October 22, 2024 • 31 mins
Do you ever wonder how to hear from God amidst the noise of today’s busy world?
In today's new podcast with Kristi Gaultiere, we will discover powerful insights on how God speaks to each of us in unique ways, even when we think we’re not hearing Him.
Whether you're struggling to discern His voice from your own thoughts or seeking clarity through spiritual practices like fasting and Lectio Divina, this podcast will guide you on a journey of deepening your relationship with God. With real-life stories and expert guidance, we’ll help you find peace, purpose, and direction.
Don’t miss this chance to unlock the many ways God may already be speaking to you.
Learn more about Kristi Gaultiere and Soul Shepherding:
https://www.soulshepherding.org/
Suggested Resources:
- Believe Big podcast - Kristi Gaultiere, Caring for Our Souls and Our Emotional Health
- Believe Big podcast - Kristi Gaultiere, Emotional and Spiritual Growth
- Journey of the Soul, a Practical Guide to Emotional and Spiritual Growth by Bill and Kristi Gaultiere
- Soul Talks podcast with Bill and Kristi Gaultiere
- Hearing God by Dallas Willard
- Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith by Bill and Kristi Gaultiere
- Lectio Divina guide
- Believe Big - Nourishing the Soul journal
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ivelisse Page (00:06):
Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening
to the Believe Big podcast, theshow where we take a deep dive
into your healing with healthexperts, integrative
practitioners, biblical faithleaders, and cancer thrivers
from around the globe.
(00:35):
Welcome to today's episode onBelieve Big podcast.
My name is Ivelisse Page, and Iam so thankful to be with you
today.
It is my absolute pleasure towelcome back to the Believe Big
podcast, my friend and soulsister, Kristi Gaultiere.
Kristi joined us in season twowith a double episode about
(00:56):
caring for our souls andemotional and spiritual health.
For anyone who would miss thoseepisodes or would like to
revisit them, we will put linksto both of them in our show
notes of this episode.
A little bit about Kristi.
She is an expert in leadingpeople to understand and care
for the health of their souls.
She has co authored a bestselling book with her husband of
(01:19):
35 years called Journey of theSoul, A Practical Guide to
Emotional and Spiritual Growth.
Kristi is a doctor of psychologyand has dedicated her life to
serving Jesus.
She has three grown children andis a grandmother of two.
Kristi enjoys speaking,training, teaching, consulting,
(01:39):
counseling, and retreat leadingwith Bill, as well as recording
their weekly Soul Talks podcast.
Welcome back to the show,Kristi.
Kristi Gaultiere (01:48):
Thank you, Ivelisse.
I'm so happy to be back with youand the Believe Big Community.
Ivelisse Page (01:54):
Well, we are so grateful for your time.
And when you first joined us, weasked you about what your
favorite health tip was, and yousaid prayer.
Yes.
So prayer is such a powerfulhealth tip.
And I'm wondering if you mighthave another one that you'd like
to share with our listeners.
Kristi Gaultiere (02:10):
Oh, I do.
Thank you.
Prayer definitely is number onefor me, but I would also say
secondary to it is having arhythm where I have regular
times to get away, to rest andto have times of solitude where
I withdraw from everything thatcompetes for my attention and
(02:31):
everything that stresses me andjust time to get alone with the
Lord and be nurtured in myrelationship with God.
And doing that in a context thatalso is within a safe community
so that I can pair that rhythmof solitude and silence and
withdraw then with engaging withhealthy community to process out
(02:52):
of that time as well and getsupport because we need both for
our growth, so very much.
And so as you know, Ivelisse, wepractice that regularly in our
retreats at Soul Shepherding andbeen so blessed to have you
attend two of those recentlythis year, and just to enjoy
that rhythm that I find sohelpful for my health because
(03:14):
it's a part of my healthemotionally and spiritually, and
relationally.
And that has a big effect onphysical as well, but I love all
that you talk about here onBelieve Big because I know our
physical health and what we eat,not being exposed to toxins, all
those, you know, getting enoughvitamins, water, the light, all
(03:35):
those different things that youtalk about here are also
important because our soulinvolves our body as well as our
relationships, as well as ourthoughts, our feelings, and our
spirit, our heart.
Ivelisse Page (03:50):
Yeah, I'm so glad you shared that because, you
know, recently my girlfriendsand I went away for a retreat
and they asked me, What has beenone of your favorite things that
you've learned from SoulShepherding?
And I told them it was creatingthose rhythms of life and I can
share a link to those in thepodcast and who would like to
(04:11):
learn more about that, but itreally has transformed my life,
creating those rhythms that youtalk about of rest and retreat
and restoring, whether it'sdaily, weekly, uh, quarterly,
yearly, you know, whateverrhythm that you set for each of
those areas of your life hasjust been really powerful.
So I'm glad you, you broughtthat up today.
(04:31):
So today though, I, you know, inour last retreat, Healthy
Leadership, you and Bill talkedabout a session on How To Hear
From God and that was just sucha powerful session because I
feel, especially withincommunities that certain people
say, well, I don't hear from Godor I don't hear from him like I,
(04:52):
like you do.
And it can really bediscouraging to people when they
actually are hearing from Godand they just need to really be
focused enough to, to understandall the many ways that he speaks
to everyone in different ways.
So what does it actually mean tohear from God in today's busy,
distracted world?
Kristi Gaultiere (05:13):
Well, there is a lot of mystery around that.
And my story is one of askingthat very same question, because
I was raised in a conservativechurch where I was taught that
to hear God meant you read hisword.
and you obey it.
And that, that is key in hearingGod.
But then I went away to auniversity that was a
charismatic school where I hearda lot of people talking about
(05:36):
hearing God, um, very casuallyall the time.
And they weren't talking aboutwhat they were hearing from God
in scripture.
And so I became very curiousabout this and a little bit
alarmed with how casually theywere talking about hearing God.
And even some of the things theywould say they heard from God
that didn't seem like wisdom ordidn't seem consistent with
God's scripture.
And so it made me a little bitcautious about that too.
(05:59):
But then there was also thispart of me that felt maybe some
shame, like, well, I'm nothearing from God in the way they
are.
They're so confident thatthey've heard God and I'm not
hearing God.
And why am I not?
And I began to really wrestlewith this subject of what does
it mean to hear God's voice?
And can we hear God's voicedifferently than just through
(06:20):
scripture and through his word.
And as I began to look atscripture and read scripture, I
began to see that, well,actually scripture tells us a
lot.
The Bible mentions a lot aboutpeople, ordinary people hearing
from God.
And Jesus himself tells us inJohn 10, my sheep know my voice.
(06:41):
They hear my voice.
