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46. How to Move Forward When God's Will Feels Unclear · Believe & Become | Ministry, Biblical Encouragement, God's Will, How to Change, Holy Spirit

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Making decisions can feel hard. You want clarity and confirmation, but you're stuck in indecision and anxiety over all of the what ifs. Hearing from God for your next step is vital, but all the noise and emotions leaves you feeling lost and paralyzed. Well, today we're going to help you get clarity for your next steps as we share from our own experience how we make decisions with God and how we helped others move forward in their calling too. So if you want to hear God for your future and align yourself with his plan, this episode's for you.
• 0:35
  Speaker B: If you're tired of leading others while secretly battling doubt, discouragement and mental warfare
• 0:40
  Speaker A: and you want practical tools to renew your mind and walk boldly in your
• 0:44
  Speaker B: calling as a leader, you're in the right place. Welcome to Believe and become.
• 0:48
  Speaker A: We're Josh and Corina your spirit filled coaches here to help you overcome those limiting beliefs and and lead others confidently.
• 0:55
  Speaker B: If you're ready to hear God's voice more clearly, to step into your purpose and find joy and strength in the
• 1:00
  Speaker A: everyday silence those Bible app reminders judging you from your lock screen and let's jump in. I know you feel like something is wrong with you, like I want to change, but I just don't know how.
• 1:17
  Speaker B: You're tired of bearing the weight of strongholds, lies and unbelief. You're tired, discouraged, depleted and stuck in cycles of fear and anxiety.
• 1:26
  Speaker A: You just want clarity. You want to feel deeply connected to God and hear his voice again.
• 1:31
  Speaker B: Stop trying so hard, stop searching for answers around you and lean into an easier way of doing things.
• 1:38
  Speaker A: We are here to help you stop the negative thoughts, quiet the noise and feel deeply connected to God again.
• 1:44
  Speaker B: We will show you how to renew your mind with the truth so that you can gain freedom and be transformed.
• 1:50
  Speaker A: Go right now to joshandkarina.com coaching that's J-O-S-H-A-N-C-O-R-I N and book your first session so we can begin your transformation.
• 2:03
  Speaker B: There was a time about six years ago where we really felt like God was leading us to step away from our ministry position that we had as worship leaders at our church. We'd been there for 15 years, 15ish years and definitely serving for 13 in like a leadership role. And we felt him leading us to kind of step away from that. And not just that, but to step away from our church, which was our church family. I mean we were very plugged in there. Obviously we'd been there a long time and this was really a Tough decision. And we struggled with it for a long time, but every time we would pray about it, we just felt this sense of peace around. I think this is what we're supposed to do. We. We just had. There was. God was moving in us. We felt unsettled. But when we prayed about it, we're like, I think this is what we need to do. And we had peace about that. So we went to start talking to our pastor about the possibility of us moving on. And he obviously was very upset and, well, kind of shocked a little bit and didn't want us to leave. He didn't want to lose us. Right. And we didn't really want to go either. But we knew we needed to be obedient to what God was telling us. And so every time we would have that conversation with him, we had multiple times that we talked to him about it, we would say, okay, well, maybe we don't have to leave, or maybe we'll stick around for a little bit longer, and we kind of feel about it okay in the meeting. But then as soon as we got in the car, we would just have all this anxiety and dread and just, like, all these negative emotions. And then we would pray about it again, and then the peace would come. I think we're supposed to leave. And so we knew where the peace was and where it wasn't. And even though it was such a hard decision to make, one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make, because we loved our church. There's. We were so plugged in, and it was great.
• 4:10
  Speaker A: And we loved our pastors.
• 4:11
  Speaker B: We loved our pastors. There was everybody. When we finally did leave, everybody was like, what's wrong? Nothing's fake. Nothing happened. We're just trying to be obedient to what God is calling us to do. And, yeah, like I said, it was such a hard decision, but we really had to follow the peace of the Lord.
