I spent the summer after my graduation from Campion Academy working in Wyoming as a literature evangelist. Joe Martin, the director of the Rocky Mountain Conference’s literature evangelism program, had taken a chance on me, and I was scared. I felt like I didn’t fit in. Everyone else seemed so in love with God and so in touch with the Holy Spirit. Joe encouraged us to share our testimonies each week at church, stories of amazing things that happened while we walked up and down the streets of Gillette, Casper and Cheyenne. I couldn’t believe the testimonies I heard.
Amazingly, at the end of the summer I had my own list of testimonies. The Holy Spirit played such a large role in my life, leading me on a path toward a stronger relationship with God. That summer I learned how to listen to the call of the Holy Spirit.
Pray constantly
1 Thess. 5:17 reminds us to “pray without ceasing.” Prayer becomes a priority when working as a literature evangelist. It weaves through every aspect of life.
Every step down every street, at every door, my heart poured forth a prayer to God. I prayed for strength, I prayed for guidance, I prayed for sales. As the summer went on, my prayers changed. They became full of praise for the changes I saw God working in my life.
As I prayed, I began to see answers to my prayers everywhere I looked. The more I saw God’s hand in my life, the more I opened myself up to listening for His guidance.
Read Scripture for clarity
Ellen G. White says in The Great Controversy, “The truths revealed [in the Bible] are all ‘given by inspiration of God’ (2 Tim. 3:16) . . . The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants.” The Bible is God-breathed inspiration and can be used to guide our thoughts toward the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Joe Martin provides a series of Bible studies to all the literature evangelists meant to guide us in our understanding of the Bible and the books we sell door to door. I spent time every night searching for the correct answers for the Bible study, in addition to scouring my three editions for clarity on the biblical implications of words I wanted to aspire to.
My in-depth study of the Scriptures led me to a deeper understanding of God’s plan for my life. I began to let the Holy Spirit guide my thoughts in my pursuit of biblical understanding.
Grow in the Spirit
Phil. 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” We can recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit by the positive changes in our lives.
I began the summer without much of a conviction for the work I was doing. Over the course of the eight weeks, I grew to love reaching out to people of all faiths and religions to talk to them about the loving God I had been introduced to. I felt moved toward baptism, a path I had previously avoided.
That summer I learned how to open myself up to the call of the Holy Spirit. When the path isn’t clear, when life seems too hard, the Holy Spirit is with us. Just listen and look for God’s hand in your life.
Sara Roberts recently graduated from Union College with an English and business administration major.
