An eagle, a vision and a face slap – how God got Maz’s attention
- deansimpson7
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Several years ago, after trying numerous churches and seeking God’s will for her life, Maz found herself in the outback of New South Wales, gazing at an eagle. Suddenly, she had a vision of God sitting on a throne. He said to her, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“But me, being me, I couldn’t do that,” Maz said, years later. “My job was disappearing, I knew that. I was worrying about what I was going to do and where I was going to go … I tried to sort it out on my own.”
When she looked up to the sky again, the vision had disappeared.
Fast forward a few years, and then 69-year-old Maz was living in Gunnedah, in the north-west of the state, with her partner, preparing his house for an imminent flood.
“This fella turned up at the door and offered to see if we needed help moving furniture. He was amazing!
“It turned out it was Peter.”
The Peter she was referring to is the Gunnedah Corps and Community Leader, Peter Hall. He mentioned to Maz that he was from The Salvation Army, just down the road, and she began asking questions – “because I’d never been to a Salvation Army church before.”
A few weeks later, Maz and her partner went along to a Sunday meeting to check it out.
They enjoyed the people ... and the coffee! So, they stayed, and they have become regular attendees.
Maz remembered that as she walked into the corps building on that first Sunday, she noticed a sign with the Bible verse “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46). She told Peter, “That’s my favourite verse!”
About a year later, a visiting preacher was delivering the sermon when Maz had another significant spiritual experience: “It was like someone slapped me in the face,” she remembered. “I sat there and thought, ‘Oh, this is interesting.’”
Her partner had felt something too, but as they discussed it back at home, they had different opinions about what God was trying to tell them. While Maz continued to pursue what God was calling her into, they drifted apart.
“From the moment I heard that sermon, I was at total peace,” she said. “It was the first time in my life I felt totally at peace, and I thought, ‘I need to be still.” The key difference this time was that she didn’t fight God’s command for her to ‘be still, and know that I am God,’ and the peace remained with her.
Maz became a Salvation Army soldier last year. She works as a casual employee for the Gunnedah Salvos Store and volunteers 2-3 days a week at the corps. She says her life has changed “hugely” and she has never been happier.
“The peace I feel now is a result of me following what God wants me to do,” she said. “I feel like I have a reason to be here [on this earth]. I love everyone in the church. I just feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Maz says joining the Gunnedah Salvos weekly Bible study has been one of the biggest steps forward with her faith.
“I’m loving how much I’m learning. I’ve learned more about the Bible and God since I’ve been here than I ever had before.
“We have great discussions and things just click a bit more with Bible study instead of just reading it on your own. Peter and Sally have been an immense help in my walk with God.”
Please keep Maz and the whole of Gunnedah Salvos in your prayers as they journey deeper with God and each other.
