By Kathie Fico

II Chronicles 16:9, “”For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is fully committed to Him.”

“Tell her God loves her, and I want you to give her some money,” said the Lord. What do you do with that statement or one similar to it? Do you chalk it up to the pizza you ate the night before, question its validity, disregard it all together, or do you obey it?

Walking inside the FL Turnpike Restroom during our second stop on Christmas Eve, I was minding my own business, doing my business, when the Lord spoke to me. “Tell her God loves her, and I want you to give her some money. ”I told Him, “Ok.” After washing and drying my hands, I reached inside my purse and grabbed a five dollar bill. The Lord immediately asked me, “Wouldn’t you want an extravagant gift?” I told Him, “I would.” I put the five dollars back and searched for the largest bill I had. It was a twenty. As I pulled it out, my thoughts began to run wild, thinking of all the things I could do with it. And almost sequentially, I thought that the cleaning attendant probably needed it more. The attendant was busy filling one of the hand towel dispensers, so I waited on her, acting like I was waiting for someone. It felt like five minutes went by before she was finished. Did I begin to question the fact that maybe I was wrong in hearing what I heard? Yes I did. After all, my husband was probably done and waiting on me. I chose to wait.

Walking with a smile on my face toward the young lady, it appeared that she deliberately didn’t make eye contact with me. Did I question my actions at this point? Yes I did. When I reached her, I looked her in the eye and said, “God loves you.” Her eyes welled up with tears and she began telling me, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Placing my hand on her shoulder, I told her, “The Lord also wanted me to give you this, Merry Christmas!” I handed her the twenty dollar bill. A little smile came on her face, and she thanked me again and again. The Lord didn’t instruct me to do anything else, so I turned around and left.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” Deut 28:1-2. He said, “Fully follow all His commands I give you today”. Each day the Lord is speaking to us. He speaks to us through scripture, sermons, books, prayer, conversations, even through movies and music. Are we listening? Isaiah 1:19, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land”. Are we willing? Are we obedient?

Later that day, I was meditating on the events that had transpired. The Lord reminded me of His question. “Wouldn’t you want an extravagant gift?” I realized then that He was asking me too if I wanted an extravagant gift. I told Him that I would. I am so excited, and I’m in expectation of receiving an extravagant gift. For the Lord is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). What He’ll do for one, He’ll do for all. I encourage you too to expect an extravagant gift from the Lord.

I encourage you to trust Him to speak to you. Become better acquainted with the leading of the Holy Spirit, by being familiar with His ways and His thoughts. We deepen our faith in God as we deepen our trust in Him and His Word.

The more we trust Him, the more we will walk in obedience to His direction or instruction and always remember to Just Breathe!

 Reflection Corner:

1. Is spending time with God our #1 priority?                     
2. What adjustments do we need to make in our life in order to hear Him better?
3. When we do hear Him, will we trust and obey Him?