God made me listen

My schedule is somewhat amped...well really amped, right now. So this morning, I walked the dog. Side note: My dog, Samson, he is really dumb. He sniffs, digs a hole, repeats that process several times, then relieves himself. The catch is he misses the hole every time. I've never seen him even come close to hitting the hole after digging with such precision and intentionality. Most of the time he is facing the complete wrong direction. Talk about side ways energy. It perplexes me.

Back to the story...after walking the dog, I headed out to face the day full of meetings and things to promote progress in our mission. My brain was bumping 98 mph before the door even closed behind me. I jumped in the truck, buckled up for safety, and turned the key. AND--NOTHING. Don't blame her though, she has pounded out 245k miles since she came off the lot in 1995. She is old and tired! After several tries I just sat there and smiled. I knew that "God was making me listen." Let me be clear. I'm not telling you to break out your Bible on 485 next time you run out of gas, but in this case it was as if God tapped me on the shoulders and said: "Me first, Chris. Start with Me. Slow down. I have something to tell you."

So still sitting in my truck, buckled up (hope the neighbors didn't see me)-- I opened up my Bible and read Colossians 1. I got to verse 11 and here is how it looked to me:

"Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance..."

And there it was bigger than life; louder than the to do list screaming in my head; more important than the 98 mph rate I started with. God spoke to me! It wasn't audible but it sure was loud. God has what I need. He can dispense the great endurance this mission and calling requires of me. I spent a few minutes praying for "great endurance" and thanking God for it. Then, I closed my Bible, turned the key again, and she cranked right up. Today, God made me listen, and I'm so glad that he did.