Clarity After Action, Not Before

September 19, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.” Genesis 12:1-4 NLT

Many of us who follow Christ often struggle with knowing what God is asking of us. At least, I do. Maybe I am alone here, but I think not.

Often, the question is, “God, what are you saying to me?” What I’ve found is that I keep asking the question even when I feel like I have a sense of what God may have spoken. I have an inkling of what God is asking of me. I can see the next step. But I hesitate to take it because I can’t see where that step will lead. I can’t see a clear outcome, so I hesitate. Anyone else?

What I see in the life of Abraham is that he took the step of obedience even when the outcome wasn’t clear. He demonstrated faith and trust in God by acting. He went without knowing because he knew that God said go and had promised to bless him. No detailed action plan with stated outcomes. Just, “Go. And I will bless you.” So, Abraham went.

The thing about Abraham is that he didn’t do that just once.

He left Ur.
He divided the land with Lot,
He went up the mountain prepared to sacrifice Isaac.

He didn’t always do it perfectly. (Ask Sarah or Hagar.) But overall, Abraham demonstrated a life of obedience before clarity. A simple principle. Simple, but not easy.

It seems like Abraham lived a life that had a simple theme: Obey first. Understand after.

I don’t know about you, but I like to understand before I act!

When Tom and I moved from the Hudson Valley, where we had spent most of our lives, to the Syracuse area it was because we had a sense of calling. No clear picture of what was going to happen when we moved. But we felt like God said, “Go. And I will bless you.” So, we took the time to transition the church we were pastoring to new leadership and left our well-established roots. Abraham was often on our minds. Go without knowing. Action before clarity.

Even after several years of living here, there is not a complete sense of clarity. But there is a sense of rightness. We are where we are supposed to be. We have obeyed, and God is blessing us. But we know there is more.

I have found that clarity comes with obedience. In seasons of uncertainty, it’s easy to avoid action. We often don’t fully know what God wants, but something seems to keep rising to the top of our minds. There is one thought that won’t go away. Often that is the thing we must do. But we hesitate, wanting to be certain. The truth is, like Abraham, we won’t be certain until we actually do it.

Abraham could not get away from God’s request to sacrifice Isaac. He acted in obedience. It was then that the clarity came. God made it clear when he told Abraham to stop and explained that Abraham had demonstrated his commitment. God wanted his whole heart, not really his son. (Geneses 22: 9-12)

Dear friend, what might God be asking of you right now? What thought can’t you get away from? It’s very possible that is the thing you must do, but you won’t have clarity until you actually do it. It won’t be easy to go without knowing. But obedience leads to action and action leads to clarity. Faith in uncertain seasons looks like a decision to act on what you know and believe God has said even when— especially when— you can’t see the outcome.

Key Question: How can I get clear on what God is asking of me?

A Scripture to Consider: “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.” Genesis 12:1-4 NLT

A YES Challenge: Take a few deep breaths and sit with God for a few moments. What has been thought that won’t go away? Consider your next step and determine when you will take it.

Prayer: Father, I want to obey You. I want to follow in Abraham’s steps and go without knowing, but it’s hard to take that step when I just don’t see how it’s going to turn out. I want the certainty, but it seems like certainty is only possible after I take the step. Empower me by Your Spirit. Help me go without knowing. Help me trust that You will bless my step of obedience and grant me the clarity I seek. Amen.

My book The YES Adventure: Transform Your Life with One Word is now a year old! Check it out or encouragement, inspiration, and more about God-centered goal-setting. Please leave a review on Amazon! That will help other people find the book and receive guidance and encouragement in their God-centered goal-setting.

If you are stuck and would like a partner to help you process your next step, I’d love to help. Schedule a 30-minute complimentary coaching

How to Win the War Within (Repost)

August 15, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ' Colossians 3:1-2

You’ve left the room, but the argument is not over. Your thoughts are stuck in a loop. The same hurtful exchange of words flashes across your mind over and over and over. You can’t seem to reset your inner replay. All the emotions that should have stayed in that room follow you everywhere you go. Hurt and anger continue to shout in your ears. Your heart rate is through the roof. Hot anger rises in your flushed face. The war is far from over.

Your inner screening room then begins playing out possible outcomes for a future exchange. You don’t really know what will happen, but your mind is already strategizing your next offensive in the war of words. Your emotions rise and fall with every imagined interaction. When you hurl an imagined barb at your intended target proud and triumphant vindictiveness rises to the surface. You feel all the emotions of a situation that hasn’t really happened and then you carry that resentment into the next conversation which turns into another altercation. Your emotions have become attached to an unreality. Nothing actually happened before you walked into the room. Do you truly want to spend your emotional energy on something that isn’t even real?

