He Knows the Future

“Mom, Dad is not waking up!” My 7-year-old son, Daniel, was screaming from the living room. “Wake up, Dad! Wake up!”

I was half awake as I heard my son crying out to me. Then I heard the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit: “It will be alright.”

Was this what God had warned me about several months before? I wondered as I tried to wake up and move, all the while hearing my son yelling in the living room.

Several months before, God’s Spirit had spoken to my spirit, “You will find your husband dead one morning soon.” Soon! What is soon? We never know. I tried to make the most of my time with my husband after that, but looking back, I could have done more.

That morning, when I was finally up, I rushed to the living room. There he was, lying on the floor, dead. I ran to him, but there was nothing that could be done. He was gone and had been for some time.

Sometime during the night, as he often did, my husband had gotten out of bed and gone to watch TV. A preacher was on the television and my husband’s notes were on the floor in front of him. His heart had stopped. While we slept, he had slipped away to be with Jesus, forever.

John 16:13 tells us:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. (NLT)

God had prepared me for this day, just as Jesus had prepared His disciples in Luke 9:21-22:

Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying. They had their own ideas, and that led to their lack of understanding.

Do I listen? Did I put my own spin on what God told me? If I had been more open to God, would He have shared more?

Looking back, I wish I had been more focused on the time I had left with my husband.

There are two lessons I learned through this:

• First, never add your own ideas to what God has said.
• Second, stay open to receive anything God wants to share with you.

The Holy Spirit is working in the life of every believer. But we have the choice to listen. Most people have a radio in their car. That radio is always receiving signals, but if it is not tuned in, the driver can’t hear the broadcast. We must stay tuned in—keeping the channels open to what the Holy Spirit says.

This is my prayer for all believers.

Lord God, help us to stay focused on You and hear Your voice. You say in John 10:27:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 

Lord help us, as Your sheep, to hear and obey You. Thank You for forgiving us and helping us to grow in this spiritual walk with You. We need to know You more! In Jesus’ name, amen.

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.