try this password game with the Holy Spirit about some things I’ve been trying to determine.
PRAY AND TAKE ALL THE NOTES
So I went into some deep prayer and took some notes. I don’t know about you, but I have learned to write everything down when I go into prayer. (It’s not just because I’m a writer!) Even the stuff that seems to come outa left field. (Especially the stuff that seems from left field.)
Then I told God what I wanted my password to be. (I can’t tell you, that’s between me and God and would thwart the whole purpose of the exercise.)
For a week – nuthin’. I heard, saw, read, felt nothing that would tell me that the thing I was wondering about was approved or confirmed. I didn’t forget about it or harp on it. I didn’t give up. But I did let go.
But after a week went by – I saw it. And what was interesting was that I saw it in an environment that was conformed to the particular issue. It was the perfect setting. Isn’t that so God? Then another week went by, and the password rolled out of someone’s mouth! Someone significant who had no idea. Just poppled out in regular conversation, trippingly on the tongue, unbeknownst to anyone but me.
Now what’s really fun here – and I’m still determining if it really means anything or if it’s a simple “God wink” (which is always meaningful) – remember how I said above that I write everything significant I hear in prayer? Well, I heard a funny little phrase. A quote that you’d know. And I remember thinking “why the heck did I think that?” but I wrote it down.
This same phrase two weeks later came bouncing out of someone’s mouth with whom I was chatting. Just out of nowhere. And ding! ding! I remembered the note taking and the day in prayer.
Confirmation. Or at the very least, pay attention.
I can’t say that it was a big “wow” confirming something I needed desperately to know but it was more of a small and sweet grace from God reminding me that he hears me and a whimsical reassurance that I hear him too.
NO CHEATING
It also bears reminding that you can’t change the rules mid-game. If you said the password means “X”, then you can’t change your mind and make it mean “Y” because you’ve suddenly decided that “Y” is preferable. That’s cheating.
I also learned that you need to be very clear about what the little prayer password is confirming. Don’t confuse or complicate the issue!
We do not have a God of confusion but of clarity. If you find yourself amidst a sea of confusion – he didn’t call you to that. Time to head back to that silence, that prayer closet, that nature walk, and allow him to sift out all but what he has called you to.
If you ask, he’ll do it.
Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you fill find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. Luke 11, 9-13
Beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…1 John 4:1