Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 NLT
Do you want to fulfill the destiny you were created for? Yes? Then be someone who says YES when God speaks. But how do you know that you are hearing God? It isn’t always clear, is it?
I want to be someone who says YES to God. I want to know what He is saying, to listen and obey. How do you and I learn to recognize His voice when there are so many other noises going on around us?
One way I've learned to recognize God's voice is in the thought that won't go away. You’ve felt it, too, right? That nagging sense that this is something that you’re supposed to do. It seems like every time you try to push it away, it keeps coming back. What if you stopped to listen and ask, “God, is that You?”
I had one of those thoughts in 2004 after my daughter’s 8th-grade graduation. I had worked part-time as a lunch monitor at her school the previous year but had prayed for a similar position to open at the elementary school my youngest was attending the next year. Middle schoolers in the lunchroom are a tough crowd! Thankfully, God answered YES to that prayer!
Before I left to work at the elementary school, the middle school librarian invited me to apply for a full-time job in the library. I turned her down. I wasn’t ready for a full-time job at that time.
A year later, as we were leaving the 8th-grade graduation, she casually called out after me "Are you sure you don't want to work in the library?" I laughed and had no intention of doing anything about it, but throughout the summer I could not stop thinking about it. It was a thought that wouldn’t go away. I concluded that God did, indeed, want me to pursue that position. So, I looked up the librarian's home number before the school year started, and that September I began an almost 10-year sojourn working in the middle school library.
I had a similar experience as I recognized God's call to ministry. I couldn't get away from it. I presented God with every reason why taking the classes and pursuing credentials didn't make sense. It went against what I had experienced and what I had been taught and besides all that, I was just plain comfortable with my life as it was. But I couldn't get away from the inner push that this was something I was called to do. I had a deep sense of knowing that if I didn't pursue this, I would be disobeying God. So, I continued the process having no idea what God would do with my obedience. Not long after receiving ministry credentials, I was unexpectedly offered a full-time job as a pastor. I left my position at the library and spent the next 10 years serving in several full-time pastoral positions.
The call to become a coach was another thought that wouldn’t go away, even before I knew what a coach was! The thought was so persistent that I knew I needed to explore coaching. When I learned that a coach comes alongside people as a thought partner to help them discover and design strategies to fulfill their potential in work and in life, I got excited. I knew that was a great fit for me. So, I began the process of training and became a Certified Christian Leadership Coach earlier this year. I am continuing to grow as a professional coach and am excited to take as many steps forward as God calls me to. I still don't know all that God has for my future, but I know that saying YES to those nagging thoughts will continue to be a part of achieving all that He has for me.
What about you? What is your thought that won't go away? You know what I mean. You have a strong sense that you will be disobeying God if you don’t pay attention to it. You know you have to at least try. I can't guarantee that all your questions will go away if you begin to act on that thought, but I can guarantee that not following the inner nudge will never resolve anything. You will be followed by one big question: WHAT IF? That is a question that can never be answered.
I've heard it said that sometimes we must step over our questions to step out and obey God. There's only one thing I can say to that: DO IT! God always honors our desire to obey Him. If your heart is to obey God, then you can’t get it wrong! Don’t give into fear. Just say YES!
Key Question: What might God be speaking to you through a thought that won't go away?
A Scripture to Consider: Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 NLT
A YES Challenge: Take time to consider a thought that keeps coming back to you. A person you should call. A class you want to take. A ministry you are considering getting involved with. Sit with that thought and ask God to reveal what He might be speaking to you. Decide in advance to do whatever He says.
Prayer: Father, I really do think I am hearing You through that thought that won't go away, but I'm just not sure. I guess I will have to step out, step over my questions and start walking in that direction. You know that my desire is to obey You. As I begin to take those steps, please make Your will clear. I know that not all my questions will be answered, but I don't want the big WHAT IF? question to follow me for the rest of my life. I commit myself to You. My life is in Your hands and Your hands are big enough to take care of me. Amen.