Have you ever just wished that Jesus would come pull up a chair and just lay out all the plans He has for you? Okay maybe it’s just me … but I think in every believer’s life we can attest to the times where it would be nice to hear a voice straight from Heaven speaking and giving us divine direction! The beautiful thing I have come to realize though is that the Holy Spirit is exactly that help we have been looking for but the problem is often times we don’t know how to discern when He has been speaking to us.
Think about it … during Jesus’ time on earth He didn’t do anything apart from the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left the earth He actually said that it was better for us if He left because then the Holy Spirit would come after (John 16:7). I’m sure His disciples didn’t understand how it could be a good thing for Jesus to go but He knew something they didn’t about the power of the Holy Spirit.
First things first, I encourage you to do a study on the Holy Spirit. His function, how He operates, and pull out Scriptures to see the role He plays in our lives. Even if you feel like you already “know” about Him, there are always new angles and at the end of the day it’s a relationship so He will always reveal more of Himself as we pursue Him! On a personal note, I went through years … let me emphasize again … YEARS of feeling confused on what it meant to hear God’s voice and know what He was saying to me. That’s a story for another day but for the purpose of this post one thing I have found to be so true is that the Holy Spirit serves as our ultimate guide.
“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)
One of the biggest ways that I have found that the Holy Spirit speaks and leads is through a knowing, nudging, or prompting, almost like a beacon that keeps lighting up in a certain direction.
Example: Do you ever have those times throughout the day where you keep feeling the Holy Spirit highlight for you to do something? It could be to call a specific person, to clean those dishes, or to keep peace and not respond the way you really want to when someone in your life is being difficult. Of course we’ve all had those moments! That’s the Lord’s constant guiding and help in our life to help us navigate through all of life’s circumstances, both big and small. So let me ask you this, if the Holy Spirit is able to remind you of all of those small and minute details, don’t you think He will be even more faithful to lead you in the areas that feel big and matter the most? It could be questions like, “What is my calling? Where am I supposed to live? Does God have a spouse for me?” the list goes on and on. What I have found is that because some of the “big” questions take longer to get answered or to be unraveled before us, the enemy loves to use that space of time to make us begin to doubt and question our relationship with God. “Maybe God doesn’t have that for me .. maybe God isn’t going to respond … maybe I just don’t know how to hear from God …” But think about it, why would God put those desires in your heart if He had no intention of fulfilling them? The Holy Spirit works like a beacon. Think of a flashing orb that keeps lighting up again and again. What are the areas the Holy Spirit keeps hovering over or lighting up and bringing your attention to? Is it to start a blog? Is it to spend more time in prayer? Is it to start giving more of your time to others? Is it to start a business? Start practically and begin by making a list of all the areas where the Holy Spirit keeps lighting certain areas up. There are no right or wrong answers, this is a part of learning to hear God’s voice in a deeper way. Make the list and then pinpoint the areas that are contingent on you vs God. What I mean by that is, if your desire is to be married then yes, you can start preparing spiritually and readying yourself as a woman, but you can’t force the man to appear or speed up God’s timing for when it’s going to happen. If God has been putting it on your heart to start a blog on the other hand, He isn’t going to type for you, purchase the URL, or make the cover photograph for your blog page. You’re essentially making your list of areas that the Holy Spirit has been highlighting and then breaking down each of those things into the next most practical steps as far as things depend on you. You do what you can do and then God will do what you can’t!
In sum the wisdom I have learned when it comes to getting direction from God is to
A. Stop overthinking
B. Realize that the Holy Spirit is your ultimate guide and He’s already highlighting what to do next
C. You simply need to start with what is dependent upon you
D. Don’t try to take responsibility for what is God’s part. This is where faith comes in!
E. Impatience makes you give up before you even start because you think you should have the answer by now
F. Humility is being okay with not knowing everything but taking responsibility for the areas you do have a part to play in
G. God can’t give you your next step until you take the first one
H. As you begin to walk in obedience things will start to make sense in time. It’s a faith walk so it’s not all going to get downloaded to you at once
I. As you step out in faith in the direction you feel God is telling you to go, pay attention to whether you feel a peace about it. Pray for confirmation and realize that sometimes you won’t for sure know if it’s a no or not the time unless you start and give God the chance to speak
J. Remember to enjoy the journey. God isn’t purposefully trying to hide or make things difficult for you, but He loves the relationship and loves when we are fully dependent on Him
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