It’s One Thing to Hear God’s Voice

Years ago, I was interviewing for an executive pastor role, and from my perspective, everything seemed to be lining up. The conversations had gone well. The opportunity appeared to fit. The timing seemed right. I had prayed, listened, processed, and felt like God had been leading us in that direction.

Then my son looked across the dinner table and said something completely unexpected: “You may need to eat some humble pie.”

It was not a phrase Christopher normally used. In fact, I am not sure I had ever heard him say it before.

Almost immediately after he spoke those words, my phone buzzed. It was the senior pastor from the church where I had been interviewing, letting me know they had decided to move in a different direction. It was one of those moments when you simply sit there and realize God may have been speaking more clearly than you wanted to admit.

One of the themes that runs throughout From Success to Surrender is learning to hear God’s voice. Over the years, I have become convinced that God still speaks, guides, redirects, confirms, and lovingly corrects His children. But I have also learned something equally important: it is one thing to hear God’s voice. It is another thing entirely to discern what He is saying.

Christopher and I recently talked about this while reflecting on the audiobook. As we revisited that story, we both found ourselves laughing about it. It is funny now. It was not particularly funny in the moment.

Looking back, I do believe God was involved in that process. I believe He was leading, teaching, shaping, and guiding us through it. But I had made an assumption about the destination. I thought His leading meant the role was going to be mine.

What I eventually had to learn was that God can lead us into a process for reasons we do not immediately understand.

Maybe the purpose is not the job. Maybe the purpose is the conversation, the humility, the surrender…

Maybe the purpose is exposing something in us that needs to be refined before we are ready for what comes next.

That is why discernment is so important. We can sense God leading and still misunderstand what He is doing. We can be obedient to take a step and still be surprised by where that step leads. We can hear His voice and still need to hold our interpretation loosely.

During our conversation, Christopher made an observation that captured this well. He reflected that God may lead us toward something that appears to be the destination, but His actual purpose may be something entirely different. He may simply want us to meet one person, have one conversation, plant one seed, or learn one lesson that prepares us for a future season.

That has certainly been true in my life. Over time, I have learned to pay attention to God’s voice, but I have also learned to be careful not to confuse His guidance with my assumptions. Sometimes God is saying, “Walk this way.” But that does not always mean He is saying, “This is where you will stay.”

There is freedom in that, but it also requires surrender. It means we can take the next faithful step without needing to control the final outcome. It means we can listen, obey, and keep our hands open. It means we can trust that even when a door closes, the obedience was not wasted.

That executive pastor role did not happen. But God used that season to deepen something in me. He used it to humble me, redirect me, and continue forming the message that would eventually become From Success to Surrender.

Years later, He allowed my son to look back on that story and recognize the lesson too. Perhaps there is something in your life right now that you are trying to discern. Maybe a door appears to be opening. Maybe one has recently closed. Maybe you are wondering whether you heard God correctly because the outcome did not unfold the way you expected.

I would simply encourage you to keep listening, but also keep your interpretation open-handed. God may be doing more than you can see. He may be guiding you not only toward a destination, but into deeper trust.

That is often where the real work happens.

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In our full conversation, Christopher and I talk more about this story, the audiobook, and what we both learned about hearing God’s voice and holding our assumptions loosely.

Watch the full conversation here →

You can also listen to the audiobook here →