Friends, usually I don't share personal stories, not even the miracles I experience from time to time but I have to give you this little tip: Get your hopes up!
Yesterday I noticed that I ran out of bottled water. At the superstore I didn't find water but I saw that grapefruit were at $.99 when a few weeks before I bought some at $1.29 each, so I got some. A bunch of inviting spinach was close by so I got that too, and since I'm buying stuff I like, why not get some tuna in oil too? (By the way, I don't recommend impulse shopping but I ran out of grapefruit and barely had spinach--yeah I actually love both grapefruit and spinach!)
At the self-checkout, I had an attendant help me figure out how to check out produce. After she left I paid (debit) and the option for cash-back popped up. The thought of mid-week service offering came to mind so I selected an amount. But balancing a stack of tuna, a flimsy produce bag(the transparent, ultra-light ones you find in the produce section of your supermarket) of grapefruit, another with the spinach, was no easy task let me tell you. (I could have gotten a regular grocery bag, but why waste plastic?) So I drew both bags over my wrists and stacked the tuna quite nicely. Phew! I grabbed my receipt and it's adios superstore!
On the drive home I felt in my spirit that something was off... I couldn't put my finger on what was, so I spoke in tongues for a bit then confessed-- "no weapons formed against me shall prosper, I am favoured and graced, thank you Holy Spirit!"
At home, I couldn't sit without the sensation of movement and time and again I sensed something was off. Still, sometimes my brain just doesn't connect with my spirit as fast as I'd like... A few hours later, in my car outside church, it finally dawned on me; I left the money at the self-checkout! I can't rush back now, church will begin in the next ten minutes and it's such a long drive...
Can I tell you though, I think I've got to train my soul better, because my visceral reaction had been to rush back for the money. Then calmly, I thought, "It's only money and maybe the next person to use the machine really needed the money, so it's fine..."
I blessed God's name.
Well church was in a prayer mood. No teaching nor preaching, just prayer points. While praying in tongues the thought came to me that I should return to the superstore for the money. It would be there. Of course, I might have been anxious with "...but so many hours have passed, it was a self-checkout, what if...?", however, my spirit remained unperturbed. No murmurings.
Went home, checked the receipt and sure enough, cash back was recorded. On the way to the store, I wanted to fall back into old habits and ponder the possible outcomes (generally negative), but a strange tightening sensation at the top of my head kept me focused on wondering what the Spirit was trying to tell me.
(Normally if I'm at one place but is required to be at another, I would feel moving sensations in my feet or on the seat of my chair, depending on whether I'm standing or sitting, coupled with goose-pimples and the thought that I should get up or walk away. A recent example was a couple days before, I was driving to a government service office that I hadn't been to in over a year. At a stop light I got the sensations etc, but none of impending danger. Still, I should have obeyed and turned back, but prayed instead (I reasoned that I was close anyway. Don't do that). When I got there, it turned out that the office was vacated six months prior. Had I obeyed, I would have saved on gas and time.)
This time, I only had the tightening sensation at the top of my head, but no movements, ideas or electrical sensations, telling me turn back. When I got to the store I marched up the the attendant, "Hi, I left so-and-so money at the machine today".
I don't think I was hallucinating when I saw a bit of disappointment washed over her face and for a moment I wondered if I sounded rude. She looked over my receipt and gingerly opened her register. Beneath some smaller bills, she pulled out the money with a note attached that read "customer left money in machine *smily face*".
"See!", she declared, "we are honest people here!". That I agree with!
However, while it's lovely to see how honest the people who came across the money were, a number of other things struck me: As soon as you get a sign that something is off, immediately do something about it, make life confessions, giving praises to God; never accept "no" or "failure" as an option; never ponder negative outcomes, no matter how small a matter they may seem to concern; the Holy Spirit, once you acknowledge and ask Him as a person for guidance, He will find (physical) ways to train you; And finally, get your hopes up!
Addendum: As I was washing my hair, a much greater revelation came to me; Neither that girl or anyone else who came in contact with that money could've touched it, whether they were honest or not.
1. I remained in agreement with the Holy Spirit when I remained calm and peaceful without murmuring or complaining. (btw, read what the Bible says about complainers and murmurers)
2. I remained in agreement with the confession I was prompted to make at the very outset.
3. I didn't ponder, conjure up or imagined any negative outcome (well I was being trained not to, similar to how I've noticed Caesar Milan, "the dog whisperer", trains dogs to re-focus hah aha!)
4. I didn't magnify the money over my ability to acquire it.(this is important, acknowledgement and magnification are principles not often spoken of, let alone in depth-- I'll expound on some revelations soon enough though!)
5. The money was already promised to God so no one could touch it.
6. When God gives you a seed idea, you're responsible to bring it to fruition (the thought of an offering at church was the seed idea-- therefore imagining, expecting and confessing an evil outcome would be stifling that to that end).