When God Trusts You with Pain

August 1, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 NIV

God has trusted you with this challenge. Life may not be the way you expected. What you dreamed of seems to have crashed and burned. It’s hard to envision what the future might look like.

And the pain. Well, the pain may be unlike any you’ve ever experienced before. It’s so deep and unfathomable. At times, it pours out. Other times, no one knows it’s there. But for you, it’s always there. Always under the surface. The pain doesn’t go away. You learn to live with chronic pain. It becomes part of you.

That certainly is not the life you envisioned, is it? A life where pain becomes part of you. But sometimes, that is the life God trusts you with. The key to accepting that kind of life is trust.

You can’t trust yourself to handle this. You and I must trust God when He allows pain to become part of us. We must trust what we know of His character, His goodness, His love.

Ultimately, what God wants from you and me when He allows pain to become part of us is to represent Him well in our world. To show that He is trustworthy, even in painful circumstances. To demonstrate what it looks like to walk in faith, because faith trusts what it can’t see. (Hebrews 11:6)

Silent Saturday: Counting the Cost

April 4, 2026 Cathleen Zahradnik

It is Saturday of Holy Week. Good Friday has passed. Easter Sunday is yet to come. We wait in anticipation of that joyous celebration. But what did the disciples do on that Saturday after the crucifixion? They did not know that joy awaited them. They observed the Sabbath in obedience, but that day of rest from work was most likely anything but a day of rest in the mind. How could they do anything but continue to relive Friday’s horror and wonder how they would ever face, not only Sunday, but every day after?

It is in human nature to avoid the painful, but what if you and I took this Saturday to relive some of Good Friday’s pain? Might it increase our joy of the resurrection?

One Last YES Lesson from Mary: Saying YES to the Unexpected

December 27, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Mary demonstrates the YES life in one more way. She followed through to the end. Mary went through a lot in her lifetime, but we never get the sense that she strayed from her trust in God. The evidence of trust in the young girl who said, “Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) remains until the last mention of Mary in Scripture, gathering with the first group of believers in Jerusalem, praying and waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). We can conclude that she was there and experienced the birth of the church with Peter and the others mentioned.

So, what would be the secret to her staying power? How did she live the YES life through the ups and downs of so much change and challenge? Since Joseph is not mentioned past the time when, at twelve, Jesus was found in the temple talking with the teachers, she likely lost her husband when she was young. She witnessed her son straying from the normal life path for people of her community, becoming an itinerant preacher who gained a large following and stirred up strong opposition, until eventually, she stood at the foot of the Cross and watched him die. And yet, if she was praying with the early believers, she must have also accepted and experienced the joy of His Resurrection. What was her secret? What can we learn from her about living the YES life?

Silent Saturday: Counting the Cost

April 19, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

It is in human nature to avoid the painful, but what if you and I took this Saturday to relive some of Good Friday’s pain? Might it increase our joy of the resurrection?

Ask: How to Get What You Pray For

February 1, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NIV

Do you ever wonder if praying is worthwhile? Do you question if God hears you? I get it! It’s not unusual for believers to question. We wonder why it seems like our prayers aren’t being answered. We wonder if God is listening, or if He is ignoring our prayers. It’s okay to be honest about your questions. Honesty is the place to begin to move forward.

I often hear those questions in my mind, but I have decided not to pay much attention. I have been through the struggling but have come to the conclusion that I can trust God’s character and His word. If I believe He is good, then I can trust Him to answer in His way and His time. If I believe His word is true, then He has given you and me a guideline for how to pray and get what we pray for. Here it is:

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NIV

If I ask Him for what He already wants I can be confident He will do it. The key to knowing what He wants is to focus on Him rather than what I want. Then prayer becomes about relationship rather than a transaction.

Ask - The first way to get what you pray for is to pray! How many times do we forget to pray first? Approach every endeavor with prayer. Approach God and include Him.

One of the worst legacies Benjamin Franklin left behind is a quote that has been attributed to him: “God helps those who help themselves.” While there is the truth that God wants us to act on His promises, Franklin’s statement puts God in the passenger seat. This idea influenced how I approached life. I felt like — maybe I still feel— like I need to do everything I can do before I ask God for help. Before I include God.

I’ve learned this is not our Father’s heart. He wants to be involved every step of the way, from idea to completion. He wants to walk alongside you and me like a parent alongside the child riding a two-wheeler for the first time. The parent helps them get started. There is effort on both sides until the child is riding on their own. But that is where the analogy breaks down. Our Heavenly Father stays right alongside us, empowering us and guiding us as we ride.

Anything - You won’t get 100% of the things you don’t ask for. Don’t be afraid to approach God with your requests. He wants to hear from you! I don’t know about you, but that idea of God helping those who help themselves has made me believe that I take care of the small stuff and don’t bother God until I can’t do it myself. Not true!