• 4:28
  Speaker A: And I think that's probably the first time that I really understood when people say follow the peace, or when they're like, you'll have peace about it. Before that, I would often feel like, I think this is the right thing, but I wasn't always very sure. And in that situation, I think because we kind of struggled with making the decision for sure, for sure. There was just this. Such a distinct feeling of peace when we decided that we were gonna be obedient. And then this kind of like. And I don't even know if it was, like, actual, like, anxiety, but it was just this. Like, this isn't Right. Feeling as soon as we would be like, well, maybe we could stay in the moment. I felt like this is the strangest thing because it didn't make sense. And that that was. I think the biggest part is that it didn't feel like it made sense for us to just step away from everything and really create such a distance from a place where we had home. But the Lord was really calling us out into, I think, what eventually I saw as just greater dependence on him and not on all of the things that we had known. But it took a while. But that peace that we felt in that decision making was so tangible, and it was kind of huge. Even though we were scared to leave, we didn't know where we were going. We. It was a little bit exciting because we knew God had something, but we didn't know when it was coming. There was uncertainty and all of this kind of stuff that we generally avoid. But we knew that was where he was calling us. And so it was just this. Yeah, it was a very unique experience in that it was such a huge decision for us.
• 6:18
  Speaker B: The next couple years were pretty hard. Yeah, that was a hard season for us because we didn't have our spot to minister where we were used to. We didn't have the community that we were used to. I mean, we didn't completely. We didn't just sever ties with everybody in the church. We still had our friends, still had our friends, but we just weren't. We didn't have our church home anymore.
• 6:38
  Speaker A: We weren't seeing them every single week, multiple times a week, ministering together. It just was different.
• 6:43
  Speaker B: And it was hard. It was difficult. And sometimes God calls us into seasons that are difficult but are ultimately for our good. And he doesn't do it to torture us or test us, but he just knows what's best for us. And we have to trust in him because He's a good father and he knows what's best for us. And it was a hard decision, but ultimately was the right decision and led us to where we are today, really. Which is incredible.
• 7:14
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 7:15
  Speaker B: And so I think we all have moments in our lives where we have to make these kind of difficult decisions where we're trying to figure out what is God leading me into, what is he calling me to? I need to make a decision. I feel like I'm supposed to make a change or what am I supposed to do? And so how do we handle that? What's that process for decision making? And how do we really hone in on what the Lord is telling Us.
• 7:40
  Speaker A: I think the. The idea of needing clarity really resonates with a lot of us. There's so many areas, and it's not even just maybe one area there. Sometimes it feels like I need clarity in every area. I feel so foggy and, you know, I'm lost. And so it's important that we're seeking God's voice, seeking his will in each area, but especially around those big decisions where we can get lost in the what ifs and the. Like I said, it felt like we're stepping out of our comfor zone. We're going into the unknown. There's fear of losing what we had built and created and community that we had created with our people. You know, there was a big kind of like, we don't know. And that is hard. But I think that it's important that we just keep doing the normal things we do with God. Right. The normal things that we do. To hear God's voice, we stay in scripture, we pray, and we seek his face. Last week we talked about inquiring of the Lord, listening to what he says and writing down what we hear. It's such a simple process, but it's important that we stay in that place with him. Even when it feels a little bit cloudy, even when it feels like I'm God. I'm not sure what you're saying, that we're consistently coming back to him to connect with him, to listen for his voice and to give him space to talk to us.
• 9:04
  Speaker B: Yeah. And it's so important to practice listening to him on a daily basis in all the little things, even small decisions. If we practice partnering with the Lord, okay, should I go to this movie or not? Or should I meet with that friend? Or what are the different little decisions we're making every day? The more we practice just leaning into the Holy Spirit and what he's saying to us, that makes the big decisions much easier. Otherwise, there's a lot of pressure when it's like, I have a big decision to make, but I don't have a process. I don't have that familiarity with his. His voice. And I think for me, throughout my life, that has been a struggle where I wasn't really practicing that on a daily basis on the little things. And then a big decision would come up and I would panic. Oh, my gosh, I don't know what to do. God is gracious, and he would all. He always met me in that, gave me guidance and wisdom. But it's so much easier when you just practice it every day. One of the things we want to do is just believe that God's going to lead us. You can believe that God will lead you. He promises he's going to lead you. He's going to give you wisdom. James 1:5 says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. That's a promise. If you need wisdom from God, he promises he will provide it. So we need to be praying about those situations. We need to be praying for clarity and guidance and. But then we also have to listen. So many times we pray, okay, I did it, I prayed about it. But actually stopping in the moment to listen and write down what you're hearing God speak to you. Maybe it's different verses that are popping out. Maybe something that your pastor has said or you heard on a podcast, you read in a book, a worship song that really spoke to your heart. God can speak in all of those different ways, but we have to be paying attention to what he's saying.
