Episode #321 When God Redirects Your Plans – Everyday Awake

Hey, friends. If you've been around the podcast for a minute, you already know this about me: I like plans, lists, color coded sticky notes, calendars, knowing what's next etc. But following God rarely feels like a straight line. His guidance often shows up as a redirection, not a roadmap, and there's a strange grace in that because staying open keeps us close to him.

There have been times when I was certain about what God wanted me to do, only to watch as the door closed completely. I used to take that as failure or confusion. But sometimes the closed door was the gift, the way that God protected me from running too far in the wrong direction.

Now, I bring this up because in a podcast that's talking about hearing God speak, I never wanna come across like I always hear God perfectly. It is a habit that we can grow in. It is a muscle, a strength that we can develop in our practice of recognizing God's voice and his presence and then taking action, obeying, responding to his invitation. We grow in our ability to recognize him more clearly. But I still get it wrong. And there are times I misunderstand or misinterpret what he's saying to think that it means something that he doesn't.

And I'm bringing this up today because as believers, we never want to hold so tightly to what plans we have or what we think that God has told us, that we are unwilling to adjust when he speaks something else. We can learn a little bit from the Apostle Paul in this area in Acts 16:6-10. It's talking about Paul and his ministry and how as he went out to do a good thing that he was called to do in sharing the Gospel with the world, he kept having the Spirit redirect him.

I'll start reading in verse 6. It says, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.’

And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-10 ESV)

See, Paul had good plans to preach the Gospel in Asia, but God rerouted him and his traveling companions to Macedonia. That single redirection changed history. The Gospel reached Europe because Paul stayed open. In the ancient world, the language of the Spirit of Jesus was radical. It emphasized that Jesus wasn't just an idea or a past good teacher to remember, but a living presence guiding his people in real time. God's will wasn't a static map, it was a relational walk, and that is still true for us today.

Staying open to God's, leading to his will means engaging in this relational walk with him. It often means trusting God's “no” as much as his “yes”. It's believing that his Spirit is wise enough and engaged enough in our day-to-day lives to lead us, even when we don't understand his timing.

And so as we move through life with God, the constant invitation and opportunity before us is to ask him to guide us in how he wants us to partner with him. To be open to what he shares, even when it doesn't look like what we thought it would.

You don't need to have the next step figured out. It's an opportunity to release control in that way too, and I'm still practicing celebrating that one. But I also don't have to have the next step figured out. I just need to stay responsive to the one who walks with me. And so that's my exhortation for you today:

Stay responsive to the One who offers to walk through life with you.

And here's a question you can take to him:

God, how do you want to surprise me as I stay open to your leading?

I wonder what glimpses of the good ahead he might share with you.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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