I keep a whiteboard in my room so that I can place my to-do list there in hopes that if I see it, I'll complete the tasks. A normal day for me can be so busy that if I don't write out a plan for it, I'll easily get distracted with phone calls, cleaning something that doesn't necessarily need to be cleaned, or social media. There are some things that I have written on my whiteboard that I never erase; these are things that God has spoken to me that I either need to remember daily to inspire and encourage me or it may be specific instruction that I need to carry out. Early one morning as I was lying in bed trying to convince myself to open my eyes and get my day started, God said to me, "I am unorthodox; I cannot be put into a box." Sounds completely random, I know. But what I've learned about God's nature is that He is never random; on the contrary, His words and directives are very calculated. Still lying in bed mulling over what He had said to me, I reached for my phone to Google the meaning of unorthodox. I knew that it meant to be different or to go against the grain but I wanted to see the web's way of defining it. Unorthodox - contrary to what is traditional, usual or accepted. When you really think about it, God is known for accomplishing some pretty extraordinary things through His people in some pretty zany ways. If you've ever read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi, you know that God's instruction was always simplistic but very unusual; like appearing to Moses in a burning bush or causing a wall to fall after seven struts and a shout. As simplistic as the instruction was, it required faith and confidence in an unseen God to carry it out. If you've been around long enough, chances are God has either said something to you or given you something to do that sounded backwards. For me, it's usually business related directions or how to deal with a challenge that I may be facing. There have been times when I've prayed for people and received unusual instruction to give to them from God and as they did it, they received what they were contending for. One of my favorite examples of God's unorthodox instruction is from a personal experience. About 18 years ago, I managed a coffee shop on a college campus. Because it was the only place on the grounds to get a good latte, a lot of students as well as faculty and staff frequented the place. One of my regulars was a lady named Evelyn who was the Director of Environmental Services. Evelyn was always moody...like always. She barely spoke, if she spoke at all, and if she did it was accompanied with complaining about her job or her employees. There were so many times that I wanted to offer her some spiritual advice or pray with her, but each time God would tell me not to. He instructed me to be friendly to her and to just listen. I did this daily for months. Some days were harder than others because it seemed the more I listened the more she complained. One day she came into the shop and in the middle of her rant, she broke down and began to cry. She went on to tell me that her mother had been diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer and had been given only months to live. It was then that I asked her if I could pray for her mom with my prayer group. Evelyn welcomed the prayers. As days went by, I would be intentional about asking her about her mom and for a month or so nothing seemed to change. And then one day Evelyn came walking through the door with a huge smile on her face; this was the first time that I'd ever seen her smile. She walked up to the counter and said, " I don't know what you and your prayer group were praying, but the craziest thing happened and the cancer is gone!" A few weeks after that, Evelyn brought her mom, Mrs. Gizelle Sharpe, to meet me. After speaking with her I learned that she was a believer as well and that she had been praying for Evelyn's salvation. It wasn't long after her mom's supernatural healing that Evelyn became a born-again believer. As I think back over what God did and how He killed two birds with one stone, I understand why He would not allow me to reveal to Evelyn that I was a believer in the beginning. In myself and going with what I had been taught across the pulpit, it made sense to me to pray with her and tell her to trust God from the very beginning. But an All-Knowing God knew that it wasn't time and that what Evelyn needed was a safe place in me, not another Christian who had all of the answers. Had I not listened to God's instruction, I probably would have offended her because she wasn't ready to receive Him yet. But through her mom's death sentence, she was positioned to see God do what only He could do - for herself and for her mom. Unorthodox....going against the grain and doing what is contrary to what is popular or makes natural sense. What have you been praying for that when you received the instruction you dismissed it as God's voice because it sounded crazy or just completely backwards? Whatever it is, go back and repent for not adhering to it and then just do it. Remember, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. In other words, if you can figure it out, you can scratch it out.
Thank you for sharing