Episode 15
15 | How to Trust that God has a Plan for You
Ever felt like you're standing at a crossroads, unsure of which path to take? We’ve all been there! This episode is all about learning to trust God’s plan for our lives, even when the future feels like a big ol’ question mark.
In today’s chat, we explore the challenges of putting our faith in God's plans, especially when life throws curveballs and uncertainty looms large. I’ll share three practical steps to help you shift your mindset and build a deeper connection with God’s plan for your life.
So, grab your notebook, cozy up, and let’s explore how we can lean into trust, even when the path ahead seems a bit foggy. We’re in this together, and I promise you’re not alone in this journey!
I pray that this episode blesses and encourages you!
Michelle
Next Steps:
✨ Deepen Your Journey, Join the Catholic Moms Community Here
✨ Receive Weekly Encouragement and Action Steps to Help You Move Forward with God: Subscribed to the Ignite Circle: The Inner Flame Here
✨ Feedback or Questions? Contact me at hello@michellebrannam.com
Scripture Mentioned:
- Luke 1:38
- Proverbs 3:5-6
Transcript
A muscle that we must work on.
Speaker A:Just like when you would work out, over time your muscle gets stronger.
Speaker A:Just like working out, you will not see the immediate results.
Speaker A:It takes time to develop and build the muscles.
Speaker A:You develop a consistent routine for working out and have a plan for what activities you would be doing to help you develop that particular muscle groups that you want to build.
Speaker A:In today's episode, I'll be talking about trusting God.
Speaker A:Something I know can be incredibly hard, but especially when it feels like when you're not sure what the next step is.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:It's to tough, tough to believe that God truly has a plan for you.
Speaker A:That's why I put together three practical steps that you can start applying right now to begin shifting your mindset and deepening your trust in God's plan for your life.
Speaker A:So if you're ready to take that step and trust that God has a plan, lean in, grab your notebook and pen.
Speaker A:Let's dive in.
Speaker A:Are you ready to break free from feeling stuck, gain clarity and take intentional steps towards discovering your unique purpose, all while following God's guidance to become the person that he created you to be?
Speaker A:If so, you are in the right place.
Speaker A:Hi, I'm Michelle, a mom, wife, Catholic discernment mentor and spiritual coach.
Speaker A:I've been where you are, feeling lost and uncertain about my purpose.
Speaker A:But through a Catholic based strategy of discernment, I found clarity, confidently embraced my calling and learned to hear God's voice in my life.
Speaker A:And now I want to help you do the same.
Speaker A:Grab your pen, get your notebook and get comfy.
Speaker A:Open your heart and mind and invite God in.
Speaker A:It's time to ignite your purpose and start living the life God created you for.
Speaker A:Let's do this.
Speaker A:I hear from a lot of Catholic moms and I felt it myself that trusting God and His plans for us can be incredibly difficult.
Speaker A:There are moments when we question if God has a plan for us.
Speaker A:And I get it.
Speaker A:It can be so challenging.
Speaker A:Especially when we're discerning our unique purpose in life.
Speaker A:It's easy to just feel uncertain or even frustrated.
Speaker A:It took me a while to fully trust and surrender to God during the middle of my discerning process.
Speaker A:At the beginning, the Holy Spirit, he ignited that fire within me.
Speaker A:An excitement to finally discover my purpose and and he continued just to fuel that passion.
Speaker A:Once I found the resources to start uncovering my purpose, I knew that I would finally discover my purpose and I would be truly happy in peace and fulfillment.
Speaker A:But as I progressed through the process, it seemed slow and not hearing from God to guide me.
Speaker A:I was not seeing the fruits of my labor, working on discerning my purpose.
Speaker A:So then I started to doubt that I'd ever find my purpose and that I could live it out.
Speaker A:I understand that trusting God with his plans and purpose for your life can be really difficult.
Speaker A:You're not alone in feeling that.
Speaker A:That's why today I want to share three practical ways to help you trust that God truly does have a plan for you.
Speaker A:When discerning your unique purpose, you may find yourself at times struggling to trust God with His plans and purpose for you.
Speaker A:It can be especially difficult when we cannot see the future and we don't, you know, we really don't know what lies ahead.
Speaker A:As we navigate through life and work on building trust with others, especially with God, it becomes even more challenging.
Speaker A:Unlike those that we can physically see and interact with, you know, like our spouse, trusting in God requires a different kind of faith.