They discern my voice and they,they won't follow the voice of
the enemy and they will followmy voice because they know it.
And I know them.
And it began to recognize thatthis, this hearing God comes out
of this relationship with God,relationship of trust and of
(07:01):
developing intimacy.
And so as I began to think moreabout that, and even as a parent
thinking about, I really want mychildren to hear me.
And I want to hear from them.
I want that two wayconversational, interactional
relationship where they feelsafe and free to share their
heart and confident they'll beheard.
(07:23):
And I want them to be confidentthat I hear them, that I want to
hear them, that I make it apriority to hear them.
And I think it's the same for uswith God.
We're made in his image and hecalls us his children.
And so I think to have thatconfidence and get that vision
has been so important and sohelpful to me in that and to
(07:44):
look at the different ways thatGod has spoken to people in
scripture and in, in life.
I've been so blessed to bementored by Dallas and Jane
Willard, and they've taught me alot about hearing God as well.
In fact, Dallas wrote a book onhearing God that is a great,
great book that I recommend.
And Bill and I have written abook out of our learnings as
(08:06):
well, incorporating what welearned from Dallas, but also
many other saints that have gonebefore us and then our own life
of walking with God in the 50years that we have been blessed
to do that.
So in our book, Journey of theSoul, we have a whole chapter.
where we talk about hearing Godand even learning in different
things, like from animals.
I, I have a cat that I reallyhave enjoyed named Charlie and
(08:30):
he and I had a very closerelationship.
And I learned a lot abouthearing God, even from Charlie
and the way that he was soattuned to me.
Wherever I was, I would think hewas sound asleep in a room, and
I would quietly leave the room,and next thing I know, he popped
up, he was awake, he knew I'dleft, he'd gone where I was, he
always wanted to be where I was,he could hear if I was awake in
(08:52):
the morning just by the changeof my breathing, and he knew,
even though the door was closed.
When I was awake and it was okayfor him to make noise and when I
was asleep and it wasn't, he wasthat tuned into me and I could
call his name and he would comein an instant and I often
thought, I want to be that tunedin to God, that responsive to
hear God as Charlie does to hearme.
(09:15):
And then there was a elephant, avery famous elephant trainer.
And his name was Charlie Frank,and he had an elephant named
Nita that he had a really closerelationship with, and he
trained Nita to perform allkinds of tricks.
Well, he retired from thecircus, and he donated Nita to
the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
(09:36):
And he had missed Nita and wasgrieving the loss, but hadn't
had a chance to go visit her.
And 15 years later, after she'dbeen at the park, he had the
opportunity to come visit her.
And as he got to the park, hebegan to be talking about how he
missed her.
And he was a hundred yards away,and Nita heard Charlie's voice
(09:57):
and came up to the edge, cameout and came up to the edge of
where she lived.
And Charlie was just so excitedthat she was there and started
to perform some of his, hiscalls to her and she started
immediately 15 years later oncommand with every trick he'd
ever trained her to do.
She had internalized his voiceand that's what God wants us to
(10:19):
do too.
So I think it's really importantthat we realize that for each of
us, we can develop, an ongoingconversational relationship with
God where we can be confident Hehears us and when we really can
hear Him.
Ivelisse Page (10:34):
Yes, and one question that I get or I hear a
lot from people is okay How do Idistinguish between God's voice
and our own inner thoughts oremotions?
Kristi Gaultiere (10:43):
Yeah, that is so important because everything
that we hear within our ourminds or our a lot of it is
going to be our own internalizedparent tapes of things we've
heard from the past fromauthority figures.
Oftentimes even we will heartemptations or the enemy who
(11:05):
comes, Scripture says, is anangel of light or that wolf in
sheep's clothing trying todeceive.
So that discernment question isreally, really important.
How do I know where this iscoming from?
Is this thought from the Lord?
And that's really importantbecause one of the ways we do
hear God is often through our,our thoughts.
It's not, it's not usually anaudible voice.
(11:27):
It's not usually through aspeaker.
Um, meaning like a, a, an audiospeaker.
It can be through a person, Goddoes speak to us through other
people, and usually it willresonate in our spirit as having
an authority beyond the personwho spoke it.
And usually God is very patientfor us to hear Him.
(11:48):
Oftentimes, He'll say the samething to us many different ways
and different contexts before weactually will wake up and
recognize, oh Lord, you'rereally speaking to me about
this.
So I think there are some reallyimportant things that we can use
to discern God's voice and oneof those is it is it his voice
comes with that sense ofauthority in itself.
(12:09):
It doesn't really need to beloud or hysterical and It is
something that often comes witha unique and specific meaning
for us personally.
Oftentimes it will be a wordthat will actually really bring
clarity in a situation whereyou've been seeking the Lord and
asking for that.
(12:30):
Or it might be something thatreally imprints into our memory
and we don't forget it.
It, it feels, um, louder, notnecessarily in volume, but in
the, the impact that it has, thepersonal meaning that it has to
us.
One of the things it also coulddo if we have heard from the
Lord is often it will produce inus a greater spark of faith and
(12:53):
trust in Jesus and in ourrelationship with him and our
life with him and our ability tofollow him.
We have a whole list of thingsthat we write about in Journey
of the Soul in chapter eightthat are signs.
We call signs of genuine wordsor touches from the Spirit of
God.
And once you've experiencedthese, you'll begin to identify
(13:13):
these even more because likeanything else, learning to
discern God's voice is a skillwe can grow in.
And
Ivelisse Page (13:20):
Can you share a few of those from Journey of the
Soul?
Just even one or two?
Kristi Gaultiere (13:24):
Sure.
Yeah.
I would love to.
Well, one sign of genuine wordfrom the Lord or hearing his
voice is it will be alwaysconsistent with the Bible,
consistent with scripture.
It won't in any way be goingagainst God's word to us in
scripture.
And then it'll also usuallybring with it a sweet
reasonableness, and evenproducing us a calm peace, the
(13:47):
fruit of it.
It's usually gentle, like thespirit of Jesus, whereas the
enemy's voice to us is usuallyone that's shame producing, or
an accusation, or stresses us,pressures us, hurries us, very
different than the calm peacethat the voice of the Lord
brings.
One of my favorites is, itsurprises us.
(14:10):
Oftentimes I found somethingthat God is speaking to me comes
as a surprise and I'll oftenthink, Oh, I wouldn't have
thought of that.
Or, Oh yes, that's perfect forme.
And only you would know thatLord.
And, um, I'm surprised that Ineeded to be reminded of that
right now, but usually it hassome, some sense of surprise to
(14:30):
it.
It can also really, um, inspireour worship of God.
And oftentimes it's humbling.
It'll humble us.
It'll remind us of ourdependency upon God.
