Something Just Told Me

This is part two of a two part series about Ronnie, a 45 year old hospice patient with cirrhosis of the liver. In part one, “Living and dying the choices I’ve made”, Ronnie shared about his acquaintance with George Jones, and the words of George Jones’ song, “Choices”, are worth repeating: “I’ve had choices since the day that I was born. There were voices that told me right from wrong. If I had listened, no, I wouldn't be here today; living and dying with the choices I made.”

Ronnie realizes he’s “living and dying with the choices” he’s made. And when I asked Ronnie if it was okay if I wrote about his alcoholism he replied, “It’s alright with me. I don’t care. The truth is the truth.”

George Jones was right, wasn’t he? There are “voices” that tell us right from wrong. And how many times have we regretfully sighed, “If I had listened”? Well, this week I’m writing about a time when Ronnie did listen.

Ronnie and his sisters cared for their mother, Anna Ruth, when she was dying of cancer. Ronnie’s sister Net, recounted: “Mommy was a special person. Everybody who knew her called her ‘Mommy’. She was good to everybody, but she wouldn’t let anyone run over her kids. Her kids were her life. Mommy didn’t want to die alone. She wanted us kids right by her side. So we took turns sleeping with her. And Ronnie took the night watch.” Then Ronnie picked up the story: “I was in the bath room and something just told me to check on mommy, that something was wrong. When I checked on her she’d just died.”

“Something just told me”, but who or what is that “something”? Some people refer to it as a “premonition”, “a sneaking suspicion” or a “hunch”. I’m persuaded that it’s the “still small voice” of God (I Kings 19:12). Whatever we choose to call it, we know it when it speaks. Ronnie, Net and I talked about how we frequently rationalize it away and fail to heed what it is nudging us to do. Net exclaimed, “We just don’t pay attention!”

Henry and Richard Blackaby, in their book, “Hearing Gods Voice”, wrote; “Unbelief can render a person stone deaf to Gods’ voice.” If you don’t believe that God exists, that He is omnipresent, that He is interested in the intimate details of your life, then you may not hear him when He speaks. Allow me to illustrate the point with a story.

Bob and Jim were college roommates, but after college their careers took them down distant paths. Bob became a naturalist and took off for the outdoors. Jim became an investment broker and landed on Wall Street. One day while at a conference in New York City, Bob decided to look up his old friend, Jim. As they were walking down the busy streets of New York City together, Bob said, “Hey, Jim, hold up a minute. I hear a cricket.” Then Jim replied, “There aren’t any crickets on Time Square. And besides, if there was a cricket, there’s no way you could hear it in the middle of all this noise.” Then, to Jim’s amazement, Bob walked over to a large concrete planter, reached in, pulled out a cricket and said, “See I told you.” Jim asked, “How in the world did you hear a cricket in the middle of New York City? And Bob replied, “We all hear what we are listening for. Let me show you.” Then Bob pulled out a hand full of change from his pocket and threw it on the sidewalk. Everyone around heard it hit the pavement and scrambled for it. Then Bob said, “See what I mean.”

Just because we haven’t heard God speaking to us, doesn’t mean He isn’t. In Net’s words, maybe “We just don’t pay attention”. Hopefully the next time we will.

“Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelations 3:20); “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)