Watching For The Turn

Scripture: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 (ESV)

This morning, I woke up with anticipatory stress. Why do you ask? Because one of the last things Donna mentioned to me last night before going to bed was that she needed me to go to FamilyFare to pick up a few things.

So… You need to understand… In our community, If you’ve ever tried to leave the FamilyFare parking lot, you know it’s no small feat. Between the tight turns, the traffic from both directions, and the endless line of cars, it sometimes feels like an insurmountable task. But even in that everyday frustration, there are lessons… watching for the turn.

1. You Have to Be Moving to Turn

I can’t steer a parked car. No matter how hard I twist the wheel, I won’t change direction until I’m in motion. Currently, in my life, I’m not exactly sure what that looks like. I know He’s had me in a period of waiting while he is working. But I’m beginning to get the sense that there is a turn coming in my healing, which requires me to be in motion.

This idea first came to my mind yesterday as I was watching a worship video. I decided to get up and attempt to dance in the middle of the living room… Yeah… One turn and I fell into the couch. I guess that’s not what He was talking about.

God often gives guidance while we move... not before. Isaiah 30:21 doesn’t say you’ll hear the voice before you start walking; it says you’ll hear it as you turn.

Sometimes we’re waiting for God to show us every detail before we take the first step. But direction comes in the doing. Movement invites momentum. God can guide a moving vessel far easier than a stationary one.

2. You Have to Look Both Ways

Leaving FamilyFare, I can’t just glance one way and go. I have to check both directions... because danger can come from either side.

Spiritually, this means I need discernment. Every turn involves choices, and not every open path is safe (like dancing in the living room). The Holy Spirit helps us look both ways... to weigh what’s ahead and what’s behind, to consider not just opportunity but consequence.

Listening for that “still small voice” often means slowing down enough to look both ways before we move. Wisdom isn’t just knowing where to go... it's knowing when and how.

3. Going Straight Is Not an Option

If you’ve tried to go straight out of FamilyFare, you know it's impossible. You have to turn one way or the other.

There are seasons when God won’t let us keep going straight because “straight ahead” would keep us in old patterns, old habits, old comfort zones. Sometimes the turn is the only way forward.

When God redirects, it isn’t punishment it's protection. That voice behind us, whispering, “This is the way,” isn’t trying to limit us. It’s trying to lead us to what’s next.

Conclusion

Exiting the parking lot may be small, but its lesson is big: God’s direction often comes in the turn... when we’re moving, when we’re discerning, and when we’re willing to change course.

I read this morning in 1 Samuel 10:9, “As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day.”  I believe God is telling me my first turn is a step of movement and a step of faith in what he has revealed to me about my healing. Each day taking a small step in doing something fear held me back in doing the day before.

I’m thinking my first step of faith is to head for FamilyFare…

Psalm 119:59.  I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your directions.