CHAPTER 1

THE VOICE OF GOD

JOY is not simply a feeling of happiness. Joy is the all-intoxicating feeling ofbecoming. It is the greatest of emotional and spiritual sensations. We experience joy when we grow, and we grow when we live in the presence of God and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I have spent twenty-three years on this earth, and just four years ago I heard thecall to joy.

As I was preparing for bed on the evening of April 7, 1993, I realized that I was at a crossroads in my life.

In some ways the day had been no different from any other. Early that morning, as my younger brothers rushed around preparing for school, I had gotten out of bed, wandered downstairs in my pajamas, taken a large glass from the cupboard, and filled it with orange juice. Then I’d sat down at our piano and had played and sung for some time. After my brothers had left for school and thus vacated the bathroom, I showered and went off to the university for the day.

Getting into bed that night, I reached for my Walkman from the bedside table so that I could listen to some music before I went to sleep. As I did, I sensed a strong external presence that was urging me not to pick up the Walkman. I ignored the sensation. When I put on the headphones, I had a similar feeling, only this time it was twice as powerful. Again I ignored it.

I turned my Walkman on, and after a few seconds of listening to the music, I felt the same urge for a third time. This time, however, it was almost overpowering. I knew it was something I had never experienced before. I took my Walkman off, got out of bed, and fell to my knees. As I knelt there in the darkness and silence, I asked myself why I was kneeling in the middle of my room at this hour. But before I could answer this question, I heard a voice speak to me—a voice as clear as any voice I have ever heard.

“Keep doing what you are doing. Believe in yourself and believe in Me,” the voice said.

I looked around. There was no one else in the room. My brother was asleep and snoring in the room next to mine. I looked around again, but somehow I knew I wouldn’t find anyone.

Thirteen words, yet because of them, my life would never be the same.

Three days later I heard the voice for a second time. It was then that this mysterious person identified Himself as God the Father. From that moment on, these encounters with the Divine became a regular part of my day, and although they are now welcomed and appreciated, they have never lost their initial quality of being intriguingly unexpected. As those first days went by, God visited me three, four, five times a day—sometimes when I least anticipated it; sometimes for long periods and other times ever so briefly. He spoke to me as a friend, encouraging, guiding, counseling, and advising. He told me simple things and little by little began to open my eyes and ears to the spiritual realm. He constantly encouraged me to better myself,