5 Ways to Find Reliable Encouragement & Guidance

Do you often find yourself looking for validation, encouragement and guidance, only to be left more confused or frustrated?

• Should I start that project?
• Should I leave this job?
• Should I invest in that training?

If so, read on to learn 5 ways to find reliable encouragement and guidance.

Finding Guidance: Where Do I Start?

Often times, we look to the wrong people or in the wrong places for validation and encouragement. This can lead us down the wrong path or leave us feeling worse instead of better.

These 5 ways to receive encouragement and guidance almost all require one thing: setting aside some time to spend with God – whether you feel close to Him right now or not. (Come as you are!)

After all, that is the most reliable place we could be looking.

But how can we know if an idea is our own or if it is a prompting from God? First and most important, God’s promptings will never contradict Scripture. That is the first measure that we should always use when trying to determine if a prompting is from him.

These are 5 ways that I have seen God work to encourage and provide guidance in my life.

1. Guidance through the use of repetition

Have you ever had the same message, phrase or word pop up over and over again?

This has happened to me at many different times in my life. When there is something that I am struggling with or am needing guidance on, sometimes I will hear a message about that topic in church. Then the next thing you know, I hear a song about it on the radio. That same verse from the weekend message might pop up in my bible reading or bible study or even in my Instagram or Facebook feed.

You get the idea… sometimes a word is planted in your mind and you just can’t shake it, because it pops up in multiple different ways over a short period of time. Pay attention to see if you feel you are being led in a certain direction. Does it align with your strengths and talents?

2. You pick up a book or podcast where you left off a long time ago and are encouraged by it today

There have been multiple times when I had been reading a book or devotional and for some reason put it down part way through. Then months or years later, I pick it back up and the words where I left off speak exactly to my current situation. It is like a friend speaking truth about something going on in my life at that time (but probably wasn’t at the time I was originally reading.)

I am always in awe when that happens. I don’t often put a book down in the middle, but when this happens, I can’t help but think that God knows that I will need what is coming next at a later date. It could be coincidence, but it has happened on multiple occasions, and either way, I feel seen and am encouraged.

3. Certain words from Scripture seem to highlight off the page

The bible is referred to as the Living Word for a reason. When you seek the Lord, he will meet you.

If you don’t have experience reading the bible, or have tried and quickly became frustrated, you are not alone! When I first started reading the bible, I needed to change the version that I was reading to one that was easier to read than the King James version.

Try a version such as the NLT (New Living Translation) or NIV (New International Version). The MSG (The Message) is a paraphrased version that translates ideas to into more moderns terms. I like using the YouVersion bible app (free) and it is easy to toggle between different versions or translations.

Of course you can use a paper version or the bible as well. If you are new to reading the bible, start by asking God to help you see something in the text and to help you to understand what you are reading. Even if you understand just one line at first, that is a good start!

With some practice, you will be able to read a chapter and sometimes, you will notice a particular verse “speaking” to you, as if it becomes highlighted off the page or is more in focus than the rest. Take notice when this happens. Look at the text surrounding that verse and ask God to help you understand what has stood out to you and how it applies to your life.

4. God encourages by working through others

Sometimes God uses others to encourage and guide us. There have been a few times in my life when I have been out and about and I just can’t shake a feeling that I am supposed to say or do something.

The most recent example of this was a couple of years ago when I was at our local wholesale club doing my grocery shopping. I felt this prompting that I was to buy a bouquet of flowers to give away. I ignored this thought the first couple of times and kept on shopping. But after the third or fourth time, I decided to do it, even though it was going to feel a little awkward approaching a stranger.

So I bought a beautiful bouquet, put my groceries in the back of my Jeep and waited for someone to come out. There weren’t really any people coming out around me since it was later in the evening (and I even began to think that maybe the flowers were actually for me!) But a couple of minutes later, I approached an older couple that was going in and told the woman that I felt that I was to bless someone with the bouquet of flowers and that she was the lucky recipient.

She was so touched and had the biggest smile on her face. I don’t know that there was any special significance to that couple, other than someone doing a nice deed, but I did it out of obedience. You never know how God is going to use you to work in or make himself known in someone else’s life.

For example…

I recently saw a man on Tik Tok who had been in a checkout line and he kept hearing “ask her if she has a son.” He thought it was odd and was saying “no” in his mind. Finally it was his turn to check out and he asked the lady if she had a son.

She was brought to tears. Her son had passed away and that day was his birthday. The night before she and her daughter had prayed for a sign that her son was okay and she believed this was the sign that she had prayed for.

He had no way of knowing of her son’s passing or her prayer. His obedience, no matter how awkward he felt, brought great encouragement and peace to this grieving mother.

And finally,

5. You have the ability to look back and “Connect the Dots”

Sometimes when you are seeking guidance and encouragement from God, he will highlight things in your mind from your past and almost thread them together. You will sometimes be able to “connect the dots” to see how seemingly unrelated events tie together.

Remember, none of our experiences, even the painful ones, are wasted. God sees the whole picture of our lives from the beginning to the end. It is a blessing when he allows us to see how he is stringing the events of our lives together and how he has been in it all along.

I hope you have found some encouragement here today. How do you see God working in your life or encouraging you along? Think of one way that you can encourage someone today and then do it!