Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hearing God's voice and trusting that what you're hearing is what he's actually saying can feel so hard in some seasons because when we're afraid of getting it wrong, we tend to question everything and we have so many questions about all the things. What's happening? Where am I going? Today we want to talk about how to discern God's voice in those difficult seasons to know that you know that he's speaking to you and that you can trust what you're hearing is Him. This is going to be a good one. Let's dive in.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: If you're tired of leading others while secretly battling doubt, discouragement and mental warfare
[00:00:37] Speaker A: and you want practical tools to renew your mind and walk boldly in your
[00:00:41] Speaker B: calling as a leader, you're in the right place. Welcome to believe and become.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: We're Josh and Corina your spirit filled coaches here to help you overcome those limiting beliefs and lead others confidently.
[00:00:52] 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
[00:00:58] Speaker A: everyday life, 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.
[00:01:14] 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.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: You just want clarity. You want to feel deeply connected to God and hear his voice again.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Stop trying so hard, stop searching for answers around you and lean into an easier way of doing things.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: We are here to help you stop the negative thoughts, quiet the noise and feel deeply connected to God again.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: We will show you how to renew your mind with the truth so that you can gain freedom and be transformed.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Go right now to joshandkarina.com coaching that's J-O-S-H-A-N-C-O-R-I-N A.com coaching and book your first session so we can begin your transformation.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: So today we're going to start with a story.
I'm going to be a little bit vulnerable and share something that's going on in my life.
Towards the end of last year, I stumbled upon this program. I got really excited about it and I was really nervous, but I was praying about it. I was trying to do my process of talking to the Lord and just trying to decide, okay, God, is this what you have for us? Is this the thing? The next thing that we need to Move into and to go after.
And I felt the Lord on it. I think Karinelle was not so sure, but she is amazing and supported me in it. And so we invested in it, started it at the beginning of the year, was really excited, and then got about a month into it and realized, this is not for me. This is not the right thing.
And that was difficult because it made me question, am I really hearing the Lord?
And so many of us, I know, have gone through periods of our lives where we question or we think we're hearing the Lord, we make a decision and then we realize, I don't know if that was right.
And so you kind of get afraid. You're like, oh, what about the next decision? Big decision I have to make. Am I going to get it wrong? Am I really hearing God's voice?
All this time I thought I was hearing him speaking to me and leading me. And maybe it's. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was just my head. I don't know. You get kind of tied up in this paralysis of analysis and just kind of questioning everything and kind of stuck. I don't know. I don't know if I'm supposed to move, if I'm supposed to stay. What am I supposed to do? What's the next thing, God? Oh, I need your help. And you just kind of get, you know, anxious and frazzled, and it makes it really, really hard to hear God's voice. So what we're going to speak on today, what we're going to teach you is just built out of that, this, that God is leading us through, learning how to hear his voice clearly, how to silence, kind of the fear and the anxiety and be able to move forward with confidence because you know that you're hearing God properly.
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I think that when we get stuck in that, I'm going to make a wrong choice. Right. It feels so big, like if I make the wrong choice, I'm going to ruin my life. Right. Like, this is the end. There's no hope. But in reality, if we choose wrong, God is still able to make it right.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: He's always able to redirect us. He's able to take the mistakes that we make and turn them into something beautiful. He does that. And I love that God is never thrown off. He's never caught off guard. God's never like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe you did that. What were you thinking? Right. Like, he's not that voice in your head that's freaking out. That's never him. He's always like, all right, redirect. Okay, all right, you made that decision.
Let's redeem it. Let's move.
Let's turn you this way. Let's recalculate. Right. He always has a good plan. And so I think that one of the things that you can start with when you're in this place of, oh, my gosh, what if I make the wrong decision?
Is I can trust God.
He is a God who moves mountains. He is a God who makes rivers in the desert. He can do anything. And so your mistake is not enough to throw him off or to dethrone him.
He's got this. And so just really starting in that place of God is bigger than any mistakes I can make, I think is a really important place. And if you find yourself in the middle of the consequences of a mistake, realizing that God can redeem the situation, even though it might feel impossible. And so recognizing God is bigger than my mistakes. God, what do you want to do with this big mess that I've made and give him just kind of permission to come in and clean up and redirect you?