It'll remind us of how well heknows us, but that's very
different than feeling shamed.
The humility puts us in a rightstanding with God and a greater
(14:54):
trust and openness to where he'sleading us and what he's saying.
Um, it doesn't shame us or putus down or scold us or humiliate
us.
There's a big difference betweenhumble and humiliation, And it
also, it will turn you away fromworldly things.
Ivelisse Page (15:13):
Okay.
I like that.
And I, I think one of the waysthat you, you all have taught me
a different way of hearing fromthe Lord is through Lectio
Divina.
You know, sometimes we're soused to doing certain things
when we experience the Lord in adifferent way, we hear from him
in a different way, whether it'simaginative prayer or even
(15:34):
fasting.
I think that was a new one formy daughter.
She had a big decision ahead andI encouraged her and shared with
her about fasting and, and howit can help you have more
clarity when you are removingfood for that day.
It really helps you to focus andhear him better.
What would you say in regards tofasting?
Because I feel like that is onethat most people in our.
(15:57):
integrative world think aboutfasting as far as like for, for
health, right?
Or prior to treatment, that itreally helps to get our body
clean and, and people do waterfasts, all kinds of things in
the cancer world.
But Spiritually speaking, canyou just share a little bit
about fasting for those who havenever heard about it in the
(16:19):
spiritual sense?
Kristi Gaultiere (16:20):
Yes, definitely.
One of the things that we writeabout and teach in our retreats
is different spiritualdisciplines or practices or even
experiments we call them.
Things that you might think,well, what will God do if I do
this?
And fasting is one of thosespiritual disciplines or
practices or experiments.
And, one of the things that canbe helpful about fasting as a
(16:43):
spiritual discipline or practiceis that we're recognizing that
this is a discipline ofabstinence.
Well, I'm going to be abstainingfrom doing something that I
normally do, eating, and I'mgoing to be doing that in order
to make space for some differentdisciplines of or practices of
engagement.
(17:04):
So maybe I'm fasting from foodto help me engage more of my
time and my energy that I wouldbe putting into eating into
prayer, into that conversationwith the Lord.
And also I might also be doingthat to remind myself how hungry
I am for God.
(17:24):
As I feel those hunger painscome up for food that actually
can serve as a prompt to remindme, I am actually more
desperate.
in my relationship with God forall that I need for life and
godliness, then I am on food.
And to practice what Jesus evenpracticed in, we read about in
the Gospels, uh, he had food toeat that was not physical food,
(17:49):
that there's actually spiritualnourishment that we need, that
God can give us.
And we can begin to learn thatmore through venturing on him
and some of these spiritualdisciplines like fasting.
Ivelisse Page (18:02):
Yeah So, how do you encourage those who feel
like they're in a spiritual dryseason even not even those who
have been hearing from Godclearly and they haven't been
recently or they struggle tohear from him?
Kristi Gaultiere (18:14):
Oh, such an important question, Ivelisse.
Thank you for asking that andfor being sensitive to that,
because that is something thatwe do all experience.
Something we write about inJourney of the Soul is that
that's common to our journey,that we would have times where
we feel a great consolation, agreat nearness of the Lord, a
great intimacy with the Lord.
(18:34):
We're feeling really vibrant andstrong in our faith.
And then we have these othertimes where it feels dry, feels
empty, feels like we're goingthrough the motions.
Uh, it, it feels like, even,even it could feel lonely or we
can be prone to temptation wherethe enemy comes and tries to
make us sow seeds of doubt andtries to blame us and make us
(18:56):
think that, you know, it's ourfault or we're failing God.
So these are normal parts of ourjourney, but we also talk about
and write about our differentstages of faith, that those
times of feeling consolation anddesolation, they are different
at different seasons of ourjourney in our spiritual and
(19:17):
emotional development in Christ.
So especially after we have beenin a season of maybe heavy
responsibilities in ministry, wemight especially be prone to
feeling a little bit more ofsome of that desolation, some of
that dryness, some of burnedout, even struggling with doubt
(19:38):
or especially for our listenerswho are struggling with a
personal crisis like cancer or aloved one who is struggling and
suffering in cancer.
These are big desolations andthese have a big effect on every
area of our soul, including ourspiritual lives.
And oftentimes they can provokethese deep questions of doubt
(19:59):
and wrestling and feeling maybeeven abandoned by God.
So, just want to normalize that,that that is not anything to be
alarmed by.
We write about this a lot inJourney of the Soul because we
have had so many people havecome in to see us as counselors,
spiritual directors who havejust been riddled with such
(20:19):
shame or just, totally takenover with a lot of anger at God,
a lot of questions, because itis such a dry season.
It's a time when they maybe feellike I've, I'm more desperate
than ever for God and for theconsolation than hearing his
voice.
And yet I can't, what am I doingwrong?
And oftentimes it's not thatyou're not doing anything wrong,
(20:40):
but you're in this season and itoften is a season, no fault of
your own.
It's normal for the part of ourjourney.
And actually, even though itfeels so bad, it actually is a
grace because it's it actuallyis a part where we have the
opportunity to be strengthenedin our faith as we endure
(21:02):
through that season.
Ivelisse Page (21:04):
Yes.
And, we have a lot ofindividuals, another aspect of
cancer, which I feel is evenmore difficult than the physical
side is dealing with the anxietyor emotions that go through that
process or fear.
How can one quiet their mind tohear from God in the midst of
(21:25):
such turmoil or circumstances?
Kristi Gaultiere (21:28):
Yeah, well, I think there's, there's
different, answers based ondifferent personalities too.
And that question is going to bedifferent based on the stage of
faith that you're in, which iswhat we write about in Journey
of the Soul.
And it's going to be differentbased on your personality, which
we write out about in our newerbook, Healthy Feelings, Thriving
(21:49):
Faith.
Because discipleship to Jesusisn't one size fits all.
It's going to be different basedon the stage of faith that we're
in.
And it's going to be differentbased on our personality, but
something that is going to becontiguous, no matter what your
personality or what your stageof faith is, that we don't
journey alone.
We need to have people whounderstand these things and
(22:12):
companion with us on ourjourney.
So one really key thing that'sconsistent that we write about
in both of these books is havinga safe place to be able to be
emotionally honest with what youare experiencing and be listened
to by somebody who is anambassador of Christ to you, who
can listen to you with empathy,with understanding, who's
(22:35):
experienced this kind ofdesolation, who's been through a
crisis, a wall, a dark night ofthe soul, a season where it's
felt dry.
They haven't heard God's voiceand somebody who has learned to
be able to endure and gone intothe next season that comes after
the season that we call thewall.
(22:55):
And that's inner journey.
