When God Whispers Before the Storm: A True Testimony

With a Subtitle: How obeying God's quiet promptings prepared us for loss, lockdown, and crisis

A brief Excerpt: God still speaks to those who listen. One believer shares how unexplainable promptings prepared her family for grief, lockdown, relocation, and a fuel crisis — marvelous things we could never figure out on our own.

The Author is: Rina Schultz

God Promises to Reveal What We Could Never Figure Out Alone

This is God’s message, the God who made Earth, made it livable and lasting, and is known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’ (Jeremiah 33:2-3)

When God Warns and Prepares Us for the Unexpected

God has often spoken to me to warn or prepare me for unexpected events. The day my parents had an accident in which my mother died, I had the sudden urge to listen to “The Final Flight.” It was a play about the final flight in which Jesus was the Pilot. The passengers were excited, but their loved ones who saw them off were grieving. I had listened to it and then felt compelled to listen to it a second time. Just as it finished, the phone rang. I received the news that my parents had been in an accident in which my mother had passed away. My dad was in an ambulance on his way to a hospital nearer to me. I later realized that my parents started their journey when I started listening to the play, and my mom took her final flight when the play ended the second time. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Stocked and Ready Just Before the Covid Lockdown

Just before the Covid lockdown, both my husband and I felt an urgency to do things. I used to do grocery shopping on a weekly basis, but before the lockdown was announced, I inexplicably bought enough for two months. My husband looked inquiringly at me, and I shrugged my shoulders. I told him that I didn’t know why, but I felt that I had to do it.

Renewing What Wasn’t Due for Months

I had my eyes tested, and my husband applied for a renewal of his driver’s license card months before it was due. I asked him why, pointing out that it was almost nine months early. He said that he felt an urgency to do it.

Acting on Compulsion, Not Out of Fear

Neither one felt fearful nor acted out of fear. We simply acted on a compulsion.

Provided For When We Lost Our Income

As it turned out, all our things were in place by the time the lockdown was announced. People around us were panicking while we were actually enjoying a peaceful and quiet time at home. Of course, we weren’t completely untouched by the lockdown. He lost his business, which he started in 1994, and I had to close my private practice. We were left without any income.

Packed and Ready to Relocate in Time

Months before the time, God impressed upon us to get ready to move. We had no idea where we would be going, but we obeyed and started packing. Our pastor’s wife, who is a good friend, came to visit on Christmas Eve. She had come to wish me a belated happy birthday. She provided us with a contact number, and within a week, we were both employed approximately 500 km away from where we were living at the time. Had we not started packing when we did, we wouldn’t have been ready to relocate in time.

A Full Tank Before the Energy Crisis

Recently, I felt the urge to fill up the car and stock up on extra fuel. I played with the idea for a few weeks until my husband expressed that he felt that I should fill up the car. I shared my impression with him, and we both agreed that I should act. A few weeks after filling up and stocking up with extra containers, the world experienced an energy crisis. For a while, our little town didn’t have any fuel available. Prices have skyrocketed, but we are still using the fuel we bought before the crisis.

I Don’t Believe in Coincidence — I Believe God Is in Control

There are numerous such examples. I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe that God is in control, and if we care to listen to Him, we will often find ourselves hearing “marvelous and wondrous things that [we] could never figure out on [our] own” (Jeremiah 33:3).