What Happens When You Ignore God’s Voice?

When I didn’t “JUST GET UP”

Have you ever felt like God was telling you to do something, and you didn’t?

Have those words ever gone through your mind?

JUST GET UP.

Maybe you’ve been in a situation where you started to realize how hyper-focused you had suddenly become on the rising decibels in the room. You could not concentrate on anything else.  The chaos of everyone speaking loudly to be heard over the background noise of TVs, music, or even the crowd, feeling as if the room was closing in. You hoped no one noticed your irritation and anxiety, but the unstoppable pull to JUST GET UP was so strong that you had to excuse yourself and flee.

Have you ever been invited to a party or gathering where suddenly you realize that a different crowd than normal has been invited and once they’d arrived, they brought in a totally new vibe that you were not at ease with and were unsure how to navigate removing yourself?  But you stay anyway, joining in conversation that would not make God proud, and reflect over the evening wishing you hadn’t gone at all. You should’ve JUST GOTTEN UP.

Or maybe you remember back to your adolescent years, sitting in the pew at youth group or church, when a pastor’s stirring message made you want to jump up and answer the call to the altar. You agreed in your heart that you wanted to make Jesus Lord of your life.  You were prompted in your innermost being to JUST GET UP. Your palms were sweaty, your heart racing, but you kept your eyes fixed straight ahead afraid that if you moved, everyone would notice.

Did you go?

Did you “JUST GET UP”?

Or did you convince yourself it would be fine to ask the Lord into your heart later, when you got home, in private… quietly pushing aside that strong pull from the Holy Spirit, and missing out on a special moment meant just for you?

So, when I ask, “Did you just get up?” please know I’m not asking from a place of judgment. I’m asking as someone who knows what it feels like to stay still…to ignore that pull.

I understand that moment more than I wish I did. The deep regret of not following God’s prompting. That moment in time when you hear the clear command of the Holy Spirit to “JUST GET UP”, but you feel paralyzed and fearful to move. 

When I was 16, I was lying on a procedure table, and I heard it—clear and unmistakable—

JUST GET UP!

Not once.

Not twice.

But three times.

I was scared. 

Fear overtook me.

I didn’t move. 

Fear paralyzed me.

I stayed. 

Fear would not allow me to JUST GET UP.

And the abortion procedure went on.

I’ve thought about that moment more times than I can count throughout the years, with the deepest regret. 

I had believed the lies that Satan whispered to me:

“My life would just go back to normal after the abortion.” 

“No one will ever have to know.” 

“It isn’t even really a baby at this point anyway.”  

(To further read of God’s redemptive power and healing in my life, go to: https://www.thedentedfender.com/post/living-on-a-hidden-beach)

But thankfully, God who sees me, who knows me intimately, and loves me in such a way that nothing can separate me from Him, rescued me from years of shame, guilt, and condemnation over that decision. 

Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

He has brought me to a place where I can be brave and vulnerable. A place where I can share my testimony in the battle against evil. 

Revelation 12:11 states, “And they have conquered him (the accuser-Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,...”

This is why I write about such personal experiences. I want everyone to know the freedom and joy of truly being forgiven. Maybe you have said, “I know I am forgiven by God, but I will never forgive myself”. That was me for over 40 years. But not anymore, because I realize that it is not my job to forgive myself. God already did it! Once that sunk in—REALLY sunk in—I was free!

Most importantly I want to say that I never would have gotten to this point of healing and confidence in my relationship with God if I had not spent time searching His Word and seeking His will for my life. 

It was through the quiet study, prayer, and stillness, that He made me aware of the steps I needed to take to go through and move forward from the guilt and shame that I felt when I did not “just get up”.

If you have had a similar experience of regret that has been gnawing at you, know this: God loves you, He is not surprised by you, and He is not mad at you. He looks on you with compassion and love. He is waiting for you to come to Him with true transparency, no matter how painful it may be.

Maybe it wasn’t a youth group altar call for you or a past abortion. Maybe it was a quiet nudge to apologize…to walk away…to speak up…or to reach out. Maybe it was something no one else could see, a moment between you and God, where you felt the gentle pull and wrestled with whether you would respond.

A simple prayer of “God, I ask your forgiveness for ________, and I am unsure how to go about healing from it. Would you please show me?”

That’s it! He promises to hear our prayers, to hear YOUR prayer.

Psalm 145:18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth….He also hears their cry and saves them”

Then, spend time with Him. 

·      Set your alarm clock just 15 minutes earlier in the morning to make space for prayer and Bible reading.

·      Take a walk in nature and talk to Him as you would a friend (nature is where I feel closest to Him).

·      While driving to work, instead of turning on the sports channel or talk radio, sit in the quiet and ask Him to speak.

And maybe today…this is your moment.

Not a moment to look back with regret, but a moment to respond to God’s voice.

If you feel that pull, that quiet or unmistakable voice, don’t ignore it.

JUST GET UP.