And can lead you to start to dosome of the inner journey
disciplines and some of the workof inner journey that brings
healing and restoration and adeeper longing for God and a
deeper renewal in ourrelationship with God as we get
through this season.
So a lot of this season is anendurance season.
(23:17):
It's a continuing to trust andto believe big in our big God,
even when we're not experiencingsome of the consolations, some
of the things that fed our faithbefore.
And sometimes we need to be in acommunity of people who are
experiencing those things againafter a season like we've been
(23:39):
and we can hold on to their bigfaith because our faith may be a
small at the time.
But the good news is Jesus saysit only takes a mustard seed of
faith.
That's really all we need.
And so you just take thatmustard seed that you have.
but also you borrow the faith ofsomebody who's in a really
fruitful season and remindyourself God is doing a deep
(24:00):
work in you in this season Andthis isn't the end of your
journey.
He has so much more for you.
Ivelisse Page (24:07):
Yes, and we've heard it before, you know, our
tests become our testimonies.
Kristi Gaultiere (24:11):
That's right.
Ivelisse Page (24:12):
And I loved how you said that we can also reach
out to people who've been thereand are on the other side of it
for support.
And that's kind of what we hopeto be for those on the cancer
journey is we understand allthose feelings all the
circumstances, the overwhelm.
And we hope to be able to holdonto someone's hand and say,
okay, we've been there.
We understand.
And and let's just take it onestep at a time.
(24:35):
And so I appreciate that you alldo that on the emotional side of
health and spiritual side ofhealth for individuals.
And so I love, that you are botha psychotherapist and also a
spiritual director.
And so, how do you use these tworoles to intersect when it comes
to hearing from God personally?
Kristi Gaultiere (24:54):
Yes.
Well, um, I actually am nolonger practicing as a
psychotherapist.
I've transitioned only tospiritual direction and that's
really been just a great fit, agreat transition for me.
I still, of course, use all ofthe knowledge and experience
from my years working as apsychotherapist and I still have
(25:14):
maintained my license topractice, but I find that
working as a spiritual directorgives me so much more freedom to
be able to engage, uh, the wholeperson in the journey.
And certainly the emotional andmental health is key.
And that's what I focused onmost in my private practice, but
it, it's not enough.
(25:35):
We need to be able to addressevery aspect of our soul.
And so our spiritual life is keyin that.
Psychotherapy can be a help inthat because what's key in both,
spiritual direction orpsychotherapy is that safe
place, that confidentialrelationship and having that
with somebody trusted, somebodywho has an understanding of the
(25:56):
journey and has empathy for usand who can listen to us with
that empathy can pray for usbecause we all need others
interceding for us and prayingfor us and we need people who
can see the parts that we can'tyet see because our vision is
blocked by the big experiencewe're in right now, or the big
(26:17):
emotion that we're feeling rightnow, or by what our bodies are
suffering in the treatment thatwe're undergoing right now, or
in the grief of the season thatwe're in right now.
So we need somebody else thatcan hold on to hope and faith
for us while still being presentwith us in our pain and
mediating God's presence to us.
(26:39):
And so spiritual direction doesthat very, very well.
Certainly psychotherapy can do apiece of that.
Um, and especially with a, apsychotherapist who loves the
Lord and really is called inthat understanding and educated
on the spiritual part of thejourney as well.
Ivelisse Page (26:57):
Yes.
Yes How can we tell, I get thisquestion a lot and it's how can
we tell if God is asking us towait, to act, or let go of
something?
Kristi Gaultiere (27:10):
Oh, that's such an important question, too.
One of the things we write aboutin Journey of the Soul in our
chapter on hearing God is whatwe like to call a GPS system for
hearing God's voice.
And there's kind of threedifferent parts of that.
The G is God's Word, engagingwith God's Word, and listening.
(27:30):
Ivelisse, you talked about thepractice of Lectio Divina, which
we do together on all of ourretreats, and we have a Lectio
Divina guide atsoulshepherding.org also with 70
Lectio Divina sheets that youcan do on your own, but this is
a great way to listen to God inhis word.
So that's one way is to listento his word, to ask him to speak
(27:51):
to you through his word, adiscernment, an action point for
what he would have you be doingin a specific decision or
discernment point you're facing.
And then another part, that's,that's the G, God's word,
reading his word, engaging thescripture and listening to him
in that.
The other one is his providence,the P in GPS.
(28:13):
God's providence.
What, what is the action as welook to our Sovereign Lord?
How is He leading us uniquely?
What's happening around us?
Who are the people He's put inour lives?
What are our circumstances?
Where are we feeling Him showup?
Where are we feeling a nearnessto Him, a consolation to Him?
(28:35):
Do we feel peace as we thinkabout proceeding in this
direction that we'reconsidering, or do we feel a
check in our spirit?
Like, no, I don't think thatreally, I don't, I'm not sure
that is the Lord.
I think that might be me tryingto fix it or somebody else
trying to fix me.
Um, but really looking at basedon what the circumstances of my
(28:58):
life are, what doors areopening, what doors are closing,
and even asking the Lord to makethat more obvious, to open and
to close doors specifically asonly He can, and looking at
that.
And then I think that the nextpart is that S in the GPS,
spirit impressions.
What is it in my spirit that Iam sensing from the Lord?
(29:20):
Am I sensing of peace aboutproceeding with this decision?
Or do I have a check in myspirit?
Is it producing anxiety in me?
Is it producing in me a sense ofhurry?
Because God's usually not in ahurry.
Or, you know, what is the fruitin my life and in my, my spirit?
(29:41):
And we really want to be payingattention and tuning to that as
well.
What effect is this having on mybody?
What effect is this having on myemotions?
And what kind of thoughts am Ihaving when I consider this?
And we want to bring all threeof those GPS points into
consideration in a point ofdiscernment and prayer.
Ivelisse Page (30:00):
Well, that is so beautifully said and so easy to
remember.
And, the thing I think aboutwhen I think about a GPS is we
used to have those in our, inour cars and, or, on our phones
and they'll say recalculating ifyou take a wrong turn.
Kristi Gaultiere (30:16):
That's right.
Ivelisse Page (30:17):
And so by using that GPS I really like that
because even if we quote unquotetake a wrong turn, God can
quickly correct us back if we'reusing that G, that P, and that S
that you talked about.
Thank you so much for bringingsuch light and insight into this
really important topic abouthearing from God and really
(30:38):
appreciate you.
And thank you so much forsharing your heart today with
us.
Kristi Gaultiere (30:42):
Oh, you're so welcome, Ivelisse.
Thank you for all that you'redoing, and Believe Big giving me
an opportunity to be a part ofit.
Rebecca Arcarese (30:51):
Hi, I'm Rebecca Arcarese, Development
Director for Believe Big.
