Romans 8:14

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

I’ve been muddling this over in my mind for quite some time now as I have been hearing God say something very peculiar in my spirit.  Ever heard the phrase: “circumstantial evidence?”  According to Wikipedia, Circumstantial Evidence can be defined as: evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need for any additional evidence or the intervening inference.

Ever made a decision, based on “circumstantial evidence?”  Ever made a conclusion based on “circumstantial evidence?”  Ever found out later that you may not have come to the correct decision or conclusion?  Yep!  Me too!  Often what I have perceived to be the obvious solution, answer or direction based on what I could see has turned out to be completely incorrect!  If there is one thing I have discovered about God, it is that He is FULL of surprises!  He is Sovereign and His creativity so vastly surpasses mine that trying to figure Him out consistently leaves me nothing less than frustrated and confused!  Isaiah 55:9 says it like this: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

So, where does that leave us?  In a bad way if we become anything less than completely and utterly dependent on His wisdom!  I remember nearly 20 years ago now, I was leading a worship team for the University I was attending.  Our assignment was to go to local churches and events and lead worship while also representing our University.  It was my first “Big” assignment as a traveling worship leader.  I was responsible to get musicians, coordinate worship lists, practices, venues, etc.  It was a lot of responsibility for a 19-year-old student!  I remember being so excited during auditions when one of the BEST pianists on campus came to audition for my team!!!  He was AMAZING!  He could sight read, he could play any style and more than that – he could hear something ONE TIME and play it like he was the original composer!!!  Seriously???  Wow!!!!!  I was thrilled that I would obviously choose him to be our pianist.  (EVERYONE wanted this guy!!!) In the midst of my excitement, though… there was a very, and I mean VERY soft nudge in my spirit.  I assumed I was just nervous about all that I needed to do… So, we began rehearsals, and BOY oh, BOY did it sound GREAT!

I had a band, I had THE pianist and even a secondary keyboardist, who was also good, but not nearly like the Main guy… she could read music, but had a little issue with getting the feel of a song right away.  She got there, but it wasn’t the instant success I had with my Guy!  She was quiet and a little shy, but she was willing!  She was willing to stretch beyond the boundaries of her comfort zone for the sake of the unity of the team, she had a servant’s heart!  She was not a “diva” or even a “diva wanna be,” she was just contributing her part to the whole.  On the other hand… my Guy – THE Guy, did not have the same spirit.  He wanted to show off, be assertive. It wasn’t always about what I and the others believed were the songs God was directing, it was more about the ones that would show off his skills better.  And very soon, it became clear that I would have to make a decision!  That was the first time I ever had to remove someone from a position.  But, I had to do it.  Worship, real worship only comes out of Unity!  Unity comes when we first submit ourselves to God and then submit ourselves to one another.   (Ephesians 5:21)  It wasn’t about me being the boss… It was about making a decision based first on the leadership of the Holy Spirit that was also in harmony with the team.

It was so hard for me!!!  I HATE to make people upset! I hate to hurt anyone’s feelings!  I, like most people, hate conflict! But, in truth, if I had listened to the barely audible whispers at the beginning, I would have been spared the hard part and I could have simply not given a call back at the beginning.  I Samuel 15:22 says: “obedience is BETTER than sacrifice.” I could have been spared discomfort, intimidation and ridicule, as my Guy was not happy to be dismissed, if I had simply listened to the nudge.

Sometimes we miss the nudge because we are so mesmerized by the “circumstantial evidence!” In I Kings 19, God gave Elijah this illustration… He had been hiding in a cave, so depressed because of the overwhelming “circumstantial evidence” telling him he was all alone and God was not even helping him.  Then God called him to the mountain for a little show and tell.  Elijah experienced a Great Wind, and Earthquake and a Fire… Supernaturally HUGE natural things, but God was not in any of it… and then there was a whisper.  There was a very still small whisper, and there He was.  God was in the whisper.  And when Elijah heard the whisper and listened to it God began to instruct him in the way that would produce the God kind of results he’d been so passionately running after!  Today, if you’ve been chasing the “circumstantial evidence” around you, thinking it is obviously the provision and favor of the Lord, or thinking it is proof that you are NOT in His favor.  Let me encourage you to quiet yourself down and quiet your environment.  Listen for the whisper… Stay attentive to the “direct evidence” of His Word and His still small voice “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10

Circumstances constantly masquerade themselves as Divinity… so, don’t look to them, look to Him! Hebrews 12:2 Over and over, He gives us the reassurance that when we seek HIM, we WILL find Him… Jeremiah 29:13, Proverbs 8:17