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think sometimes what we view as a mistake maybe is not a mistake to God. Sometimes he kind of know he gave us free will, and sometimes maybe he goes, it's kind of up to you. What do you want to decide?
He's not always. He's not dictating our lives to us, and he gives us freedom to make decisions. And so he just kind of sometimes steps back and says, I want to see what you want to do. You're going to rely on everything you've learned from me. You're going to rely on the wisdom that I've already given you. Make the best decision, you know how possible, and then I'm going to show up. Either way, whether it turns out good or bad, I'm going to use that for your good. He works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. That's a promise you can take to the bank. Even when you feel like you really, really messed up your life, God can redeem it. And so we just have to look for that redemption story. We know so many people that made what the world would say, that was a terrible choice. That was a big mistake. And God redeems it so beautifully. He is our redeemer. He is your redeemer.
And it's just beautiful to see those stories of redemption that God is always working out in our lives.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: And I think that when we focus on the problem, that's really what gets us kind of tangled up, right? Because we're like, oh my gosh, this thing is so huge.
This decision is life altering. This, whatever it is in front of me is going to, you know, it's just becomes this huge thing. And so when we're looking at the problem, we're actually magnifying it over and above God. We're saying this thing is so big that not even God.
Like when you say it out loud, right. That's just so ridiculous. This thing is so big that not even God could fix it if I mess it up, right? No, absolutely.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: That's a pretty big problem.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: It's a really big problem. Yeah. God is bigger than any of our mistakes. And, and, but when we're focused on the problem, then that's the problem, right? We, we need to focus on him, getting into his presence, looking at him, magnifying him above the problem. God, this situation feels huge. But I know that you're greater than anything I could face. You are God almighty, Lord of hosts. You created the heavens and the earth. You knew I would come to this crossroads. So guide me and direct me. And really just focusing on him, magnifying him above the situation, that's actually a huge step in moving towards the answer. Because you can start to see clearly, right? The clouds start to par. You start to see the pathway in front of you instead of before. All you could see was the problem.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Yeah, just focusing on his presence sometimes gets us out of that spin. Like we're spinning, we're twirling, we're trying to figure it out. We're anxious.
Just focusing on God's presence and what he's doing is so important.
I don't know about you, but how many times have you been in worship? And I start to get ideas.
God is infinitely creative, and so we just start to get ideas when we're in his presence. And so that's the sort of thing where I could be off on my own, sweating, crying, trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do about this problem. But if I just go into his presence, focus on him, get my eyes off of my problem. Well, actually, God can show up and give me a bunch of ideas. Oh, here, what about this? Did you think about this? Let's try this.
Here's the solution. Sometimes we go to sleep and we'll have a dream. We wake up with the answer or whatever it is. Sometimes God has to get us distracted. You know, he'll distract us from the problem so that he can give Us the solution, get us our eyes back where we're supposed to be focused. We have to have our mind set on heavenly things, on Him. His presence is so beautiful, and that's where we get the answers that we need.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And when we're in his presence, then we actually can see ourselves more clearly. And I think that's really cool how when we abide in him, then we actually begin to find ourselves. We find our identity in Christ when we're in his presence. And so it's a lot easier to make decisions out of your identity when you know who you are.
Like, I would never, you know, say yes when we. We've been watching the Amazing Race with our children. I would never say yes to the Amazing Race because I know who I am, and I know that's just not gonna be a good thing for me. Right. Like. And so it's. It's that kind of thing where you know who you are. When you know who you are, you can make better decisions about what you should or shouldn't do.
When we're in his presence, we start to see ourselves more clearly, and we start to see ourselves through the blood of Jesus and what he's accomplished for us. And so then we can step into purpose more confidently because we know. I know. You know, I thought that was maybe the right way to go, but it definitely wasn't, you know, And I actually, last year, had an interview to potentially lead worship at a church. And through the interview process, we had a couple of interviews. Three interviews, I think. And after the second one, I was like, really? After the first one, I was really excited about it. I thought, wow, this could be really great. This feels like a good fit. And after the second, it was just like a meet and greet. The second one was like an actual interview, and everything felt like it fit, right? Like, this is a good fit. I would be a good fit for this church. The pastors and I got along pretty well, and everything seemed great, but I felt so, like. Like, something's not this isn't it. When I got off the interview, and I was like, what, Lord? You know, like, this feels like the right thing on paper, but in my heart, in my spirit, I had no peace about it.