Speaker A:God's presence isn't something that we can touch or see.
Speaker A:In the same way.
Speaker A:There's no physical presence of him like there is with someone that we can talk, you know, or be near.
Speaker A:You can't see God, and that absence can make it really hard to trust his plans for our lives.
Speaker A:One of the ways to help you build trust with God in general, especially with your purpose and his plan for you, is just working on your mindset.
Speaker A:We tend to focus on the immediate circumstances.
Speaker A:Circumstances.
Speaker A:We're in the world of instant gratification.
Speaker A:Gimme, gimme, gimme.
Speaker A:Now, how many times have you ordered something on the Internet from a store, and then you cannot wait to have it in your hands.
Speaker A:You watch for the notifications that your item has shipped, and then you're checking so many times, numerous times throughout the day for the tracking number to see where it is in the process.
Speaker A:And you just want that item.
Speaker A:You want that item in your hand, like right now.
Speaker A:And maybe it's just me, but we are, as humans, want that instant gratification.
Speaker A:But God does not usually work that way.
Speaker A:When we ask him for clarity and direction, most of the time it's a delay in a response because he knows the best time for you and when you need to know or when you should move.
Speaker A:God's plan unfolds over time.
Speaker A:He does not tell you the whole plan at the beginning, when you start seeking.
Speaker A:And when we turn to our heavenly mother Mary, she was not, you know, as an example, she was not given the whole plan.
Speaker A:Upon accepting God's will to bore our king, Gabriel vanished after she Said yes, she trusted God and His plans for her.
Speaker A:When it comes to trusting God or we lack the trust of and we're struggling to trust him, we have to have a shift in our thinking.
Speaker A:Having a mindset routine in place can help reframe your thinking, a shift in your perspective.
Speaker A:It's a muscle that we must work on.
Speaker A:Just like when you would go work out, over time your muscle gets stronger.
Speaker A:Just like working out, you'll not see the immediate results.
Speaker A:You know, it takes time to develop and build the muscles.
Speaker A:You develop a consistent routine for working out and you have a plan of what activities you'll be doing to help you develop that particular muscle group that you want to build.
Speaker A:Just like you work on certain areas of your body to build that muscle and strengthen it, you also have to have a mindset routine to develop your trust in God.
Speaker A:It takes having that mindset routine and framework to help you develop your mental muscle of trusting God that He has a plan for you.
Speaker A:Over time, this will help build your inner muscle of trusting God.
Speaker A:It'll help strengthen your mental muscle of trust in him as well.
Speaker A:And it'll also help build up, build as a side note on your faith with Him.
Speaker A:You'll build that, you'll increase your faith with God.
Speaker A:But it takes reframing your thinking, a shift in your perspective, reprogramming your thoughts around trusting God.
Speaker A:It dives into what your thoughts are and reprogramming your thoughts in a proven scientific method.
Speaker A:When you're following a well known mindset framework, it's not just some framework or some method that someone has created.
Speaker A:It's actually when you have a scientific method in place.
Speaker A:I had a mindset routine just prior to seeking out my unique purpose that I actually used to discover my purpose and live it out.
Speaker A:This proven mindset framework that I used, it helped thousands of people transform their mindset and achieve lasting change.
Speaker A:I realized the need for it as I was discerning my purpose.
Speaker A:It takes having a mindset routine, a prayer routine, and having a framework, a step by step navigation roadmap of how to discern your purpose.
Speaker A:But let's go back to trusting God that He has a plan for you.
Speaker A:So when it comes to trusting God, it requires you to reframe your thoughts and beliefs, especially the ones that hold you back from trusting God.
Speaker A:It's about subconsciously choosing to see things differently.
Speaker A:You're stepping out of fear and doubt and you're leaning into the belief that God has a bigger plan for you than you ever could imagine.
Speaker A:It can shift your spiritual growth with God to help you embrace and entrust with confidence now mindset.
Speaker A:It's a very broad and it's a deep topic that is for another episode or actually multiple episodes that I'll talk about in future episodes.
Speaker A:I just remind you I want to really sink in that it's important to have that daily mindset routine or practice in place.
Speaker A:It'll help you shift your thoughts and the way you feel.
Speaker A:It will show how you view God's plan for you and allow you to trust his timing and his purpose even when you cannot see into the future and see that big picture.
Speaker A:So as you begin to start thinking about reframing your thinking and shift your perspective, I want to share a powerful example of trusting God's plan.
