The past few months I’ve been stumped in regards to what God had next for me to do. I expected God to speak to me in ways similar to what He had in the past—a big compelling. I have been doing my best to do what I knew to do—keeping up my blog and newsletter. What else? I was on the alert for a compelling from God. But I heard nothing.

Then it occurred to me that maybe God was speaking to me and I had heard Him. It occurred to me that I had not acted on what He showed me. God had given me a nudge—a gentle, but powerful idea. He had shown me what to do next. And I had acted on it somewhat, but not to the degree God intended.

I shared my philosophy of the nudge versus the compelling of God with a wise friend. Does God speak important things through a nudge or only through a compelling?

She said, “There is no need for compelling when we are abiding. When we are abiding we are in the place to hear the nudge.”

I thought of Moses. Talk about a compelling calling—a burning bush that was not consumed by the fire (Exodus 3). When God gave Moses the Law He spoke to him from a dark cloud. For the remainder of Moses’ life we don’t know how God spoke to him, but that He did. And Moses was listening and conversing with God. He was in an active and intimate relationship with God. He was abiding.

God gave me my nudge for my next thing  in moments of quiet. Once I was driving to visit Kerry in Chicago. No radio. Just quiet and being with God. The idea came again. The same as before. I wrote it down as I drove.  I didn’t want to miss a drop of what God was saying to me.

I’m not going to share with you what God nudged me with. It’s something I need to work on for a while. But I have a couple of takeaways for you.

First, create quiet in your life where you can hear from God. We all make time for social media and our devices. Make the swap—God for social media. Instead of checking your devices several times a day, check in with God several times a day. Have a day or time of the day when you don’t have the TV, radio, Pandora, or Spotify on. Just quiet, giving God a space to speak to you.

Second, be alert to and follow the nudge. This isn’t mystical. What is God pointing you towards? Follow the trail He’s laying out for you. He’ll let you know if you’re going the wrong direction.

Yes, there are times in our lives where we need a big compelling from God and where we need to ask others for prayer in deciding our next move, but often God is speaking to us in a nudge and we need to be alert.

That’s it, folks. A rhythm of life where we create space to be tuned in to God and do what He shows us to do.

I’d love to hear what God is nudging you towards!

Brenda Garrison is an author and speaker who empowers women with the confidence to live their calling. Brenda is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ministry Leadership with a Concentration in Women’s Ministry at Moody Bible Institute. She and her husband, Gene, are the parents of three young adult daughters and live near Metamora, IL.