And so they were like, okay, well, you know, we're gonna pray about it. You pray about it and let us know if you still want to do the final interview. And I'm like, okay.
And I probably. I should have just been like, yeah, I'm good.
Like, it's. It's a no. I just Knew it in my spirit, but I didn't have a reason. And so I was like, yeah, sure, let's do the final interview, you know? And they came back and said, we've been praying about it and we're going to go with somebody else. And I was like, that's a good idea.
Like, I wasn't disappointed. I was. I was actually more relieved. Like, oh, good. Because now I don't have to, like, say no or I don't have to decide. It was just this. Like, it took it off the table for me. But after that, I felt like God was really challenging me. Like, are you going to listen when it looks good? But it doesn't feel right with me. Like, it doesn't feel right in your spirit when you know, even if you don't have a reason, that that's not the direction I'm calling you. And so it felt like it was a challenge for me to go, okay, when I hear him say no, or when I hear him say yes, even if it doesn't make sense, I'm gonna go, go for it. And I think often those are the times that make it difficult where our emotions are caught up and we come in with fear. Right. Like, well, what happens if I don't get this job? What happens if I don't go to this church? What happens if this doesn't pan out and we come in with fear and.
And we're like, God, I don't know what to do. And I'm just so worried about all of the possibilities, all of the things that could go wrong. And that fear can block our. It kind of stops up our ears.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Whenever we come in with fear instead of faith, that's where we get in trouble.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: Right. Anytime we're feeling anxious about the decision, like, oh, my gosh, this is my one chance.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: God can. If I don't make the right decision here, God can never fix it, or I'll never get the opportunity, or, you know, I'll never get married. Married or whatever it is. You know, we get so spun up about these decisions. We get anxious and afraid, and for whatever reason, that makes it really hard to hear God's voice. And so it's so important for us to pursue peace as we're trying to make a decision, as we're trying to discern what God is saying to us. It's just like Philippians 4, 7 says, we come in with our requests with thanksgiving, and then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards our hearts and our minds. That's the promise of God that as we come to him, we get the peace that we need. And so peace is one of our strongest weapons in prayer.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's one of our greatest acts of warfare. I think when we can stand in peace in the middle of a battle, in the middle of something that feels really huge and scary, when we can stand in peace. Right. It's the shoes of peace. So when you stand in in peace while everything else is going crazy, that is such a huge act of warfare. And I think that we don't realize, we think of peace as kind of passive, like, you know, little angels on clouds or something. Right. Like, it's like, oh, it's so peaceful. But peace is actually active. Peace is, is I trust that God is working on my behalf. Even when I don't see it. I trust that God is leading me. Even though I feel like I can't see my hand in front of my face, I trust him. I rest in the peace that comes from presence. And that is huge. And when we can come into our prayer time in that place of peace, we're 100% more likely to hear God's voice than when we come in anxious and crazy. But I do believe that when we come in and we feel that way, because it's not like you're always going to be like, time to pray.
Right. Like, I feel so peaceful now. No, like sometimes you come in and you're carrying big things and you have heavy burdens and you're. The anxiety is high.
That's when we don't come in with like, here's all the things that are wrong. Sometimes you gotta pour your heart out. But when I come into his presence and I feel that way, the best thing I can do is magnify the Lord, put him above the problem. God, you are so big. You are so great. When I think about the work of your hands and all the things that you've done in my life, when I remember the testimonies that I've heard from the Bible to last week, what you did for me, I know that you're gonna come through and you start to praise him, you start to magnify him. The fear and anxiety kind of just doesn't have anything to stick to anymore. Because when we exalt him above the problem, that peace starts to settle in right away. And we see God is greater than anything I can face, really.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: And this is our first application step for you, is to pursue peace as your greatest act of warfare. That's how you're going to hear God's voice clearly. So when we come into. We have a situation that's making us afraid, it's making us anxious. We're going to say no. We're going to say no to that voice of fear, say no to that voice of anxiety. I'm not listening to you. I'm listening to God and what he has to say. And so when we are going to go pray about it, we want to calm ourselves.