Speaker A:One that can offer us as a real life model to follow in recent and this example comes from none other than Pope Leo xiv.
Speaker A:As I sat with my parents at all and excitement anticipating and I'm sure you were the same way as the newly elected Pope were waiting to him to emerge from behind the curtains and stand out the balcony to know who he was, I could not help but reflect on this moment.
Speaker A:Ooh, goosebumps again.
Speaker A:Holy Spirit, as I watch this moment unfold, I cannot help but just think about what it means to truly trust God, especially in the face of a mission that's bigger than any of us could ever imagine.
Speaker A:You know Pope Leo when he accepted this is enormous amount of responsibility as he guides billions of Catholics.
Speaker A:But he surrendered and he stepped forward in faith and trust in God when he was selected.
Speaker A:Sure he could have denied the role, but completely trusted God and accepted the role that he was ultimately created for before he was ever born.
Speaker A:And I find this fascinating.
Speaker A:There was a video and it really struck me that there so there was a video circling on the Internet about nine months ago of then carnal Robert Prevost.
Speaker A:Believe that's how you say his name.
Speaker A:Our newly elected Pope Leo, that's his birth name.
Speaker A:But our newly elected Pope Leo xiv and I'm paraphrasing what Robert said at that time, the base of it is that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, they were selected for the Pope for that time because the Holy Spirit knew he needed them for that time.
Speaker A:And I want to remind you that you two have, you know, you also have a unique purpose that God created you for.
Speaker A:He knew that he needed you for this time, this moment.
Speaker A:He for the unique mission that only you can fulfill.
Speaker A:And the Holy Spirit knew that we needed and we need Pope Leo XIV now For this time, God has been in that future and only he knows right now why.
Speaker A:We need Pope Leo xiv.
Speaker A:In due time, that'll unravel or unfold.
Speaker A:But we too can look to Pope Leo XIV as a powerful example of trusting God's plan for our lives.
Speaker A:Just as he bravely said yes to to becoming Pope.
Speaker A:I'm sure tears overwhelmed.
Speaker A:They say they get teary eyed and overwhelmed.
Speaker A:Maybe he had some little doubt and confusion, but he bravely said yes to becoming Pope.
Speaker A:And we are called to trust in the plan that God has uniquely created for us.
Speaker A:We can say, yes, God, I'm ready and I trust the plans you have for me, including the purpose that I was created for.
Speaker A:But then there can be times when fully stepping into that complete trust and surrendering to God, especially when we do not see that answer we're seeking as quick as we want to.
Speaker A:So it's important to have that daily mindset, routine or practice in place that'll help shift your thoughts and the way that you're feeling.
Speaker A:It'll shift how you view God's plan for you and allow you to trust his timing and purpose even when you cannot see the future and see that big picture.
Speaker A:And another way for you to build and have trust that God has a plan for you is spending time with God.
Speaker A:I know I talk about this a lot, but this is important.
Speaker A:By spending time with God in His Word, we learn about his character and that he can be trusted.
Speaker A:It helps build our faith and reminds us of his promises.
Speaker A:We learn about his truths.
Speaker A:And one of his truths is that God can be trusted.
Speaker A:He can be trusted that he has a plan specifically for you and a unique path and plan just for you and only you.
Speaker A:We can look to Proverbs 3, 5, 6 as an anchor of God's trust.
Speaker A:Once we surrender, we let go of control and outcome and hand it over to God.
Speaker A:He will make the path straight.
Speaker A:He will make it known.
Speaker A:God knows and he sees the bigger picture.
Speaker A:You know he's been in the future.
Speaker A:He knows what is best for us.
Speaker A:His truth is perfect even though we do not see the whole big picture.
Speaker A:And why with our current circumstances that challenge us to trust God.
Speaker A:But we must trust Him.
Speaker A:We must bend our time daily with God in His Word consistently.
Speaker A:It is through repetition that helps affirm and reminds us of God's love and that he is trustworthy.
Speaker A:And repetition is key for our minds and it's part of mindset work to reframe our thinking and how we feel.
Speaker A:So try spending time with God daily in His Word to help you build trust.
Speaker A:If you're lacking his trust right now in his plans and his purpose for you, even if you're not seeing the fruits, you can write Proverbs 3, 5, 6 down on an index card and read it prayerfully in a manner of prayer daily.
Speaker A:You can read it upon waking up, or you can even read it at night before going to bed so that His Truth is the last thing that you remind yourself as you drift off to sleep again.
