“After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
1 Kings 19:12
God’s Call
In July 2011, most days were the same at the Christian book publisher where I worked. They were the same in that something unexpected seemed to happen nearly every day. That hot, humid summer day was no exception. I took a call from Craig. Besides taking his order, I learned that he and his wife were the volunteer coordinators for another ministry that was hosting an evangelistic crusade in Las Vegas, Nevada—America’s sandbox.
When he shared that piece of information, something tugged at my heart. I did not know why or how, but I suddenly had a need grow within me to be a part of that experience. Thinking it was a ridiculous notion, I dismissed the idea, but God did not let me off the hook so easily.
A couple weeks later, I visited my mother for the weekend. On that early August afternoon, Mom and I were watching an international convention in which different ministries told how God was leading in their various parts of the world. Then, the new speaker/director for the ministry hosting the event in Las Vegas looked through the camera lens right at me and said, “We are looking for volunteers to help in every department at these meetings. We need YOU!”
That shook me. That man did not even know who I was or that I was even watching the event. How could he even see me from across the country in a tiny Michigan living room?
Of course, he could not see me, but God could. At that point, I believed that God had called. I did not need to know why. I just needed to know that God, in fact, had chosen me to be a part of this vital work of spreading the gospel message. I started to pray for God’s will in making this excursion, which would mean taking time off without pay. In the following few weeks, I began to make some telephone calls.
I finally spoke with the ministry’s evangelism director, and he had words for me that rang in my heart: “This is a divine appointment. We need you there. Talk to Muriel, and she will give you the information you need.” I spoke with Muriel, and she referred me back to the volunteer coordinators. I continued to pray.
Praying for God’s Will
Next, I needed to speak with my company’s president about taking more than six weeks off, and I prayed for God’s timing in making the request. Just before I awoke on an early November morning, I had a dream of the metal statue in Daniel chapter two, which is a prophetic timeline of history until the Second Coming of Jesus. I knew that this was the day I needed to make my request.
At the publishing ministry, we had staff worship every workday morning. I planned to speak with the president immediately after the final “Amen”; however, he vanished before I could catch him. Clearly, that was not God’s timing. This allowed me to continue praying throughout the day for the right words to say. Finally, about 4:00 p.m., he walked by my office, and I asked him to come in. I told him what was happening, and I didn’t want an answer that day. I asked him to pray about God’s will. He agreed.
I began to plan for the journey because I was confident that it was God’s design to go on my first mission trip. The shortest distance between Michigan and Vegas is through Colorado. However, I was not going to drive through Colorado in the dead of winter.
I had an aunt who once lived in Salt Lake City. More than once, she had commented that she often ate breakfast on her deck in February, albeit sweater weather. Thus, I planned to drive a more southerly route on the trek west and north on the way home.
I kept praying. Thanksgiving came and went—no word. Christmas came and went—no word. Since I needed to leave on January 12, I asked God, “Do I need to say something again?” Silence.
On December 22, one of my colleagues announced his departure from the company on January 5, which was a week before I needed to leave. I thought surely I would not get the approval I needed to take off nearly seven weeks. Nevertheless, I kept praying.
I went into the New Year’s weekend without an answer. January 3, just nine days before I needed to leave, I received the authorization. God’s guiding hand was at work.
The Journey Commenced
During my prayer time, I was impressed to switch the outbound route and drive to the north first, then drive to the south on the return to Michigan. I didn’t know why, but I planned accordingly.
A snowstorm was predicted for January 12 that was to track from around Lake Michigan and well into the deep south. Deciding the best thing to do was to trust God, I met the storm head-on.
Whenever I drove west, the fastest route was through Gary, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois. Being of an independent nature, possessing a decent sense of direction, and having an atlas in hand, my mother, my schnauzer Gus, and I embarked on the route west.
Just two hours into the January snowstorm, we had to detour off the interstate through downtown Gary, Indiana. I had no knowledge of the layout of Gary, so we followed the traffic. My trucker dad always said, “If you’re going in the right direction, you’ll get there.” Soon we were on the highway again. When the three of us crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa that evening, we had driven safely through the first storm.
Friday, January 13, dawned cold and cloudy, but we were safe. By the time we entered Nebraska, the sun was shining. Friday afternoon, we stopped for the Sabbath in Kearney, Nebraska, where God would work a miracle of nature, confirming that I was doing His bidding.
Before Mom and I went to church, we left before dawn to visit the nearby Rowe Bird Sanctuary. Even though the Platte River was almost completely frozen, a bald eagle flew over the ice—my eighteenth state for a sighting. Driving back to the hotel to get ready for church, we saw hundreds of migrating sandhill cranes about six weeks early.
The terrain across Nebraska, over the Continental Divide in Wyoming, and into Utah is often covered in deep snow. At the Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming, one park staff member commented, “We usually have three feet of snow by now.” Not a flake of snow was anywhere in sight.
But cold! Oh, it was cold crossing Wyoming with daytime highs below zero. Thankfully, we had heat in the car.
We met another snowstorm driving across Wyoming on I-80. It was blustery and a bit slick, but no significant accumulation. At a safe distance, I followed a trucker, knowing that if I stayed behind him, I would get through just fine. However, much to my consternation, he left the highway when I needed to stay on it.
I still had not learned my lesson to turn every detail over to God, so I became frustrated at not being able to follow the driver. God tapped me on the shoulder to remind me that I needed to follow Him, not that driver. Within what seemed like seconds, the storm quit, the highway dried out, and the sun smiled brightly.
Call to Action
Wrestling to heed God’s hushed calling was fraught with even more miracles, which you’ll read in the next article (next month). But what about you? Do you ever hear that still, small voice? Do you listen for it? Will you tune your ears to listen for God’s whisper?
All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
