God Speaks At Work
Wall Paint
Whenever I break for lunch while painting I wrap up my paint trays in plastic so they will not dry out. On this job I had two trays; one for the ceiling and one for the walls; the colors were not the same, but they were very similar. After lunch I came back and opened one of the trays and grabbed the roller and was just starting to raise it up to paint and the Lord spoke – “wall paint”. I immediately stopped and looked then opened the other tray to compare the two paint colors. I was sure I had picked up the right one but God said I had the wrong one. After looking at them for a minute I could see that I had picked the wrong one. God had rescued me from a big mistake that not only would have cost me money by wasting paint but would have cost me hours of time and labor because I would have had to paint it again with the right paint. So thank you God for saving me that day!
The Screw
I was painting the outside of a house and was putting the finishing touches around the house. Looking forward to finishing this job I was patiently reinstalling the exterior lights to the underside of the eaves. So here I was reaching up to insert a screw through the light fixture and into the electrical box above. Then it happened. I dropped the screw into the grass below. Have you ever tried to find a screw in the grass – its almost impossible! Now you must understand that when you’ve been working all day at this kind of labor you get very hot and tired plus the fact that I was almost through so this incident was somewhat frustrating. I knew if I did not find it I would have to stop work, go to the store, find just the right size screw (thread size and length), and go back to the house and eventually I would be back right where I was to start with. It was not pleasant thinking about that entire extra chore. But as I stared down at the grass I thought, “Lord you know exactly where that screw is, please open my eyes to see it.” I just stared down at the grass. Looking around I said, “Lord I am looking but I do not see it, please show it to me.” I patiently looked moving my eyes a little at a time waiting for that connection and suddenly there it was. Now a lot of people reading this will say well that’s just coincidence you would have found it anyway if you just kept looking. Maybe, maybe not but I have come to realize that my God loves me and wants to be involved in my everyday life and I can turn to him for help and He will help me no matter how small the problem.
The Tapes
While working I love to listen to worship music. I bring my work radio which also plays tapes and cd’s. I was loading up some of my stuff into my truck and was carrying two cassette tapes in one hand. I went out to the truck and placed the tapes on the bumper. The Lord spoke “Place them in the truck now”. I just thought “No I’ll get them later surely I won’t forget, they’re right here on the bumper where I will see them”. Thirty minutes later I was ready to go, went out to my truck got in and drove away. Sometime on the way home I remembered the tapes – they were two of my favorites! When I got home I looked on the bumper and they were gone. The next day I saw them in the middle of the road not far from where I was working – they were destroyed. As I thought about this I asked the Lord “Why didn’t you speak to me and remind me about the tapes – I can hear you.” He said, “Don’t you remember, I did tell you about the tapes when you first laid them on the bumper.” I realized He was right. He spoke, I listened, I heard Him, but I chose to ignore His instruction relying on myself instead.
The Key
My client had given me a key to their house so I could get in and out on my own each day. I was carrying the key loosely in my pocket. After three days of carrying the key like this I pulled it out as I approached the door and the Lord spoke, “Put the key on your key ring.” Again I decided to rely on myself and thought “No it will be okay, I’ll just carry it like this.” Later that day I came back to the house after lunch opened the door and put the key in my pocket (or so I thought). At the end of the day I went out through the garage and went to my car. I reached into my pocket just to make sure I had the house key with me – my pocket was empty. I realized I had left the key somewhere in the house. A lot of good that will do me! So I had to call them and make arrangements to get into the house the next day. The next day after entering the house I looked all over for the key retracing my steps and actions to see where I might have laid it. I didn’t find it anywhere. The previous day I had removed a lot of wallpaper from the ceiling and had picked up all that trash and put it in a trash bag. I thought maybe the key is in the trash, not wanting to rely on my own thoughts I said, “God you know where that key is would you please tell me where to look.” He spoke clearly, “Look in the trash.” So I dumped it out and easily and quickly found the key. Even when I ignored His instruction the first time He responded when I called out to Him for help.
God wants to help us and He is speaking to us – sometimes we just continue to go our own way, but He is always faithful.
