We're in week two of our Wayfinding series on discerning God's will, and this week we're talking about something I've been thinking about a lot lately, partly because I spent three days hiking alone in the Santa Cruz Mountains before stepping into this new season of ministry. We're talking about terrain, and what the mountains and valleys of your life are actually trying to teach you.

Here's the first thing I want us to hold onto: we should expect both. Psalm 126 gives us this soaring, almost disbelieving joy: "When the Lord restored our fortunes, we were like those who dreamed." And Psalm 13 gives us the raw lament, "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?" Those two psalms sit just pages apart, and that's not an accident. That's the reality of life. Mountains and valleys, abundance and loss, seasons that surprise us with joy and seasons that bring us to our knees.

Download the free four-week Decisions study guide at https://www.NicoleUnice.com/decisions

The question for those of us in a season of discernment is: what is the terrain trying to clarify? And here's what I've found to be true: when we're wandering, when a decision hasn't come, when the direction still isn't clear, it often means God is still purifying our destination. He's showing us all the other things we're quietly serving alongside Him.

Because here's the thing about discernment that I really need us to understand. Discernment isn't about choosing between right and wrong. That's just obedience. Discernment is about choosing between good things, and knowing which good thing points you most directly toward your highest calling, which is serving God wholeheartedly. When serving God becomes the actual destination, everything else, your career, your relationships, your money, your time, becomes a means to that end. Not the end itself. And the moment any of those things becomes an end in itself, it becomes an idol.

I know that's rigorous. I know it's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable for me too. But this is where the terrain does its work, because it's only possible to hear from God clearly when we're willing to live in the reality of our actual condition. Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount with Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek. He's not describing a special category of people. He's describing all of us, and saying that the ones who experience my blessing are the ones willing to live in the truth of that.

So this week, the invitation is simple but not easy: listen. Listen to God through His Word, through wise counsel, through what He's already done in your life. And stay in the uncomfortable zone of waiting, knowing that God is good and His hands are full of abundance.

Reflection Questions

1. What season are you in right now, a mountain, a valley, or somewhere in between?
2. Are there any good things in your life that have quietly become conditions you've placed on following God?
3. What would it look like this week to listen to God more intentionally, through His Word, through counsel, through silence?

Want More?

• 📥 Download the free four-week Decisions study guide at https://www.NicoleUnice.com/decisions - includes weekly reflection prompts to keep discernment moving between episodes
• 📖 Scriptures from today: Psalm 126 · Psalm 13 · Matthew 5:3–5 (Sermon on the Mount) · Psalm 66:16–20 · Genesis 32 (Jacob wrestling for the blessing)
• 📸 Want to see photos from Nicole's three-day solo pilgrimage in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Find them on Instagram @NicoleUnice or on her Substack (https://nicoleunice1.substack.com/)