God’s Horn Calls

Ship Horn Vision

God’s horn calls at the strangest times. Soon after I fell asleep the other night, I was awakened by the ominously loud sound of a horn coming from the back, right side of my head. I could hear the echo resounding off the water all around me and smell the fishy salt spray of the ocean as we moved away from the dock into open water. We were being pulled out of the harbor by tug boats. Our ship’s captain sounded the horn to let every boat around know that our massive freighter ship was on the move.

I recognized this horn-sounding vision right away. It was the ship horn of the S. S. African Neptune that my family and I rode to Africa when I was 7 years old. I stood on the deck with my dad. My mom held tightly to my 5-year-old brother’s hand. She worried about him getting out onto that deck the entire 20-day trip. He loved to climb things and the railing was not made to keep a 5-year-old in. The drop to the ocean water was equivalent to a five-story building. I was oblivious to her concerns, but relate well to them now after raising 10 boys myself.

Dreams, Visions, or God’s Calls

If you’ve read my book Prayer, Faith, and 12 Kids, you encountered my personal struggle and experiences with how God speaks. I faced many situations where I called out to God for help. He reassured me of His answer during my prayer. Several times, that reassurance came in the form of a vision. I thought I was praying for something specific because those visions were so clear and specific. Many years later, for example, I came to realize that there was no way that I could have perfectly described that dining room table that we ended up with. It had intricate woodworking curves on its edges and a unique leg and brace design. I’ve determined that God works in unique and marvelous ways. I don’t expect the same response twice from Him.

God responds uniquely because He knows what we need. We need what develops our life as we go along. He gave me quick responses to requests for physical needs at first. Later, He stretched my patience. Then He made the situations more complex. I found myself praying for the needs of others more, then I expanded to the needs of the larger community. I called on God often, and now God’s horn calls me to give out more.

For some things I pray for, God doesn’t answer in the way that I prefer. More recently, I have been praying for several serious situations where the prideful hearts of the people involved prevent much from happening. Notice I said much. Small changes happen occasionally and when least expected, big ones happen. I’m not giving up though (at least not most days).

Expect the Unexpected Horn Calls

I’m in the middle of an ocean of prayers going out for situations way over my head and God sends me the call of a horn. Why? It’s because I have been spending months trying to reorganize my house, while there is a book brewing in my brain. I have struggled with seeing the call of God in writing this book. I wanted to know that it was important to Him.

Now I know that He is in this book and wants me to press forward in writing it. The sound of that ship’s horn was so loud and vivid that I felt like I was thrown into that scene in my book. The fact is that I discovered what a relationship with God was like in Africa. I saw hypocrites and real Christians, the racism of Apartheid and the unity of God’s people, the luxury of the rich contrasted with the struggle of the poor. Most of all, however, I saw that God wanted me. That’s what I hope to share in this new book Finding God in the Black and White of Apartheid.

I challenge you to look for that horn calling. God’s horn calls when it’s least expected. It’s not likely to be an audible horn or voice. It is often a quiet whisper into your thoughts. It’s one that can’t be heard over the din of life. Be still and sensitive to it. Then follow God’s leading.