There are times when the Holy Spirit will warn you, and you will still go ahead and do what you want to do.
I know because I did it.
With avocado.
I had some frozen avocados in the freezer that I wanted to use. If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t like wasting food. If something can still be used, my brain immediately starts looking for how to give it a second life.
So I brought out the avocado to defrost. By the time it was ready, it didn’t look like avocado anymore. It was just… a mushy mess.
But did I throw it away?
Ah-ah. Throw what away? Nothing must be wasted, oh. We must use this avocado. Then I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. I would blend the avocado, add some sugar, a little coconut milk, and create something new. Gbam! New recipe loading.
And somewhere in the middle of all this, I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me.
“Why are you doing this? Why not just throw the avocado into the garden and let the garden have it?”
Hmm. That wasn’t a bad idea.
But then my brain went, “But what if I can create something new?”
And the response I got was so simple:
“Well, you will learn.”
I even said, “Abi, I will learn.”
You see the problem?
I heard the warning.
I understood the warning.
I even acknowledged the warning.
And then I proceeded. I added one ripe plantain. I added one egg. I blended everything until I had this beautiful, smooth mixture. I tasted it. It wasn’t bad at all!
At this point, I was feeling very confident.
“Yes! We have done it. Now let’s cook this thing.”
Men and brethren…
That was where I truly missed it.
Because apparently, avocado has no business being cooked like that.
As soon as I put it on the gas, I knew something was wrong. It wasn’t even fully cooked when I thought, “Let me just taste this thing.”
My good God! It was… BITTER. Not small bitter o. Horrible bitter. The kind of bitter that makes you immediately question every decision that brought you to that point.
I had to grab a chocolate bar just to get the taste out of my mouth.
And I knew immediately: there was no way I was serving this to my family.
So I turned off the gas and looked at this beautiful-looking disaster.
And I thought to myself, “Holy Spirit… You actually told me o. You told me to give the avocado to the garden.”
But I was determined to prove that I could make something out of it.
I was the queen of experiments.
DIY mama.
I wanted to create something new.
And I did.
I created something new that nobody could eat. *laughs in premium tears*
But honestly, that experience got me thinking about how many times we do this with God.
Sometimes God gives us a very simple instruction, and because we don’t understand it, we start negotiating.
“Are You sure?”
“But what if…?”
“Maybe I can do it this way instead.”
“Let me just try it.”
And sometimes, the thing God is asking us to leave alone doesn’t look dangerous at all. It may even look like an opportunity. It may look like creativity. It may look like being resourceful. It may look like making the most of what we have.
But God sees what we don’t see.
And sometimes obedience means trusting Him even when His instruction doesn’t make sense to us.
The Holy Spirit didn’t give me a scientific explanation that day.
He didn’t say, “Lois, don’t cook the avocado because it will become bitter.”
He simply nudged me and said, “Why are you doing this?”
That should have been enough.
And that is something I am learning.
God doesn’t always owe us an explanation before we obey.
Sometimes He simply tells us, “Don’t go there.”
“Don’t send that message.”
“Leave that thing.”
“Don’t take that opportunity.”
“Wait.”
“Go.”
And because we don’t understand why, we start trying to make a case for what we want to do.
But the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will lead us, but He will not force us. He can warn you and still allow you to make your own decision.
And when you choose wrongly, sometimes you will have to learn the hard way. I certainly did.
Because that one decision cost me more than the avocado.
There was the plantain.
The egg.
The coconut milk.
The sugar.
The gas.
The pot.
The blender.
My time.
And let’s not forget the chocolate I had to sacrifice to rescue my tongue. 😂
All those things could have gone into making a perfectly good meal.
And that’s another thing about delayed obedience.
Sometimes the consequence isn’t that God is punishing us. Sometimes we simply experience the unnecessary loss that comes from choosing our own way when He has already shown us a better one.
I could have just thrown the avocado into the garden. The garden would have benefited. I would have saved my ingredients. I would have saved my time. And I would have saved myself from tasting one of the most terrible things I’ve ever made.
But thankfully, that’s not where the story ends.
I apologised to the Holy Spirit.
“I’m sorry, sir. You actually warned me. I didn’t listen.”
And I think we need to get comfortable with doing that too. Because we will make mistakes. We are human beings. We will sometimes hear God and choose ourselves. We will sometimes realise afterwards, “Ah. He was actually leading me in another direction.”
When that happens, don’t run away from God because you’re ashamed. Go back. Apologise. Acknowledge that He was right. Make amends where necessary.
And keep walking with Him.
The goal isn’t to become people who never make mistakes.
The goal is to become people who are increasingly quick to listen and quick to obey.
So, the next time you feel that quiet nudge from the Holy Spirit, and you’re tempted to say, “But what if I…?”
Pause.
Listen.
You might not understand why. You might not even like the instruction.
But if He is leading you to leave something alone, leave it alone.
Because sometimes what looks like an instruction that makes no sense is actually God saving you from a bitter experience.
And please… Don’t be like me. Don’t make the bitter avocado first.
Let’s be quick to obey.
And when we miss it, let’s be quick to apologise, learn, and make amends.
Because sometimes the wisest thing we can do is to simply listen to the One who already knows how the story ends.
