On Sunday, the 23rd of August 2020, I went shopping.
I wasn’t too thrilled about being in the supermarket; however, while I was there, I decided to stock up on some fruit. The school planned to put us in a 14-day quarantine upon our arrival at the dorm, and I needed to have enough to eat.
As I browsed through the produce section, I made a mental list of all the fruits I wanted: kiwis, plums… then I looked at the peaches. I thought, “I haven’t had peaches in a long time.” However, I never picked up any of the peaches and went with the fruits I’d already picked out.
On the day I moved in, my school delivered the first meal package to my door. Since we were in quarantine, they delivered food to us each day. On this particular day, I noticed that they’d given me a peach as a part of the meal.
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It was strange: peaches were expensive, and I wasn’t expecting a school to purchase peaches to add to a meal package. Still, I didn’t complain.
The next day, they packed an apple. On Wednesday, they gave me another peach. Now, I had two peaches in the refrigerator, waiting to be eaten. On Thursday, I decided to make myself a fruit salad. After all, I had a few peaches and kiwis in the fridge.
I pulled out the peaches and began to peel them. However, frustration crept in as I struggled to peel the first peach, and that’s when I engaged in a little conversation with God.
Me: Why am I peeling this peach? It’s frustrating, can’t I just eat it with the skin on?
God: Peel the peach. With all the salmonella that’s out there, you’ll never know.
Me (laughing): Salmonella on peaches?! (I honestly thought that was absurd.)
God: Peel the peach.
His instruction was direct and persistent, I must say, so I continued peeling the peaches. I washed the fruits and ate my breakfast of fruit salad.
Still shocked at how strongly God’s instructions were, I went to bed that night, not knowing what I would discover the next day.
On Friday, I headed to the fridge to make breakfast, and noticed that the other peach was there. I’d only peeled one peach the previous day, but I had another one left. I was in the mood for it, but the Spirit pressed me to leave the peach alone for now; so, I did.
I had my usual breakfast and hopped into bed to scroll through my phone.
The first news to pop up was a peach recall. CNN headlined a recall on peaches in several states after seventy-eight people fell ill. And would you believe what these peaches were contaminated with? Salmonella.
New York was among the list of states that had the recall. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. There was no way I would’ve known about this had I not engaged in the little conversation I had with God. The news was so real, God’s voice was so audible and sure that I had to call my mother to let her know.
The Persistent Voice of God
I needed this reminder: that God does indeed listen. And He does respond.
As insignificant as that conversation was, it showed how prominent and present God was in my life. There are moments when His response is not as immediate or as audible as sometimes we wish it were, but His answers are always clear and direct.
Throughout my time in school, God has answered my prayers in many different ways. At the time, I wasn’t sure who it was, and there were moments that I didn’t even know that I’d prayed or that my prayers were answered.
When I did pray, it was hard to see how He could answer. He knew the future; I didn’t. However, this one time, when He made Himself clear and direct, I remembered thinking how absurd His observations were. Yet, in that moment of doubt, I still heeded His instructions, and He revealed to me what He was protecting me from.
To Obey God’s Voice…
The idea isn’t simply to hear God’s voice, but to be obedient, even in moments when we may not fully understand His instructions. The Bible says:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
As long as we trust Him, as long as we acknowledge Him, He will direct our steps.
Sometimes His instructions may ‘sound’ silly, but God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. I laughed when He told me about ‘Salmonella’. I found myself in disbelief because the bacteria is commonly associated with meats and eggs, not fruits.
But God knew why He said what He said. I leaned on my own understanding, but God’s wisdom is infinite.
My knowledge, my ways, my paths are shallow water compared to the omniscience of God. And that’s why I trust him, always.
Signed,
This was previously posted on Becoming the Oil and Wine
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