Following the Nudge: Trusting Divine Guidance
This past year has taught me something surprising about divine guidance: it rarely arrives with flashing lights, trumpets, or a laminated five-year plan.
Most of the time, it shows up as a nudge.
A quiet inner whisper that says, “This way.” Even when I don't fully understand why.
If you'd asked me a year ago what my life would look like right now, I can promise you this—I wouldn't have guessed it. And yet, here I am, looking back and realizing that every turn, every pause, every unexpected detour carried a kind of sacred intelligence.
Unity teaches that divine guidance is always available, always present, always working for our good. But knowing that intellectually and trusting it experientially are two very different things.
This year, I had to practice trusting guidance.
One of the clearest lessons came through someone who may not even realize how often he's been my spiritual GPS—our board member, Bill Kuntz. In moments when I felt urgency rising, pressure mounting, or the need to fix everything immediately, Bill would gently remind me, again and again: “Be patient. Divine guidance is always at work.”
Not flashy.
Not dramatic.
Just grounded truth.
And the more I listened, the more I realized how much wisdom lives in that simple reminder.
One of the biggest personal moments of guidance for me this year came when I felt
called—clearly, unmistakably—to move back in with my parents as they navigated dementia. Let me be honest: that was not on my vision board. I had questions. I had resistance. I had spreadsheets that did not support this decision. And yet, something deeper than logic kept saying, “Go.”
Not because it would be easy—but because it would be loving.
Divine guidance doesn't always lead us toward comfort. Sometimes it leads us toward courage.
There were also moments in ministry leadership when I felt stretched, misunderstood, and asked to lead with more patience than I thought I possessed. I wanted clarity. What I often received instead was a reminder—sometimes through Bill's calm presence—that not everything needs an immediate answer. That Spirit is moving even when nothing appears to be changing.
Guidance didn't say, “Here's the solution.” It said, “Stay open. Stay kind. Stay anchored.”
And slowly—almost imperceptibly—things shifted.
I've noticed that divine guidance rarely shows up as a loud command. It comes as alignment. As peace that doesn't quite make sense. As a door opening just as you stop forcing the handle.
Sometimes guidance looks like action.
Sometimes it looks like waiting.
And patience, I'm learning, is not passive. It's an active trust that something meaningful is unfolding, even when we can't yet see it.
One of my favorite metaphors for guidance is GPS. You don't turn it on and then sit in the driveway demanding certainty. You put in the destination and start moving. And when you miss a turn—because you will—the voice doesn't scold you. It simply says, “Recalculating.”
No shame. No drama. Just redirection.
That's how Spirit works.
This year, divine guidance has taught me to trust the next step, not the whole staircase. To breathe when my instinct says rush. To remember that wisdom often sounds like patience wearing comfortable shoes.
If you're feeling uncertain right now, take heart. Guidance doesn't require perfection, only willingness. The compass is already within you. And sometimes, it shows up through the steady voice of someone who reminds you to trust the timing of Spirit.
Join us this Sunday as we welcome our former associate minister, Rev. Dr. Alta Burnett, as she shares her talk, “How to Love God.”
With love and deep trust in the journey,
Rev. Bobby 
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