June 21, 2007

Woof!

By Susanne Scheppmann

Proverbs 8:33-34, “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. (NIV)

Devotion:

Woof! I thought I heard one small bark. Not sure, I turned the shower off for a moment. No, I couldn’t hear my little dog yapping. Jasmine is a twelve-pound black and white Shih Tzu and a yapper. If anyone knocks on the door, she goes crazy barking like a hundred pound Rottweiller. I turned the water back on, stuck my head under the spray, and reached for the shampoo bottle.

However, a voice inside my wet head nudged me. You heard her bark. Something is up. A realtor could be showing the house! Our home had been on the market for almost a year. About once or twice a week, various realtors would bring a potential buyer to walk through the house. However, it was stipulated that they must call first. The “woof” replayed through my thoughts. Maybe Jasmine doesn’t bark at people coming in anymore. Quickly, I turned the water off again.

I jumped out on to the cold tile floor. To my horror, I heard voices. My bedroom door was wide open. I raced toward the door dripping water along the way. However, it was too late. The realtor along with a husband and wife previewed me along with my bedroom. They saw crisp floral drapes and soft beige carpet, and then they spied cellulite and flab jiggling toward them, reaching out for the blue tattered robe hanging behind the door. I almost slid into their arms as I crossed the wet tile. With wide-eyed shock, they scurried from the house without a word.

I collapsed on a rug with laughter and tears. Jasmine came by to lick me dry. She looked at me as if to say, “Hey, I warned you, but you didn’t listen!”

Eventually my heart stopped pounding and my red face returned to its normal color. After the initial mortification, I began to wonder how often I do not listen when the Holy Spirit speaks to me. How many times have I shrugged it off as just my imagination? Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV). I need to learn to listen to His instruction and be wise, not to ignore Him as I did with Jasmine’s first “woof.”

The next time I feel a nudge from God, I will remember my “woof” incident. I plan on listening and moving a lot more quickly than I did. I do not want to repeat the lesson I learned today.

Oh, I never heard back from the potential buyers. I guess they didn’t care for the preview.

Dear Lord, how often have I not listened to Your voice when You warned me of something in my life? Today, I ask that You help me to listen to Your instruction and to be wise. Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit to teach me. Let me become a quick learner. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:

Do You Know Him?

Perplexing Proverbs???A Woman’s Bible Study by Susanne Scheppmann

Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer

Application Steps:

Read Proverbs 8. Write down the advantages given for learning to listen and applying God’s wisdom in your life.

Reflections:

Do I sometimes intentionally ignore God’s voice?

How could listening to the Holy Spirit help guide me each day?

What does the term wisdom mean to me?

Power Verses:

John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (NIV)

Proverbs 23:23 , “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.” (NIV)

Ephesians 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (NIV)

Proverbs 31 Ministries

www.Proverbs31.org