From the smallest detail to the largest project, He wants us to ask. He wants to be involved in every area of our lives. My life is His. That means all of it. Praying about anything and everything is part of the way I surrender to Him. It is acknowledging that I am His and don’t want to function independently. He cares about all of it! And it’s all His.

According to His will – This is the key. If you ask according to His will, you can be sure that you will receive it. But how do you know His will?

The key to knowing His will is to make knowing Him the priority rather than knowing what He wants you to do. Then you will learn His character and His heart. Those aspects of your relationship with Him will guide you to His will. Knowing His character and His Word is the key to knowing His will.

Dear Friend, He hears your prayers. He understands you and your heart. Do you understand His? If you want to get what you pray for make sure that you are asking God and including Him in the process. Remember you can include Him in anything and everything by bringing it to Him in prayer. But above all, seek Him and His will. When you pray according to that you can be confident that He hears you and you will receive what you ask for.

Key Question: How can get what I ask God for in prayer?

A Scripture to Consider: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NIV

A YES Challenge: Set aside a half hour to ask yourself some hard questions about your prayer life. Do you ask God first? Are there things you don’t bring to God? What do you believe about His character and His word? What do you want to improve based on your conclusions?

Prayer: Father God, You know me and You understand me. Thank You for Your patience! Forgive me for bringing my will to You in prayer rather than seeking Your will first. Help me to recognize where I am leaving You out of the process and trying to do things on my own. I want to include You. I want to know You better so that I can pray according to Your will. Father, let Your will be done in me and through me. Amen.

How to Stay Anchored in Hope

December 7, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV

What does hope mean to you? For me, it means expecting God to move. I have hope because, regardless of what I see happening, I know God is in control. I believe God is God and will act accordingly. Sometimes I don’t get to see the good outcome, but I believe it will happen all the same. Those aren’t just words to me. It’s something I have learned to live and that helps me stay anchored in hope.

Are there times when you wander from hope? What brings you back?

Here are a few things to consider that help me remain connected to hope.

God’s promises help me stay anchored in hope. “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19 NLT

The promises of God are a lifeline that keep me connected to Him. When I stay connected to Him, I stay connected to hope.

There are times when I feel like I have to figure everything out. I feel responsible for solving the problem in front of me or helping someone I care about by giving them an answer to their dilemma.

Find Your Joy Through Trust

September 7, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.” Proverbs 16:20 NLT

Do you ever struggle to find your joy? Where does joy go when times are trying? What if the key to finding your joy is to uncover your trust?

The Inside Out movies from Disney and Pixar are among the most insightful pieces of cinema I’ve encountered. The animated films explore how emotions affect our choices. One key takeaway is that all emotions are valuable, even the ones we would like to skip.

Joy is the primary character in the stories. Joy is often trying to take the lead and squelch any of the more difficult emotions, but Joy, Sadness, Anger, Anxiety, Embarrassment, and all the other emotions learn that Joy can’t always be in control. Yet, as Joy relinquishes the lead, she doesn’t disappear. She remains a significant part of painful memories as well as the difficult present.

How does this relate to trust? Trust accepts whatever God gives and believes it will turn out for good. Trust doesn’t try to control the outcome but walks through the situation with peace. And when Trust is in control Joy is never far away.

Trust listens with humility. One of the mis-messages I picked up as a child is that I should just know how to do things. Expectations were rarely explained, but I knew when expectations were not met. My unconscious practice became a constant and unattainable quest to anticipate and meet expectations. I felt I should simply know how to do things without ever being taught. I was extremely frustrated when I had to learn how to do something.

Can Faith and Doubt Coexist?

August 31, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 NLT

The Scripture above is one of my favorite prayers. I suppose I should be embarrassed to admit that. A person of faith never doubts, right? Wrong! People of faith often doubt, but many of us have been taught to ignore doubts. However, when we ignore our doubts and say we believe something because we think we should, we cross into forbidden territory. The name of that territory is Lie. It is a lie to declare I believe something I actually doubt. So, what is the balance? Can faith and doubt co-exist? What if the answer is yes?

What does it look like when faith and doubt co-exist?

Faith speaks truth. Speaking truth has two sides when it comes to faith. I can speak the truth of God’s Word. I can declare that what God says is true without a doubt.

But truth must also admit doubt. The doubt may be about how the truth is to be expressed. Perhaps the doubt lies in interpretation and application. What if you doubt the Scriptures are the Word of God? All those years. So many human authors. How could it be trustworthy? If that is where you stand, then faith must speak it to God. Perhaps your honesty is “I believe God is real, but I am not sure He communicates with people. I am not sure that the Scriptures are the Word of God.” Then your faith prayer could become, “Lord, help me to believe that You speak and show me I can trust the Scriptures.”

Faith must speak truth. God can handle it.

Faith trusts enough to acknowledge doubt.