1. God is concrete. When God calls, it’s not theoretical or hypothetical; it is tangible. He is an incarnational God. We shouldn’t worry about the future because when we discern a calling, it’s a calling that has already happened, already stirred in our hearts. Our job is not to figure out the future, but to be attentive to what God has already done. We need to simply receive what He is already doing.
2. God is good and you can trust Him! He is not a trickster, and when He is moving, He is trustworthy. Do not get caught up thinking you must double-check everything with God. He is loving, and if God is calling you, He knows who He is calling!
3. God moves differently. We can have a lot of activities and experiences in our lives that give excitement, which is natural, but when the Lord moves, when it is a spiritual consolation, it is different. Do not aim for frivolity of things that we think can make us happy, but rather be attentive to places where the Lord is already moving. Pay attention to the spiritual movements of the heart!
4. Observe patterns in your life! Note aspects of your upbringing, moments in prayer, and moments that have felt affirmed by the Lord. Are there moments where the Lord has already called? Maybe, through a deeper movement or consolation that sits differently in your heart. When you plot these moments, do you see them moving in a trajectory? Not in a way that is predicting the future, but simply paying attention to how the Lord is already calling and moving.
Remember, God is incarnational! Discernment is not about figuring out the future; it is an attentiveness to what He is already given to you. Trust the ways He moves!