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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. These are the thoughts that come into your mind when you are moving to his "rhythm." They are often gentle, like a rider's gentle tugs on the reins of a horse she has ridden for years. They can be gentle because the horse is paying attention and is eager to please the rider.
Many other tools in the Honor tool kit will give you various techniques for paying closer attention to God's nudges. For example, the Daily Bible Reading List may help since God often nudges us to some specific action and obedience as we read the Bible. Or the Just Do It Group method may help since nudges often come as we are listening to God with a few friends.
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 your cue.
FAQs on spiritual nudges
1. 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?
2. 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 don’t worry, 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 they 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 back to Babylon as captives. That is the kind of discipline you never have to worry about unless you deliberately ignore the nudges.
3. 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, during Honor Season, ask yourself, "If I did what this unknown voice is telling me to do, would I be a more honorable finisher or a less honorable one? Would that action show that I am so committed to Jesus's campaign that I will suffer for it, or would it look like I am shirking my campaign assignment?"
If questions like that still don't solve it, hand your confusion 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!
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