God’s subtle wake-up calls may come through people, situations or just a feeling that things aren’t right.
A troubled conscience
When David kept silent about his sin, Psalm 32 says he suffered emotionally. He says he felt shriveled up inside and that his strength was dried up.
These emotions can also be born from guilt, shame, and the internal struggle someone has with their own conscience. If something you’re repeatedly doing is bothering your conscience, that uneasiness may be worth considering.
This doesn’t mean God is necessarily sending you warning flags every time you feel anxiety, sadness, exhaustion, or physical symptoms. There can be many causes to these feelings.
However, recurring guilt and wrestling with your conscience can be a reason to stop and take a hard look at what you are choosing to do.
A timely intervention
One of the most blatant examples of the Bible describing someone being stopped from making a horrible choice happens with David and Abigail.
David was angry at Nabal and wanted to wipe out Nabal’s entire household. Abigail saw what was happening and went to David. She confronted David and pleaded with him not to sin before he attacked Nabal’s household.
Later, David admitted how profound the situation was. David blessed God for sending Abigail to stop him from committing bloodshed.
There’s one crucial detail about this example to notice: David received his warning through someone else. David wasn’t halted by some strange feeling in his heart. Abigail physically interrupted David. And that’s why this example is so applicable to our lives.
Sometimes, the warning we need arrives via someone talking it through with us. Maybe it’s a friend who doesn’t agree with us. Maybe it’s a pastor who loves us enough to speak the truth. Maybe it’s a spouse who sees sin in our lives. Maybe it’s someone who is brave enough to tell us we’re going in the wrong direction.
You might be annoyed by their warning at the time. You may later realize they saved you from making a decision you’d never be able to undo.
Closed doors
Every now and then you will encounter a road that seems like it is your perfect path. Then suddenly, it becomes unattainable.
For example, in the book of Acts, Paul encountered two separate occasions during his second missionary journey where he was told by the Holy Spirit not to preach. In Acts 16: 6–7, we learn that Paul and his companions were forbidden to enter Asia. After processing this unexpected turn of events, they headed toward Bithynia, only to be stopped again.
Paul would later receive a vision to travel toward Macedonia instead.
This passage illustrates that God closed doors for Paul’s team and steered them toward a new direction. While not every closed door is God speaking to you, if a certain path continues to close off no matter how hard you pursue it, maybe you should take a step back.
Someone else tells you what you do not want to hear
Perhaps the clearest example of the Bible dealing with someone getting a warning from another person is found in David’s life.
David slept with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. When Nathan the prophet came to talk to David about his sin, he didn’t just come out and say it. He told David a story about a rich man who stole a poor man’s lamb.
David became mad and angry upon hearing about the wealthy man’s actions toward the poor man. Then Nathan informed David that he (David) was that rich man. This caused David to see what he had done. Nathan, as portrayed in 2 Samuel 12, is the messenger who brings an unwelcome truth to David.
Sometimes outside counsel can be good. A close friend, mentor, pastor, or someone else may be able to point out a problem that you’ve been unable to see. Your emotions or self-interest may have clouded your judgment.
A growing awareness that what is hidden cannot stay hidden forever
The Bible is full of admonitions not to think that sin will go unnoticed forever. In Luke 12: 2 Jesus declares that what is hidden will be made known and what is secret will be revealed. Specifically, the passage is about hypocrisy and the disclosure of concealed matters.
For those leading a life of pretense, these words can serve as a powerful impetus to change direction.
A divine inner nudge that exposure is coming might not be what he experiences. Sometimes the conviction comes as nothing more than the realization that it is becoming harder to keep secrets. And a bad conscience, fear of exposure, or multiple cover ups can be your opportunity to choose truth and repentance before you’re forced to.
When the things you depend on suddenly disappear
The story of the prodigal son is another illustration Jesus used to portray a situation where a person’s circumstances cause him to rethink his life.
The younger son demands his inheritance from his father, spends his riches, and winds up in a situation worse than he’s ever known. He finds himself in a famine, having squandered his inheritance, and so hungry he’s working with pigs.
But then comes the turning point in the story: he realizes what he’s doing.
Notice how the story doesn’t say that God sent the famine or purposefully withheld every job opportunity from the son. What Jesus is showing us is how the son’s desperate circumstances led to a moment of realization that set him on the path home.
This isn’t to say that God’s punishing you whenever something goes wrong. But sometimes when you lose something that you once thought was a blessing, it makes you question your decisions.
Dreams
Job 33: 14–17 speaks of God talking to man through dreams and visions of the night and states that God can bring people to a point of warning them and turning them away from evil and pride through such experiences.
The Bible also gives us other significant stories about dreams, like Joseph’s and those concerning Daniel.
For Christians who believe that God can talk to them through dreams, a dream that repeats itself or an exceptionally vivid nighttime vision might arise. So, these kinds of dreams might then become something we reflect on in prayer.
However, we must tread carefully. The Bible never says that every bad dream or recurring dream we experience is from God. Many times our dreams can be reflections of the thoughts, feelings, memories, fears and experiences we have had throughout the day.
And just because a dream may seem empowering or even scary doesn’t mean we should automatically think it came from God. If our understanding of a dream clashes with what Scripture teaches, our common sense, or sound logic, it’s probably a good idea to take another look.
Feelings of inner restlessness
Many verses in the Bible associate God’s presence with the idea of peace. Philippians 4: 7 tells us we can have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Christianity also has a history of distinguishing between peace and inner turmoil. Saint Ignatius of Loyola even gave them names: consolation and desolation. Feelings of consolation can bring faith, hope, love, joy, and peace.
Desolation can feel like the opposite. We might feel sad, doubtful, angry, alone, or unfocused. In spiritual terms, desolation can make us feel far away from God.
Spiritually troubling as it may sound, not every anxious or unsettled feeling we experience is a sign that something is off. Life is stressful. We all experience fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty. Sometimes life just plain sucks.
However, if you continually feel uneasy or worried about something, there might be something to it.
Learn from others
Occasionally you will get a warning by observing someone else.
Paul actually spells this out in 1 Corinthians 10:11. He says that what happened to Israel in the wilderness served as examples for us, and were recorded so that we could learn from their warnings.
The idea is pretty simple: you do not always need to face the negative consequences of a choice firsthand to learn from it.
Observation can teach you many lessons. Watching someone lose a relationship due to lies can teach you the dangers of being dishonest. Witnessing another person’s bankruptcy might make you reconsider hasty money choices. Witnessing another person’s battle with addiction can remind you how small things can turn into big problems when they’re neglected.
I’m not saying that when someone you know suffers that God allowed it to happen to teach you a lesson. But even in such moments, their experience can still offer you a valuable lesson.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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