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Personal spiritual nudges
The most important part of moving with the rhythm
Nudges are the things God tells you directly or moves you to do through his Holy Spirit. To be in SYNC with him means to listen for these personal assignments and to do them when you get them. That's how you play your role on his campaign team.
He custom plans these assignments just for you and puts your name on them. And he usually puts them straight into your mind and heart rather than giving them to someone else to relay to you. He knows the best way to get his assignments through to each team member.
He is also very good at matching people and assignments! Even better, whenever he gives you an assignment that you are not naturally good at, he also gives you an extra burst of whatever it takes to get that job done.
The assignments may be short-term, such as, "Go call that person you have been thinking about calling," or long-term, such as having a feeling that you are supposed to enter a certain kind of career. They may be gentle like a tug on the reins if you are paying attention; they may be more like a crack of the whip if you are not. They may make sense to you or they may not. They may look enjoyable or scary. None of that matters.
What counts is confidence that an assignment is from God for you. If you are sure it is, don't over-think it. Just do it.
FAQs on spiritual nudges
1. How do we get better at noticing God's nudges?
Try a "Just Do It" group with two or three friends. You read a few verses from the Bible together (in person or virtually), discuss them a bit, and then ask God to give you each a "Just Do It" nudge--something specific you can do in the next day or two to connect, heal, or bless someone. MORE
The tool kits for each season (see "Resources") will give you additional techniques for paying closer attention to God's nudges. For example, each tool kit includes a Daily Bible Reading List, since God often nudges us to some specific action and obedience as we read the Bible.
But the point of SYNC is not the techniques or the tools. It is the nudges of God himself. Think of him as the orchestra conductor. The music gets to a certain point and he suddenly looks straight at you and waves his baton. It's your moment! Don't miss his cue. Don't ask for an explanation. Just do it.
2. What might make me miss one of God's nudges?
Almost anything that preoccupies your emotions and fills up your life. Maybe a busy 24/7 schedule? Maybe a trauma you have been through or a sour relationship that has become all-consuming? Maybe a dream you are chasing, even a good one if you are chasing it for the wrong reasons?
3. What happens if I miss one of God's nudges?
You may find yourself slipping out of SYNC with him. The further out of SYNC you get, the more nudges you will miss, and the more danger you will be in. But God is no weakling who nudges you once or twice and hopes for the best. He will keep nudging you and sometimes even resort to drastic measures to get stubborn people's attention.
For example, before God implanted the Holy Spirit in all his followers, he used to speak through the Spirit to a few prophets, and they would speak to the whole nation. God sent many prophets to nudge (or push) the nation of Israel to be loyal to him, but the Israelites kept on worshiping other gods anyway.
Finally, about 600 years before Jesus was born, God let Babylon conquer and destroy Jerusalem, taking thousands of Jewish leaders away to Babylon as captives. That is the kind of drastic discipline you never have to worry about unless you deliberately ignore the nudges.
4. When I hear a voice in my head telling me to do something, how do I know whether it is God's voice, an evil voice, or just my own thought?
As a human being, you are born with a pretty good "voice analyzer" called a conscience. Over time, this can degrade, and it gets harder to tell good from evil. To restore the default settings your conscience was given at birth, focus on Jesus and being in SYNC with him.
For example, in Vision Season, ask this, "If I did what this unknown voice is telling me to do, would I be a better or a worse trailer for a movie about the coming world of peace?"
If that still doesn't solve it, hand it over to the Holy Spirit. He can reset things at a deeper level inside you than you can consciously reach, and you end up confident that you know what to do. You won't know how the confidence got there, but you will recognize it when it comes. This may sound crazy but it works great!
How to notice
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