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How to Hear God’s Voice When Making a Decision · Arise Women of God

• 0:00
  Have you ever stood at crossroads in your life?
• 0:03
  Maybe deciding whether you're going to change careers, move your family, or handle a difficult situation with a child or a friend, and felt completely paralyzed by the what ifs?
• 0:14
  Perhaps you're asking how do I hear God's voice when I'm making a decision?
• 0:19
  Because sometimes the stakes feel too high to get it wrong.
• 0:23
  You're afraid that if you don't hear a loud shout from heaven, you're going to make a mistake that ruins everything.
• 0:29
  Well, my friend, don't worry.
• 0:30
  You are in the right place.
• 0:31
  Case by the end of today's episode, you'll have a three step framework for verifying your path.
• 0:37
  Moving you from paralysis to peaceful confidence will help you solve feeling indecision.
• 0:45
  Like looking at how Gideon used a fleece and how the apostles narrowed down their decision.
• 0:51
  We're moving from fear of the wrong door to walking with the guide.
• 0:56
  Stay tuned.
• 0:58
  Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes.
• 1:07
  Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
• 1:11
  I'm your host, Tamara Kay Anderson, and today I'm joined by the wonderful Wendy Christensen, my co founder, and Carrie Angewerden, who is part of our Women warriors of Light advisory board.
• 1:23
  And today we're diving into how decisions aren't just about picking an option, they're about developing a dialogue with God.
• 1:31
  In Judges Chapter six, we meet Gideon.
• 1:35
  He was called by God to lead an army, but he was understandably terrified and probably a little bit overwhelmed.
• 1:42
  And so he asked God for a fleece witness.
• 1:46
  He put a piece of wool on the ground and asked for it to be wet when it was supposed to be dry, and then dry when it was supposed to be wet.
• 1:56
  God didn't rebuke him for needing that certainty, and he provided the witness that Gideon needed to move forward with confidence and faith.
• 2:07
  I've had many a fleece moment in my life when I was deciding if I wanted to spend the time, effort and money into starting a podcast.
• 2:16
  My fear was very loud and I had many a conversation with God.
• 2:22
  I I told God, I'm willing to do this, but I need to know that it's your will.
• 2:27
  My fleece wasn't wool on the ground.
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  It was looking for doors to open that I couldn't open myself.
• 2:33
  When the right mentors appeared with the right resources as I sought them out, everything lined up in a way that can only be described as a God wink.
• 2:42
  I knew the answer was go.
• 2:44
  But I still hesitated because I was facing a huge fear and I had to Lay that fear on the altar before God and focus on faith and on the difference I knew I could make with God's help.
• 2:56
  Sometimes God wants you to move forward with faith, and he will provide the dew on the fleece as you walk.
• 3:04
  Another beautiful scriptural pattern is found in Acts, chapter 1.
• 3:08
  The apostles needed to replace Judas, and they didn't just wait for a name to drop out of the sky.
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  They used their own wisdom first to narrow down their candidates and their choices down to two qualified men, Joseph and Matthias.
• 3:23
  Only after they had done their part to research and narrow down their choices did they go to God in prayer.
• 3:29
  Lord, thou which knowest the hearts of all men, shoe whether of these two thou hast chosen.
• 3:38
  That's great prayer, right?
• 3:39
  I love using this Acts Chapter one method when I'm making a big decision that affects me or my family.
• 3:46
  For example, when we moved here about 14 years ago, I thought, thoroughly researched the different places we could possibly lived, how the school districts treated kids on the autism spectrum and typical kids as well.
• 4:00
  And then I took my two best decisions to the prayer closet.
• 4:03
  Usually I will feel a bright, clear yes of peace or confidence or a no, which kind of remains an unsettled feeling in my heart and soul.
• 4:13
  But I didn't get that answer when I asked.
• 4:16
  And so I had to actually come here and visit.
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  And as I was visiting one of the towns that we were looking to live in, I felt God's witness.
• 4:24
  This is the place where you need to be.
• 4:27
  So sometimes we keep moving forward and learning more and experiencing more until the answer does come.
• 4:33
  Even when we use these methods, the fear of what if I'm wrong?
• 4:37
  Can still creep in.
• 4:38
  Let's be honest.
• 4:39
  We're mortal, we're imperfect, and sometimes we have to battle those negative thoughts.
• 4:44
  Carrie is now going to share a vulnerable moment about how that kind of paralysis has stopped her in her tracks.
• 4:52
  A lot of my younger life was lived in fear.
• 4:57
  Fear of choosing the wrong thing, making the wrong decision, some of those things.
• 5:02
  And that has paralyzed me in the past.
• 5:05
  And I'm so grateful to be in a place now where I'm confident in what I hear.
• 5:15
  I've learned some tools to help me that have made it so that I don't have to be paralyzed anymore.
• 5:23
  And I'm so grateful for that.
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  Once you have confidence, you can move forward and act.
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  And the beauty of acting on a prompting is that you start to see the fruits, the evidence that God was indeed in that decision.
• 5:39
  And ask God, teach, teach me.
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  Is this you and the Only way you're going to know and come to know those thoughts are from him or if you're acting on them.
• 5:49
  Right?
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  So get those impressions.
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  If they're good, act on them.
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  And often you will see the fruits of the spirit is what it's called the fruits of the spirit.
• 5:58
  Did something good come from that?
• 6:01
  There's been times when I've acted on things and somebody will be like, how did you know?
• 6:07
  How did you know I needed this today, that I needed you to show up right now and do this.
• 6:13
  And I'm like, that is because it came from God.
• 6:16
  And so that also helps reinforce, Tamara, that thought really was from God.
• 6:21
  You know, good job you followed it.
• 6:24
  And so as you receive those good things and act on them, you'll grow more and more confident in these are thought, these good thoughts are coming from God.
• 6:34
  Any other thoughts on this, Wende?
• 6:37
  Yeah, you know, it's interesting.
• 6:40
  As you were talking and I was pondering, I thought sometimes it comes from different sources that reinforce that I've heard God.
• 6:50
  Like sometimes if I'm struggling with something and I talk to a friend about it and I'm describing this and then this, and I'm not sure what to do here, and I'm trying to figure this out, then clarity will
• 7:02
  come into my mind that's from God.
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  He's used another person to help me to figure it out.
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  But sometimes clarity will come as I'm even describing the challenge or the decision or what I'm struggling over.
• 7:15
  Right.
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  That it can come through that.
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  So, my friend, God doesn't want you to live in fear that you're going through the wrong door.
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  He is a shepherd who knows how to find his sheep.
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  He knows exactly where you are right now and the decisions you are making.
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  And guess what?
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  He will find you if even if you detour onto a side path, whether you need a fleece witness like Gideon or you're narrowing down your choices like the apostles, God is always ready to counsel and guide to help
• 7:44
  you move from paralysis to peace.
• 7:46
  We would love to give you this free gift through our Roadmap to Revelation.
• 7:51
  It has an accompanying audio meditation that goes along with it that you can also get for free by clicking the link below.
• 7:58
  When you're at a crossroads, I invite you to peek at Step five, Safety Checks for the Soul.
• 8:04
  It's the framework I use to verify every decision that I make when I turn to God.
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  And you can verify it by testing the fruits of the spirit.
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  We also recommend the evening review in step six to write down the God winks or how God has showed up and been with you in your walk each day, especially after you've made a choice.
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  So, my friend, may you feel confidence as you approach God and make decisions hand in hand with Him.
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  Trust in the Lord and lean not unto your own understanding.
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  Ye will direct your paths and until next time, may you arise.
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  Do it God's way, God strong.