Signs, Sealed & Delivered
You surround the righteous with favor like a shield. - Psalm 5:12
I make a daily habit of looking for the hand of God in my life.
I’m also all about “the ripple effect.” I put those words on a ‘Kingdom Vision Board’ that I created a few years ago, because it marked my decision to be very intentional about having a ripple effect for God’s Kingdom.
What I didn’t anticipate, back when I wrote my ripple effect intention on my Kingdom Vision Board, was how I would literally begin to find myself experiencing “ripple effects” of answers to prayers.
The SSD (Signs, Sealed & Delivered) ripple effect began with my friend, Shawna Keller. She’s a wonderful bible study teacher at RelayOfTruth.com (check out her blog and podcasts – you’ll be so glad you did). Shawna handed me a wrapped gift one morning at our bible study meeting.
“I heard this author speak at our church and bought her book,” Shawna said,
“…and I immediately felt while reading it that I needed to buy a few more copies and pray about who I should give them to. You’re one of the people God put on my heart to give it to.”
I opened the package to reveal a book I’d never heard of titled UNFOLLOW YOUR HEART by Amie Dockery. I was both touched by Shawna’s gesture, and taken aback by an emblem imprinted above the title that instantly caught my eye.
“Shawna, do you know what this symbol is?” I asked. She said no.
“That is the symbol of a Celtic shield. I know this because of my trip to Scotland last year with Brave Worship…AND because I was just given a necklace as a gift with that exact emblem!
When I returned home from our bible study meeting, I found the Celtic shield necklace I’d just been given by my Brave Worship friend, Krissy Nordhoff. I compared the two symbols and sure enough, nearly exact matches.
Why is this Celtic insignia significant? Well, I had just been asking God for confirmation about whether He really wants me doing all of the projects I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into…one of which is a Scottish worship music project of songs written during a sojourn to Scotland with Brave Worship.
Within days of asking the Lord for His assurance that I’m in sync with what He’s purposed for me to do, I received two separate gifts from two separate friends who don’t know each other, both giving me gifts imprinted with the same Celtic symbol!
Scottish Worship project? AYE! (That’s a big Scottish YES!)
In the days of old, insignias were used to imprint a hot wax “seal” onto a letter before sending. The seal on the wax acted as a verification of who sent the letter. Though I had no doubt in my mind God had just answered my prayer with a sign -- stamped with His seal as the sender and delivered right into my hands by two different people –- just in case I did have any doubt, a third one was about to come my way.
Can you say, “Ripple Effect?”
In my next blog, I’ll share the next ripple that came in audible form…and went below the surface of my prayer.