Episode 27: Growing Where God is Leading

We are halfway through 2025, and prayerfully, each of us remain focused on going in God's grace, moving out and moving forward with God's direction and ability at work in us. I thank each of you for listening in each week. It means a lot to me. And more importantly, doing something that positively impacts your life and the lives of those around you. Today, we're talking about something that can transform your spiritual life.

Choosing a couple of key areas to focus on under the direction of Holy Spirit, then allowing Him to guide you as you grow. With another quarter complete, we've discussed 26 topics so far this year. How are you determining where the Lord wants you to focus? We live in a world of spiritual overload. So many sermons, podcasts, devotionals, and Bible plans are available that things can get overwhelming.

Sometimes the most powerful growth happens when we slow down and we focus on just one or two areas where God is nudging us. God will use our local church to help direct us, which is why it's so important to stay connected to a Bible believing, Bible teaching ministry. Proverbs 4:25-27 says, Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left remove your foot from evil.

That's the power of focus. When we stop trying to grow in everything all at once, we give God room to go deep in something specific and necessary for our current season of growth. So how do you know what to focus on? Here are three simple questions to ask yourself: What has the Holy Spirit been highlighting lately? Maybe it's forgiveness or boldness or learning to hear God's voice more clearly.

It's so important to pray and create margin in our lives so that we can spend enough time with God to receive His nudging and direction. What has He been focusing on in the sermons your pastor or study group is discussing? What has he been speaking individually to you as you go throughout the day? Where have you felt the nudge to grow up and to mature? Where do you feel resistance or conviction?

Growth often starts where we feel stretched. Where do you feel like you are being challenged at this time? Whether through people or situations, this is often an area where we are being led to grow. What keeps coming up in your quiet time? Conversations and dreams.

Pay attention to repetition. God often speaks through patterns. Do you feel like with no coordination on your end, you keep having similar conversations with other believers? Note the topic and explore it further. Do you keep having a recurring dream?

Take time to ask God about it and learn more about anything He wants to share with you. Once you've identified one or two areas, write them down and pray about them. You may find that is your focus for the next few weeks. Now let's talk about how to build a study plan around your focus. We don't want to be surface students, never taking the time to allow God to go deep in an area of our lives.

We want to hang out with God and be patient to learn while He works within us and around us. Let's say your focus is trusting God more deeply. Here are some ideas of what you can do during the week to bring this topic to life. Keep it simple and do something different each day. Your time with God can be fun and interesting if you don't grow stale doing the same thing day in and day out.

First, choose a key scripture to meditate on. For trust. A great one would be Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Journal what this verse means to you. Writing is essential to learning, and unfortunately for some, it's become a lost art in the digital world. Slow down and put pen to paper. For our example topic on trust, you could ask yourself, What does trusting God look like in this current season of my life? Where do I most need to trust?

Next up, cross reference. Look up other verses on trust, like Isaiah 26:3 or Psalm 37:5. Note the ones that stand out to you the most and that speak to your heart. Pray specifically into this area. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any barriers to trust and what you should do to create a more trusting and faith filled environment for yourself.

I have a cheat code for you here just in case someone listening really does intend to focus on trust. Surround yourself with faith filled and faith talking people. Your environment matters. Next, apply the Word of God. Take one action step that demonstrates trust.

Maybe surrendering a decision or releasing control. Maybe it's not talking to everyone about the concern anymore and spending more time talking to God about it. Maybe it's taking a step towards what you believe the Lord is asking of you. Finally, reflect. What have you learned so far?

Where did you see God move? This rhythm works for any focus, whether it's patience, purity, discernment, or spiritual boldness. Ask God to help you create one of your own. If you prefer something different, get creative and enjoy the process. Don't forget this important key: You are not doing this alone.

John 14:26 says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. The Holy Spirit is your personal teacher. He doesn't just convince, He coaches. He doesn't just reveal truth, He walks with you as you live it out. As you study, ask Him, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me through this verse?

What do you want me to see that I've missed before? How can I apply this truth today? And then listen. This is critical. Slow down and listen. Be patient. Unlike our breakneck culture, God will wait until you have enough time for Him to speak without you rushing away. He speaks in whispers, nudges, and confirmations. I believe His calm nature and communication most of the time is meant to steady us and encourage us to calm down too. Try it.

Be still and know that He is God. Psalms 46:10. Let me leave you with this. You don't have to master everything. You just have to move in the direction God is leading.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, that means you've taken the wheel from God because He knows how to lead us to still waters where we find exactly what we need and can grow and rest at the same time. Psalm 23:1-3 provides a beautiful word picture of what it's like growing with and being taken care of by God. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Philippians 1:6 reminds us, Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it into the day of Jesus Christ. God is not finished with us yet. I know His love is too vast than He ever will be.

This journey that we're on with God, even if we've been walking with Him fifty years, has only just begun. So tune in to Holy Spirit speaking to your spirit. Determine your area of focus. Build and utilize your plan. Invite Holy Spirit in each step of the way.

And trust that God is growing you one faithful step at a time. Thanks for tuning in this week. If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend, and let's grow together! Until next time, stay rooted, stay focused, and stay spirit led. You've been listening to Going and Great. Be sure to visit us online at brandistover.com.