“Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isa30:21 NASB)
Journal,
One way I know to testify to the goodness of the Lord is to share stories of how the Lord has often sustained me through the years. After all I am now seventy years on the pathway of life. As you read this entry I hope you will be able to look over your own life and remember just how oftentimes the Lord has blessed you. It could have been in the midst of a trial. Yes, we are all the same. We all have trials. We serve and love one Master.
This is why I wanted to call this entry, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’ There is something very special that happens between the Lord and His people. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and would not follow another. Most of God’s speaking in our lives will be like whispers of the heart. And in those whispers comes His peace. Yes, we do know the Shepherd’s voice.
Jesus is a living Savior.
Living by faith is a life of discovery. It begins with a call upon our heart. It completes itself with our entrance into heaven. And in between there will be many points of reality where the Lord shares something very special with us. With each sharing we acquire a renewing of God’s s goodness. Most of these sharings will be like whispers in our heart.
The Bible calls our walk with the Lord, ‘the path of life’.
“You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psa 16:11)
Fruitfulness in the Kingdom.
God makes known to us the path of life. Everything in a believer’s journey of life has in its setting the working of the Lord. It is important to understand this aspect of our journey. What the Lord may tell one believer, He will not necessarily tell another believer. Our walk will always be deeply personal. Every situation is different. And how the Lord works in each situation will be different. Everything wraps around the word ‘trust.’
I well remember when the Lord began to open my understanding to how fruitfulness works in the kingdom of God. Fruitfulness is basically a product of sowing and reaping. This principle affects everything that we do in life. It is one of the greatest of all the spiritual laws.
Paul shared some insight with Timothy:
“The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2Ti 2:6-7 NASB)
This is why Paul said that whatever a man sows, this is what he would also reap. Yes, financial well being is a real part of this great law. This is something that Betty and I learned. Every believer needs to learn this lesson in life. If you are not a sower don’t expect to be a reaper.
Let’s hear it from the apostle:
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2Co 9:6-8)
Now listen carefully to what Jesus said,
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” (Luk 6:38)
This was only a beginning place.
My heart was stirred. But it was only a beginning place for us. Not only did I repent of making debts but I soon saw where I was not to be signing notes for others when they make debts. I decided to never co-sign a note for anyone at any time. I was learning the ways of the Lord.
“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” (Pro22:7)
What does this have to do with whispers of the heart? Very much indeed. When we saw that sowing ‘according to the Spirit’ was a vital key in living a fruitful life, Betty and I ask the Lord to guide us in our sowing. We began sowing in new ways. It was during this time the Lord spoke to my heart. He said, “Because you have believed Me, in six months you will be out of debt.”
Six months later we were completely out of debt. We were back into full time ministry. And we have lived on that level of life ever since. It has been well over 35 years since we’ve had a car payment or any other kind of debt. We don’t borrow. We don’t make debts. We don’t sign notes for others. And we learn to sow by the Spirit.
I will remain forever grateful and humbled for how the Lord taught me this wonderful truth of sowing and reaping. And it all revolves around living according to the Spirit.
But walking down the path of life isn’t simply about finances. The real key is to learn to live a life under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
This brings me to ….
A word on healing
It is important to remember that God knows what we need at each point of our life journey. With regard to healing, oftentimes the Lord will use doctors to help us in our walk. At othertimes He can provide a healing miracle. The important thing is that the Lord is always in the background of our life, guiding us, providing for us, and arranging circumstances in a way that is according to His will and purpose.
The Lord has blessed me through physicians. He has also blessed me with direct healing from His hand. My latest healing was from cancer. The Lord prepared me for this when He spoke to me, saying, “Expect the unexpected.”
(For this testimony see: http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/09/a-dove-on-the-wire.)
I well remember another case when the Lord gave me something to do. It happened in March, 1978. Here is the story. I’ll title it…
Run for Your Life
It was March, 1978. In closing the seminar in Garland, Texas, I began to feel a weakness in my body. On my way home from Garland, the weakness became more pronounced. The two times that I stopped along the way, when I stepped out of the car I would stumble. This was really strange. (Once for a snack. Another time to fill up.) I was getting concerned.
The weakness worsened. I had never experienced anything like it. After I made it home the weakness became worse. I could barely walk without falling. I had no strength in my arms or hands. Finally I was talked into seeing a doctor. Blood work and all the minor tests were made. They couldn’t find anything wrong.
The doctor said that he suspected multiple sclerosis (MS) and wanted to do further tests.
That’s when I said no more tests. I felt that it was a spiritual attack and not simply something physical. (There is so much more to the story. This is a shortened version.)
Then it happened. I’m at my desk at home when I have this impression that I was to run. How could I possibly run? It was difficult to walk without tripping over. The impression was strong. I stepped out the kitchen door, and made a vain attempt to run. If anyone could see me they would think I was crazy. Every few steps I would stumble and fall.
Now I’m back at my desk, sweaty and puzzled. It came again. It was a whisper of the heart. I’ve learned to trust those impressions of the Spirit. I was to run. Once again I stepped out the kitchen door. This time something different was in play. As I began to run I literally felt a strengthening in my body. I picked up speed and ran around the house without stumbling. My strength was returning. Next thing you know all the weakness has left.
And that is the story of my healing from whatever it was. Do I believe it was spiritual? Yes, I do. Would I recommend that anyone do what I did? No, I would not. Living by faith is too personal a thing to go around trying to mimic others.
While there is more to the story I will share something the Lord said to me. It left me in tears of thankfulness. The Lord said, “I delivered you out of the mouth of the lion.”
Is that all?
I could go on and on. For instance there was the time that a tornado was racing towards the church and our parsonage. Betty and the children were in our trailer home. (Church parsonage.) It had just hit a store up the road. The lady had walked to the center of the store and all four walls flattened out. She was unscathed.
The tornado was on a straight path towards the church and the parsonage. I was outside in the church yard. I saw the trees were whipping and snapping off. I began running towards the trailer home. That is when I heard the Lord speak to my heart, “Satan would like to destroy you, but he can not. I have you in the palm of My hand.”
It hit and knocked me to the ground. I watch the front porch of our trailer parsonage rip through the woods. Along with it went our storage building. Yet the trailer did not even tremble. Betty and the children were safe.
Oh yes, I have stories to tell. They are all true. And they are all about my walk down the path of life. But they are not hero stories on my part. I am not a hero. These stories are all about the goodness of the Lord.
The greatest story of all is that Jesus Christ is truly my Lord and Savior. Had He never provided any sort of miracle for me, I could never thank Him enough.
How about you? Do you have stories you could tell? Feel free to share them. (If you like you can use the comment portion of the blog.)
That’s all for now.
May you discover all of God’s goodness for your life.
In love with Jesus,
Buddy
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