Last year, on this day, I wrote about my nephew. And since I just bumped into him recently, it’s fitting that we talk about him again. His name is Jess Hettinger. He works for the local water and electric department. He is married. He and his wife are raising their family in Carthage, Missouri. It has been a blessing for me getting to watch him grow. I think that both his father and him will tell you that he wasn’t raised in a Christian lead household. Yet, he has changed that cycle. He is leading his family through faith. Through his relationship with God. Not only has that filtered down to his family. It has filtered up. His father is trying to work on his relationship with Jesus as well. Just so very cool. Made me proud of them.
Jess told me the story about when he first really heard God talk to him. How God had been convicting him. He is on the security team at his church. A few months ago he was outside the sanctuary. Keeping watch. And he felt God tell him to go in. So he went in and he felt a presence like never before. I told him that was the Holy Spirit. Well, let’s just say that the Holy Spirit took hold. And his relationship with God changed then. He began to understand what having faith is really about. What having a relationship with our Lord and Savior is really about. And that’s what happens when somebody opens their hearts and lets God in. Their lives change. Just as Jess’s did.
I gave him a piece of advice. Something that he probably already knew. But we all need to hear it every now and then anyways. God is going to convict everyone of us. And he’s not going to stop convicting us until we act. We can choose how we act. Our decision is our decision. Some of us choose to not follow the conviction. And often times, those choices lead to bad results. I know from experience. And I also know this, if we do follow what God is convicting us of, good things will happen. He will bless our actions. Because they are what he wants us to do. Does not mean they are going to be easy. Sometimes very difficult. But they are part of the plan for us. We must listen to God. We must open our hearts and truly listen to what he’s telling us. And remember, his plan for us is good. And it will bring him glory. And that is exactly what we should do.
