The prompting I can't explain

Yesterday, I left a church event before it ended. It was a women's only event - Selah - an invitation to pause, reflect, pray, and rest. I had been looking forward to it all week. I expected it to be life-giving and was excited to be there.

And it was; the evening started really well. But halfway through the night, something changed.

I can't explain it any better than this: I had an overwhelming sense that I wasn't supposed to be there.

There was nothing wrong with the event. No emergency. No phone call. No anxiety. Just a quiet, persistent feeling that the place I was supposed to be was at home with my husband.

It didn't really make sense. Part of me wondered if I should ignore it. After all, I was already where I thought I was supposed to be. Surely staying at church couldn't be the wrong decision?

But I couldn't quite shake the feeling. It was so strong that I felt uneasy sitting in church (which is weird, I usually love being at church!).

After a few minutes of unease, I decided to follow that prompting. So I quietly said goodbye to my friends, slipped out, and drove home as quickly as I could.

Nothing notable that I know of happened.

This morning, I woke up to notifications that a town south of us was hit by a strong earthquake.

We didn't feel it where we were. As far as I know, it didn't cause significant damage.

So I don't know if it has anything to do with the urge to leave. But maybe it was. Maybe nothing happened precisely because I left....?

Perhaps it was intuition. Maybe it was my own thoughts. Or maybe it was the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit.

The truth is, I may never know.

Sometimes we want the full explanation. We want God to tell us exactly why He nudged us in a certain direction. We want confirmation that we heard Him correctly.

But faith doesn't always work that way. Sometimes the invitation is simply to trust.

Could something have happened if I had stayed? I have no idea. Did nothing happen precisely because I listened? I'll never know that either.

What I do know is this: I'm grateful I followed that quiet prompting. I spent the rest of the evening with my husband and family - the place I truly believed I was supposed to be.

Not every feeling is from God, of course. Wisdom matters. Scripture matters. Community matters. Discernment matters.

But sometimes there is a quiet knowing that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore. Yesterday reminded me that obedience doesn't always come with immediate answers.

Sometimes it simply doing something that doesn't make sense, especially if it's something I can do (and isn't unbiblical!).

After all, the Holy Spirit often doesn't shout.