As 2024 comes to a close, yourgenerosity can make a life
changing difference for a cancerpatient.
At Believe Big, we empowerpatients and their families with
significant resources and muchneeded hope.
Your donation today will help usprovide essential care,
education, and a community ofstrength for those in need.
(31:14):
Together, we can help morepeople face, fight, and overcome
cancer.
Visit www.believebig.org andmake your gift today.
Thank you.
Ivelisse Page (31:31):
If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to
help support our podcast, pleasesubscribe and share it with
others.
Be sure to visit believebig.orgto access the show notes and
discover our bonus content.
Thanks again and keep BelievingBig!
Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening
to the Believe Big podcast, theshow where we take a deep dive
into your healing with healthexperts, integrative
practitioners, biblical faithleaders, and cancer thrivers
from around the globe.
(00:35):
Welcome to today's episode onBelieve Big podcast.
My name is Ivelisse Page, and Iam so thankful to be with you
today.
It is my absolute pleasure towelcome back to the Believe Big
podcast, my friend and soulsister, Kristi Gaultiere.
Kristi joined us in season twowith a double episode about
(00:56):
caring for our souls andemotional and spiritual health.
For anyone who would miss thoseepisodes or would like to
revisit them, we will put linksto both of them in our show
notes of this episode.
A little bit about Kristi.
She is an expert in leadingpeople to understand and care
for the health of their souls.
She has co authored a bestselling book with her husband of
(01:19):
35 years called Journey of theSoul, A Practical Guide to
Emotional and Spiritual Growth.
Kristi is a doctor of psychologyand has dedicated her life to
serving Jesus.
She has three grown children andis a grandmother of two.
Kristi enjoys speaking,training, teaching, consulting,
(01:39):
counseling, and retreat leadingwith Bill, as well as recording
their weekly Soul Talks podcast.
Welcome back to the show,Kristi.
Kristi Gaultiere (01:48):
Thank you, Ivelisse.
I'm so happy to be back with youand the Believe Big Community.
Ivelisse Page (01:54):
Well, we are so grateful for your time.
And when you first joined us, weasked you about what your
favorite health tip was, and yousaid prayer.
Yes.
So prayer is such a powerfulhealth tip.
And I'm wondering if you mighthave another one that you'd like
to share with our listeners.
Kristi Gaultiere (02:10):
Oh, I do.
Thank you.
Prayer definitely is number onefor me, but I would also say
secondary to it is having arhythm where I have regular
times to get away, to rest andto have times of solitude where
I withdraw from everything thatcompetes for my attention and
(02:31):
everything that stresses me andjust time to get alone with the
Lord and be nurtured in myrelationship with God.
And doing that in a context thatalso is within a safe community
so that I can pair that rhythmof solitude and silence and
withdraw then with engaging withhealthy community to process out
(02:52):
of that time as well and getsupport because we need both for
our growth, so very much.
And so as you know, Ivelisse, wepractice that regularly in our
retreats at Soul Shepherding andbeen so blessed to have you
attend two of those recentlythis year, and just to enjoy
that rhythm that I find sohelpful for my health because
(03:14):
it's a part of my healthemotionally and spiritually, and
relationally.
And that has a big effect onphysical as well, but I love all
that you talk about here onBelieve Big because I know our
physical health and what we eat,not being exposed to toxins, all
those, you know, getting enoughvitamins, water, the light, all
(03:35):
those different things that youtalk about here are also
important because our soulinvolves our body as well as our
relationships, as well as ourthoughts, our feelings, and our
spirit, our heart.
Ivelisse Page (03:50):
Yeah, I'm so glad you shared that because, you
know, recently my girlfriendsand I went away for a retreat
and they asked me, What has beenone of your favorite things that
you've learned from SoulShepherding?
And I told them it was creatingthose rhythms of life and I can
share a link to those in thepodcast and who would like to
(04:11):
learn more about that, but itreally has transformed my life,
creating those rhythms that youtalk about of rest and retreat
and restoring, whether it'sdaily, weekly, uh, quarterly,
yearly, you know, whateverrhythm that you set for each of
those areas of your life hasjust been really powerful.
So I'm glad you, you broughtthat up today.
(04:31):
So today though, I, you know, inour last retreat, Healthy
Leadership, you and Bill talkedabout a session on How To Hear
From God and that was just sucha powerful session because I
feel, especially withincommunities that certain people
say, well, I don't hear from Godor I don't hear from him like I,
(04:52):
like you do.
And it can really bediscouraging to people when they
actually are hearing from Godand they just need to really be
focused enough to, to understandall the many ways that he speaks
to everyone in different ways.
So what does it actually mean tohear from God in today's busy,
distracted world?
Kristi Gaultiere (05:13):
Well, there is a lot of mystery around that.
And my story is one of askingthat very same question, because
I was raised in a conservativechurch where I was taught that
to hear God meant you read hisword.
and you obey it.
And that, that is key in hearingGod.
But then I went away to auniversity that was a
charismatic school where I hearda lot of people talking about
(05:36):
hearing God, um, very casuallyall the time.
And they weren't talking aboutwhat they were hearing from God
in scripture.
And so I became very curiousabout this and a little bit
alarmed with how casually theywere talking about hearing God.
And even some of the things theywould say they heard from God
that didn't seem like wisdom ordidn't seem consistent with
God's scripture.
And so it made me a little bitcautious about that too.
(05:59):
But then there was also thispart of me that felt maybe some
shame, like, well, I'm nothearing from God in the way they
are.
They're so confident thatthey've heard God and I'm not
hearing God.
And why am I not?
And I began to really wrestlewith this subject of what does
it mean to hear God's voice?
And can we hear God's voicedifferently than just through
(06:20):
scripture and through his word.
And as I began to look atscripture and read scripture, I
began to see that, well,actually scripture tells us a
lot.
The Bible mentions a lot aboutpeople, ordinary people hearing
from God.
And Jesus himself tells us inJohn 10, my sheep know my voice.
(06:41):
They hear my voice.
They discern my voice and they,they won't follow the voice of
the enemy and they will followmy voice because they know it.
And I know them.
And it began to recognize thatthis, this hearing God comes out
of this relationship with God,relationship of trust and of
(07:01):
developing intimacy.
And so as I began to think moreabout that, and even as a parent
thinking about, I really want mychildren to hear me.
And I want to hear from them.
I want that two wayconversational, interactional
relationship where they feelsafe and free to share their
heart and confident they'll beheard.
(07:23):
And I want them to be confidentthat I hear them, that I want to
hear them, that I make it apriority to hear them.
And I think it's the same for uswith God.
We're made in his image and hecalls us his children.
