Go With Your Gut

Daddy and I watched the finale of Survivor Wednesday. We are always fascinated by how one decision can effect the final outcome of the game. Misplaced anger, poor choices and paranoia mixed with starvation and exhaustion put the game through expected twists and turns. The mixture of personalities and the circumstances they find themselves in is a brilliant character study every single time. If there is one thing I've noticed every time I watch it, it's go with your gut feeling. If you have a sense of something, follow through. It's typically correct every time.

But to me, the gut is the Holy Spirit. And the guidance I like to call nudgings. When you ask the Father for guidance on matters, He will direct you. A whisper to your soul. Like the verse I quoted the other day in Isaiah 31:21 " Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

It was my gut feeling that pushed your Daddy to move us to Alabama. We didn't want to leave Wisconsin. We prayed so very much about it. We had people telling us God had told them we would stay in Wisconsin. Some told us it was a no brainer and that we should stay. Others said it was a no brainer and that we should go. So basically we knew had no brain one way or the other. Daddy had a job opportunity that would have allowed us to stay and he asked me to go to dinner with the fellow who was offering him the job. When I left that dinner something didn't feel right. And it wasn't the schnitzel we ate. The next day your Daddy turned the fellow down and set about moving us to Alabama. Even though my gut feeling told me the job opportunity wasn't right, I still didn't want to leave Wisconsin. And I was frustrated that it didn't seem like God was giving us clear direction. It was after a good six months of silence from the Father, when I flat out asked Him why He didn't tell us straight out whether we should move or not, that I heard Him speak to my heart, "I did tell you. Remember how you felt after the dinner." My gut feeling was the Lord warning us not to stay for that job. Daddy commented at dinner last night, "If we'd have stayed it would have been disastrous." And he is right. Think about all the things that would not have happened had we stayed in Wisconsin: Daddy working Kairos; me working as a worship leader; Anton meeting Kayla; Daddy becoming a Stephen minister; me starting a Ladies Beach Retreat; Anton going to Troy; Daddy becoming a pastor. It is amazing what has happened since we moved to Alabama. God was in it all along. One uneasy feeling after a dinner made all the difference ... after countless hours of prayer.

Listen to your gut. When you have prayed about specifics in your life, if you feel in your soul that something isn't right, do not pursue it. That very well could be the Holy Spirit putting on the brakes. Our Lord sees into our souls, knows our path and cares about every step we take. If we ask him for direction, He will provide clarity. But we must be in tune with the Holy Spirit. And the way you stay in tune is with Scripture reading and prayer. God can help you read other people, know when to check in with someone, make major decisions, encourage you to pray for someone or something specific, warn you when something isn't right or conversely nudge you forward to something new. Be open to Him.

And He may only nudge one of you, so be listening to one another as well. Your Daddy trusted my gut more than I did, and praise God made the next step towards a new adventure as a result. Psalm  119:99 says, "I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes." Ephesian 1:17 says, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better." Those verses provide clear direction ... go to the Word and go to the Lord. That will give you all the intuition you need. 

Discussion: Tell about a time when your followed your gut? Is there a time when you didn't feel like you got direction from God? What do you think could have hindered an answer? Tell of a time when you are certain God whispered to your heart.

Prayer: Lord, we pray we always stay immersed in Your Word and perpetually in prayer that we will have your Holy Spirit to guide us. Help us to stay connected to You, Father, and listen to Your direction. In the name of Jesus, Amen.