• 11:04
  Speaker A: Yeah. And then keeping a record of it when you keep a journal. I would go to like Walmart and just get the 99 cent notebook, right? So that I could have just every day. And I did this for many years. I don't really, I haven't really done it lately, but where I would literally just go get a notebook and everything went in it, like meal plans, my most important things to do today, anything that I heard from the Lord in my devotional time, like I said, everything in one place. But then you get to see the patterns of what God is saying. You get to see, oh, I was in my quiet time and this verse jumped out at me. And then my friend sent me that text message and I really heard God speak through that worship song. And you start to see the pattern of what he's saying to you about this certain thing. But if you don't have a record of it, then you're like, what was that saying?
• 11:52
  Speaker B: Right.
• 11:52
  Speaker A: I think it was a song, right? And it's like it's lost. And so writing down what you're hearing is really valuable because it helps you to keep that record and then to see what God is saying. Maybe over time, maybe over a few days or a week, this way you have a better idea of where he's pointing you than if you were just trying to like, grasp all those little memories from all the random things that happen. But we really believe that God speaks to us in so many ways all the time. He's always speaking to you. He's always got something to say to you, to communicate with you. And so if we pay attention, then we're going to catch it.
• 12:30
  Speaker B: Even in the little things, when we're God speaking to us about his faithfulness or he's speaking to us about his love, all of those things are really important to capture. And then you can go back. If you're having a bad day or you're feeling discouraged, you go back just a couple weeks and see in your journal, oh, my gosh. The Lord was speaking to me, saying, I've got you. I'm working it out for your good. I'm taking care of this situation. I'm going to provide for all your needs, whatever it is that maybe you're stressing out about or you're anxious about. God's promises are all there. And you can go, oh, wow. And then after a few years, you can go, oh, my gosh, look at this promise that the Lord really worked out. And you can just go back and renew your mind with the faithfulness of God over and over. It's so, so powerful.
• 13:19
  Speaker A: Like our story earlier, you want to follow the peace. It's so important that we seek that peace with the Lord and in our heart that we know, oh, this feels. This feels good. It doesn't mean there's no risk. There's a difference between the anxiety that you feel when you know you're doing something that is not the right thing versus the anxiety of, like, this feels risky or, I don't. I don't know if I can do this, Lord. Those are.
• 13:46
  Speaker B: I don't know how it's going to turn out.
• 13:48
  Speaker A: Oh, that's a. That's a good one. That is a good one. But, yeah, but it's different, right? There's a different. Because there's that, like, sense of fear and dread versus this is the wrong way. Like, this is not what I'm supposed to be doing. There's a different feeling. And so recognizing you can think you have peace when you don't ever do anything, right? Like, if I don't ever step out in risk, if I don't ever follow the Lord anywhere, and I just sit and just keep doing my same thing. It's like fake peace, right? It's this, like, sense of nothing. I'm not gonna get hurt. I'm not gonna get in trouble. I'm not gonna ruffle anybody's feathers because we're not taking any risks. But when we begin to follow the Lord, sometimes that looks a little risky. Sometimes that looks a little Bit scary. Too big. God, I would never venture to do this on my own. But when you do that and you feel the peace that comes from him, that those other anxieties, they kind of pale in comparison to just that sense of knowing this is the way that he's leading me and I'm doing the right thing. Even if the voices around me don't agree or don't understand, I know that I'm following Jesus.
• 15:02
  Speaker B: Sometimes if we just deal with low level anxiety or high level anxiety all the time, it can be really hard to make a decision with the Lord because everything feels high risk, anxious. Yeah, I'm worried and I'm kind of spiraling or I'm frantic. It can make it really hard to hear God's voice. That's when we really need to press into the peace of God and do everything we can to silence those voices that are trying to tell you the what ifs, you know, find that place of peace with the Lord, put on worship music, Just really calm yourself, do a lot of breathing. There's lots of great breathing exercises. Just calm your nervous system down. And when we do all that, and then we can just focus on the presence of God, his love, read some Bible verses that speak to your soul, to your spirit, and find that place of peace. Then his voice becomes so much clearer. We have to kind of silence the noise, get rid of social media and all that other voices that are yelling at you all the time. We have to silence those trying to get away from them. And then we can really press into what God is trying to say to us. It makes it so much easier.
