Learn to Listen

When the Holy Spirit Speaks – Listen!

by: Diane Nix

A wise person will hear and increase in learning,
And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5

The past 3 months have been a journey. In March, Preston and I headed to our favorite place. We had been given a week in this very special place. This trip was to be a time of rest for my husband and me. We were hiking at one of our favorite places. It was spring break, and the term was about to take on a new meaning. The importance of knowing, listening, and heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit would soon be a lesson reminder for months to come.

The trip was to be for Preston and me a place to rest and work where we had experienced rest and peace in the past. We got a late start and arrived early evening on Monday. While Preston unloaded the car, I taught an online course for a women’s network on the west coast for Gateway Seminary. Interestingly the topic for my teaching was “Expectations.” How many times do we expect our plans to go as we planned? Preston and I wanted to hear a fresh word from the Lord through His word and the Spirit as we sat still before Him. We were tired from working so much in ministry and needed to be still before the Lord. Our spirits, souls, and bodies needed a fresh touch from the Lord. This trip would bring us to a place of rest and stillness so that the Holy Spirit could speak. We were tired from the drive but excited about our week of rest and collapsed in bed, anticipating a restful few days beginning the next day.

We woke up past ten o’clock, we got ready for the day, and I ran to the store to stock the cupboards and the fridge. I ran to town to pick up the supplies and did a bit of shopping while I was in the quaint town of Lavonia. Preston walked around the place and enjoyed the sunshine and blast of cold air that had arrived. I saw him soaking up the sun as he finished his walk, and we got ready for supper. We were relaxing as we ate a lite dinner. Our conversation turned toward our plans, and we discussed the next few days with eagerness and happiness. As we finished dinner, we decided to take a walk down to the dock to take in the view of the lake from there. As we headed out, I realized I didn’t have on my hiking boots.

I felt a strong impression to stop, turn around, and put on my hiking boots. I pushed it aside. Walking a few more steps, I felt another even stronger impression; stop, turn around, and put on my hiking boots. I pushed this feeling aside again. Finally, when the third impression came, I spoke it aloud, and we discussed it briefly. I said, “Preston, I think I might need to go back and put on my hiking boots. What do you think?” The conclusion was that we were walking down and back up, and it should be fine without the boots. Although, I would remember this conversation in just a few minutes and know that the Holy Spirit was warning me, and I had not heeded the warning.

As we made our way back up the trail and around the barn, we were almost to the house and looked to the left, seeing a gate open at the bottom of a small hill. Preston asked, “Should we close the gate?” I answered in the affirmative. Preston began down the hill. I started down the hill after him, he slid a bit, and then I started sliding on a patch of packed leaves and red clay. A thought flashed through my mind, “I don’t have on the right shoes!” 

Then my foot stopped, but my body didn’t. I was on a headlong fall with my foot stuck. I hit hard on the ground, screaming the whole way down in pain. I felt and heard my bones break as I braced for the fall. Writhing in pain, I tried to get control. I literally couldn’t stop the screaming. Cries of anguish from extreme pain kept coming, and try as I might, I couldn’t get it together and stop screaming. The pain was unbearable. I tried to stand but collapsed in a heap upon the pile of leaves. It was excruciating and was quite the event of getting me from where I fell into a car to an ER. Preston thought I had been snake bitten but knew quickly that was not the case. He said, “Lean on me, and I’ll carry you on my back.” The ground was too slippery, and he couldn’t do it. He left me, got the car, and parked it on the drive above where I had fallen. Then he ran back to get the gator and brought it down into the space at the bottom of the hill. I took my hiking stick and hopped to the passenger side of the gator. He then began the arduous climb up the hill. I remember saying to myself and the Lord, “You gently warned me to stop and put on the right shoes.”

In conclusion, the importance of knowing, listening, and heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit would soon be a lesson reminder for months to come. The day’s events reminded us that God sees and is involved in the smallest details of our lives, and His Holy Spirit is always working on our behalf. I felt the impressions three times. What would have happened if I had listened? Would I have still had a fall but not as disastrous? Would I have fallen? I am still reflecting on these questions. I will never know this side of heaven, but I do know that because I didn’t heed what I heard in my heart and mind – the fall happened. I have had two separate surgeries and am now in months of recovery. When there is a strong impression, as I have had in this story, I believe that the Lord is warning and speaking through His Spirit to care for and warn us. We have a responsibility to heed these promptings or impressions. Trust them. Trust the One who sent His Son to save us from all things, including a fall down a hill.

Listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.