I have often asked for signs from God, but I have been reminded especially lately that I DON’T always NEED a visual reply. God many times replies by giving me NO SIGNS to “look for”. Yes, sometimes I HEAR what I need to hear, but these days instead I am reminded more that I should FEEL for ASSURANCE, trust in calming feelings, gut feelings but not heart flutters and of course KNOW what the TRUTH of the situation would be pointing at. 

Put your faith where your feeling is. I needed that yesterday, I will need that today.

I’m putting my money where my mouth was.

I’m putting my TRUST where my TEXT was. 

I’m praising God because I realized, like Peter, that I’ve stepped WAY out in the water in faith. There’s no boat and there ARE waves.

Yesterday, I praised God for my kids, house, family, plan, car(s)… oh… the car(s)… WELL… the red Subaru. Hmmm… not good news, but nothing earthly could seem like good news with a check engine light on. What I thought was a secure plan for a certain level repairs, still expensive, of the red one is now really expensive placing it in $$$ danger zone, when I already still owe $$ on it. There’s no way I could imagine that I would fail a compression test, be running on 3 cylinders and a have a check engine light that’s on for a car that runs fine. Seems that the shop also didn’t suspect. This car would fail inspection even if it runs fine and is not a safety problem. Hmmm…. My own gut-check engine light turned on just then.

I DO know that if you start any day in praise and TRUST, that the walk of Faith is not always going to be easy, but it is however still going to be SURE. I’ve also noticed each time the Lord had my back, He had a sure path under my feet, it was more than a path of cardboard over carpet, pontoon floats over water, the path was OVERLAPPING segments. He got me to slide rather than jump. He got me to the Blue Subaru – He knows how to be true.

One Day at a Time, one Subaru at a time. One gut-check at a time. One step at a time.

Of course there are jumping times too. Leaps of faith. Gut checks are important times of prayer.

If your gut says bread, don’t feed it candy. If you gut says water, don’t fool it with wine. It’s good to make sane decisions. Evaluate your game plans. Pray. Know. Do. Drive.

I’m shown, told, felt to be OK with my children stepping into life. God knows I could NOT have stayed up on this water of trust without Him. Safe thus far is from the Lord getting me this far. It’s His Hold and our reach. He has given us Himself to hold on to. He WILL take us the rest of the Way, His Way. Safe thus far.

Back to the Subarus, right now I am with keys to three, a loaner in black, a repairer in red, and YES, a new-to-me one in blue with all the bells and whistles and warranties wanted. I only need one but actually want two (one for me and one for my son, but that’s a new path of its own building walk…). And it “only” comes down to money. Yeah, “only”. IT’S ONLY MONEY I REMIND MYSELF. (grumble grumble).

Taking on a new used car is a leap of faith, YES, but God make this seem like taking an overlapping slide, more like it. I knew what I wanted AFTER I was in the process of looking for the car, one sat in my sights before I knew the other one was going down. God overlapped me. This all was a set up I am sure and came to fruition on the same day, all the while God reminds me to take it ONE DAY AT A TIME. How can I praise less when He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The devil wants us to sink, or at least start sweating. Peter saw Jesus, asked to hear Jesus say “come”, and ended up needing Jesus to pull Him up. He FELT that Hand. Jesus wants us to feel His Hand BEFORE we start sinking. He wants us to KNOW HIS PRESENCE while we are still thinking. Presence is priceless actually Presence is price-already-paid.

Show me, Tell me, Know me. I sat alone not alone in the car dealership, but knew You were there.

Lord, know me, hear me, show me, I’m making a slide not a jump. Lord, show me, tell me, YOU DO KNOW ME. I will praise You into this new wave of life. I mean this blue Subaru is Your Whale of my Walk, I don’t name my Subarus, but maybe I’ll call this blue one “Whale” for my Jonah moments. 

LEAD ME.

Amen 

Amen and I when asked for a psalm of a sign from the Lord, sitting in the seat at the dealer waiting for the financial paperwork, I FELT led to read this one:

Psalm 92

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High. Proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

—

Matthew 14:25-33

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”