11/5/18-11/9/18 Devo Two - Nathan Smith

This is the second devotional for the week of November 5-9. This is a devotional Nathan Smith. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

 “Holy Hunches”

Nathan Smith 

As a Child I loved ready Dr. Suess books and there was one in particular that I enjoyed. Hunches in Bunches is one that often gets overlooked because it has a unique cadence that is not catchy. This Hilarious book tells the story of a bored indecisive boy who is urged by a string of Hunches - that come in the appearance of bizarre furry creatures - first to do this and then to do that until, finally, he follows the Munch Hunch and goes for lunch! I’d like to tell you a story about a hunch I followed and the results of that hunch and how it has lead me into ministry.

When I was 20 years old I had organized a group of college students to go the Bahamas and perform in the public school with our choral group, because we were an entertaining group the Nassau public school board allowed us into their schools and permitted us also to share the gospel message to all the high school on Nassau Island. I had never been on a mission trip before and I was not really looking to do full-time ministry.

In the evening we would often minster to the local churches in the area. One evening we drove to the middle of the Island. This area was known for their gang violence and drug trafficking. Our Island sponsor told us that we should stick close to the church seeing as we looked out of place as the only white people in that district. The Church was in the middle of a sugar cane field in the center of the Island. It was so remote that electricity had not yet been wired there. Pitch black at 7:00 pm, the church was lit with gas generators so that we could perform. After our performance that evening I was waiting for group to finish tearing down and as I was looking out towards the sugar cane field I saw a shadows in the distance. Something my spirit nudged me, let’s call it a hunch, to go and investigate. Knowing full well that I would be putting myself in some sort of danger I took along another guy from my trip. As we slowly walked I kept asking God if this was something he really wanted me to do. About 50 yards away from the church I hear a man’s voice tell me to get back to the church or you’ll get hurt. I called out to this man that I was there to help him. I then hear, “How can you help me?” I had no response other than to say, “Well what do you need?” He replied, “Do you have any money?” I usually do not carry around a lot of cash as a young college student, I didn’t have much to share, however, earlier in the day I had been snorkeling with Amy and found a $100 bill floating in the water (no joke). Our sponsor told us that money found in the ocean is not uncommon as they had drug runners that ran between Nassau Island and the coast of Florida all the time. Nassau is only 2 hours from Miami by boat. Back to my story—I gave that man the $100 instantly, for one reason it really wasn’t mine to begin with, and second I was terrified for my life.

After he realized what I had given him he immediately fell to knees and wept. I asked him to come out of the shadows and walk into the light so that I could consul him. His name was Jason and he lived near the Church yet had never attended. That evening as he was walking through the cane field he heard singing and decided to stop a listen. Because he had a hunch to stop both of our lives were changed that evening. After talking awhile and sharing the good news with him he accepted Christ into his heart for the first time. Up to that point I had never walked anyone through that process and to be honest I had not had the confidence ever to do something like that. Jason had also told me that the money given him that evening would be able to pay for a medical procedure that his mother needed. I’m not sure what $100 could pay for but to him it was the most money had ever possessed and his family was going to be blessed by it. That evening a hunch led me into a field, a hunch led Jason to stop and listen the music flowing out of the church. We often do not slow down enough to connect with the spirit and see what hunches we often ignore. The hunch that led me in to the shadows that evening was the catalyst of a calling I felt on that trip to have confidence in God’s plan and ultimately led me into full-time ministry. From that time on I knew God was going to take care of me and my family as long as I remained faithful to the calling of ministry.

A hunch is a guess based on known or unknown facts, intuition about something that might be the case. Holy means it comes from God, so I call the above hunch a “Holy Hunch”. The miracles listed below all started with Holy Hunches

John 6: Feeding of the Five Thousand: The boy that gave Jesus the bread and fish had a hunch
Mark 2:3-5: Paralytic Man: His friends had such a hunch that they tore through a roof to get the man to Jesus.
Mark 10:46-52: Blind Bartimaeus: He had a “Holy Hunch” to cry out to Jesus so loud that Jesus could hear him through the commotion and because of that he was healed.
Mark 5:25-34: Jesus healing the bleeding woman: She had a Holy Hunch that just by touching the robe of Jesus she would be healed.

Are we missing Holy Hunches around us? Are we too busy to allow the spirit to reveal to us “Holy Hunches.” I’ll be honest I’ve never heard Gods audible voice, and I often get too busy to allow the spirit to lead me. My challenge to you this week is pay attention to Holy Hunch moments and be obedient to what God has for you follow through what you believe to be a “Holy Hunch”, what’s the worst thing that can happen to you.