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Sometimes I remember the truth only after I’ve already lost sight of it. Then I realize things would’ve gone better if I’d acted on what God had already been showing me.

This past week, I lost my job. Someone commented that this sounded stressful. I’d actually been preparing for that possibility because I was providing senior care for a 95-year-old woman, and her family had talked several times about moving her into a nursing home.

My Battle Plan Was This

When I feel pressured about time management, I plan to remember that God already knows exactly what I need and wants to enjoy me, not fix me.

This was based on Matthew 6:8:

“…your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

When they mentioned the stress, I was tempted to feel like this was a problem and become anxious about the future. But God had already been guiding me to stay in the mindset He’d been teaching me: He’s the Father, and I’m the daughter. Like a child following her father, I can follow along without feeling as though the end result is up to me.

That made the stress feel unfounded. I could be confident that God was leading me to feel safe and secure, regardless of my financial situation.

Sure, stress is a reality. But not when God’s already prepared me to remain in His way of thinking.

It sounded completely reasonable that losing my job should be stressful. I could understand why most people would see it that way. But God had already been preparing me to stay rooted in His thoughts about the situation. The stressful interpretation that once felt normal had been invalidated by what He’d already been teaching me.

When I feel confused about what to think, I don’t have to decide whether a thought is from God based on how it sounds to me. I can pause, ask Him what He wants me to know, and notice whether any fresh insight comes to mind that reinforces biblical principles.

God’s voice may sound ordinary because He uses our own minds to reveal His thoughts. But that doesn’t mean every thought that comes to mind is true.

The Common Misunderstanding

Sometimes we assume a thought is accurate simply because we’ve received wisdom from God before in that area. Those tried-and-true principles have become part of the way we think. But in order for this beautiful worldview to keep growing, we need to keep talking with Jesus about the fresh application of His principles to our lives. I think that’s part of what makes our relationship with Him so much fun.

When I’m on the go and I need to make a quick decision, I sometimes think:

“I don’t want to be wrong about this, so I should have a way to test it. But I don’t have time to go through a discernment process right now, so I guess I’ll go with the best option and hope God’s behind it.”

Even when I have time to journal, I can become hesitant. Sometimes I’m afraid I’ll get stuck or distracted during discernment, so I rely on my best judgment.

The problem isn’t necessarily that I’ve failed to recognize God’s voice. I may have simply forgotten that He’s present and guiding me in the moment. The wisdom He’s already given me is built into many of my daily decisions, and that’s great. But when I don’t know what to do next, I still need His ongoing interaction.

Because I’ve struggled to connect with Him in the past, it’s not always my automatic instinct to reach out to the Holy Spirit when I’m in trouble. The good news is that this tendency can be retrained and reinforced in my brain so I do reach out to Him when I need Him.

Dead-end thoughts are usually mostly true. They’re simply mixed with one or two subtle twists. Our enemy is skilled at twisting things. The thing to do is use common sense to separate the twisted part of our thinking from the part that’s true.

In my job-loss situation, it was true that losing a job could be stressful. It creates lots of unknown factors in daily life that take extra time and energy to navigate.

Two Questions to Ask

But I had to ask myself:

What part of this feels like a painful swamp in my mind where I could get lost or stuck?

The twisted part wasn’t that I was afraid God wouldn’t provide. It was the fear that I’d rush into another job that didn’t fit the life I’d come to enjoy. I didn’t know what I’d have to give up.

That’s where I looked back in my journal to remember what God had recently been teaching me. I needed fresh insight from Him that could untwist that fear into faith.

I remembered how God had been reassuring me through Matthew 6:8 that He already knows what I need before I ask Him. A father wants his daughter to have the very best life for her, despite the challenges she encounters.

Because of that, I could let go of the fear that I would have to sacrifice the parts of my life that make it worth living. That fear probably came from seasons when depression shaped the way I interpreted life, not from God’s way of thinking about my situation now.

So here’s the real question to ask:

Am I accepting this thought simply because it’s the way most people would interpret the situation? Or because it fits with what God’s been showing me? Lord, what do You want me to know about this?

