A nudge from the Holy Spirit is more than mere intuition. It’s the voice of God speaking to us through the Holy Spirit. It’s an invitation to join Him in His redemptive work.
This spiritual nudge usually starts off as a feeling. Then, a clear thought or action formulates. The nudge remains steady and will not be ignored. Constant, it grows heavier and presses down. Eventually, the nudge becomes a crystal clear instruction. “Do you really want me to say/do that, Lord?” God enables us to do the darndest things!
“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)
Beth Moore tells a wonderful story about getting a nudge from the Lord. I promise it will have you in stitches but also bring a few tears to your eyes. It’s called “The Hair Brush.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtk5WgzZcYA)
Mrs. Moore was in an airport waiting to catch a plane when a flight attendant wheeled a man with very long and unkempt hair right next to her. With an overwhelming certainty, she knew the Lord was going to ask her to share Christ this man. Boy was she surprised when the Lord said He wanted her to brush his hair!
What an intimate and curious thing the Lord asked of her! But Beth obeyed this undeniable nudge. She walked over to the wheelchair and asked the man, “Sir, may I have the privilege of brushing your hair?”
Surprised by her request, he replied, “If you want to.” Beth had stepped out in faith and obediently did what God had requested, even though she didn’t have a hairbrush. Of course, the Lord always provides because the man had one. So she spent a good deal of time unknotting his mass of tangles. Before he was wheeled onto his plane, Beth asked if he knew Jesus. He said he did. He was a believer. There was no need for her to witness to him that day. Nope, he just needed a kind person willing to brush his hair. He was meeting his wife after a long stay in the hospital.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Romans 8:14 (NKJV)
Who can understand the mind of God?
The attendant who wheeled the man onto his plane returned to Beth and asked, “Why did you do that?” Beth merely replied, “Because he needed his hair brushed.” As it turned out, Beth was able to witness to this flight attendant. She was the one who needed to hear about the love of Christ. If Beth had ignored the nudge from God, requesting that she brush the man’s hair, she would have missed the blessing of witnessing to the flight attendant.
“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
If you feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit, step out in faith. Do not be afraid. God will honor your obedience and use you in ways you will never imagine.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:7-8 (NKJV)
“The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; But you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:17 (NKJV)