Or even when you feel the anxiety welling up or you start to have the spiraling thoughts, we're going to actually, no, I'm not going to partner with that. I'm actually partnering with peace, the prince of peace, Jesus, us. I'm going to take some deep breaths. I'm going to calm my body, I'm going to calm my mind. I'm going to say my declarations. I'm going to meditate on the verses, the promises that God has given me. And I am not going to partner with the what ifs, the constant, like, well, what if this happens? What if this happens? What if that goes wrong? What if I make this decision and that, you know, we just spiral out of control? No, we're not going down that path. We're going to say no. God is actually guiding me. He's promised me wisdom. He's speaking to me. I'm a good sheep. I hear his voice and I can hear him clearly. And I'm going to just rest in his peace. I love to just imagine just sitting with Jesus. I love to imagine myself actually as a child sitting in Jesus lap. He's got his arms wrapped around me.
And that, you know, when you're in that, that posture, you're protected, you're safe.
Jesus has got you. And whatever the world's going to throw at you, Jesus has got it.
And he's going to carry you through that situation. He's going to give you the guidance that you need. And when we can approach our problems from that place of peace, that's when we can hear what we need to hear. We hear and we receive the love of the Father.
We receive his wisdom, we receive his voice.
That is our daily bread that we need to live life.
That's our place of power.
It sounds opposite, right? Like we're going to fight from peace. That's the opposite of the world's way.
That's God's way. We're gonna get peaceful and that makes us strong for the battle.
[00:18:57] Speaker A: Yeah. And that word guard in Philippians 4:7 actually means to put a garrison around. So it Reminds me of Elisha and his servant. When the army is coming against them and the servant's kind of freaking out, and Elisha's like, God, just open his eyes, and then suddenly he sees them surrounded by the heavenly host. And that's the picture that you are surrounded by peace. You are surrounded by the heavenly host. And so in whatever you face, just ask him to open your eyes and to help you see what he's actually doing in your situation.
And that second point after pursuing peace is to magnify him, to really exalt him, to focus on his greatness, his ability, his faithfulness. His. His name is faithful and true. Like, when I. Whenever I'm worried about what could happen or what might go wrong, I remember that his name is faithful and true. When I feel like I don't know what's gonna happen if this doesn't come through, it doesn't happen. His name is faithful and true. He will come through in your situation because he can't help himself. It's who he is. And so when you begin to magnify him and focus on the greatness of our God, it's really hard to think that anything else is gonna get you or anything else is going to, you know, destroy your life or ruin you. No, his name is faithful and true. He is bigger and stronger and greater than anything that we can face in the world. So we. We focus on him and then meditating on the Word. I mean, that's such a huge way to really put God above the problem, to magnify him.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: Yeah, and I love this idea of magnifying God. And God is huge. You can't actually make him any bigger. The only way we magnify him is by just getting closer to him. And as we get closer, he looks bigger, right? And pretty soon, if you can, if you get close enough to God, like, where did my problems go? Because God, all He can see is God. Like, that is the goal.
The goal is that we get close enough to God that all we can see is his beautiful face. All those problems, you know, he's got them under control. He's taking care of them. He's taking care of you. And you can trust fully in God. Isaiah 26:2 says, you'll keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is steadfast on you because he trusts in you. One of my favorite verses of all time.
God promises that perfect peace as we just focus our mind, focus our thoughts not on the swirl and the chaos, we focus it on him, on his faithfulness, on his promises, his testimonies. And then he comes in, he gives us that perfect peace, and he actually gives us the grace to trust Him.
And right now I just sense God giving you the grace to trust him in whatever situation you're facing right now. God is showing up in your situation. He's showing up powerfully. He's showing up with the wisdom, the right people, the right connections, open doors, closed doors. The right doors, yes. The right doors are opening for you because God has a plan for you and he's working it out for your good.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Yeah. And the last thing we would say is to pursue God. Trust that as a person connected to him and pursuing him, you will be led by the Spirit. If you recognize God is big and you see that his faithfulness, you understand all of that. Sometimes we just don't trust ourselves.
