Today’s Reading: Job 19-27
Yesterday, I wrote about discernment.
I ended up recognizing a series of steps that helped me put into words what I have been trying to practice throughout this journey:
Pause → Notice → Pray → Test → Listen → Seek Wisdom → Take the Next Right Step → Release
At the time, I think I was most focused on everything that came before taking the next right step.
Today, I realized why that last word might be one of the most important.
Release.
Because what happens after you make the decision?
What happens when the adrenaline settles?
What happens when you’ve prayed, listened, tested what you’re feeling, sought wisdom, taken the next right step…
…and then your brain says:
But what if you were wrong?
Peace Doesn’t Mean Doubt Never Comes Back
Today was quieter.
Honestly, I was tired.
My brain has been carrying and processing a lot lately, and today I could feel that.
But I continued doing my heart checks.
At one point, I spoke with someone I trust about everything that has been happening.
And I remember very distinctly thinking:
This was the right answer.
There was peace in my heart.
Not excitement.
Not some giant feeling of victory.
Just peace.
And then, because I am still me…
the questions eventually came. 😂
But how do I know?
What if I misunderstood?
What if I made the wrong choice?
And this time, I caught myself.
Because this is exactly what I have been learning.
A strong feeling does not automatically mean something came from God.
Peace doesn’t automatically prove something came from God.
Fear doesn’t automatically mean something didn’t.
Another person’s opinion doesn’t determine it either.
That’s why we test.
And suddenly yesterday’s framework became something more than words I had written in a blog post.
I needed to actually use it.
Pause
Before reacting, pause.
This might be one of the hardest steps because urgency can be incredibly convincing.
Answer now.
Fix it now.
Figure it out now.
Do something.
I’ve spent a lot of my life believing that if something feels urgent, I need to respond urgently.
I’m learning that sometimes the most faithful first response might simply be:
Wait.
Give yourself enough space to recognize what is actually happening before fear, responsibility, anger, or anxiety decides for you.
Notice
What am I actually feeling?
Fear?
Peace?
Anger?
Pressure?
The need to control?
The need to be right?
The desire to help?
Am I reacting to what is actually happening – or to what I’m afraid might happen?
Noticing doesn’t mean immediately assigning meaning.
I’ve been practicing this throughout this journey.
Something catches my attention.
I notice it.
And then I leave room.
Not everything has to become a sign.
Not every coincidence needs an explanation.
Not every thought needs to become instruction.
Sometimes:
I noticed.
That’s enough.
Pray
This one sounds obvious in a faith journey, but I think there’s an important distinction.
Am I asking God to guide me?
Or am I asking God to confirm what I’ve already decided?
Those aren’t necessarily the same prayer.
I want to get better at approaching God with an open hand:
If I’m wrong, show me.
If I’m moving from fear, help me recognize it.
If I’m trying to control something that belongs to You, help me put it down.
Lord, Take Control.
Not:
Lord, please take control – as long as You take it in the direction I’ve already chosen. 😂
Test
This may be one of the most important pieces of discernment for me.
Because I don’t want to mistake every internal thought for God’s voice.
So I need something outside of myself.
God’s Word.
Does what I’m considering align with what Scripture teaches me about God’s character?
Truth.
Love.
Humility.
Patience.
Kindness.
Forgiveness.
Service.
Does the direction require me to abandon those things?
Does it ask me to hurt someone else?
Does it require me to judge someone’s heart?
Does it feed my fear – or help me faithfully move through it?
I may not immediately get the answer.
But I have something to test against.
Listen
And then…
listen.
Not force.
Not hunt.
Not decide what every little thing means.
Listen.
I’ve been amazed throughout this journey by how much I’ve noticed simply because I started paying attention.
But listening also requires humility.
I have to leave room for the possibility that I misunderstood.
That matters.
Faith isn’t pretending that every thought I have is divine instruction.
Maybe part of faith is being willing to say:
God, I’m listening. Keep teaching me.
Seek Wisdom
Yesterday’s Job reading reminded me that not every confident voice is the right voice.
But that doesn’t mean we stop seeking counsel.
There are people in my life whose wisdom I trust.
People who can look at a situation without being buried inside the emotions I’m experiencing.
People who can challenge me.
People who can tell me something I may not want to hear.
The important distinction I’m beginning to recognize is this:
Seeking wisdom is different from handing someone else responsibility for my discernment.
I can listen.
I can consider.
I can pray about what I’m told.
But ultimately, another human being can’t see the entire picture either.
God can.
Take the Next Right Step
This phrase has followed me throughout this journey.
And maybe there’s a reason.
I don’t need the entire map.
I don’t need tomorrow’s pages.
I don’t need to know exactly where everything is going.
Sometimes I simply need enough clarity to ask:
What is the most faithful thing I can do with what I know right now?
And then do that.
One step.
Not ten.
Not the entire plan.
One.
And Then… Release
Today, I think I finally understood why this belongs at the end.
Because otherwise I can do all of this:
Pause.
