1: “It’s harder to confess in areas where I am proficient,” Terry Looper writes in his book Sacred Pace: Four Steps to Hearing God and Aligning Yourself With His Will.
“If I’m already pretty good at something, I get in this mindset that I don’t need the Lord,” Terry observes. “I may not even think about Him when troubles arise, simply because I’m a pro at this; I can figure it out. Consequently, I’m prone to keep pressing ahead in my own knowledge rather than slowing down to seek His.”
This week, we have explored the lessons Terry learned after his nervous breakdown. At the very moment he achieved his goal of financial security with the sale of his company, he collapsed.
His journey ultimately brought Terry closer to God.
“Being aware of our need for God is our greatest strength,” he reflects. “When we lean on Him, we can do anything that He has planned and purposed for us to do.
“Exchanging our weakness for the Lord’s strength enables us to avoid making the mistake that the psalmist decried: ‘Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Ps. 127: 1).
“Think of it,” Terry states. “A life in vain. A business in vain. Relationships in vain. This is what our little kingdoms come to if we strive to accomplish anything minus our true Strength.”
2: Terry developed an actionable framework to help him slow down and connect with the Lord. The four-step process is:
1. Consult your Friend Jesus.
2. Gather the facts.
3. Watch for circumstances.
4. Get neutral.
“For me,” he writes, “Proverbs 3: 5–6 is my entire four-step process in a nutshell: ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'”
The Message translation of the Bible states it even more directly: “Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’S voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”
The final step in Terry’s process is to get neutral. The passage above provides the path to make this happen. Terry writes:
- “Trust in the Lord, not yourself.
- “Trust in His sovereign knowledge, not your limited understanding of present circumstances or your assumptions about the future.
- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. . . This is the place of wholeness where the Spirit of the Lord speaks unfiltered answers.
- “Look to (acknowledge) Him in all your ways—meaning, not just when you clearly need help, and not just in the areas that are out of your hands anyway, but in everything you are considering. The Lord sees the future. In full. Right down to the last detail. Let Him show you which way to go.
- “Believe and expect that He will be true to His promise to not only direct your steps personally but to clear the road ahead so you can live in the security of His plans.”
When you rely on Terry’s four steps, you are able to:
- “Strip away the layers to discern what’s really going on inside you,
- “Confess and work through anything that is hindering you from whatever God wants of you, and
- “Filter down to the heart of the matter—what’s most important—and act on that rather than your fears or selfish whims.”
Is it easy to follow this process? Of course not. “It has not come naturally for me,” Terry reflects.
And yet, it works.
“Upon realizing the difference this approach made in my business and the ripple effect it had in my relationships,” he notes, “I sought to reach a slower speed and get neutral in other areas of life as well. And now, no part of my life is exempt from its influence.”
3: Here is a high-level overview of Terry’s four-step process
Step #1. Consult your Friend Jesus. “The entire process of seeking God’s pace was immersed in prayer (Step 1) from beginning to end,” Terry writes. “That’s initially all I knew to do—hit the brakes and beg God for His mercy and wisdom.”
Terry believes that God wants us to come to Him with our specific wants and needs.
“We see this in the example of the psalmist in Psalm 5: 2–3: “Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”
God waits in anticipation of us approaching Him in prayer. “He encourages it and appeals for it, calling us into it repeatedly. He doesn’t just want to pass on His information to us; He wants to fill us with Himself,” Terry observes. “Then our desires become His, His plans are written into our dreams, and He lives the life of His Spirit in the body of our flesh. It’s a powerful communion, amazing in its mercy.”
We are wise to approach God. As James 1: 5 states, just ask: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
What happened when Terry developed a friendship with Jesus (Step 1)?
“More of a give-and-take occurred. As I brought Him into this decision, it felt as if He brought me into the work that was underway in my life,” he reflects.
“I never stopped asking Him to change and heal me, but at the same time, my eyes were opened to things I could do, such as implementing new routines and habits to help safeguard myself and my family.
“I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised me,” Terry writes. “Since the days in Eden, God has given His people work to do in partnership with Him. But it did surprise me. It excited me, too, because as I was learning to trust Him, He seemed to be entrusting me with more responsibility. I certainly longed to be a good steward of this fresh start!”
