“The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.”
Acts 8:29 (NAB)
The book of Acts is filled with the adventures of first century believers as the Holy Spirit led them to do amazing things. The Spirit tends to give people directions, as He did with Philip, by saying ‘Go!’
The Lord may not speak audibly, but He does give us a sudden urge or a gut feeling to ‘Go’ somewhere or ‘Do’ something. If anyone has ever felt a an urge or a gut feeling to do what later proved to be the absolute right thing to do, it was the work of the Spirit.
I heard a true story like this, about a man who did something he never did before, and since he was willing to act on his ‘gut feeling,’ many lives were saved.
An Israeli tour guide named Elan, was working with his uncle in an area of the old city in Jerusalem where many people gathered daily to sit, talk and have their lunch breaks. While Elan was eating lunch, a large trash can was nearby to where he was sitting. He noticed a brown bag lying on the top of the pile of trash.
For no apparent reason he couldn’t stop staring at that particular bag. Then he had a strange gut feeling to go and look inside the bag. He finally got up and looked inside, and saw a watch with wires attached, which was ticking. Elan called the police, a bomb squad arrived quickly and a bomb in that bag was quickly disarmed.
Elan sat at that same corner every day but never before had an urge to take a bag out of the trash and look inside of it. He had no logical reason for doing it, but thankfully, he acted on his gut feeling and many lives were spared that day.
I know a person who had a similar experience like this, which I once shared in a previous meditation. He was a young man who offered to drive a young lady home from a weekly youth group meeting at their church. He dropped her off at her Chicago apartment, watching her safely enter the front hallway of the building. As he drove away, he felt a strong urge to “Go back!”
He followed his gut feeling and drove back to her apartment building. He walked into the front hallway and found a man, holding the girl while she struggled. The attacker let go of her and fled out the front door. Thank God he followed his urge to go back.
The strangest moment that I can remember in response to a gut feeling, was a day at a part time job I had during my college days. It wasn’t about saving a life or being in any danger. I worked part time at a department store after college classes, and there was a young man who worked in the janitorial department of the store.
One day we were in the employee lounge during our break. After some small talk, I felt an urge to pray for him. I asked Riszard if I could pray for him and then asked him to repeat after me, “Jesus, come into my heart and take charge of my life.” He was very kind and compliant and prayed that prayer with me. I have no idea why I felt led to pray with him that day. I eventually quit that job, so I never saw Riszard again.
Thinking about it today, it’s a bit strange to ask a coworker who is a total stranger to let me pray with them. I only know that I acted on a gut feeling in that moment, so I hope God did some great things in Riszard’s life. Time passes and years go by, but certain moments can impact a life forever.
The Spirit sometimes leads us through our gut feelings, causing us to say or do something we’ve never done before, even without a logical explanation. A person may or may not know in the moment that the Spirit is leading them, but God often works through people, whether they realize it or not.
Lord, help us to be tuned in to your Spirit, who is always speaking to us throughout the day, and every day of our lives. May we always hear and act on the gut feeling that you place within us. Amen