Notice.
Pray.
Test.
Listen.
Seek wisdom.
Take the next right step.
And then spend the next two days retesting the decision until I’m right back where I started.
😂
That’s not surrender.
That’s control wearing another outfit.
At some point I have to be able to say:
I did the best I could with what I knew.
I prayed.
I checked my heart.
I tested it against what I believe.
I listened.
I sought wisdom.
I acted.
Now I have to trust God with what happens next.
Job Still Doesn’t Have the Answer
And then there is Job.
Today’s reading was Job 19-27.
Job is still inside the story.
He still doesn’t know what we know.
He wrestles.
He questions.
He defends himself.
There is pain.
There is confusion.
There are things happening that he simply cannot understand from where he is standing.
And yet, right in the middle of all of that, Job says something extraordinary:
“I know that my Redeemer lives.”
That struck me differently today.
Job doesn’t say that after everything gets fixed.
He doesn’t say it after God explains the entire situation.
He doesn’t say it because all of his questions disappeared.
He says it inside the unresolved story.
Maybe that’s faith.
Not:
I understand everything, therefore I trust God.
But:
I don’t understand everything, and there are still things I know.
Maybe We Don’t Need Perfect Discernment
I think sometimes we put another impossible burden on ourselves without realizing it.
We think:
What if I misunderstand God?
What if I make the wrong choice?
What if I miss the sign?
What if I choose the wrong direction?
But maybe that’s another form of control too.
Because underneath those questions can be the belief that everything depends upon our ability to discern perfectly.
And it doesn’t.
We’re human.
We’re learning.
We’re going to misunderstand things.
We’re going to make imperfect decisions.
We’re going to look backward sometimes and realize we would do something differently now.
But God’s ability to guide us isn’t dependent upon our ability to discern perfectly.
That thought gives me peace.
I don’t have to be perfect at this.
I have to remain willing.
Willing to listen.
Willing to learn.
Willing to be corrected.
Willing to grow.
Willing to take the next right step when I recognize it.
And willing to release the outcome afterward.
Give Yourself Grace, Too
And maybe this is what I need tonight.
Grace.
I am tired.
My brain has been on overload.
There wasn’t some giant revelation today.
And there doesn’t need to be.
I’m still praying.
Still reading.
Still doing my heart checks.
Still noticing.
Still learning.
Maybe spiritual growth doesn’t always feel profound while it’s happening.
Sometimes it might simply look like catching yourself when the old thought returns and saying:
No. We’ve already walked through this.
I don’t need to solve it again tonight.
Maybe You’re Here, Too
Maybe you’re reading this because you’re standing inside a decision of your own.
Maybe you’ve prayed about it.
You’ve thought about it from every possible direction.
You’ve tried to listen.
You’ve asked someone you trust.
You’ve finally made the decision…
and now you’re lying awake wondering:
But what if I got it wrong?
Give yourself some grace.
You don’t have to hear God perfectly to keep seeking Him faithfully.
Keep praying.
Keep testing.
Keep listening.
Stay willing to learn.
Stay willing to be redirected.
And then take the most faithful step you can with what you know today.
Because here’s the part I’m beginning to understand:
Even if the road eventually needs to change, God is capable of meeting you there too.
Maybe we spend so much time worrying about choosing the wrong road that we forget who we’re asking to guide us.
God isn’t standing at one hidden doorway waiting for us to solve some impossible spiritual puzzle.
Our job isn’t to perfectly predict the future.
Our job is to keep seeking Him while we walk.
And if tomorrow reveals something we couldn’t see today?
Then tomorrow, we listen again.
We learn again.
We adjust again.
We take another faithful step.
That’s growth too.
Questions I’m Leaving With
After I take the next right step, am I actually releasing the outcome – or am I continuing to mentally retry the decision?
Am I looking for guidance, or am I looking for absolute certainty?
Can I allow doubt to appear without immediately assuming it means I chose incorrectly?
Can I trust that God can continue guiding me even if I misunderstand something along the way?
And can I give myself grace for being human while I’m learning how to listen?
Today’s Takeaway
Maybe discernment isn’t supposed to make us certain about everything.
Maybe it’s supposed to teach us how to walk faithfully without being certain about everything.
Pause.
Notice.
Pray.
Test.
Listen.
Seek wisdom.
Take the next right step.
Release.
And if doubt comes back tomorrow?
Notice that too.
Test it.
Return to what you know.
But don’t automatically pick the entire decision back up simply because fear asks another question.
You don’t need perfect discernment.
You don’t need the entire map.
You don’t need tomorrow’s pages.
You need enough for the next faithful step.
And after you’ve taken it?
Trust God enough to let your foot leave the ground behind you.
Maybe you’re practicing that tonight too.
If you are, you’re not required to know exactly where the road ends before taking the next step.
Neither am I.
Tonight, that’s what I’m practicing.
Not certainty.
Trust.
Lord, Take Control.
Until next time… keep noticing.