Trusting Your Gut, Responding with Faith

Written by Vianne Satterfield

James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Psalm 16:7-8 “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

I am incredibly thankful for the wisdom that God generously gives — especially as I charter unknown places. I ask the Lord for guidance and help along the way and He is faithful to give it. When I take the time to quiet myself before the Lord in prayer, He “shows up,” and points me to a Scripture or gives me a knowing about a situation or circumstance. He is a generous God and He gives instruction and guidance, yet I think He also wants us to not only ask Him for wisdom, but also to receive it and follow through with what He shows. As the Scripture says, we are to believe and not doubt.

There have been times that I receive a word from the Lord or that I discern something, yet I do not fully understand it. It is best to seek the Lord for more wisdom and discernment befor proceeding, as I believe He will give clarity and understanding eventually. Several months ago, I experienced a knowing that something just wasn’t right about a business relationship. I could not clearly identify what was not right but I knew something was “off.” That’s called discernment. I held onto that weird feeling of something “not being right,” however, I did what I thought was best, rather than responding to the discernment that I initially received.

I asked for wisdom and God gave me a knowing, a gut feeling, a dream and a Scripture. HELLO! God was kind of using a megaphone to get my attention and I doubted the message He gave!

OH MY GOODNESS! God is so patient, kind and loving. He continued to give me wisdom and discerment even when I chose to avoid handling the issue. He did not give up on me. He will not give up us. He is that kind of a loving and patient God.

I am learning to trust the Lord more fully especially when I discern that something is not right — before I take the next step as the wisdom and “knowing” may serve to protect or warn me. God invites us to ask for wisdom and He does give it to us, however, it is imperative to trust the wisdom and discernment that He gives, as this is most certainly the best way.

When I could no longer ignore the lack of peace I experienced, I confronted the issue with boldness and received the clarity that I so needed in that moment. I took courage and responded with obedience, finally! I received instruction for the next step soon after I came out of alignment with the business relationship that wasn’t right. The uncertainty, confusion and lack of peace are gone. I am thankful for God’s instruction and I am learning to exercise the muscle of discernment, as He shows me the right path. His ways are better than my way. God’s ways are trustworthy.