Ways We Ignore God’s Leading

Hey, my friend. You never ignore what God’s asking you to do, do you? I didn’t think so. It’s just me, isn’t it?

Just kidding. I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. Sometimes obeying God is scary. We don’t know for sure where it’s going to lead or what the consequences are going to be. We just have to trust Him each step of the way.

But there are times when it’s certainly not easy.

In November, my friend Jen Kline and I co-hosted the Make the Move conference for business leaders feeling like God was guiding them in a different direction. Or who were feeling stuck and didn’t know which way to go.

And today, I want to share a clip from my session about knowing what God wants you to do but not actually taking a step in that direction.

I began by sharing about how, six years ago, God was calling me to step down from my role as a children’s ministries director, and then I named several ways I proceeded to ignore said calling—or try to work my way around it.

As you listen, maybe you can hold a situation in mind where you know God is calling you to do something, too, but you’re hesitant or scared or just plain don’t want to. My encouragement to you would be to seek to discover why you don’t want to, but really, deeper than that, to ask God to help you obey anyway.

[excerpt from conference]

So what do you think? Can you relate to any of the things I shared? I pray that as you identify those before the Lord, He would help you break free of whatever it is that is holding you back, that you might follow Him more closely.

Because our obedience . . . it shows God just how much we love Him. How much we trust Him. I consider obedience to be God’s love language. First John 2:5 says “those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him.”

Journal Prompts

So here are some journal prompts you might consider in your journal this week:

• What invitations from God have I sensed recently—even small or subtle ones—that I haven’t responded to yet?
• How do I usually justify not responding to God right away?
• Are there areas of my life where I’ve asked God to speak—but quietly hoped He wouldn’t say that?

Personalized Journaling Guide

Now, if you’re carrying something specific and need space to process it with God, I would love to create a personalized journaling guide just for you. After you purchase, you’ll share what you’re navigating, and within three business days, you’ll receive a custom PDF with journaling questions and prompts tailored to your season.

It’s not about rushing to answers—it’s about creating space to listen, reflect, and discern God’s presence and direction. You can grab your personalized journaling guide at lovedoesthat.org/journalguide.

Prayer

Lord, You see the places where we know what You’re asking, and the places where our feet feel heavy and slow. You see our fear, our hesitation, our questions about what obedience might cost us. You don’t shame us for that. You meet us there.

So today, we bring You the thing we’ve been avoiding—the conversation, the decision, the letting go, the step forward that feels too big for us. We ask You not just for clarity,
but for courage. Not just for direction, but for trust. Where obedience feels scary, remind us that You go before us. Where we feel stuck, loosen what’s holding us back. And where we’ve been trying to protect ourselves, teach us how to place our lives back into Your hands.

Help us obey You not out of fear or pressure, but out of love—a love that trusts You with the outcome and believes that You are always good. Give us grace for the pace we’re in, strength for the next right step, and rest in knowing that You are patient with us. We love You, Lord. Teach us how to show that love through faithful, honest obedience. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 24: An Example in Spiritual Discernment and Decision Making: Going “All In” With Love Does That
• Episode 172: Trusting God Through Obedience: A Conversation with Neil Broere
• Episode 44: Why is Change So Hard? Understanding the Change Process and What That Means for Being Healed and Helping Others