DAY 7
“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” John 16:13
PRESS PAUSE: Before you do anything else, take a moment to reflect on and celebrate all the Lord did in you, for you, and spoke to you yesterday.
READ: Genesis 6:9-22
In moments of frustration, when I feel like God has gone silent and has left to me aimlessly roam the Earth - lost, confused, and without direction on what to do or where to go next that I low key wish the Lord would just lay out a step by step plan for me like He did for Noah when He instructed him to build the ark. I mean, come on God! You legit gave Noah all of the details - from the what and the how all the way to the specifics of how long for every single step of the ark building process. And yet, here I am, asking desperately for your leading and all I get are Holy Spirit reminders of scriptures like:
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
And “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105
But it is then, amidst my greatest frustrations, that the Lord reminds me of the fact that, no, He has not given me a full scale blueprint for my life as He did for Noah’s ark; however, He has given me something far better - the Holy Spirit. John 16:7 says:
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you.”
So for those of you seeking the Lord’s direction and leading for your life, let’s give you the bad news first and burst right through that pipe dream of yours in letting you know that No - God will not be sending down a divine scroll from Heaven with a step by step scripting of your life for you to follow. However, now here’s the really GOOD news, He has already given us more than we could ever need and definitely far more than we deserve through the directives given in scripture and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And it is when we realize the power and magnitude of both of these blessings from the Lord that we begin to see a shift in our mindset - no longer feeling jealous of Noah but almost feeling sorry for Him instead. Why?
Because, though Noah had moments of divine providence in which the Lord laid out various directives for his life, we have FULL access to the Lord every minute of every day through the Holy Spirit. And as we walk with the Lord daily, in tune with the Holy Spirit's leading, we don’t have to worry about the “what if’s” that may lie ahead or stress over that big God-sized thing the Lord is going to call us to in the years ahead. Instead, we simply have to be obedient in the here and now - moment by moment - following the Spirit’s leading one tiny step at a time until one day we “somehow” end up right where we are supposed to be - in the middle of God’s perfect plan and will for our lives.
That whole thing about God being the “lamp to my feet” thing isn’t sounding so bad now is it? Isn't it funny how, at times, it is the things that frustrate us most in our walk with the Lord that we end up discovering are actually His grace and blessings to us as well as grand parts of His provision for us?
This truth became very clear to me in a season when the Lord began dealing with my heart about pulling my kids from school and homeschooling them instead. This draw from the Holy Spirit didn’t make sense to me. I had always been very “missions minded” if you will and was regularly praying over my kids and the impact they would have on their school campuses in the years ahead. But this nagging from the Holy Spirit just wouldn’t go away until the day came that I took the leap, pulled my daughter from school, and embarked on this unexpected homeschool journey. Over the years that followed our family ended up living in what I now (somewhat) lovingly call a constant season of transition. It was during this season that the Lord never allowed for us to stay in one singular place for long. It felt like just as we were beginning to feel settled He would speak and we would be on the move again.
It was in the midst of these countless transitions that I found myself thanking the Lord for disrupting my plans and leading me to homeschool my kids. After all, I can’t imagine what their education would have looked like had they had to transition through so many different schools over such a short period of time. Instead, homeschool gave them the blessing of consistency amidst a season of chaos.
Now, what does that have to do with the Lord not giving me a step by step how to for my life? After all, had I known all of that transition was coming and the Lord had just laid out the plan to homeschool ahead of time, couldn’t I have still arrived at the same destination? The answer to that question is - ABSOLUTELY. But the question remains that though I COULD have, WOULD I have? I don’t know how you would answer that question but I can say with a pretty firm confidence that had I known the season our family was about to walk into I would not have been as eager to jump on board with God’s plan. Instead, I would have spent a whole lot of time trying to navigate around the messy parts, laying out alternative options in which the constant transitions would not be necessary, and, essentially, planning God - His time, His plan, and His provision - out of the equation.
So what are we to do when we are desperate to hear the voice of God but He seems to have gone silent?
#1 - Remind yourself of whatever it is that He told you to do last and keep doing it!
#2 - Diligently seek Him daily and when you get that little nudge from the Holy Spirit, follow His leading.
#3 - If you feel a hesitation or check in your spirit as you step out into something new, prayerfully consider whether or not that is the Lord leading you in a different direction.
#4 - Wash, Rinse, and Repeat.
The wonderful thing about the Lord is He wants to be discovered. He isn’t hiding away from you having set up some elaborate scheme to see how dedicated you are to seeking Him out. So even if He feels silent - in the seasons that you feel lost and without direction - remain faithful to Him in the small, singular steps daily because those are what lead you to the big plans He has in store for you.
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