Speaker A:It's through that repetition that makes it powerful and helps you shift your perspective.
Speaker A:Lastly, you can simply ask God to help you trust Him.
Speaker A:Transformation happens when we include God and partner up with Him by his grace, he can help us to trust Him.
Speaker A:He knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we need to better trust Him.
Speaker A:He can meet us where we're at and he can help us trust Him.
Speaker A:He will provide the steps that he sees fit to help you trust Him.
Speaker A:God wants you to trust him and to always turn to him for help instead of relying on yourself.
Speaker A:Remember that trust.
Speaker A:It's a journey and it's okay to take small steps to build trust.
Speaker A:It may take you small steps to build that trust and that's okay.
Speaker A:Turn to God and partner up with Him.
Speaker A:He will guide you and wants to help you any way he can as long as it's his will.
Speaker A:And this is his will to have you trust him so he will help you.
Speaker A:God's purpose is bigger than we can ever imagine for ourselves.
Speaker A:Even though we do not see it unfolding completely in front of us.
Speaker A:His plan for us, it's unfolding.
Speaker A:It just may not be needed at this present moment.
Speaker A:So let's quickly recap what we cover today.
Speaker A:Number one Trusting God.
Speaker A:That requires reframing your thinking.
Speaker A:Trusting God, especially when we feel we lack trust, requires to reframe our thinking and intentionally shift our perspective.
Speaker A:Just as we build physical muscles through consistent workouts, we can build our mental muscle for trust through regular mindset, routines and practices.
Speaker A:Spend time with God to build trust.
Speaker A:Deepening your trust in God comes through spending time with him in His Word and prayer, just like you would spend time with a friend or a family member to truly know and get to know and understand them.
Speaker A:And repetition of this truth, like Proverbs 3, 5, 6 helps affirm that he can be trusted and he will guide you in his perfect timing even when you cannot see the path ahead.
Speaker A:Number three Ask God to help you trust Him.
Speaker A:Trusting God is a journey and it's okay to ask him to help prayerfully.
Speaker A:Ask God to strengthen your trust in his plan for your life.
Speaker A:Transformation happens when we partner with him and invite his grace to guide us.
Speaker A:Let us pray in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, God, I know deep down in my heart that you are trustworthy.
Speaker A:You have shown us again and again in the Bible and through your actions, Jesus, when you were here with us on earth.
Speaker A:Please help me to trust you and build that trust.
Speaker A:I cannot do this on my own.
Speaker A:I need your grace and I need your guidance.
Speaker A:You know me better than I know myself.
Speaker A:Please help me as I come humbly before you and asking for your guidance.
Speaker A:And Amen.
Speaker A:In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Knowledge is power, but true change happens when it is paired with consistent daily action.
Speaker A:We cannot gain that clarity if we're not taking daily action to help us move forward.
Speaker A:With that said, I would like for you to grab your journal, invite God in, find a cozy, comfortable, quiet spot and just reflect on which one do you feel that God is calling you to focus on to help you build your trust with Him?
Speaker A:And you can ask him, God, where do you want me to focus on to help build your trust?
Speaker A:And please share this inside the Facebook Community Finding youg Purpose, Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms which one of the three that we talked about today that inspired you to start implementing today?
Speaker A:Or which one or ones do you feel that God is calling you to focus on to help build your trust in Him?
Speaker A:So come on over.
Speaker A:Share Inside the Free Facebook Community Finding youg Purpose, Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms and I want to remind you, as I always do, remember, remember, my beautiful sister in Christ, that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose.
Speaker A:You were made to do great things.
Speaker A:God is within you and you will not fail.
Speaker A:Go out and ignite your purpose.
Speaker A:God's not done writing your story.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation.
Speaker A:Until then, may God bless you.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker A:I pray that today's episode blesses and encourages you.
Speaker A:If so, would you please share it with someone you know that would be blessed by it?
Speaker A:If you felt inspired or you learned something Today, please take 30 seconds to leave a written review on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker A:This is the number one way to let me know that you are liking the show and for me to reach other Catholic women like yourself.
Speaker A:If you're feeling uncertain or you're lost on your discernment journey you're not alone.
Speaker A:Join us over in the free Facebook community, Finding youg Purpose, Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms, where Catholic women just like you are sharing, supporting and growing together in faith.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation.
Speaker A:God bless you.
