“You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left.’” (Isaiah 30:21, GW). This has always been one of my favorite verses. I’ve long desired to sense God’s Spirit leading me in the way that Isaiah describes. There have been seasons where I have clearly felt God’s direction, and other times when heaven has seemed silent.
When you can’t hear God’s new direction, be faithful to the last one.
John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Movement, once said, “Old marching orders are still good marching orders until there are new ones.” In other words, when you don’t sense God saying “go left” or “go right,” trust that God hasn’t changed the last direction that was given to you. The hope in this statement is that when it is time to do something else, and not just the boredom of life knocking, then you will know.
God’s silence doesn’t always mean stop—it often means stay.
But there are also some occasional seasons when God seems to say, “I’ve given you a mind, logic, and capacity—use them with this discernment.” I think learning to stay rooted in these quieter seasons of mystery and unclear discernment may be the most challenging part of our spiritual journey.
When the path is unclear, faithfulness becomes the way forward.
Rooted in the Wilderness
That’s where a Rule of Life comes in—a spiritual discipline that I’ve written about before. A rule of life isn’t a set of rules; it’s a rhythm, a way of rooting ourselves when God feels silent or the path unclear.
The writer of Proverbs reminds us, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but eventually it ends in death” (Proverbs 14:12, GW). When we don’t have a clear direction, we can effortlessly chase what seems right rather than what is faithful. The grass is always greener on the other side. The problem is, God isn’t always calling us in boring seasons to the other side.
When life feels dull, the grass may look greener—but God often calls us to stay and grow roots.
A Rule of Life helps us stay faithful when clarity fades. It keeps us anchored in the habits, postures, and values that remind us who we are and who God is. Part of a good Rule of Life for me is knowing what values you should embody in this quiet or wilderness season.
Values: Knowing What’s Been Entrusted to You
Scripture tells us that God entrusts each of us with something special: “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others” (1 Peter 4:10, GW). Paul adds that these gifts take different forms—varieties of grace, manifestations, and service: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.” (1 Corinthians 12:4, GW). Elsewhere, Paul writes that these things, which are evidence of God’s Spirit, are “given to each person for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, GW).
Indeed, “God’s favor has been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ, who gave it.” (Ephesians 4:7, GW). In other words, what God has entrusted to us in this season is meant to serve a purpose. There are opportunities, gifts, graces, and people God is asking us to steward and be faithful with in this season. For this reason, I believe that taking inventory and developing an awareness of our gifts and the opportunities God places before us helps us discern faithfulness in the wilderness moments. It helps us find the purpose he is calling us towards.
Faithfulness with what we already have is the first step toward what’s next.
When we don’t know what’s next, knowing what’s ours to do is often enough to give us purpose, direction, and a renewed sense of call. It is essential to understand what we have to offer and what God is asking us to be faithful with. If not, we may miss out on that too and end up in a very lonely space. Jesus put it this way: “Those who have something will be given more, and they will have more than enough. But those who have nothing will have everything taken away from them.” (Matthew 25:29, GW). Faithfulness with what we’ve already been given is the first step toward what’s next.
Values for When God Feels Silent
During my recent Spiritual Direction Day, I spent time discerning what I believe God is calling me to in this season. I asked the Lord for just one “word,” not a prophetic word, just a word. As I walked and journaled through Long’s Park, one surfaced: “intersections.” I texted it to myself, and then I wrote it centered on the page of my journal. Then, I sat down to meditate on scripture. I picked up in Acts 5, where I left off earlier. What I found was that the stories in the books of Acts are full of people living at the intersections of theology and real life—ordinary believers whose seemingly ordinary lives (“questionable lives”) raised holy questions. They embodied the goodness and good news of God wherever they were, in the midst of some really poignant moments in the gutters and side streets of their neighborhood life.
The intersections of life are where faith meets the questions—and grace meets the streets.
God felt silent on some aspects of my life, but suddenly, as I took inventory of who I was and what God was shaping in me, and in doing that, I found the opportunities for faithfulness and direction that lay before me. No, it didn’t improve my finances, it didn’t lead to increased income, and it didn’t resolve our health concerns. However, that one word, which evolved into nine values, reminded me of what I am meant to be doing in this season where the bigger leads of God seem quiet.
My Values for This Season
That word became the center of my journal, surrounded by what I sensed were the values God was inviting me to hold in this season. These values became my anchor to faithfulness when life feels uncertain. For this season, these are my nine values: the things I am focused on and what I value. They are the opportunities for faithfulness I have right here, right now. After writing down the ideas, I realized that half of them started with “L,” and so I worked with ChatGPT to complete the list with alliteration.
- Loving my family and others.
- Leaping into adventure with my kids.
- Living theology at the intersections of life.
- Looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary.
- Leading a quiet life.
- Listening to help others see Jesus and life differently.
- Learning to pray and live the Lord’s Prayer.
- Letting simplicity shape my soul and worship.
- Laughing out loud.
If you’d like to learn more about these values, I’d be happy to discuss them with you.
These values are my “old marching orders” that John Wimber spoke about. They are the graces and opportunities that God has extended to me in this season that Paul spoke of, those gifts that I need to be faithful with, even when I don’t hear God shouting or whispering in new ways. These values help me stay grounded when God’s voice feels quiet and my next step uncertain.
When God seems silent, anchor yourself in what God has already said to be faithful to. Write them down. Read them. Use them as a filter that keeps you from taking paths you shouldn’t. Utilize them as reminders of what you should focus your energy on. The older we get, the less energy we have—and the more we must invest it in the right places.
An Invitation to You
Maybe you’re in a season where God feels silent, or where discernment is foggy. What if, instead of waiting for a loud direction, you rooted yourself in quiet faithfulness?
Take time to ask:
- What word might God be giving you for this season?
- What values is God calling you to hold?
- What gifts has God entrusted to you right now?
- Start with one word. Journal it. Pray over it. Let it become a filter for your decisions and a rhythm for your days.
In time, you may find that voice behind you again—whispering, “This is the way. Follow it.”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In