• 16:11
  Speaker A: I think that actually was really our journey coming here to ministry school because you had been struggling with anxiety and there had been this battle of all of the what ifs and I don't knows and all the things. And then we were like making this decision in the middle of all of that. And so for you, learning to deal with the stress and like get rid of the anxiety so that we could hear from God clearly, well, that was a big deal. And then we were making this really big decision with lots of risk and huge sacrifice and all of that felt really big. But it was kind of that same thing of like, that feels scary. But saying stuck in here where I am is more scary. Right, right. This is scarier. To stay and to not be obedient to what God is saying. Really dealing with the stress of the lies versus the unknown that God is leading us into, knowing that he's faithful and he's taking us that was a big. There was a difference. And there was a shift from listening to all the lies that kind of brought on the stress into, I'm going to trust the Lord. And we needed lots of confirmation.
• 17:30
  Speaker B: We did.
• 17:31
  Speaker A: Which is the next thing we're going to encourage you to do is to ask God for confirmation. It's okay, you can do that.
• 17:37
  Speaker B: The first thing that you want to do is really talk to your community. You don't want to make these especially big decisions in isolation. That can be kind of dangerous. It's better to come to your community. People that you trust that you know hear the Lord, a pastor, a trusted friend, your relatives, family members that really hear from the Lord, bring the situation to them, say, can you pray with me on this? Seek the Lord for me and help get confirmation and see what you're hearing from God and see if that lines up with what God's speaking to you. You can explain the situation and then, you know, you're supported and you're not just making a crazy off the wall decision. That's maybe not the right thing. Because God will speak to and through these people into your life. But make sure that it's. There are people that you trust that you know hear the Lord and are seeking God and aren't just going. Human wisdom, right. Because oftentimes God's wisdom and human wisdom will be opposite. He'll tell you, okay, be safe, don't do anything. Don't take any risk. Stay in the same spot where God's like, actually, there's so many more blessings if you just follow me and step out in risk.
• 18:51
  Speaker A: Which is huge for us. It was hard because we're not risk takers.
• 18:54
  Speaker B: No.
• 18:55
  Speaker A: Or we weren't. We didn't used to be risk takers. But we. And we sought counsel from people who typically would have said, stay put, stay put. This is a big deal. You're gonna lose. You know, this is. Don't do. But they were so supportive. They were like, absolutely. We feel the Lord on this. This is where he's calling you. We will support you. And so that was really huge for us too. But if we hadn't asked, we would have made these big, huge life decisions without that support that we really needed. So that was kind of a big deal. The other thing is to be specific, like Gideon, he. He was very specific with the Lord. If I put out this fleece and it's wet in the morning, ground is dry, then I'll know it's you. Okay. If I put it out again and if it's dry, but the ground is wet. You know, he was very specific. And I think that we have permission to ask God for those things. He is so gracious with us and so willing to say, yes, it's me, yes, I'm doing it. I'm the one leading you. And so ask him for that confirmation. Ask him to show you God, I need to know that this is you. And, and he will be faithful to do that. He will show you. He is saying that he is on this situation, that he is in that direction. He will give you the confirmation that you ask for.
• 20:13
  Speaker B: And also if you can start taking some steps of faith in a direction and see do I feel God's grace on this and are doors opening and continue to seek him throughout that process. Sometimes just taking a step or two really gives you a lot more clarity than I'm staying stuck or I'm going full speed ahead, I'm going to take a step or two, and then a lot of times God will just course correct a little bit. I've noticed that so many times where we're going in this direction. You're really close. Let me just move you over a little bit. Yeah, that's really helpful.
