I woke up around 7 AM with intentions to surf today, because I made a commitment to myself to go surfing or have a beach day when I have a day off. I checked the surf report multiple times this morning, and each surf check was confirmation to get in the water. My ideal day-in-the-life is to surf in the morning, get coffee after, read the bible, write a blog, workout in the evening, and then relax at night. This is the day I had planned in my head, but I have gone through many days to understand God can alter my day and His way will prevail.
With that being said, this morning I pulled up to my favorite surf spot, parked, walked to check the waves, walked back to my car, pulled out my wetsuit, and as soon as I was starting to put my wetsuit on, I got a pull in my spirit. Something felt really off, and it wasn’t the surf because the waves were not big at all, and I have surfed in these conditions hundreds of times by myself – today would have been another ideal surf day for me. The longer I stayed there and pondered, my spirit began to feel very uneasy and I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to “spend time with Me.”
As soon as I heard that, I packed up my car and started driving looking for the nearest coffee shop/cafe. I started driving northbound, 15 min away from my family’s beach house, and when I finally landed at a coffee shop called Java Junction, I felt the same uneasy feeling and it didn’t feel right. I stayed in my car looking up other cafes and coffee shops that have wifi/dine-in options and as I was searching, I kept hearing the phrase “go where you know.” Immediately, I thought of Peet’s coffee in Aptos where I would love to go after my summer surf sessions to get a coconut latte.
The closer I drove to the familiar scene of Aptos, I kept hearing “go where you know” and it was the phrase that kept my spirit aligned. As I approached Peet’s, I felt more at peace and my spirit was eased. After I ordered and settled down at a table, I cracked open my journal, and started having a moment with God – asking Him why I didn’t surf, why am I here, etc.?
Usually the way God speaks to me is through writing, and as I was scribbling down my morning in my journal, I received my answer. I realized I just walked out what I was praying for.
Recently, I went on a ‘social fast,’ meaning I haven’t been reaching out to people actively and the only people I would talk to are people who have reached out to me. I limited my connections and access people have with me so I can hear the voice of God more than the voice of my peers. [I will explain the reasons why I am going on this fast in a future blog but for today I wanted to touch on how your prayers will be made known].
I didn’t understand where I was going or what I was doing, I just felt the pull of the Holy Spirit to lead me, and in doing so I received an answer to my prayers. I have been praying/believing to hear God more clearly and for Him to direct my steps and today was an example of God taking me through a situation where I had to hold on to His word and allow the Holy Spirit to lead me and not my flesh.
Younger Keilani would have easily let her anger override her spirit and be annoyed she didn’t go into the water. The Keilani now allows the spirit to guide and direct her steps. I have gone through too much on my own understanding and it left me broken and unfulfilled.
I am writing this blog to show you how real God is in my life, so He can be real in yours! I am writing this in hopes to encourage you in your walk and relationship with Jesus. I don’t know it all, but I am trusting God to work in and through me every day so I can experience the fullness of Him.
To some, this moment may seem small and “not that deep,” but I encourage you to open up your hearts to this. With every moment you allow God to work in you, you open a door of opportunity for your spirit and relationship with Jesus to grow. This small moment is a building block of my relationship with Jesus because I have practiced hearing His voice, and the next time I hear His voice I can recognize what is going on to trust Him and not question Him. God saw an opportunity to work in me, knowing an activity I love to do will make me decide whether I want to listen to Him or my flesh, and when I chose Him, God took me through a mini journey of hearing His voice and to hold on to a word He gave me (“go where you know”).
Some things I learned today:
- You can have your own plans, but sometimes God has something else planned.
- Sometimes what you prayed for in the past, is what you are walking out in the present.
- Silence the noise of outside voices, and it raises the volume of the spirit to talk to you.
- Don’t allow the flesh to drive you, but the spirit that is inside you.
- Practicing to obey the voice of my commands
Father God,
I pray for the reader who came across this blog. I pray they will be encouraged by this testimony and will be led to incline their ears and hearts to You. I pray for Your voice to be loud and clear over their lives. I renounce any hindrances blocking access from hearing you, Father. I pray whatever distraction will be removed from their lives so they can walk with You freely. In Jesus Name, Amen.
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
ROMANS 10:17 (ESV)
Written by Keilani Mayo
01.26.22. PEET’S COFFEE (APTOS, CA)