This is it, friends. Our final episode. And I can't think of a more perfect place to land than right here, in the very process that brought me to this moment of saying goodbye.

Today we're walking through the actual steps of discernment, a rigorous, Holy Spirit-led process rooted in Ignatian spirituality that is so much more than a pros and cons list. And I want you to know, this process took me seven months to work through for this decision. Seven months of going back and forth, consulting spiritual advisors, wrestling, praying, and waiting. That's very different from how the world tells us to make decisions. But the freedom on the other side of it? There are no words.

The Five Steps of Discernment

1. Identify the actual decision in front of you
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to transform your thoughts — work toward sacred detachment
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to influence your will — gather data, write pros and cons, evaluate findings
4. Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual consolation — wait for settled, deep confidence
5. Confirm the decision and move forward in faith

Want More?

• 📥 Download the free four-week Decisions study guide at NicoleUnice.com/decisions — includes Nicole's notes from today's episode and reflection prompts for the whole series
• 📖 Scriptures from today: Matthew 26:39–45 · Romans 12:2 · 2 Peter 1:3–4 · Galatians 6:14 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · Psalm 94:19 · Matthew 11:28
• 📱 Follow Nicole's next chapter on Instagram @NicoleUnice and on Substack for weekly essays and updates on the church plant in Richmond, Virginia
• 🙏 Would you pray for Nicole, her husband Dave, and the city of Richmond, Virginia, as they begin this church planting journey?
• 🎙️ All 300+ episodes of How to Study the Bible remain available — go back and keep exploring God's word!
• ⭐ Leave a review and share the podcast with someone who needs it — even now that the show is wrapping up, your review helps new listeners find these episodes.
• 🎧 For more faith-filled podcasts, visit lifeaudio.com

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you. May the Lord lift up His countenance unto you and give you His peace, both now and forever, and until we meet in heaven. Amen." — Nicole Unice

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We are so used to having answers at our fingertips. My algorithm serves up what I want, and I don't have to sift through anything or discern it. Slowly, we lose the spiritual muscle it takes to actually wait on the Lord. This week in our series on discerning God's voice, we're talking about the patience that listening requires. If we aren't prepared to wait on the Lord, we risk taking matters into our own hands, or passively missing out on something rich God has for us. So we'll look at what active waiting is, why it's so hard, and what the disciples in Acts 1 teach us about living fully while we wait.

What We Cover

Almost all of us are waiting on something. We're waiting for a relationship to begin, for the next step in our career, for a diagnosis to clear, for grief to pass. But we don't have to wait passively. We can wait actively.

Here's how I define it: active waiting is living in the present moment to the fullest, so we can actively look for signs of what's to come. It doesn't mean we stop existing or stop serving. That's the opposite of active waiting.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why waiting feels so vulnerable. It makes us face how little control we actually have, and it puts us in a position of surrender.
• Jesus's last words before His ascension. His command was to wait, along with clear marching orders to be His witnesses.
• How the disciples stayed active in the waiting. They prayed, gathered, made decisions together, and rejoiced until the Holy Spirit came.
• Why none of us are in a waiting room. Whether you're in a season of active service or a season where you have to trust and rely on your relationship with God, you have a role to play in the kingdom.
• The question I hear so often: Should I keep asking God for the answer? If asking brings you into deeper alignment with Him, keep asking. But if it makes you more impatient and self-absorbed, stop asking and start serving. God has not forgotten you or your request.

This is the day the Lord has made. Even without the answer, you can rejoice and be glad in it, and trust that He has heard your prayer.

Scriptures Referenced: Psalm 5:3, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 38:15, Psalm 130:5, Psalm 118:24, Psalm 37:4, Acts 1:3–11, Ecclesiastes 3:1

Want More?

• Grab the free decision-making guide: nicoleunice.com/decisions
• Book mentioned: Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We're in week two of our Wayfinding series on discerning God's will, and this week we're talking about something I've been thinking about a lot lately, partly because I spent three days hiking alone in the Santa Cruz Mountains before stepping into this new season of ministry. We're talking about terrain, and what the mountains and valleys of your life are actually trying to teach you.

Here's the first thing I want us to hold onto: we should expect both. Psalm 126 gives us this soaring, almost disbelieving joy: "When the Lord restored our fortunes, we were like those who dreamed." And Psalm 13 gives us the raw lament, "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?" Those two psalms sit just pages apart, and that's not an accident. That's the reality of life. Mountains and valleys, abundance and loss, seasons that surprise us with joy and seasons that bring us to our knees.

Download the free four-week Decisions study guide at https://www.NicoleUnice.com/decisions

The question for those of us in a season of discernment is: what is the terrain trying to clarify? And here's what I've found to be true: when we're wandering, when a decision hasn't come, when the direction still isn't clear, it often means God is still purifying our destination. He's showing us all the other things we're quietly serving alongside Him.

Because here's the thing about discernment that I really need us to understand. Discernment isn't about choosing between right and wrong. That's just obedience. Discernment is about choosing between good things, and knowing which good thing points you most directly toward your highest calling, which is serving God wholeheartedly. When serving God becomes the actual destination, everything else, your career, your relationships, your money, your time, becomes a means to that end. Not the end itself. And the moment any of those things becomes an end in itself, it becomes an idol.

I know that's rigorous. I know it's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable for me too. But this is where the terrain does its work, because it's only possible to hear from God clearly when we're willing to live in the reality of our actual condition. Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount with Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek. He's not describing a special category of people. He's describing all of us, and saying that the ones who experience my blessing are the ones willing to live in the truth of that.

So this week, the invitation is simple but not easy: listen. Listen to God through His Word, through wise counsel, through what He's already done in your life. And stay in the uncomfortable zone of waiting, knowing that God is good and His hands are full of abundance.

Reflection Questions

1. What season are you in right now, a mountain, a valley, or somewhere in between?
2. Are there any good things in your life that have quietly become conditions you've placed on following God?
3. What would it look like this week to listen to God more intentionally, through His Word, through counsel, through silence?

Want More?

• 📥 Download the free four-week Decisions study guide at https://www.NicoleUnice.com/decisions - includes weekly reflection prompts to keep discernment moving between episodes
• 📖 Scriptures from today: Psalm 126 · Psalm 13 · Matthew 5:3–5 (Sermon on the Mount) · Psalm 66:16–20 · Genesis 32 (Jacob wrestling for the blessing)
• 📸 Want to see photos from Nicole's three-day solo pilgrimage in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Find them on Instagram @NicoleUnice or on her Substack (https://nicoleunice1.substack.com/)

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.