I Missed The Cue.

The last two months of the year is an intensely busy period in many organizations. It is the period when annual programme reviews are conducted which provides the opportunity to track achievements of goals and targets set at the beginning of the year.

Many people go into the overdrive mode in the bid to complete planned activities in preparation for these reviews.

This is also applicable at personal level. It is the time we look back to the beginning of the year and evaluate how far we have gone in the pursuits of our dreams and personal goals.

I did the same too. I reviewed the year during October and I made some interesting discoveries.

I took note of the number of activities and tasks I had initiated which remained unfinished, and made a determined decision to follow through on them.

On top of the list is the book I have been writing for the past few years, which I had set a goal to complete this year. However, for several months during the course of the year, I experienced a series of what I have come to know as "resistance" to the work.

But a closer examination revealed that the problem I am experiencing with the work is not just about this resistance alone but I had contributed to the stagnation of the work.

How?

Every writer knows the crucial nature of creating regular backup files, right?

I heard this over and over again. I had a system of backing up my work but for a period of three months and for reasons which I can not seem to understand, I deviated from normal practice. Each time I was reminded, I told myself I would do it later.

I procrastinated. Then last August, the "unexpected" happened—my external storage drive crashed!

Time stood still.

In a flash, I recalled vividly that moment three days earlier when the Holy Spirit nudged my heart to backup my work. I remembered responding that I would do it as soon as I finished doing what I was doing. I did not.

I ignored the prompting of the Holy Spirit and I lost 3 months of work, which I struggled against "resistance" to do. I have no backup anywhere for some of them—not even hand written.

The help of the Holy Spirit is always available to us in everything we do. He is a friend and a partner we can not do without in our daily walk and work. We need His guidance, help and leading to navigate the minefield of life.

He leads the humble in doing what is right, teaching them His ways.

The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness.

He will show us the path to choose.

He will instruct those who fear Him in the way they should go.

He is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant

(Ps 25: 9 - 12 paraphrased).

I can testify of the many times He had revealed truths to me, granted me insights and inspired thoughts which ballooned to make impact beyond my imagination.

So why did I fail to listen to Him when He prompted me to backup my work—I delayed and procrastinated.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, He will not struggle with us. He will not force us against our will. He speaks in still and small voice, nudging, prompting and giving us cues.

In the busyness and many distractions we face in life, it takes effort to develop a deep intimate relationship with Him. We have to intentionally find a quiet place and a quiet moment to listen to His voice.

It is important to tune our spirits to be in harmony with the spirit of God, to live each day in the consciousness of His presence and be aware of His function in our lives. As we take the time to dwell in the presence of God, our spirit become intertwined with His spirit making us sensitive and responsive to His voice and leading.

I know now that I must be careful not to miss any of the promptings of the Holy Spirit because the work He does both in me and through me are for eternal purposes.  So much is lost when we do not listen or respond to His voice which includes opportunities to make a difference to someone's life

The cost of not responding to the nudging of the Holy Spirit became glaringly clear this week when I realized that the IT guys could not recover any data from my crashed disk and I took note of how much I have to rewrite.

I asked for God for forgiveness. My disobedience is going to cause a further delay to the completion of the book. I felt truly sorry about that.

I prayed for the grace and strength to focus and get the work done without feeling discouraged.

As we approach the end of the year, with all the preparations for Christmas on top of all we still hope to accomplish this year, staying in sync with God and in tune with His Holy Spirit will position us where God can work in us both to will and to do of His pleasure.

It pays off here and in eternity to be lead and guarded by the Holy Spirit. He knows us intimately and can influence us at the deepest level to make our walk with God and our daily work more fulfilling and satisfying.

I encourage you to make conscious effort several times during each day to …

… PAUSE.

…Tune in to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

… He is waiting to give directions and teach you the way to go.

We simply can not afford to live a single day without the help of the Holy Spirit.