And so I think to have thatconfidence and get that vision
has been so important and sohelpful to me in that and to
(07:44):
look at the different ways thatGod has spoken to people in
scripture and in, in life.
I've been so blessed to bementored by Dallas and Jane
Willard, and they've taught me alot about hearing God as well.
In fact, Dallas wrote a book onhearing God that is a great,
great book that I recommend.
And Bill and I have written abook out of our learnings as
(08:06):
well, incorporating what welearned from Dallas, but also
many other saints that have gonebefore us and then our own life
of walking with God in the 50years that we have been blessed
to do that.
So in our book, Journey of theSoul, we have a whole chapter.
where we talk about hearing Godand even learning in different
things, like from animals.
I, I have a cat that I reallyhave enjoyed named Charlie and
(08:30):
he and I had a very closerelationship.
And I learned a lot abouthearing God, even from Charlie
and the way that he was soattuned to me.
Wherever I was, I would think hewas sound asleep in a room, and
I would quietly leave the room,and next thing I know, he popped
up, he was awake, he knew I'dleft, he'd gone where I was, he
always wanted to be where I was,he could hear if I was awake in
(08:52):
the morning just by the changeof my breathing, and he knew,
even though the door was closed.
When I was awake and it was okayfor him to make noise and when I
was asleep and it wasn't, he wasthat tuned into me and I could
call his name and he would comein an instant and I often
thought, I want to be that tunedin to God, that responsive to
hear God as Charlie does to hearme.
(09:15):
And then there was a elephant, avery famous elephant trainer.
And his name was Charlie Frank,and he had an elephant named
Nita that he had a really closerelationship with, and he
trained Nita to perform allkinds of tricks.
Well, he retired from thecircus, and he donated Nita to
the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
(09:36):
And he had missed Nita and wasgrieving the loss, but hadn't
had a chance to go visit her.
And 15 years later, after she'dbeen at the park, he had the
opportunity to come visit her.
And as he got to the park, hebegan to be talking about how he
missed her.
And he was a hundred yards away,and Nita heard Charlie's voice
(09:57):
and came up to the edge, cameout and came up to the edge of
where she lived.
And Charlie was just so excitedthat she was there and started
to perform some of his, hiscalls to her and she started
immediately 15 years later oncommand with every trick he'd
ever trained her to do.
She had internalized his voiceand that's what God wants us to
(10:19):
do too.
So I think it's really importantthat we realize that for each of
us, we can develop, an ongoingconversational relationship with
God where we can be confident Hehears us and when we really can
hear Him.
Ivelisse Page (10:34):
Yes, and one question that I get or I hear a
lot from people is okay How do Idistinguish between God's voice
and our own inner thoughts oremotions?
Kristi Gaultiere (10:43):
Yeah, that is so important because everything
that we hear within our ourminds or our a lot of it is
going to be our own internalizedparent tapes of things we've
heard from the past fromauthority figures.
Oftentimes even we will heartemptations or the enemy who
(11:05):
comes, Scripture says, is anangel of light or that wolf in
sheep's clothing trying todeceive.
So that discernment question isreally, really important.
How do I know where this iscoming from?
Is this thought from the Lord?
And that's really importantbecause one of the ways we do
hear God is often through our,our thoughts.
It's not, it's not usually anaudible voice.
(11:27):
It's not usually through aspeaker.
Um, meaning like a, a, an audiospeaker.
It can be through a person, Goddoes speak to us through other
people, and usually it willresonate in our spirit as having
an authority beyond the personwho spoke it.
And usually God is very patientfor us to hear Him.
(11:48):
Oftentimes, He'll say the samething to us many different ways
and different contexts before weactually will wake up and
recognize, oh Lord, you'rereally speaking to me about
this.
So I think there are some reallyimportant things that we can use
to discern God's voice and oneof those is it is it his voice
comes with that sense ofauthority in itself.
(12:09):
It doesn't really need to beloud or hysterical and It is
something that often comes witha unique and specific meaning
for us personally.
Oftentimes it will be a wordthat will actually really bring
clarity in a situation whereyou've been seeking the Lord and
asking for that.
(12:30):
Or it might be something thatreally imprints into our memory
and we don't forget it.
It, it feels, um, louder, notnecessarily in volume, but in
the, the impact that it has, thepersonal meaning that it has to
us.
One of the things it also coulddo if we have heard from the
Lord is often it will produce inus a greater spark of faith and
(12:53):
trust in Jesus and in ourrelationship with him and our
life with him and our ability tofollow him.
We have a whole list of thingsthat we write about in Journey
of the Soul in chapter eightthat are signs.
We call signs of genuine wordsor touches from the Spirit of
God.
And once you've experiencedthese, you'll begin to identify
(13:13):
these even more because likeanything else, learning to
discern God's voice is a skillwe can grow in.
And
Ivelisse Page (13:20):
Can you share a few of those from Journey of the
Soul?
Just even one or two?
Kristi Gaultiere (13:24):
Sure.
Yeah.
I would love to.
Well, one sign of genuine wordfrom the Lord or hearing his
voice is it will be alwaysconsistent with the Bible,
consistent with scripture.
It won't in any way be goingagainst God's word to us in
scripture.
And then it'll also usuallybring with it a sweet
reasonableness, and evenproducing us a calm peace, the
(13:47):
fruit of it.
It's usually gentle, like thespirit of Jesus, whereas the
enemy's voice to us is usuallyone that's shame producing, or
an accusation, or stresses us,pressures us, hurries us, very
different than the calm peacethat the voice of the Lord
brings.
One of my favorites is, itsurprises us.
(14:10):
Oftentimes I found somethingthat God is speaking to me comes
as a surprise and I'll oftenthink, Oh, I wouldn't have
thought of that.
Or, Oh yes, that's perfect forme.
And only you would know thatLord.
And, um, I'm surprised that Ineeded to be reminded of that
right now, but usually it hassome, some sense of surprise to
(14:30):
it.
It can also really, um, inspireour worship of God.
And oftentimes it's humbling.
It'll humble us.
It'll remind us of ourdependency upon God.
It'll remind us of how well heknows us, but that's very
different than feeling shamed.
The humility puts us in a rightstanding with God and a greater
(14:54):
trust and openness to where he'sleading us and what he's saying.
Um, it doesn't shame us or putus down or scold us or humiliate
us.
There's a big difference betweenhumble and humiliation, And it
also, it will turn you away fromworldly things.
Ivelisse Page (15:13):
Okay.
I like that.
And I, I think one of the waysthat you, you all have taught me
a different way of hearing fromthe Lord is through Lectio
Divina.
You know, sometimes we're soused to doing certain things
when we experience the Lord in adifferent way, we hear from him
in a different way, whether it'simaginative prayer or even
(15:34):
fasting.