Right, Right. Like, I don't trust that what I'm hearing is God. Like, I trust God to be good, but I don't trust myself to follow him closely. Because maybe I've made wrong decisions. Maybe I've stepped in. Stepped in it one too many times, you know, like. Like, maybe. Maybe it's just I haven't listened. And I think that when you've been walking with the Lord a long time, I think you see these kind of situations more where you're like, I really thought I was doing the thing, but I really wasn't. And we have to remember that we're human and that we're going to get caught up in our emotions and we're going to make decisions out of fear and out of situations or other people's advice. And we're maybe not always going to get it right, but we can trust that. As I pursue him, as I am focusing my mind and my heart on him, he is going to lead me. And so like I said at the beginning, he can take you from the wrong direction and he can make it right. He makes wrong things right. That's like literally what he does. He is a God of redemption. And, you know, even like Joseph said to his brothers, what you intended for evil, the Lord intended for good. And so he can take those things that literally seem like they're going to kill you, and he can turn them into something beautiful. So trust that God is setting you up for success. Whatever your situation looks like, he is setting you up for success.
I love.
There's a song that says, if it's not good, he's not done. My favorite, Ms. Beth Moore, always would say, like, until. Until, like, if I was perfect, he would take me home and so until I get there, I'm just gonna go on the adventure with him, you know, and. And he's going to prove himself faithful. He cannot help but do that. And so you continue to follow him, pursue him, love him, and. And just trust. Trust that you're good. Like Josh said, you're a good sheep. You can hear his voice, and he's going to lead you.
[00:24:18] Speaker B: God is all about relationship. He's all about just spending time with us. And so we receive what we need from him.
Come into his presence expectant that you're going to get what you need from the Lord. And whether or not you feel anything, you hear anything in your mind, or it feels like you received anything, know that in your spirit, you're perfectly connected to the Holy Spirit and you're receiving what you need from Him. Yeah. And he is giving you what you need.
And as you walk out, it might not be in that moment, but you might. Later that day, you get a text from a friend, or you hear a sermon from your pastor, or you listen to a podcast or this Bible verse, you read it and it pops out like God is always speaking to you. You hear his voice while you were designed to hear his voice. And he doesn't withhold himself. He's not a cruel father that says, I'm sorry, I'm testing you right now. You don't get my presence. That's not how he operates. He says, come to me.
I'm going to give you rest.
And all we have to do is take our problems, we box them up, we give them to Jesus. I love to even imagine doing that, handing him over to Jesus and just asking him, what are you going to do about these problems?
We're in this together, God. And I know that you can handle whatever comes my way, even when it looks real bad, like, I really messed this situation up.
God, he's a redeemer. Yeah, he's just that good.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: He really is.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: So if you're struggling to hear God's voice for a situation, or you're just not sure, or maybe you're tied up in all. You're wound up in the anxiety and the fear, and you need somebody to come alongside and help you get some clarity. This is what we do. We love to come alongside people, pursue God's voice together, what he's speaking into your life specifically.
And in our sessions, we always see the Lord show up so powerfully to speak into people's lives and to release freedom, to break off lies, release truth.
That really sets you up for success.
So if that's something that you need, please check out our website, joshandkarina.com coaching that's J-O-S-H-A-N-C-O-R-I-N A.com coaching and you can check out our Clarity coaching program where we help you take that first step into clarity, hearing God's voice for your situation.
He loves to speak, and he loves to destroy lies and release truth in our sessions. And it is. It's so exciting. We love doing it. We love working with people and just seeing God show up and set you up for the next steps in your life, to just pursue him and to be successful with Him.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: Yeah. So thank you for spending time with us today. We hope that you are walking away with a plan to pursue peace in prayer, to magnify the Lord over your problem, and to trust that as you pursue him, he is leading you. You're a good sheep, and you hear his voice really well. And so we just bless you this week to continue to walk with Jesus. You're doing a great job.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: You got this.
[00:27:30] 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?
[00:27:40] Speaker B: Then rate and review this podcast? Help us spread the message of transformation far and wide.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: All right, time to walk back into the noise with peace, purpose and maybe a tiny bit of guffing.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: We'll meet you back next Thursday for another episode.
[00:27:54] Speaker A: Bye.
