“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:21, NASB
Lord, is that Your voice?
Sometimes something happens at exactly the right moment. A thought will not leave us alone. A door opens unexpectedly. Or a coincidence feels just specific enough to make us stop.
Recently, for me, it was two foxes.
I had been praying for discernment and questioning what I needed in order to keep moving forward in my mission.
Then I saw two foxes together on a trail.
I looked up possible meanings and found ideas about partnership and intuition. Partnership was already on my heart, so naturally that caught my attention.
But those meanings were not Scripture.
And I still cannot tell you with certainty that those foxes meant anything at all.
My mom said something that stayed with me:
“Not every coincidence is a sign. What matters is what you do with the things that get your attention.”
— Elizabeth "Kay" Mabry
I think she is right.
A coincidence may make us stop. It may surface a question we had not been asking. It may even change what we begin praying about.
But the coincidence itself does not get to make the decision.
So I decided to bring it back to God.
Back to His Word. Back to prayer. Back to the wisdom He gives and the help of the Holy Spirit. Back to a willingness to let truth correct whatever meaning I may have assigned too quickly.
That is where testing becomes practical.
I may not be able to prove whether God caused the moment, but I can examine the meaning I am giving it and determine whether my interpretation agrees with what God has already revealed in Scripture.
What is leading me? Wisdom? Fear? Excitement? Desire? Even resistance?
Am I giving one moment more authority than it deserves?
And sometimes discernment means letting someone else see what I may be too close to see.
I am learning that in marriage too.
My husband, Scott, does not decide God’s will for me, but he knows me deeply. He sees patterns I may miss. He can recognize when I am grounded and when I may be getting carried away by an idea.
Sometimes the guidance I need is not another sign.
Sometimes it is wise counsel from someone God has already placed beside me.
So what do I believe about the foxes now?
Maybe they were a sign. Maybe they were simply two foxes.
But they gave me a better question to bring to God:
Is it time to start paying attention to the people You may be bringing alongside me?
So now, when I meet people through Bible studies and other places, I share what I am building. If a partnership develops naturally, I am open to it. When I waver on a thought, I ask my husband for his insight.
Not because two foxes told me who to choose.
Because that moment sent me back to God, and prayer changed what I was paying attention to.
A sign may get your attention. Abiding helps you discern what to do with it.
And for the person still asking, But how do I know what to do?
God has not asked us to follow Him and then left us without guidance.
We have the Holy Spirit, our "Helper" (John 14:26), and His Word—"a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" (Psalm 119:105).
Psalm 119:45 says: “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.”
— Psalm 119:45, NIV
There is freedom in knowing you have genuinely sought God in His Word.
Discernment doesn’t reveal the whole path. But abiding brings us back to His Word, and His truth directs the next faithful step.
Not every coincidence that feels like a sign needs decoding. Bring it back to God, and let that be enough. Because that is where you will find His voice.
Abide in discernment.
A Thought to Dwell On
Am I asking a moment to give me certainty, or am I bringing it back to God and allowing Him to shape what I do with it?
Prayer
Lord, help me recognize Your leading without assigning Your voice to everything that gets my attention. Keep me close to You in prayer and in Your Word. Give me wisdom, humility, and patience. Help me receive wise counsel, trust the Holy Spirit’s help, and recognize the next faithful step when it becomes clear.
Amen.