A Personal Lesson in Hearing God

Recently, I found myself facing a situation that forced me to wrestle with this very question: How do I know if it's God leading me or simply what I want?

A job opportunity came along. On paper, it looked great. It offered advancement, new opportunities, and many of the things the world tells us we should pursue. The problem was that deep in my spirit, I knew it had come during the wrong season of my life.

Yet I applied anyway.

I began imagining how good it would be. I thought about the benefits, the possibilities, and what it could do for me. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. But through all of my excitement, God continued to gently remind me that it did not fit within His plan for my life.

I wish I could say I immediately obeyed.

I didn't.

Instead, I wrestled with Him.

The truth is, I wanted the job. I wanted what it represented. I wanted the opportunity. And I knew something else about myself. I knew that if they offered me the position, I wasn't strong enough to turn it down.

So I prayed one of the most honest prayers I've prayed in a long time.

"Lord, I believe this isn't Your plan for me. But I also know my heart. If they offer me this job, I don't know if I'll be strong enough to say no. If this isn't from You, I need You to close the door because I won't."

That prayer required complete surrender.

The day of the interview arrived, and honestly, it couldn't have gone any better. Every answer seemed to land perfectly. The conversation flowed naturally. The connection was immediate. When I walked out, I felt certain an offer would come.

As I drove home, I prayed again.

"Lord, if this isn't Your will, don't let me get the job."

A few days later, the phone rang.

They had decided to go with another candidate.

The moment I hung up, something unexpected happened.

I wasn't disappointed.

I wasn't angry.

I wasn't questioning God.

Instead, I felt overwhelming peace.

In that moment, I realized I had known all along. The job had been my plan, not God's. It represented my ambitions, my desires, my pursuit of worldly success. None of those things are necessarily wrong, but in this season they were pulling my attention toward the world and away from where God was calling me.

God knew what I could not fully see.

He knew that getting the job would have shifted my focus more toward building my own kingdom than seeking His.

Most importantly, He knew I was too weak to make the right decision on my own.

So I gave the decision to Him.

And because He is faithful, He made it for me.

Looking back, I am amazed at God's kindness. Not only did He close the door, but He also removed the disappointment. He replaced it with peace, relief, and gratitude. What I thought was a loss became one of the clearest examples of His faithfulness in my life.

The entire process brought me closer to Him.

It taught me that hearing God is not always about receiving a supernatural sign. Sometimes hearing God means recognizing His gentle warnings, surrendering your desires, and trusting Him enough to let Him decide.

It taught me that God is not trying to take good things away from us. He is trying to keep us from settling for things that are outside of His best for us.

Most of all, it taught me that when we truly give something to God, completely surrender it, He is faithful to carry what we cannot.

Sometimes His answer is "yes."

Sometimes His answer is "wait."

And sometimes His answer is "no."

But every answer He gives is rooted in a love that sees farther than we can see and knows better than we know ourselves.

That experience answered my question.

How do I know it was God and not me?

Because I wanted the job.

God wanted me.

Reflection Questions

As I look back on the job opportunity God closed for me, I am challenged to ask myself:

• Is there something in my life that I know deep down may not be God's plan, yet I continue to pursue because it is what I want?

• Have I been asking God to bless a decision I've already made instead of surrendering the decision to Him?

• Am I willing to trust God enough to let Him close doors that I desperately want opened?

• If God says "no" to something I desire, can I believe that His plan is better than mine?

• Am I seeking God's gifts and blessings, or am I seeking a deeper relationship with Him?

• When I pray for direction, am I truly willing to accept whatever answer He gives?

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for loving me enough to guide me, even when my heart wants something different than what You have planned. Thank You for the times You protect me from myself and from decisions that may look good in the moment but would pull me away from Your purpose.

I confess that there are times when I know what I want, and I struggle to let it go. Like the job I recently pursued, I can become focused on opportunities, success, comfort, and the things this world values. Yet You see what I cannot see. You know where every path leads.

Lord, give me the courage to surrender my plans before they become idols in my heart. Help me to be honest enough to admit when my desires are stronger than my obedience. When I am too weak to choose Your will over my own, remind me that I can place the decision in Your hands and trust You to lead me.

Thank You for being faithful when I am fearful. Thank You for closing doors that do not align with Your purpose and for opening the ones that do. Thank You for the peace that comes from knowing You are in control.

Teach me to recognize Your voice above my ambitions, my emotions, and my expectations. Help me to desire Your presence more than promotions, Your approval more than success, and Your will more than my own plans.

Father, I don't want to spend my life chasing opportunities if they lead me away from You. I want to follow wherever You lead, even when I don't understand. Give me a heart that trusts Your "no" just as much as Your "yes."

More than anything, help me remember that Your greatest gift is not what You can give me, it is You.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.