• 20:47
  Speaker A: We like to make the decision that we feel like the Lord is leading us. Okay, God, we feel like we're hearing you say this. We've prayed about it, we've asked for counsel and other people to pray about it. We've asked for confirmation. We really just believe you're leading us. But if this is not the right decision, we're gonna give you a week to change our minds. God, if this isn't it, change our minds. And the beautiful thing about God is that he's going to give you peace in the direction that you're supposed to go. We've already discussed that. He's not gonna be like, oh, I have one week. Oh, scramble, scramble. Anxiety, fear, Like, God doesn't put those things on us, so he's not gonna do it. Through fear, through anxiety, through, you know, the worries and the what ifs, that is not his voice. But we like to ask for another God story. When I was deciding if I was going to do the third year of our ministry school, I had been praying about it, and I really felt like the Lord was like, you're good. It's okay if you're done, it's okay, let's be done. And I was like, okay, I'm done. Yeah, like, I am done. That sounds good. I'm done. I would like to be home for, for a Little while, you know, get my house back in order, take care of my kids. And I felt like God was. Was like, yeah, that's a good plan. And I'm like, okay, we are making this decision. Removing an instruction. Josh was like, absolutely. You need do what you feel like the Lord is leading you. And I'm like, that's really the direction I feel. We have this process where we would receive the list of mentors because our third year is an internship. And then you get to look and see who's on there, and if somebody jumps out of you or somebody you want to work with. And I had looked, and I was just like, God, there's just not really anyone that I want to be with this year. I just don't. I'm not feeling it. So then, you know, I. Somebody would say like, oh, did you see? So and so was taking third years. And I'm like, oh, that's interesting. So then I would go scroll through the list, and I would feel the Lord like, hey, why don't you apply for them? And I'm like, I thought we went over this. Like, I'm not applying. Even though I'm looking right. I'm scrolling. And he's like, just apply. Okay. So I would apply. I probably applied to four or five people, and every single time they were like, oh, we just filled up. Oh, so sorry, we're not taking third years. We changed our minds, like, literally every single one. And I'm like, okay, we made this decision, and then you keep telling me to, like, apply and. And just. Okay. So I was just like, I'm not. I'm done. I'm done applying. I keep getting rejected, even though it wasn't really rejection, but it felt like rejection. I'm done with this Lord. And then my mentor, who I ended up with, calls me up and says, hey, Corina So Josh is going to be on our team. And we got this list of people who haven't been matched with mentor yet. And we would love to just connect with you and see if you might want to be on our team. This team who wasn't taking third years, this team who was not on the mentor list, who decided that Josh had such a beautiful God story that they would take him, and then reached out to me just to see if we would be a good fit. And of course, we hit it off, and it was amazing. And we connected so well. And she was like, you have so much space in this program to do whatever you want to do and to not do what you don't want to do. And it's not going to be time consuming. We just want to pour into you and continue to help you grow in your third year. And I was able to mostly stay home and, you know, do this things that I needed to do at home while also being mentored and being part of Igniting Hope ministry, which is just such a beautiful year for both of us. But it really happened through this. We. I had made the decision and God was like, but how about this really beautiful thing over here that I had prepared for you? And so there are those times when we're like, okay, God, I made that decision. This, we're good. And then he's like, well, but I really have something better for you in this other direction. But we have to give him permission to show us that. Not to be like, I made this decision. I'm done. Doors closed, right? If I had just, if I had closed those doors, who knows that it wouldn't have been this last year, last couple years wouldn't have been as beautiful as they have been. And they have to stay open. And I think that's really what it comes down to, is staying open. That God, I'm making this decision. But like Josh said, I'm open for course correction. So take me in the direction that you want me to. Well, we would love to invite you to join us in our Facebook group. We have a Facebook group called Overcoming Limiting Beliefs for Christians and Leadership, where we encourage and we build up and we connect. If you're on Facebook, why don't you come over and join us there? We would love to hear from you, to talk to you about what decisions you're making and where the Lord is leading you. And the link will be in the show notes. But come and find us. We would love to connect with you and just to hear what God's doing in your life and how you've been impacted by this podcast.
• 25:37
  Speaker B: Yeah, and we just bless you with the grace of God to hear him more clearly than ever before and to make decisions easily with the peace of God that it's not going to be hard, it's not going to be full of anxiety or worries because God is giving you the wisdom that you so need. He's promised it. And you can count on his promises because he's faithful.
• 26:07
  Speaker A: Hey, friend. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds to share this podcast with someone who may need encouragement or practical tools for fighting their battle?
• 26:17
  Speaker B: Then rate and review this podcast. Help us spread the message of transformation far and wide.
• 26:22
  Speaker A: All right, Time to walk back into the noise with peace purpose and maybe a tiny bit of guffing.
• 26:28
  Speaker B: We'll meet you back next Thursday for another episode. Bye, Sam.