I think that was a new one formy daughter.
She had a big decision ahead andI encouraged her and shared with
her about fasting and, and howit can help you have more
clarity when you are removingfood for that day.
It really helps you to focus andhear him better.
What would you say in regards tofasting?
Because I feel like that is onethat most people in our.
(15:57):
integrative world think aboutfasting as far as like for, for
health, right?
Or prior to treatment, that itreally helps to get our body
clean and, and people do waterfasts, all kinds of things in
the cancer world.
But Spiritually speaking, canyou just share a little bit
about fasting for those who havenever heard about it in the
(16:19):
spiritual sense?
Kristi Gaultiere (16:20):
Yes, definitely.
One of the things that we writeabout and teach in our retreats
is different spiritualdisciplines or practices or even
experiments we call them.
Things that you might think,well, what will God do if I do
this?
And fasting is one of thosespiritual disciplines or
practices or experiments.
And, one of the things that canbe helpful about fasting as a
(16:43):
spiritual discipline or practiceis that we're recognizing that
this is a discipline ofabstinence.
Well, I'm going to be abstainingfrom doing something that I
normally do, eating, and I'mgoing to be doing that in order
to make space for some differentdisciplines of or practices of
engagement.
(17:04):
So maybe I'm fasting from foodto help me engage more of my
time and my energy that I wouldbe putting into eating into
prayer, into that conversationwith the Lord.
And also I might also be doingthat to remind myself how hungry
I am for God.
(17:24):
As I feel those hunger painscome up for food that actually
can serve as a prompt to remindme, I am actually more
desperate.
in my relationship with God forall that I need for life and
godliness, then I am on food.
And to practice what Jesus evenpracticed in, we read about in
the Gospels, uh, he had food toeat that was not physical food,
(17:49):
that there's actually spiritualnourishment that we need, that
God can give us.
And we can begin to learn thatmore through venturing on him
and some of these spiritualdisciplines like fasting.
Ivelisse Page (18:02):
Yeah So, how do you encourage those who feel
like they're in a spiritual dryseason even not even those who
have been hearing from Godclearly and they haven't been
recently or they struggle tohear from him?
Kristi Gaultiere (18:14):
Oh, such an important question, Ivelisse.
Thank you for asking that andfor being sensitive to that,
because that is something thatwe do all experience.
Something we write about inJourney of the Soul is that
that's common to our journey,that we would have times where
we feel a great consolation, agreat nearness of the Lord, a
great intimacy with the Lord.
(18:34):
We're feeling really vibrant andstrong in our faith.
And then we have these othertimes where it feels dry, feels
empty, feels like we're goingthrough the motions.
Uh, it, it feels like, even,even it could feel lonely or we
can be prone to temptation wherethe enemy comes and tries to
make us sow seeds of doubt andtries to blame us and make us
(18:56):
think that, you know, it's ourfault or we're failing God.
So these are normal parts of ourjourney, but we also talk about
and write about our differentstages of faith, that those
times of feeling consolation anddesolation, they are different
at different seasons of ourjourney in our spiritual and
(19:17):
emotional development in Christ.
So especially after we have beenin a season of maybe heavy
responsibilities in ministry, wemight especially be prone to
feeling a little bit more ofsome of that desolation, some of
that dryness, some of burnedout, even struggling with doubt
(19:38):
or especially for our listenerswho are struggling with a
personal crisis like cancer or aloved one who is struggling and
suffering in cancer.
These are big desolations andthese have a big effect on every
area of our soul, including ourspiritual lives.
And oftentimes they can provokethese deep questions of doubt
(19:59):
and wrestling and feeling maybeeven abandoned by God.
So, just want to normalize that,that that is not anything to be
alarmed by.
We write about this a lot inJourney of the Soul because we
have had so many people havecome in to see us as counselors,
spiritual directors who havejust been riddled with such
(20:19):
shame or just, totally takenover with a lot of anger at God,
a lot of questions, because itis such a dry season.
It's a time when they maybe feellike I've, I'm more desperate
than ever for God and for theconsolation than hearing his
voice.
And yet I can't, what am I doingwrong?
And oftentimes it's not thatyou're not doing anything wrong,
(20:40):
but you're in this season and itoften is a season, no fault of
your own.
It's normal for the part of ourjourney.
And actually, even though itfeels so bad, it actually is a
grace because it's it actuallyis a part where we have the
opportunity to be strengthenedin our faith as we endure
(21:02):
through that season.
Ivelisse Page (21:04):
Yes.
And, we have a lot ofindividuals, another aspect of
cancer, which I feel is evenmore difficult than the physical
side is dealing with the anxietyor emotions that go through that
process or fear.
How can one quiet their mind tohear from God in the midst of
(21:25):
such turmoil or circumstances?
Kristi Gaultiere (21:28):
Yeah, well, I think there's, there's
different, answers based ondifferent personalities too.
And that question is going to bedifferent based on the stage of
faith that you're in, which iswhat we write about in Journey
of the Soul.
And it's going to be differentbased on your personality, which
we write out about in our newerbook, Healthy Feelings, Thriving
(21:49):
Faith.
Because discipleship to Jesusisn't one size fits all.
It's going to be different basedon the stage of faith that we're
in.
And it's going to be differentbased on our personality, but
something that is going to becontiguous, no matter what your
personality or what your stageof faith is, that we don't
journey alone.
We need to have people whounderstand these things and
(22:12):
companion with us on ourjourney.
So one really key thing that'sconsistent that we write about
in both of these books is havinga safe place to be able to be
emotionally honest with what youare experiencing and be listened
to by somebody who is anambassador of Christ to you, who
can listen to you with empathy,with understanding, who's
(22:35):
experienced this kind ofdesolation, who's been through a
crisis, a wall, a dark night ofthe soul, a season where it's
felt dry.
They haven't heard God's voiceand somebody who has learned to
be able to endure and gone intothe next season that comes after
the season that we call thewall.
(22:55):
And that's inner journey.
And can lead you to start to dosome of the inner journey
disciplines and some of the workof inner journey that brings
healing and restoration and adeeper longing for God and a
deeper renewal in ourrelationship with God as we get
through this season.
So a lot of this season is anendurance season.
(23:17):
It's a continuing to trust andto believe big in our big God,
even when we're not experiencingsome of the consolations, some
of the things that fed our faithbefore.
And sometimes we need to be in acommunity of people who are
experiencing those things againafter a season like we've been
(23:39):
and we can hold on to their bigfaith because our faith may be a
small at the time.
But the good news is Jesus saysit only takes a mustard seed of
faith.
That's really all we need.
