Stop Putting on the Brakes!
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword";
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
A few weeks ago, I had to have my rear brakes replaced. A week later I had to have my front brakes replaced also. While I was waiting for them to be done, Randy showed me the rotors. There were deep grooves in them, and my previous brake pads had literally been reduced to dust. “I hear God talking to you, Cathleen,” he said. “He’s telling you to stop putting on the brakes!”
I thought he was joking, but then I felt that conviction of the Holy Spirit, and I knew instantly what it meant. I sensed His small voice saying, “What have I been telling you to do that you haven’t done yet?” I didn’t have to think long to come up with the answer.
You see, whenever I sense the Lord is prompting me to do something outside of my comfort zone, I instinctively start listing all the reasons it couldn’t possibly work. I asked Him to make me more sensitive to his voice, and I promised I would stop “putting on the brakes.”
The following Sunday that promise was put to the test. I’ve been singing at church for over a year now, and some of my friends there have literally been begging me for months to record a CD for them. Joanna asked me again that day with tears in her eyes. “You HAVE to record those songs for me!” I felt convicted, but my mental response was immediate. “I can’t afford the studio time, Lord. And I don’t sing that well. Who would want to hear me?” But the memory of my disintegrated brake pads and “engraved” rotors convicted me. So I said, “OK, Lord. If this is really YOUR idea, you’re going to make it happen.”
A man at our church owns a small recording studio. I went up to him and asked, “George, how much would it cost to record a CD?” He said, “It would take about two hours to do four or five songs and, since you’re doing Christian music, I would only charge you $25 per hour.” “There you have it, Lord,” I said silently. “I can’t spend money on that right now.” And that was true. I’m living in a transitional apartment building where I meet with a case manager every week and have to account for every penny I spend. Recording a CD was definitely not in my budget.
So I went back to Joanna and explained that I had talked to George but couldn’t afford the studio time. Without a second’s hesitation she said, “I’ll pay for it!” Joanna is a single mom with four children who lives with her mother because she can’t afford her own place. “But Joanna,” I answered, “you can’t afford that!” (Do you hear the brakes squealing?”) She said, “It’s worth it to me, I really want your CD!” So the following week I recorded my first demo CD of 5 songs. It wasn’t as good as I had hoped—I only had two hours of sleep the night before and lost my voice and started coughing in the middle of the third song, but the Lord allowed me to get through it. I recorded five songs that gave me hope to keep going when my life was falling apart. I make a few copies every day and give them away to people. And to my amazement, they are blessed by those songs. And that blesses me immensely!
Is there something God has been asking you to do that you’ve talked yourself out of? You know what to do.
Cathleen
“If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword";
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
A few weeks ago, I had to have my rear brakes replaced. A week later I had to have my front brakes replaced also. While I was waiting for them to be done, Randy showed me the rotors. There were deep grooves in them, and my previous brake pads had literally been reduced to dust. “I hear God talking to you, Cathleen,” he said. “He’s telling you to stop putting on the brakes!”
I thought he was joking, but then I felt that conviction of the Holy Spirit, and I knew instantly what it meant. I sensed His small voice saying, “What have I been telling you to do that you haven’t done yet?” I didn’t have to think long to come up with the answer.
You see, whenever I sense the Lord is prompting me to do something outside of my comfort zone, I instinctively start listing all the reasons it couldn’t possibly work. I asked Him to make me more sensitive to his voice, and I promised I would stop “putting on the brakes.”
The following Sunday that promise was put to the test. I’ve been singing at church for over a year now, and some of my friends there have literally been begging me for months to record a CD for them. Joanna asked me again that day with tears in her eyes. “You HAVE to record those songs for me!” I felt convicted, but my mental response was immediate. “I can’t afford the studio time, Lord. And I don’t sing that well. Who would want to hear me?” But the memory of my disintegrated brake pads and “engraved” rotors convicted me. So I said, “OK, Lord. If this is really YOUR idea, you’re going to make it happen.”
A man at our church owns a small recording studio. I went up to him and asked, “George, how much would it cost to record a CD?” He said, “It would take about two hours to do four or five songs and, since you’re doing Christian music, I would only charge you $25 per hour.” “There you have it, Lord,” I said silently. “I can’t spend money on that right now.” And that was true. I’m living in a transitional apartment building where I meet with a case manager every week and have to account for every penny I spend. Recording a CD was definitely not in my budget.
So I went back to Joanna and explained that I had talked to George but couldn’t afford the studio time. Without a second’s hesitation she said, “I’ll pay for it!” Joanna is a single mom with four children who lives with her mother because she can’t afford her own place. “But Joanna,” I answered, “you can’t afford that!” (Do you hear the brakes squealing?”) She said, “It’s worth it to me, I really want your CD!” So the following week I recorded my first demo CD of 5 songs. It wasn’t as good as I had hoped—I only had two hours of sleep the night before and lost my voice and started coughing in the middle of the third song, but the Lord allowed me to get through it. I recorded five songs that gave me hope to keep going when my life was falling apart. I make a few copies every day and give them away to people. And to my amazement, they are blessed by those songs. And that blesses me immensely!
Is there something God has been asking you to do that you’ve talked yourself out of? You know what to do.
Cathleen
posted by BreadBakers at 12:22 PM
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