“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” – Psalm 32:8 (NIV)

It might start with a whisper to your soul. A nudge in your heart. We get uncomfortable in our spirit and sense God is leading us in a new direction. But we do not want to budge. Really, we don’t. We might rationalize that it was just indigestion or those silly emotions, but the nudge continues.

Or perhaps God gets our attention a little more blatantly. This can often be the case with me, when I stubbornly cling to what I know instead of the one Who knows my soul best. It is what we do in those moments of revelation, when we pause long enough to look up and ask God for direction, that can make all the difference in the world.

We tend to be creatures of habit. At least I do. I like to have a routine and stick to it. But life is not so predictable. Interruptions come and disrupt our steady life flow and we have a choice in those moments. Will we idolize what we know? Shrink back from the unknown? Be discontent with our discomfort? Or will we grab a hold of the opportunity to go on another adventure with God?

Some adventures we cherish. Others we do not. But what all adventures (and misadventures) have in common is that they are not predictable. Nothing routine about them. They make us depend on someone other than ourselves. This might be why God has to shake us from our complacency and comfort and send a new assignment from time to time. New challenges make us depend on Him rather than ourselves or our faithful routine.

A few lessons I have learned when God is calling me to something that might be hard and my flesh does not want to budge:

• Sufficient. The One Who calls will also equip us for that calling. He is enough. And He is really good at using weak things for His glory. (I certainly qualify!)
• Good. He is good. Really good. His purposes are fashioned for us from a place of love. (“I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”)
• Lord. God’s will is far better than our own. Plus, if we accepted Him as LORD, we probably should follow His lead.
• Trustworthy. We can trust the One who made us. He had the plans for us before we ever were. His character is flawless. He is perfect and will never forsake us.

Recently, the LORD called me to a new church on a new assignment as a worship leader. Months prior, God was stirring in my heart that a change was coming. I surrendered to Him and told Him I would go wherever He wanted me to. All I can say is, “wow”. What felt radical has been a clear leading from God that I would not trade for anything. God is faithful. Always.

Have any changes on the horizon? Any unexpected surprises? Maybe some changes are hard and we can wish for what we had before. That’s ok. God can meet us in that place and open our eyes to see that His purposes are eternal and worth following. He is taking us from glory to glory and would never want to leave us static in the comfort zone. The next time God nudges, go ahead and budge. He will catch you if you fall and will faithfully lead you.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11 (ESV)