{"id":2309,"date":"2011-12-17T01:54:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-17T06:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2309"},"modified":"2011-12-15T22:58:15","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T03:58:15","slug":"and-god-speaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/and-god-speaks.html","title":{"rendered":"And God speaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Today, during a pastors\u2019 prayer meeting, one of the pastors said to me, \u201cLinda, I believe that you are feeling upset because of the IRS audit you are facing and God wants you to know that he isn\u2019t upset with you and that your mistakes have been forgiven.\u201d<\/p>\n

This man had no idea that I had been agonizing about the mistakes I had made over a two-year period on my returns. \u00a0While my husband was dying during that time, it seems unbelievable that I made so many mistakes.<\/p>\n

Hearing this, I couldn\u2019t help it. \u00a0I started to cry. \u00a0As a couple of the men gathered around me to pray, I felt the Lord lift a heavy \u201csomething\u201d from my heart. \u00a0I was surprised because I couldn\u2019t believe that it felt almost as though a physical weight had been taken from my shoulders.<\/p>\n

Often God allows me to go through hard times to purify me and strengthen me. \u00a0Over the past weeks, I\u2019ve felt the Lord\u2019s hand on me; but it has not meant a release from the concerns and worries that I was carrying.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This morning in my email, I received a daily message from a businessman\u2013turned Bible teacher. \u00a0He wrote about Hosea 2:15. \u00a0The context is Judea\u2019s returning to the Lord. \u00a0The Lord says, \u201cThere I will give her back her vineyards, and I will make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope.\u201d \u00a0I felt that familiar stirring as the Holy Spirit made this verse real to my situation.<\/p>\n

Later that afternoon as I left the prayer meeting, I knew the Lord had spoken to me twice. \u00a0First, early this morning and later through these godly men. \u00a0I am praying that God will work a new integrity in all the areas of my life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, during a pastors\u2019 prayer meeting, one of the pastors said to me, \u201cLinda, I believe that you are feeling upset because of the IRS audit you are facing and God wants you to know that he isn\u2019t upset with you and that your mistakes have been forgiven.\u201d This man had no idea that I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,40,287,49,85,263,4,41],"tags":[21,688,696,699,701,709,57,6,700],"class_list":["post-2309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-faith","category-faiths","category-inspiration","category-prayer-2","category-redemption","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-leadership","tag-prayer","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nAnd God speaks - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/and-god-speaks.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"And God speaks - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, during a pastors\u2019 prayer meeting, one of the pastors said to me, \u201cLinda, I believe that you are feeling upset because of the IRS audit you are facing and God wants you to know that he isn\u2019t upset with you and that your mistakes have been forgiven.\u201d This man had no idea that I…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/and-god-speaks.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-17T06:54:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-16T03:58:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/12\/a-pastors-meeting1.jpg?w=180&h=135\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"And God speaks - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/and-god-speaks.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"And God speaks - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Today, during a pastors\u2019 prayer meeting, one of the pastors said to me, \u201cLinda, I believe that you are feeling upset because of the IRS audit you are facing and God wants you to know that he isn\u2019t upset with you and that your mistakes have been forgiven.\u201d This man had no idea that I…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/and-god-speaks.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2011-12-17T06:54:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-12-16T03:58:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/12\/a-pastors-meeting1.jpg?w=180&h=135"}],"author":"Linda G. 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