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Whenever I break for lunch while painting I wrap up my paint trays in plastic so they will not dry out. On this job I had two trays; one for the ceiling and one for the walls; the colors were not the same, but they were very similar. After lunch I came back and opened one of the trays and grabbed the roller and was just starting to raise it up to paint and the Lord spoke – “wall paint”. I immediately stopped and looked then opened the other tray to compare the two paint colors. I was sure I had picked up the right one but God said I had the wrong one. After looking at them for a minute I could see that I had picked the wrong one. God had rescued me from a big mistake that not only would have cost me money by wasting paint but would have cost me hours of time and labor because I would have had to paint it again with the right paint. So thank you God for saving me that day!
The Screw
I was painting the outside of a house and was putting the finishing touches around the house. Looking forward to finishing this job I was patiently reinstalling the exterior lights to the underside of the eaves. So here I was reaching up to insert a screw through the light fixture and into the electrical box above. Then it happened. I dropped the screw into the grass below. Have you ever tried to find a screw in the grass – its almost impossible! Now you must understand that when you’ve been working all day at this kind of labor you get very hot and tired plus the fact that I was almost through so this incident was somewhat frustrating. I knew if I did not find it I would have to stop work, go to the store, find just the right size screw (thread size and length), and go back to the house and eventually I would be back right where I was to start with. It was not pleasant thinking about that entire extra chore. But as I stared down at the grass I thought, “Lord you know exactly where that screw is, please open my eyes to see it.” I just stared down at the grass. Looking around I said, “Lord I am looking but I do not see it, please show it to me.” I patiently looked moving my eyes a little at a time waiting for that connection and suddenly there it was. Now a lot of people reading this will say well that’s just coincidence you would have found it anyway if you just kept looking. Maybe, maybe not but I have come to realize that my God loves me and wants to be involved in my everyday life and I can turn to him for help and He will help me no matter how small the problem.
The Tapes
While working I love to listen to worship music. I bring my work radio which also plays tapes and cd’s. I was loading up some of my stuff into my truck and was carrying two cassette tapes in one hand. I went out to the truck and placed the tapes on the bumper. The Lord spoke “Place them in the truck now”. I just thought “No I’ll get them later surely I won’t forget, they’re right here on the bumper where I will see them”. Thirty minutes later I was ready to go, went out to my truck got in and drove away. Sometime on the way home I remembered the tapes – they were two of my favorites! When I got home I looked on the bumper and they were gone. The next day I saw them in the middle of the road not far from where I was working – they were destroyed. As I thought about this I asked the Lord “Why didn’t you speak to me and remind me about the tapes – I can hear you.” He said, “Don’t you remember, I did tell you about the tapes when you first laid them on the bumper.” I realized He was right. He spoke, I listened, I heard Him, but I chose to ignore His instruction relying on myself instead.
The Key
My client had given me a key to their house so I could get in and out on my own each day. I was carrying the key loosely in my pocket. After three days of carrying the key like this I pulled it out as I approached the door and the Lord spoke, “Put the key on your key ring.” Again I decided to rely on myself and thought “No it will be okay, I’ll just carry it like this.” Later that day I came back to the house after lunch opened the door and put the key in my pocket (or so I thought). At the end of the day I went out through the garage and went to my car. I reached into my pocket just to make sure I had the house key with me – my pocket was empty. I realized I had left the key somewhere in the house. A lot of good that will do me! So I had to call them and make arrangements to get into the house the next day. The next day after entering the house I looked all over for the key retracing my steps and actions to see where I might have laid it. I didn’t find it anywhere. The previous day I had removed a lot of wallpaper from the ceiling and had picked up all that trash and put it in a trash bag. I thought maybe the key is in the trash, not wanting to rely on my own thoughts I said, “God you know where that key is would you please tell me where to look.” He spoke clearly, “Look in the trash.” So I dumped it out and easily and quickly found the key. Even when I ignored His instruction the first time He responded when I called out to Him for help.
God wants to help us and He is speaking to us – sometimes we just continue to go our own way, but He is always faithful.
Back to Life Stories
