God speaks to me through numbers

33. 19. 21. 29. 

 

Maybe those numbers don’t mean anything to you, but they mean something to me. And the Lord knows it. So, He places them in my view to remind me that:

 

He sees me

He loves me

He knows me better than I know myself 

He will fulfill His promises 

To take heart and be strong and WAIT on the Lord

 

To explain, lately the Lord has been speaking to me through numbers like WHOA. I suppose He’s always been doing this but I just wasn’t aware of it and that’s made all the difference.  He also is highly creative (I mean, He’s the CREATOR after all?!!!) so He speaks in different ways to different people and also varies how He speaks to each individual throughout their life or depending on the season.  Since, He is ALWAYS DOING A NEW THING (Isaiah 43:19). See, catch the #19 there?  Well, I did 🙂  

 

Anyways, I’m sure you’ll think of the logical argument (of which I have debated with myself time and time again) that all of these situations are just coincidence and I can twist any number or whisper or situation to say it’s God to fit my agenda and desires. And, you would be right. I could do this and perhaps I have done this recently and many times in my past. A lot of it depends on your heart posture and your inner motivation and if we’re honest with ourselves and really take a second to examine our hearts and ask God to search them, then we know if we’re operating in a pure heart/ mind or trying to manipulate the situation/ circumstances/ “coincidences” to our advantage and to accommodate our desires. 

 

At this point in my life with the amplified ability to hear God’s voice for myself after my recent years of practicing and seeking Him out and finding Him, I feel it is not coincidence most of the time and that I can discern when it’s Him and that He is in fact using numbers to speak to me. 

 

For example, if you look above to the initial sequence of numbers I listed, you’ll notice they are all odd numbers. Hmm, that’s odd (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Ok, I’m not really sorry.) Well, I am originally at my core a Type A person, firstborn overachiever child, blah blah blah, and I like things tidy and I prefer even numbers. They’re always divisible by at least 2 and they are put together and neat. So, the Lord’s even using my preference for even numbers to redeem my need to have it all together and my life perfect and tidy and under control all the time. 

 

So, initially, He’s always spoken to me through the #19 since I was a child but I didn’t realize it til the past 2-3 years. I was born on the 19th of January and it’s not a particularly popular number for kids to want on their sports jerseys so I always felt special if I could choose 19 and now when I see it, it reminds me that God sees me and loves me uniquely so much so that He planned for me to see #19 at this specific moment in time. I might notice the time is 1:19 (my birthdate) or that my phone has 19% battery left or that the text was received at 1:19. You get the picture.

 

So, I just turned 33 years old. And, for the past 5-10 years (probably after I turned 25), I didn’t look forward to my birthday quite as much as in years past because I was getting older and still not married with no prospects and the having children dream was a far off thing that kept seeming more and more unlikely. So, when I tell you that I answered “Almost 33” for at least 6 months prior to turning 33 and was so excited to turn 33, this is evidence that God has been working in my heart. 

 

You see, 33 is an odd number with no significance to me. Or, it was.  BUT GOD. The Lord spoke a word over me about my 33rd year in the spring of 2020 (I was 32) and He said He would fulfill His promise to me to give me one of my deepest heart’s desires and it had to do with Jesus being 33 when He completed His ministry on earth and His death and resurrection at 33 years old birthed the church and the Bride of Christ (the Church) and Christ, Her Groom, became one flesh in matrimony and all that occurred in the fall was redeemed and the Church was free to bring Kingdom and all His children given full authority to reign in the earth as His ambassadors to bring Heaven down to Earth. 

 

So, His 33rd year (and final year) on earth was KIND OF A BIG DEAL. 

 

Of course, I’m not claiming to do all that Jesus did but I do have the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead inside of me and He promised that His followers would do “even greater things” than Him. Just saying 😉  

 

But, I’ve been seeing the #33 E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E since probably halfway through my 32nd year. The time on my clock/ computer. The % of laptop battery left. A “random” # mentioned in a podcast/ sermon/ blog/ scripture reference.  And it’s not like people say 33 has biblical significance like 3 or 7 or 10 or 12 or 40.  My favorite is the temperature outside when I get off work because that’s pretty precise 🙂  I mean, it’s the South, how often is it exactly 33 degrees when I happen to get in my vehicle?! Pretty often for this girl who Abba apparently loves a WHOLE LOT. 

 

I haven’t even gotten to 21 or 29 but those are significant for different reasons near to my heart and the Lord has been using numbers so much in my life lately, it’s pretty ridiculous and it’s not possible for it to all be coincidence at this point. I’m not even surprised anymore when I see the #33 or someone writes a blog about being single that I read yesterday and she’s how old? You guessed it, 33. 

 

All this to say, I’m not endorsing anyone manipulating numbers and circumstances to serve their own selfish agendas or justify things the Lord hasn’t put His blessing on. BUT, I am saying that He speaks to us in a MYRIAD of ways and numbers is just one of them and you might miss it if you’re not looking for it. And the more you pay attention, the more He’ll do it because He ABSOLUTELY LOVES COMMUNICATING WITH YOU, His beloved child. 

 

So, don’t overthink it. The Enemy is the Father of Lies and the Deceiver and He loves loves loves to get God’s children who are made IN HIS IMAGE and HEAR HIS VOICE (Jesus declares in John 10:4: “When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.“) to doubt the very fact that they can and do hear God’s voice. He uses distraction and noise and worries of the world and lies whispered in their ear over and over again that are so familiar they become truth to us.  And, hearing God’s voice is actually very simple but it takes practice and we have to drown out the fear that we aren’t getting it right or we’re partnering with Satan or whatever other lie impedes our ability to individually listen to and speak with the Father. 

 

For friends, let me tell you: it’s so so sweet. When your thoughts are so mingled with His that sometimes you can’t tell the difference and you have to take time to analyze to discern if it’s God or you. And, for me, oftentimes, I realize it must be God because:

1. I’m not that wise/ brilliant.

2. I deem it stupid or too crazy and try to talk myself out of it immediately since it couldn’t possibly be God because I don’t wanna do that. 

3. It ignites a little fear in me because it requires me to step outside of the safety of my comfort zone and I could fail and I can only do it if I am depending on God for strength.

4. It’s too extravagant and over the top in the giving to or blessing of someone else and I’m tempted to flick the thought away because I think the cost of following through is too high. 

 

And now, I understand at a deeper level how we have already and yet are still developing more and more the MIND OF CHRIST. (1 Corinthians 2:16, Romans 12:2) 

 

So, my challenge to you is to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) and continue to seek out that still small voice of the Lord in your life and risk “failure” to actually learn to discern His voice and how He speaks to you specifically. 

 

Maybe it’s through numbers. Maybe it’s through thoughts meandering and floating in your head. Maybe it’s through nature. Maybe it’s through reading or listening to a blog/ podcast/book/ post. Maybe it’s through a friend. An act of service by another. A sale on your favorite thing. 

The ways He speaks to us so tenderly full of Love are ENDLESS. 

 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Listen, my friend. And, you SHALL surely hear His voice and be embraced by Love. 

 

All my heart,

A 33-year-old full of Hope and Expectation