Many spiritual teachers share their wisdom through story. On the Isle of Palms near Charleston, as I prepare for Hurricane Irene, I couldn\u2019t help recalling this one. It\u2019s one of my favorites. <\/p>\n
It begins to rain and waters start to rise. A man with great faith in God and His power to save him sits in a corner and prays. \u201cOh God, I\u2019m your humble servant. I know you\u2019ll save me.\u201d A neighbor wads through knee high water to get to his house and says, \u201cHey man everyone up and down the street is getting out of her. Come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m waiting for God to save me.\u201d The waters rise until they reach the door and a boat comes by filled with people fleeing. \u201cHey man, get in and come with us. We\u2019ll save you.\u201d But the pious man said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m waiting for God to save me.\u201d He remained there and prayed and prayed. He finally climbed on the roof of his house as the waters continued to rise. A helicopter arrived and sent him a rope to lift him out. \u201cCome on man, this is your last chance. You\u2019ll drown if you don\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man put his hands together and said, \u201cNo I\u2019m waiting for God to save me.\u201d The house and the man were soon engulfed by the water. When the man stood before God in heaven he said, \u201cGod, why didn\u2019t you save me?\u201d God looked at him calmly. \u201cI was there three times to help you. Why didn\u2019t you listen to the voice of God?\u201d<\/p>\n
Every day we receive signs and messages \u2013 both subtle and not so subtle, helping to nudge us in the right direction. I love how often a person who I meet casually, a cashier, or a friend can say words of particularly profound significance without ever realizing it. I feel this is the Divine giving messages along the way. The story also indicates that faith is only one part of the picture. We also need to movie into action.\u00a0 So as the warnings about Irene come and the waters rise here, I plan on paying close attention and evacuating in plenty of time.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many spiritual teachers share their wisdom through story. On the Isle of Palms near Charleston, as I prepare for Hurricane Irene, I couldn\u2019t help recalling this one. It\u2019s one of my favorites. It begins to rain and waters start to rise. A man with great faith in God and His power to save him sits…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,125,3],"tags":[305,303,304],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-oneness","category-spiritual-practice","tag-acting-on-faith","tag-hearing-god-in-others","tag-understanding-lifes-messages"],"yoast_head":"\n