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Pick any circumstance, chain of events, or relationship you are facing. As confusing or left-field something may appear, there are clues as to what God is up to in your life. The secret is in taking the time to pause and look for the signs.
Here are six questions to ask yourself when figuring out what God is up to. They are sourced from a Wild at Heart podcast (#E843) where John and his son Blaine Eldredge talk through this vital part of becoming a mature, discerning Christ follower.
What is God Up to In My Life?-Part 2
We’ll outline the six steps below, then I’ll give you an example of how this helped me through a season in my life.
“Try this GPS tool to navigate bafflement and fog.” Wild at Heart
- The Facts of Life. Jot down what’s going on in your life. It could be work turmoil, a lingering health issue, financial problems, or the death of a close friend. An auto accident. Simply write down the facts.
- Preoccupations of the Mind. What are you constantly thinking about? What is it that you cannot get off your mind?
- Feelings and Emotions. It may take some time to figure out what you are feeling or what emotions you have right now. Perhaps you feel numb at the news of your friend’s death. Perhaps you are angry with yourself and your employer for losing your job.
Emotions are sudden and often engage your body. A car swerves into your lane. You immediately jerk right to avoid an accident and slam on the horn. Your heart is racing, but eventually calms down. Feelings linger. The experience on the highway now makes you wary of other drivers. You feel cautious and wish a cop were around.
Write down your feelings and emotions.
4. Body and Physical Sensations. What is going on inside impacts your body. Write down how your body is reacting.
Pain, tight muscles, sweaty palms, twitches, sexually aroused, insomnia, and brain fog. Be honest about how your body is reacting.
5. What recurring or dominating questions are you having? Perhaps it’s simply “Why God?” Bafflement can send us into a tailspin. Write down the questions you can’t seem to get answers for.
6. Longings and Desires. Deep down, there are things you want to see happen. Dreams, hopes. Boiling it all down, part of our bafflement about current situations could stem from the potential of seeing your longings and lifelong desires dashed. Write them down.
Okay, now that you have, let me unpack how I navigated these six questions, given my current circumstances.
- The Facts of Life.
After working for the same company my entire career (43 years), I finally “graduated”! That opened up some great travel opportunities to spend all summer at our family’s cottage in Canada. It made for a busy summer, not to mention our daughter having another baby and our son and his wife expecting twins! While working, I averaged 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night. Now retired, that increased to 8 and 9 hours of sleep. I felt so much better!
Returning to our home in the USA, I quickly realized that retirement offers opportunities to strengthen healthy habits while also shedding light on some things that need to change, including synchronizing my wife’s and my schedules.
Along with all this, for years, my wife has been pro getting my ears pierced. I’ve held off due to my career. Now, she and my family are encouraging me to “go for it.”
- Preoccupations of the Mind. Several years ago, at a Wild at Heart Men’s Boot Camp, God took me to the mat and exposed some deep soul wounds that needed healing. Over the next few years, through the wisdom of a godly counselor, major healing occurred. My manhood was experiencing a new level of strength and confidence rooted in Christ.
One problem, though. God kept showing me some shrapnel that needed His surgical hands to remove so healing could happen.
My eyes fell on Psalm 139:23-24. Probably the most dangerous prayer a man can ask of God.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
God showed me what I need to be freed from: Fear of man. What will people think? Residual goo from those wounds kept me playing the mask game in certain circumstances. My mind was preoccupied with what people would think of me if I made some amoral lifestyle changes that might seem “out of character.” I could not get that question out of my mind.
3. Feelings and Emotions. Awkward, embarrassed, stupid, in the context of worrying what others think, while at the same time, feeling confident and at peace with my intended decision.
4. Body and Physical Sensations. When I dwelt on the fear of man, I felt out of place, in the way, rejected, losing sleep. My shoulders tensed up, and I found myself overly sensitive to things people said to me. When I would focus on who God says I am, all of that physical stress calmed down.
5. What recurring questions do I keep having? Why do I fear what man thinks of me? How is all this connected to my boyhood wounds? What is wrong with me? God, how are you removing the shrapnel? Does it have to hurt so much?
6. Longings and Desires. To be whole and complete in Christ. To be deeply intimate with Him. To know and be known. To love and be loved. To drop all masks and become a man increasingly after His heart. To come alongside others who wrestle with similar things. To mentor guys in such a way that they experience godly masculinity and the presence of God.
Clarity. I would never claim that this is a foolproof six-step formula for understanding what God is doing in your life. It is, however, a step in that direction. For me, the clarity lies in the ongoing surrender of my fear of man to the secure, loving hands of Jesus. Shedding those pockets of insecurities and inviting Jesus to do a deeper, more sure work in me than I ever could by trying to control my image. It’s not my image I want to portray. It’s Christ’s image in me I want you to see.
Final thought. At the time of this writing, I have not gone through with my wife’s request. However, there are three compelling considerations:
1. I’m coming up on my 10th anniversary of my quadruple heart bypass surgery. One result is that one major graft is abnormally small: only 2 millimeters in diameter. God is sustaining my life by a thread. He is so gracious. A small-diameter piercing could be a visual reminder.
2. 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 talks about your spouse having authority over your body. In other words, you shouldn’t do anything with your body that your wife is not okay with. In this case, she is.
3. The fear of man is the Enemy’s way to hog-tie my potential in Christ. Instead of gaining my value from them, I gain it from Christ and can then love them even if they disagree with my choices.
So, what is God doing in your life?
Warrior On!
MW Editor’s Note: If you need help processing the six questions above, feel free to reach out to our Help Line. Mentoring Warriors is not a counseling service, but we can be a sounding board.
