THE WHISPERS OF GOD
By Chastity Ogburn
Avery County
“Be still, and know that I am God:”
Psalm 46:10
Have you ever heard God speak to your spirit and you know without a doubt it is Him speaking to you? He doesn’t have to yell at us, sometimes it’s that still small voice. It’s the whispers of God speaking to our spirit. He speaks to us to give us guidance and direction in life. In 2018, God whispered to my spirit something very important.
I had surrendered to the call to ministry months prior in 2018 and I was trusting God had a plan. I committed to be obedient, surrendered, and available to what God had in store.
In the early morning hours of September 13, 2018, the Holy Spirit whispered to my spirit Anne Ministries. I remember getting out of bed and pacing the floor. I had heard clearly the name Anne Ministries. “God, Why Anne Ministries?”, I said. It was only a few short minutes and He showed me why?
It was as if pieces of a puzzle were all fitting together in that very moment and the puzzle pieces were all parts of my life. They were the hard and hurtful parts of my life that by the grace of God, He had redeemed. God’s hand of grace was in the name of Anne Ministries. That morning God revealed to me that His hand had always been there and His grace covered it ALL. It was a morning I will never forget.
God reminded me that the meaning of the name Anne was grace. I was then reminded by the Holy Spirit of my two children that were aborted when I was 16 years old. During my healing journey in 1997, I named them Andrew Steven and Lori Anne. God then reminded me of our daughter Lexie Anne. We lost her due to an early miscarriage when I was almost 20 weeks pregnant. God showed me His amazing “grace” in all that He was revealing to me. He showed me that, “Yes, you, Chastity Anne, I have poured out my grace on,” and He wanted me to share His grace with others.
Anne Ministries was birthed into my heart and spirit that morning. God was honoring the lives of my children through the ministry and wanted to use Anne Ministries to extend His grace to those who were hurting and needed hope, forgiveness, and healing through Jesus Christ.
Now, almost 5 years have passed since that amazing morning and I continue to be in awe of all that God is doing through the ministry. I am reminded as I write this that Anne Ministries is a House of Grace. God’s grace overflowing and pouring out to those in need. We offer pregnancy support services but also services to those that need healing from loss.
I’m so glad I heard the whispers of God that September morning. I pray to always have ears to listen to and hear His voice. He may speak to us through His written word, a sermon, or conversations with others. He may speak to us when we are on our hands and knees in our prayer closet. God speaks to us all in different ways. I pray to always have a heart open to hear Him and to obey Him.
Friend, we are all created for a purpose. God has a plan for your life. He accomplishes that plan in our lives as we surrender to His will. We have to step out in faith. We can trust God because His plan is the greatest plan for our life. We can trust that still small voice. Obey Him today and follow the whispers of God. He will do amazing things! Isaiah 61:1-3
__________________________________________
In 2018, the Lord put on my heart the calling to reach out to those hurting from loss. Anne Ministries began in September of 2018. Anne means “grace” and that is what this ministry is about, extending God’s grace and allowing Him to heal your deepest hurt. This ministry reaches out to those hurting from abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. The ministry expanded in 2021 offering pregnancy support services to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. Chastity and her family attend Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newland, NC. You can purchase her book, His Grace Covers All, on Amazon HERE.
Read more Christian news HERE.
__________________________________________