I don’t need to dismiss a thought simply because it sounds like me instead of God. But I don’t need to assume a thought is accurate simply because it matches what I know from Scripture. In order to keep moving forward, I need to develop my instinct to reach out to God for fresh biblical insight.

Three Shifts That Help Me Test My Thoughts

In order to tell whether a thought is from God or just from me, I take it back to Him. Those quick moments of discernment during the day are only part of the process. The reason I can often recognize God’s perspective in the middle of a stressful moment is because He’s already been talking with me about it in my journal.

Before I move through these shifts, I begin with one question that helps me identify the real problem:

What part of this feels like a painful swamp where I could get lost or stuck?

Shift 1: Remember What God’s Already Been Teaching You

When you don’t remember how to test a thought, you don’t have to guess what God would say. You can pause and ask God to remind you of something from your journal that speaks to your deeper issue.

Every couple of months, I pin a new battle plan to the top of my journal. It usually reads like this:

When I feel ________, I ask You to remind me of ________.

Then I write the Bible verse underneath that principle. I also copy the battle plan onto an index card and keep it where I can grab it when I need it.

If you don’t have a battle plan yet, you can simply write down the special insights God gives you and keep them somewhere you’ll see them often. God can use those reminders to bring His truth back to your mind, even when they aren’t right in front of you.

Shift 2: Ask How the Thought Applies

When a true principle comes to mind, you don’t have to assume it’s right for your specific situation. You can keep asking God for more insight.

Simply ask:

Is this how You want me to understand Your thoughts in my situation?

In my job-loss situation, the thought that spoke peace to my anxiety was this:

He’s the Father, and I’m the daughter. Like any child, I’m following His path without feeling like the end result is up to me.

This is the step where you notice whether a thought resonates with your spirit and emotions, not just your mind.

Shift 3: Ask Whether There’s Anything Else You Need to Know

Once you see how Scripture applies, you don’t have to rush to a conclusion.

Simply ask:

Is there anything else I’m missing here, Lord?

Then stop and write down anything the Holy Spirit brings to mind. Use your common sense and biblical wisdom to check the direction your mind is leaning. New thoughts have to have time to settle in. You don’t want half-baked insights.

The test isn’t whether the thought that comes to your mind sounds supernatural or different from your normal thinking.

The test is whether, when you pause and ask, the thoughts that come to mind reinforce biblical principles, whether they’re newer insights God has been teaching you or time-tested truths you’ve brought back to Him.

The Four Questions I Keep Coming Back To (Recap)

Whenever a questionable thought pops up, I pause and ask God what He wants me to know.

These are the questions I ask myself:

1. What part of this feels like a painful swamp in my mind where I could get lost or stuck?
2. What have You already been showing me here that I want to keep remembering?
3. Is this how You want me to understand Your thoughts about my situation?
4. Is there anything else that I’m missing here, Lord?

When the flow of fresh insight stops, I stick with familiar biblical principles to confirm the direction my mind is leaning.

If you notice yourself becoming anxious to make sure you get this right, remember that it’s God’s job to bring His wisdom to your awareness. You’re limited.

Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

So it’s okay to wait awhile for things to take shape in your mind. He may simply lead you to trust the instincts and desires He’s already been using to guide you. He can make that clear, too.

This week, try creating one reminder in your journal to turn to God in a situation where you normally get frustrated or anxious. The next time you feel that frustration or anxiety, take a minute to read that reminder and ask God what He wants you to remember.

Let’s Pray This

Lord, use my journal to help me keep track of what You’re saying about my difficult situations. Show me the part of my life that You are transforming through renewing my mind right now. Help me focus on one area at a time so I notice how I’m growing in my relationship with You. Most of all, remind me to relax and enjoy having You hold me safe and secure. Amen.

If you’d like help developing this habit, I’ve created a free Hearing God Starter Kit to help you begin recognizing God’s voice through Scripture and prayer journaling. It will walk you through the same kind of process I’ve shared here so you can continue growing in a daily, two-way relationship with Him.

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Next Steps:

Get our free “Hearing God Starter Kit” and learn the journaling process at:

Sophiculture.com/guide

Get personalized support to build a thriving friendship with Jesus at:

Sophiculture.com/illumination