By Mishearing the Spirit

By Mishearing the Spirit Between high school and college, I spent several months in Romania as a summer camp staffer. When my time there was coming to an end, I started to feel convicted that I should stay. The conviction—which I thought might be the Holy Spirit—was nearly as strong as the calling I felt to go to Romania, and the ministry I was working with could have used more help. What made this situation difficult, however, was that I didn’t have any more money raised and I wasn’t in a place to get a job in Romania. I also didn’t have a visa, and I was scheduled for college classes that began in the fall. Yet all of the same Scriptures that confirmed my calling to Romania in the first place came flooding back, and I even had someone in Romania suggest that I stay. She reminded me of how much I had connected with the kiddos, and said something to the extent of, “You were born for this.” But I wasn’t supposed to stay in Romania, and looking back now I’m so glad I didn’t. When I returned home, my high school sweetheart and I were reunited, and a few years later we got married. I graduated from college, and that degree has opened so many doors that God had planned for my life. In the moment of conviction, I was so torn but looking back now I can say with 100% certainty that God had other plans for my life. Conviction is a powerful thing, especially if we feel it might be the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but it’s okay to ask God for confirmation of our convictions. I believe that even our convictions should line up with the wisdom of Scripture and the wisdom of the right people in our lives. I also believe God is eager and willing to use things outside of our convictions to show us that it is indeed his voice we are hearing.