Step #2. Gather the facts.
“To gather the facts is to do your due diligence for spiritual purposes,” Terry explains.
“I define facts in this context as ‘any data, reality, or truth that could rightly affect a conclusion,'” he states.
One requirement for proper fact gathering? “The willingness to call things as they are, not as you see them,” Terry says. “People commonly treat true facts (actual truth) and perceived facts (opinions or preferences) as one and the same, when in reality these are sometimes polar opposites!”
The reality is you have blind spots and biases. The sooner you acknowledge this truth, the better. “At least that way you can be more open to the Holy Spirit revealing them at the proper time.”
Step #3. Watch for circumstances.
Terry defines circumstances as “the decisions, actions, or events—typically outside of your control—that may prove providential in a decision.”
How do you know what’s relevant?
“You have to watch and pray,” he writes. “Whereas facts are more finite and objective, circumstances require that you pay attention to the unfolding story.
“You have to let them roll out, with God orchestrating their rhythm, just as a conductor speeds up the tempo or slows it down for emphasis in a song,” he notes.
“God may alter or change our circumstances at any time. Sometimes He uses them to guide us to or confirm His answer once we’ve gotten neutral (Step 4), and sometimes He uses them alongside the facts to help us get neutral.”
Step #4. Get neutral.
“While I’ve numbered the steps,” Terry explains, “getting on God’s pace is rarely a linear progression. In fact, the first three steps are often more like three streams running together until they converge into the ‘river’ of Step 4.”
We arrive here, at the neutral point, “after you’ve prayerfully spent time in God’s presence, obtained His perspective based on all the information at hand, and broken free from your own agenda—you’re ready for His answer,” he notes.
Terry writes that the first three steps help you open your heart to this question: “What do You want me to do, Jesus?”
“Think of this entire process,” he notes, “as easing off the rush of your desires until you are objective. Not so driven by ungodly influences or worldly demands. Wide open to the Lord’s best for you. . .
“The decision to slow your pace allows the first three steps to lead you to the fourth and final step of getting neutral, where you are perfectly positioned to receive the gift of God’s will and, ultimately, to act on it.”
How do you know or sense His answer? “The Bible says that God signals His answers by a confirming peace within,” Terry writes.
“This peace is your green light to move forward, with the Lord’s blessing,” he shares. “God’s peace is very much an in spite of peace—a calm, undeniable knowing and empowering in spite of your circumstances, limitations, or fears.”
Once you are in neutral, you simply stay there until you have “full peace about an answer,” Terry explains. “Confusion or uncertainty meant wait longer. No peace meant the answer was no. Only when I was given a yes with peace would I inch ahead.”
The answers you receive don’t always make sense.
“They don’t always fit the world’s wisdom and rationale. They aren’t pleasurable each and every moment,” Terry observes. “But He has designed them as mile markers to your next destination, and these mile markers lead to glorious places if you will follow them all the way to the end.”
Will you experience some bumps and U-turns? Of course.
“But you have the assurance that every one of them is there for a purpose,” he writes, “to bring you to dream locations and lead you to the most magnificent views.”
For Terry, learning to rely on the Lord’s counsel has been life-changing. “He sovereignly knows and delivers what’s best—and what will bring you joy. Even better, He wants you to have His very best because He loves you so much.”
Terry’s recommendation?
“Practice trusting Him,” he suggests. “Trust is a muscle that we must exercise. Training yourself to rely on His wisdom rather than yours is no joke.”
Sacred Pace at a Glance
Three Key Verses
- “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”—Ps. 37: 4
- “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”—Prov. 3: 5–6
- “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”—Rom. 12: 2
Three Core Truths
- God knows best, and I only think I do.
- He sees the future, and I can’t.
- He loves me and everyone around me more than I ever could.
Four Steps
- Step 1: Consult your Friend Jesus.
- Step 2: Gather the facts.
- Step 3: Watch for circumstances.
- Step 4: Get neutral.
More next week!
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Reflection: When I face decisions, am I relying only on my own understanding—or intentionally creating space to seek clarity and guidance?
Action: Apply the four-step process to one current decision: pause, gather the facts, observe what’s unfolding, and wait until you have clarity and peace before moving forward.
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