When I opened up Spotify to listen to a podcast recently. I asked the Holy Spirit what podcast I should listen to. He directed me to 'The Proverbs 31 Ministries podcast'. One of my regulars. I opened up their podcast and looked for an episode. I came across this one, “How To Trust God When You Don’t Have All the Answers” with Abby McDonald. I started listening and instantly knew it was the one. One of the first things that Abby talked about was “2x4 moments.” I smiled and shed a tear. For me, it means I have checked and double checked with God, and He lovingly conforms again, usually by saying, 'I already told you,' and it feels like He is hitting me upside the head with a '2x4'. I shed a tear because not only was it relatable, but it also showed me that this really was the episode God wanted me to hear.
For Abby, a '2x4 moments’ refers to a moment when you seek after God for an answer, and when He gives it to you, it's crystal clear with bells and whistles. If I recall corectly, she mentioned that leading up to those moments God did answer, but they were queiter answers that she may have missed.
She goes on to tell a story of how God's leading in a situation was unmistakable. Now. That being said, there were months of prayers leading up to that answer. It wasn't instantaneous for her. She shared that after God gave her and her husband the answer. Then they started moving in the direction of the answer, but as they did that, they had some roadblocks. Which I imagine we either have experienced those situations or will someday. So, every time a “roadblock” would appear and they started questioning God, they reminded themselves that God did, in fact, give them clear direction earlier, and they clung to that.
She shared that as the years went by, she has less of these big '2x4 moments’ and now receives smaller nudges. On her walks with her dog, which is one of my ways to connect with God, too. God has now given her a ministry to help encourage others when they are struggling to hear God's voice. She reminded me and anyone else listening to that episode that God also speaks to us all differently, and it's beautiful to watch. I have recently come to love how differently God speaks to hubby and me. Or at least I’m working on it. I still struggle to compare how the Holy Spirit speaks to each of us, but I am working on it. Sometimes when one of us is praying for something, God will tell the other person the answer, and we can then enjoy the confirmation of whatever we needed/wanted to know.
She shared how she connected with and understood God while she was growing up, and how everything changed about her perspective of God when she had her own children. She learned that God wants to hear about all her desires. She noticed that not only did her children trust her and felt safe with her, but they also freely and openly came to her with their requests. Just like how God wants us to come to Him. She learned over the years, like many others I imagine, that God also speaks through our hearts or a burning we feel in our soul. After seeing her children approach her the way they were, it encouraged her to approach God the same way. She noticed that God was shaping and moulding her into the woman that He wanted her to be. Which is such a beautiful thing. The idea that as we seek God, He moulds us into the men and women that He desires us to be.
She spoke on the story in John 10. The story of the Shephard and His flock, and how in vs 9 Jesus says that He is the gate and if anyone enters by me, he will be saved. From this verse, we learn.
1. The sheep aren't standing around waiting for direction. They are moving around. They aren't waiting for someone to tell them to graze in the place that God has led them to. They simply grazed. It also reminded me that after we pray for an answer, we are to wait, well, what do “waiters” do? They serve. So, while we wait for the answer, we continue with our daily tasks and serving others.
2. They are enjoying the provisions that God has already given them. Ouch. That preaches. I don't know about you, but I have definitely complained about something I prayed and asked God for. They also aren't waiting for another door. They have already walked through the gate, Jesus. How many gates do we want God to open up for us, but He already has, we just don't want to go through it. I'm walking through one of those doors as we speak.
3. The Shepherd, Jesus, never leaves the sheep (us). He is always with us.
Abby admired that more often than not, she questions His voice rather than act on Him. We ask for a sign and then question God when he gives us one.
She hit the ball out of the park when she said that the question that the serpent asked Eve, 'Did God really say that?' is the same question we are asking today. Now, we are asking with a different spirit, but the same question. We think that if God just gave us all the answers, we would have more faith. But that's not how faith works. Hebrews 11:1,2 NKJV “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtain a good testimony.”
She reminds us that we think the more info we have, the better. But our world of tech and the internet at our fingertips has taught us the exact opposite. We have so much stress, anxiety and worry these days. We have more answers than ever before and less peace of mind. Because God is infinite and we are finite, He knows that we can only handle the information that we need for today. He isn't keeping it from us to harm us, rather to protect and love on us.
In Matthew 11:28 NKJV “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.” He says He wants us to bring our burdens to Him. Even if we don't feel like He is there or listening. He is there. He is likely working behind the scenes. We are trying to carry a yoke that doesn't fit us. We are trying to take on more knowledge than we can carry because we think it will help us, but in reality, it just hurts instead.
God taught the speaker and is now teaching me to not only trust God's voice but also His character. Because God is trustworthy. I'm reminded of the phrase 'WWJD', what would Jesus do? When you are in a situation, and God feels quiet, think about how He would respond and do your best to act accordingly.
She reminds us that when we fall for the deceiver and try to be like God and have more knowledge, we are being like Eve and failing. God gave Eve all the knowledge she would need for her life, and we need to trust that God has given and will give us all the knowledge at the correct time. He wants us to have freedom, and part of that freedom is freedom from worrying about tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 NKJV "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
He wants to speak to us and have a relationship with us if we will only listen. If we are honest with ourselves, we may come to see that we treat our faith like a checklist or a to-do list at times. But God wants so much more for us than that, and if we will approach God with an open heart. He will reveal Himself to us. Something I'm working on. I have recently discovered that the Holy Spirit talks to me through reading plans. I don’t absorb very much of the Bible if I just read it. But if I follow a reading plan, the Holy Spirit uses it to transform me.
It can also feel frustrating when you are earnestly seeking the Lord and an answer for something, and he hasn't answered yet and so you don't know what to do.
God also can't speak to a heart that is closed off to him. So check and see if your heart is turned off from him. Also, don't get upset and turn your heart off to God when He isn't answering you. I am guilty of that.
If you are struggling to hear from God while waiting for an answer. Ask a friend to pray for you and with you. It's funny, just the other day I was feeling frustrated and waiting on God to answer a prayer. I got home and shared with hubby my frustration. He prayed, and God answered. Unfortunately, I didn't like the answer and wanted to pray again and get a different answer. But that's not how God works. So I accepted the answer and moved on. I decided to be grateful for the answer I had received and go from there. Don't close the door of communication with God. Keep it open. Be honest with Him. Emotions are okay. Good Infact. God gave them to us so we should bring them to Him. Read through the Psalms for comfort. The Psalms are full of lament and worship. Pray through the Psalms and share your heart with God.
I pray this encourages, challenges and blesses you today, friend. It certainly did for me.
God Bless
~Hannah
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