The Holy Spirit's Leadership in the Life of a Christian

A couple of weeks ago I was preparing a Sunday School lesson on the leadership of Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. I sent an email to friends asking if they had a story to tell about how the Holy Spirit had worked in their life. This is a great story from one of my friends.


Testimony of the Spirit’s Leading

When I taught at the Christian school in East Tennessee, I had rebuilt the engine in our little Ford Falcon. She was running like a well-oiled sewing machine. A week or so later, my wife was rear ended on Alcoa highway and totaled the auto. She had minor cuts and bruises. We could not buy a car at that time because we had bought our son one in his senior year of high school. We both had asked the Lord to teach us to trust Him, but this wasn’t the method we would have chosen.

As we prayed we sensed the Holy Spirit directing us just to praise the Lord and trust Him for a car.

In the meantime we (the school) had been led of the Lord to trust Him for $50,000 extra for school expenses. One day my wife was on her way to Nashville with one of our staff, and they were listening to a tape by Jack Taylor, relative to giving. She said the Lord asked her how much she had to give. She said nothing. The Lord then said, "You have that $900 insurance check." She almost choked but finally said, "OK, Lord, I am willing but you will have to tell my husband.” When she returned to town she said, “The Lord told me something, but I can’t tell you.” I thought, “What in the world is she up to?”

Well, the insurance salesman called the week of Thanksgiving and told us he would come by Friday and leave a check for $900- a good price for a used car. Now to a memorable Thanksgiving Day. We had a special service in the school chapel (this was a day and a boarding school). When we bowed for prayer to end the service, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Give me the insurance money and trust me for a car.”

I leaned over to my wife, still in the middle of prayer time, and said, “The Lord just told me something but I don’t think you will like it.” She snickered and I thought she was being irreverent. BUT she knew what the Lord had said. Afterward we laughed, cried, prayed and both agreed this was the Spirit’s leading.

At the cafeteria I bowed my head in prayer and a white car flashed through my head. I did not know what to think, since such was not normal for me.

For 2-3 weeks we were filled with joy to give the money and enjoy being without an auto. The only person who knew about this was Jane, the Chairman of the Trustees, my wife’s prayer partner. Jane was in a grocery store when one of her neighbors stopped her and said, “You know I am retiring and we want to downsize to one car.” Do you think the (my friend’s last name)’s could use an auto in their work at the school?” Jane responded, “I don’t know you will have to call them.”

At that time I was out of town and on a school trip. The lady called and offered the auto and my wife said, “We really can’t afford to buy one now. We are paying for our son’s.” The lady responded, “Oh no, it is paid for. I want to give it to you.”

I got back in town and told my wife it had to be white. I had not before told her of the experience at the lunch table. People who see things are sometimes thought to be- you know. Well, we went over to the couple’s house and they had a good running used WHITE Pontiac. Hallelujah!

Now, about the end of the school year, my son for some reason was driving this car and got rear ended. This time the Lord said, “Take the insurance and get another car.”