How can you know when to trust your own instincts and when to wait for God’s guidance? When conflict, difficult decisions, or emotional situations arise, self-reliance can cause us to act or react before seeking God’s wisdom. Judges 1:1-4 offers a powerful picture of what it looks like to turn to God first, ask for His direction, and faithfully follow where He leads.

Following Christ doesn’t mean we will always know exactly what to do or receive an immediate answer. God often guides us through Scripture, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of other believers. As we consistently seek Him in everyday circumstances, we become more attentive to His direction when bigger challenges arise. Learning to follow Christ requires practice, humility, and trust, but we can rest in the assurance that we don’t have to figure out every step on our own.

Highlights

• Why self-reliance can lead us to act or react before seeking God’s guidance

• What Judges 1:1-4 teaches about turning to God for direction

• How prayer and Scripture help us develop greater spiritual discernment

• Why God’s guidance may come through Scripture, other believers, or the Holy Spirit

• How practicing dependence on God in everyday situations prepares us for bigger challenges

• What James 1:5 teaches about asking God for wisdom without fear of criticism

• Encouragement to trust Christ’s leadership rather than trying to figure out every step on your own

Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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Full Transcript Below:

Letting God Rake Away What Is Covering Your Heart

By: Lia Girard

Bible Reading:

I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

– Psalm 139:11-12, NLT

I love the way fallen leaves in autumn cover landscapes across many parts of the world. It feels like a song of sweet surrender, as vivid colors float everywhere, then fade into nutrients for the soil. Carpets of fall foliage on lawns, parks, or fields always look so purposeful and romantic to me.

But when we live in modern, manicured places, we often rake these leaves into piles, either composting them for reuse or disposing of them. It’s a common seasonal sight, though I’m still not sure if it’s better to rake or not rake the leaves that grace our lives. It’s always interesting to me that we don’t need to rake wild forests. They remain entirely in God’s hands. 

However, when it comes to my heart and yours, let’s consider that God may do some spiritual raking. Because sometimes we want to hide ourselves, our feelings, our habits, our lack of faith, from God. That’s why Psalm 139 lays out clearly that God sees everything, anyway. 

In fact, Psalm 139:11-12 proclaims that “even in darkness I cannot hide from you.” This entire psalm rejoices that you can turn to God and ask him to search you, bring you into His light, and lead you on the path of everlasting life.

The freedom you gain when you let God “uncover” you is also celebrated in 2 Corinthians 3:16, when Paul says, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Paul is referring to how Moses would cover his face with a veil because the glory of God he reflected was too much for his followers to receive. So, in his New Testament letter, Paul teaches that you and I have been reconciled to God through Jesus. You can let God lift the veil, rake away what you’re hiding under, and fully receive the Holy Spirit within you. There’s no need to bury yourself in secrecy.

Not only will God rake away what’s covering hearts, but he will also dig deeper to pull up stones and plant new life. When Ezekiel 36:26 tells us, “and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a new heart of flesh,” it refers to God’s miraculous power to completely transform a hardened heart that has become cold, inflexible, or impenetrable. 

This hardening could be the result of self-protection over many years of pain. Or, it could be a heart turned away from reconciliation by unforgiveness. Or, it could be a refusal to share fears and feelings with God. Ezekiel 36:26 is God’s reminder to you and me—that he sees our struggles anyway. 

So, even if you don’t see a way to cultivate peace in your own heart, or feel courageous enough to be exposed, God’s promise here is that he can do the work for you, if you let him. You and I can bring our hurting, hiding, hardened hearts to God, and welcome his healing. He will rake away what’s weighing you down, warming and softening your heart. 

So the next time you’re working in the yard, or marveling at leaves, remember: John 15 says God is your gardener. Let him rake, prune, and shape you ... so that you will bear much fruit for His glory.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

As you consider the beauty of changing seasons, or the work of raking away anything that’s covering something underneath, reflect on these thoughts: 

• What can you ask God to reveal to you about anything that may be weighing you down?
• Can you recall a time God pruned you and you were better off for it?
• If your heart is hurting, how might you pray for God to heal it?

Further Reading:

Hebrews 4:12-13

Psalm 33:13-14

1 John 3:20