“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

I love having more time to read during the summer. I always have a fiction and a nonfiction book going, and the nonfiction book is usually something faith-related.

“Discerning the Voice of God” by Priscilla Shirer

I don’t know how many times I’ve read it, but the first time I read it changed the way I interacted with and waited for God. I’ve gone through a lot of change in the past three months (moving and getting a new job), so this summer was a good time to read this book again to remind myself how to continue and grow in discerning the voice of God.

And the funny thing is, as I read each chapter, I was surprised (pleasantly!) at how the topic of each section played a role in my recent decision-making processes.

“Realize the Way He Speaks” Chapters 1-4

“The Lord leads us through His WORD, through FEELINGS, and through CIRCUMSTANCES, and mostly through all three together.”

Corrie ten Boom

I’ve wanted to change jobs for a while, but I didn’t want to make a move without God’s approval. . . because otherwise, why make a move? I poked around online, even looking to leave public school teaching, but nothing seemed interesting or paid enough.

His Word

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

• Rather than relying on my own understanding, I threw up my hands and gave up trying to plan ahead in my career. And He made a straight path . . . right to a new job.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12 ESV

• I rejoiced in the hope that He had something better for me.
• I tried to be patient amidst the tribulation of my previous job.
• I was in constant in prayer, asking to be removed from the situation.

Feelings

• I was completely frustrated with my job and sad about feeling this way after teaching there for 14 years.
• I was no longer the best teacher for the students.
• The circumstances were no longer healthy for me.

Circumstances

• I applied for one job, and then another opened up, so my application materials were ready (after teaching for 15 years, I still had to dig out my undergraduate transcripts).
• My first interview was the same day as my closing on my condo. (God’s timing is perfect, but sometimes I also find it humorous.)
• A person in my second interview used to work with me at my previous job and gave me a big hug before I did my teaching demonstration.
• When I accepted the new position and started telling people, I was supported by family, friends, students, and colleagues – NO ONE told me not to make the change (well, except for a few students who weren’t too happy with me for leaving).

I can move forward with confidence that I’m supposed to be in a new school, with new students and colleagues.

The cool thing is, because I’m confident that this new job is God’s best for me in this season of my life, I’m actually excited to get to work in the fall. . . and it’s been too long since I’ve been able to say that.

“Recognize the Sound of His Voice” Chapters 5-10

This idea was a game changer for me: Focus on who God is, rather than focusing on His will for your life: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 ESV

It’s a move from having academic knowledge about God to having experiential knowledge of who God is. 

And reading the Bible through the lens of who God is changed the way I read the Bible.

Because everything God does reveals a truth about His character.

“Remember What He Wants to Accomplish” Chapters 11-14

Yeah, I need to work on waiting (more blog posts coming on this topic!).

And I need to be obedient.

Reading “Discerning the Voice of God” made me realize that as I prayed to know God’s will, I needed to also pray about being obedient once He spoke.

My prayers, and consequently my heart, changed as I desired to be more open and available to His will.

And so as I took a step forward (feeling relief even after submitting the online application), I trusted that if God didn’t want me to move forward, He’d put up a roadblock to stop me from taking the job.

Oh boy, no roadblocks in this situation. In fact, there appeared blessings beyond what I hoped for (yes, that includes a change in salary. . . a very nice one! Yes, my teacher friends, there are districts that value experience and will pay for it!).

God is so good!

How can you use the three main ideas of Priscilla’s book (Realize the way He speaks, Recognize the sound of His voice, Remember what He wants to accomplish) to guide you in discerning the voice of God?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV