Proverbs 3:12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
In the spring of 1986, I was trying to organize my family’s return move to Queensland, Australia. The target date to be in Queensland was mid-July and there were all kinds of things not falling into place for a smooth move back to Australia. A sister in the Lord came up to me and said, “I was praying for you, and I felt the Lord say that if you sold your Cadillac, everything would fall into place, and things would go smoothly.” She also remarked that this had been a strong impression in her spirit, even though it seemed an odd instruction. My thoughts were, “I didn’t think she is that spiritual and most likely this statement was just her own idea.” I wanted to sell the Cadillac in the last week before we left the country so that I had reliable wheels till it was time to leave.
The next day, as I was driving my metallic peacock blue Fleetwood Brougham Cadillac (one of the smoothest driving cars I had ever had to that point) to work, I could feel a nudge starting to bug me, and I speculated that the nudger was God. As I wrestled with the idea of selling the car, my argument kept coming back to the fact that I wanted to sell the car in the last week before we left to return to Australia. However, the nudges became stronger and turned into a conviction that was starting to set in my spirit. By the end of the day, I had unenthusiastically agreed to sell it if a buyer came along. That same evening, I was reading 1Cor. 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. I got the strong impression that the Lord was saying I had been bought by Him and everything I owned was His. I then sensed the Lord say that I was not to make a profit on the car because the favour of the Lord was on me and He had blessed me with it at a low price. I was using the car for my business, and because of tax advantages, there was a small loan owing to it. I was to simply hand the car over with the balance due. In other words, whoever got the car was to simply pay off the balance of the loan and the car was theirs.
What God had said was bugging me so much that I blurted out, “If this is of you Lord, then this will take place so fast and will be so clear to anyone involved.” Early the next morning, I had to stop by the Bible college where I was teaching a few classes. In the parking lot, a student, Michael, came running up to me and said, “I was praying last night, and asking God for a big solid car that I will need to go to school and work. I need a car that will be able to handle the mileage that I will be putting on it. I heard God’s voice in my spirit say to come and ask you!” At that point, I heard an inner voice say, “Is that fast and clear enough for you?” Isa. 30:21 And whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” I said to Michael, “Just take over the balance of the loan and you can have the car.”
His eyes popped and he asked if God had spoken to me?” I said, “Yeah, He has been bugging me since yesterday and last night about it.” By 11:00 am all paperwork was done and the car was his. The same day, I happened to get an amazing deal from a rental company of which I knew the owner. He offered me a deal that was less than the payments of the loan. The car he had was a big boat of a car that he was having trouble renting because it was so big. The proprietor said I would be able to use the rental up to the day I left for Australia.
The sister in the Lord who spoke that odd instruction, as she had called it, was right. Absolutely everything fell into place in record time. Everything that consists of a move to another country was done, and paperwork was filled out and accepted a whole month before we left. My wife and I had nothing to do except get on the plane and head for Australia. Not only did things fall into place in Canada, but in Queensland, within the first week, my wife and I both had jobs, a furnished house to rent, and a church to attend. Within a short time, we were moving into a house we had bought. We didn’t have to do much as God had prepared the way on both continents.
What I realized is that when God is bugging you about something, then let Him bug you until you obey because the stage is being set to bless you. God loves you and is correcting your choices so that you walk towards the destiny He has set in place for you. Prov. 3:12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. God is not the killjoy Satan says He is. The devil is out to kill, rob, and destroy you, and will bug you to choose sin over life, then when you fall, Satan will kick you when you are down with endless accusations of failure. The contrast could not be clearer. God bugs us with His love to preserve our lives, and Satan bugs us to death to destroy our lives. Not really a hard choice to make here. Let God’s love bug you into His kingdom where your life is eternally blessed beyond what you can think or ask. Blessings.
OK, that's crazy! Hello Jennica! This story is amazing. Thanks for sharing you two!
Bless your heart Jennica. He was a very good man here on earth, and he is a fulfilled soul in the Lord's presence. I am blessed to have known him.
What a touching story and an inspiring theme. Thank you for posting this, Norm. I always wondered how my dad got that Cadillac he was so proud of. Michael, my dad, lived a very blessed life and part of it was thanks to people like you. Blessings
Sharing with my family. Great testimony of trusting God. Thank you.