“Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of oppression, yet your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will [constantly] see your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21 AMP

Something I’ve learned over the years is just how much of the guidance I receive is through little nudges in the back of my mind. The seemingly random, out of nowhere thought that tells me to reach out to somebody and see how they’re doing. The instinctual urge to pull someone into a fierce hug and tell them they’re loved and appreciated. Even something as simple as a nudge to get up and empty the dishwasher right in that moment, which later on turns out to be a meaningful and much needed blessing to my husband, who works very hard to keep our household in order (especially while I’ve been working very long hours, and haven’t been as helpful as I’d like to be in that area).

We often spend too much time focused on the bigger, noisier, and often pushier issues in our lives (the job that keeps us too busy, the schedules of our children’s extra-curricular activities, our own over-obligated schedules that seem to always limit our availability). We stay so wrapped up in the need to “keep up” with everything going on around us, we let those little nudges fall into the background noise of life. We lose sight of how important it is to hear and act on those little bits and pieces of guidance. Think about the last time you were having a rough day, and out of nowhere, somebody did something that gave you enough of a lift to smooth the rough edges. Maybe they gave you a hug or sent you a text that made you laugh. Whatever it was, it was the thing that made the difference in whether you were walking toward or away from your own abyss that day.

Something you’ll find in this world is that there are a lot of people who will talk a good game in regards to being there when you need them. They’ll offer up promises that nothing you say or do will ever change their commitment to you and your friendship. I have no doubt that they offer these words with true sincerity, just as I’m sure you have offered them to others in your lifetime. The hard truth is that people are human, and humans aren’t perfect. There will be times when you do something that cause someone else to feel hurt, and that person won’t know how to get past it, and thus won’t know how to keep the promises they made to you.

When that happens, it is going to hurt. A lot. But, there is one thing you absolutely MUST remember: God is not the same. His promises are not tenuous and they will never be broken. He will be, has been, and IS there for you in every minute of every day. Your faith must be in Him and in His love, and you cannot let the broken promises and hurts you’ve experienced at the hands of other people cast shadows on that faith.

Lysa TerKeurst makes a wonderful point in her book, “It’s Not Supposed to be This Way.” Basically, she is talking about the disappointments we face in this life and how overwhelming they can be. She goes on to say that, after the fall in the Garden of Eden, our hearts were allowed to continue to expect perfection in this life, because we needed to have a reason to hope. We experience disappointments in the people we love here on earth, because we need to learn how to keep our faith on our one true love, which is our Father in Heaven. If we’re allowed to keep the love of other people elevated in importance above His, then our priorities are going to be all screwed up. Hope keeps us moving forward and disappointments keep us in check.

Again, I go back to forgiveness…yes, people are going to let us down. But that doesn’t mean we give up on them. God wants ALL of His children to come home, so anything we can do to serve that purpose, we need to do. We can’t just love people when they love us back. As much as it hurts when someone makes a promise to be there for us, then breaks that promise, we need to be sure we do what we can to keep those same promises once we’ve made them, regardless of the circumstances. From there, we need to leave the rest to the Lord. From there, it is up to us to listen for those little nudges, because they can make a difference for someone else beyond anything we can comprehend.

How much of your life gets lost in work and the general “busyness” of your life? How often are your mind and body moving so fast, you’re likely missing a lot of those  quiet promptings? When was the last time you stopped your race through life and reached out to someone because something in your heart said you should? When was the last time you asked God to help you pay attention and act on the still, small voice of the Spirit? Maybe it’s time you do…

“So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 AMP