Guest Post: How to Decide Where God is Leading

This week I’d like to introduce you to one of my friends, Rachel Foley! I’ve known Rachel for about 3 years now.  Well, actually we went to college together many moons ago, but we didn’t really know each other back then. Only in recent years have we become good friends after reconnecting at a conference where I spoke and Rachel led worship.  Let me tell you, she’s pretty amazing! 🙂

Rachel and her husband Shad are worship leaders at Solace Church. They are venturing out on a new, exciting endeavor to encourage others in faith and family life…their own blog: ShadrachandRachel.com. Rachel is a wonderful writer, and Shad is hilarious. I think you guys are going to enjoy their very genuine and humorous writing style as much as I do! It’s my honor and pleasure to introduce their launch to you with Rachel’s first blog post about how to decide where God is leading.

What’s Next?  How to Decide Where God is Leading

by Rachel Foley

At some point in all Christ-follower’s lives, we ask the question, “What is God’s plan for me?”  I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard a loud and clear immediate answer to that question, and I would be very wary of believing anyone who says she has.  We want to hear His voice in the wind or have a burning-bush type moment that transforms us and compels us to passionate obedience.  To our dismay, the call is not always dramatic or to something grand and life-changing.   While it is true that God may have some grand designs for your life, they typically do not begin in a grand fashion.  God has already laid out His plans for us, and they begin with ordinary, small steps of obedience.

My Story

Let me briefly share my story. Every time I have felt God’s call on my heart, it has made me sick, literally. In fact, nausea has accompanied most steps of obedience I’ve taken!  When God has knocked on my heart’s door, it has always been an invitation to join Him in some work for which I felt completely inadequate. Not very glamorous and powerful, I know, but it is true, regardless.

When I was pregnant with our third little blessing, I felt God stirring in me.  (Perhaps it was indigestion, but it was stirring, nonetheless.)  I felt God calling my heart to some new adventure.  I began to draw close to Him in order to hear His voice.  Months went by.  I delivered my sweet baby girl, and my dreams of continuing to stay at home full-time began to be squished and stretched and morphed into this horrible, dreadful feeling that God was calling me to become a nurse.  Hilarious!   I was an English major! I nearly puked at the vet’s office watching my dog get stitches!  And the creator of the universe was telling me to go to nursing school?  YES.  Nausea set in.  Anxiety followed.  The tears were frequent.  I threw a few little temper tantrums, but I eventually followed the call.

Baby Steps

I began slowly.  I clung so tightly to Him, I’m pretty sure I left fingernail marks.  I spent time with Him every day in prayer and Scripture.  I finally agreed to be obedient, but only in baby steps.  I told God I would go see the advisor at school, and nothing else!  When that went well, I told Him I would take one science class at a time.  When that went well, I told Him I would become a Certified Nurse Assistant.  When that went well, I told Him I would apply for nursing school.  When I got accepted, terrified and shaking, I consented and learned far more about faith, perseverance, and the power of Scripture than I had in my whole life. That journey required every single ounce of faith I had in my weak, little soul.  However, I not only graduated, I graduated at the top of my class and delivered the student address at commencement.  ALL GOD.

This particular part of my journey took four years.  Significant change does not happen overnight.  When we commit to seeking God’s call on our lives, we must realize that it is a process.  Obey in baby steps.  Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  When you commit to obedience to God’s call on your life, he will light your path just enough for you to see where your feet need to land next.  A dear friend of mine, Tracy Robbins, addresses the same idea in her blog “Incremental Obedience.” I recommend you read it at HappyHealthyandProsperous.com.

If you are truly ready to discover God’s plan for your life, start with what He has already told you.  It’s all right there in Scripture.

…continuing reading the rest of Rachel’s post here where she gives a few practical steps to decide where God is leading you!

If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward!  Share this post via the sharing links below.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)