And so you just take thatmustard seed that you have.
but also you borrow the faith ofsomebody who's in a really
fruitful season and remindyourself God is doing a deep
(24:00):
work in you in this season Andthis isn't the end of your
journey.
He has so much more for you.
Ivelisse Page (24:07):
Yes, and we've heard it before, you know, our
tests become our testimonies.
Kristi Gaultiere (24:11):
That's right.
Ivelisse Page (24:12):
And I loved how you said that we can also reach
out to people who've been thereand are on the other side of it
for support.
And that's kind of what we hopeto be for those on the cancer
journey is we understand allthose feelings all the
circumstances, the overwhelm.
And we hope to be able to holdonto someone's hand and say,
okay, we've been there.
We understand.
And and let's just take it onestep at a time.
(24:35):
And so I appreciate that you alldo that on the emotional side of
health and spiritual side ofhealth for individuals.
And so I love, that you are botha psychotherapist and also a
spiritual director.
And so, how do you use these tworoles to intersect when it comes
to hearing from God personally?
Kristi Gaultiere (24:54):
Yes.
Well, um, I actually am nolonger practicing as a
psychotherapist.
I've transitioned only tospiritual direction and that's
really been just a great fit, agreat transition for me.
I still, of course, use all ofthe knowledge and experience
from my years working as apsychotherapist and I still have
(25:14):
maintained my license topractice, but I find that
working as a spiritual directorgives me so much more freedom to
be able to engage, uh, the wholeperson in the journey.
And certainly the emotional andmental health is key.
And that's what I focused onmost in my private practice, but
it, it's not enough.
(25:35):
We need to be able to addressevery aspect of our soul.
And so our spiritual life is keyin that.
Psychotherapy can be a help inthat because what's key in both,
spiritual direction orpsychotherapy is that safe
place, that confidentialrelationship and having that
with somebody trusted, somebodywho has an understanding of the
(25:56):
journey and has empathy for usand who can listen to us with
that empathy can pray for usbecause we all need others
interceding for us and prayingfor us and we need people who
can see the parts that we can'tyet see because our vision is
blocked by the big experiencewe're in right now, or the big
(26:17):
emotion that we're feeling rightnow, or by what our bodies are
suffering in the treatment thatwe're undergoing right now, or
in the grief of the season thatwe're in right now.
So we need somebody else thatcan hold on to hope and faith
for us while still being presentwith us in our pain and
mediating God's presence to us.
(26:39):
And so spiritual direction doesthat very, very well.
Certainly psychotherapy can do apiece of that.
Um, and especially with a, apsychotherapist who loves the
Lord and really is called inthat understanding and educated
on the spiritual part of thejourney as well.
Ivelisse Page (26:57):
Yes.
Yes How can we tell, I get thisquestion a lot and it's how can
we tell if God is asking us towait, to act, or let go of
something?
Kristi Gaultiere (27:10):
Oh, that's such an important question, too.
One of the things we write aboutin Journey of the Soul in our
chapter on hearing God is whatwe like to call a GPS system for
hearing God's voice.
And there's kind of threedifferent parts of that.
The G is God's Word, engagingwith God's Word, and listening.
(27:30):
Ivelisse, you talked about thepractice of Lectio Divina, which
we do together on all of ourretreats, and we have a Lectio
Divina guide atsoulshepherding.org also with 70
Lectio Divina sheets that youcan do on your own, but this is
a great way to listen to God inhis word.
So that's one way is to listento his word, to ask him to speak
(27:51):
to you through his word, adiscernment, an action point for
what he would have you be doingin a specific decision or
discernment point you're facing.
And then another part, that's,that's the G, God's word,
reading his word, engaging thescripture and listening to him
in that.
The other one is his providence,the P in GPS.
(28:13):
God's providence.
What, what is the action as welook to our Sovereign Lord?
How is He leading us uniquely?
What's happening around us?
Who are the people He's put inour lives?
What are our circumstances?
Where are we feeling Him showup?
Where are we feeling a nearnessto Him, a consolation to Him?
(28:35):
Do we feel peace as we thinkabout proceeding in this
direction that we'reconsidering, or do we feel a
check in our spirit?
Like, no, I don't think thatreally, I don't, I'm not sure
that is the Lord.
I think that might be me tryingto fix it or somebody else
trying to fix me.
Um, but really looking at basedon what the circumstances of my
(28:58):
life are, what doors areopening, what doors are closing,
and even asking the Lord to makethat more obvious, to open and
to close doors specifically asonly He can, and looking at
that.
And then I think that the nextpart is that S in the GPS,
spirit impressions.
What is it in my spirit that Iam sensing from the Lord?
(29:20):
Am I sensing of peace aboutproceeding with this decision?
Or do I have a check in myspirit?
Is it producing anxiety in me?
Is it producing in me a sense ofhurry?
Because God's usually not in ahurry.
Or, you know, what is the fruitin my life and in my, my spirit?
(29:41):
And we really want to be payingattention and tuning to that as
well.
What effect is this having on mybody?
What effect is this having on myemotions?
And what kind of thoughts am Ihaving when I consider this?
And we want to bring all threeof those GPS points into
consideration in a point ofdiscernment and prayer.
Ivelisse Page (30:00):
Well, that is so beautifully said and so easy to
remember.
And, the thing I think aboutwhen I think about a GPS is we
used to have those in our, inour cars and, or, on our phones
and they'll say recalculating ifyou take a wrong turn.
Kristi Gaultiere (30:16):
That's right.
Ivelisse Page (30:17):
And so by using that GPS I really like that
because even if we quote unquotetake a wrong turn, God can
quickly correct us back if we'reusing that G, that P, and that S
that you talked about.
Thank you so much for bringingsuch light and insight into this
really important topic abouthearing from God and really
(30:38):
appreciate you.
And thank you so much forsharing your heart today with
us.
Kristi Gaultiere (30:42):
Oh, you're so welcome, Ivelisse.
Thank you for all that you'redoing, and Believe Big giving me
an opportunity to be a part ofit.
Rebecca Arcarese (30:51):
Hi, I'm Rebecca Arcarese, Development
Director for Believe Big.
As 2024 comes to a close, yourgenerosity can make a life
changing difference for a cancerpatient.
At Believe Big, we empowerpatients and their families with
significant resources and muchneeded hope.
Your donation today will help usprovide essential care,
education, and a community ofstrength for those in need.
(31:14):
Together, we can help morepeople face, fight, and overcome
cancer.
Visit www.believebig.org andmake your gift today.
Thank you.
Ivelisse Page (31:31):
If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to
help support our podcast, pleasesubscribe and share it with
others.
Be sure to visit believebig.orgto access the show notes and
discover our bonus content.
Thanks again and keep BelievingBig!
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