n his famous poem, "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost describes a critical moment when he reaches a fork in the road and must decide which direction to take. After some deliberation, he makes his choice and proceeds along the road "less traveled," the road "that has made all the difference." The astute reader is left wondering whether that "difference" has been positive or negative.

All of us at some point in our lives reach a fork in the road. At times, which direction we take is not that consequential, as when we choose vanilla ice cream over chocolate. But at other times, which direction we take has monumental consequences, as whom we choose to marry or whether we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

There are also times when we don't face a fork in the road but simply need to determine how to move forward. We may know what direction to take, but we don't know how to take it. For example, we may know God has called us to return to college, but we don't know how we are going to pay tuition. Or we may know God wants us to leave a certain dating relationship, but we don't know how to end it. 

Moving from being "directionally challenged" to being "directionally confident" requires learning to hear God's voice. Yet why do so many of us struggle to hear God speaking to us, giving us direction? Here are three common reasons: 

1) Failure to pray before making a decision. Many Christians forge ahead with their plans without consulting God. Then, after they've made their decision, they expect God to bless it. When the decision turns out to be a disastrous mistake, they run to God to bail them out. In his infinite mercy, he will sometimes do so. But while God always forgives us when we repent, he will not always remove the consequences of our wrong decisions. What we sow, we will reap. 

2) Making decisions based on feelings rather than on God's Word. We live in an age ruled by feelings. If it feels right, it must be right. This is a lie of the devil. Feelings change and depend on circumstances. Truth is absolute and does not change. Truth is what God says in his Word. Scripture admonishes us to make decisions based on truth, not on feelings. To do otherwise is to invite deception. 

The Bible illustrates the nefarious results of making decisions based on feelings. Had David been doing the right thing - fighting with his men in battle - he would not have committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:4). Because he made a decision based on his feelings, he and his family suffered dire consequences. 

3) Failure to wait patiently when God seems silent. Impatience lies at the root of many wrong decisions. When God doesn't act according to our timetable, we think we've misheard him, so we try to help him get the job done. In jumping ahead of God, we forfeit his blessing. Saul tired of waiting for Samuel and took matters into his own hands (I Samuel 13:8-14), resulting in the loss of his kingdom. 

Here are three practical and proven steps we can take to ascertain God's direction: 

1) Spend time with God. As you spend time with him, you will learn to recognize his voice. Just as an infant learns to recognize his mother's voice through close and constant communication with her, so do we learn to recognize God's voice. 

The voice of God is the voice of love. In his booklet entitled "How to Hear the Voice of God Today!" (Gregory Dikow Ministries, Chicago, Illinois, 2003), Pastor Gregory Dickow, founder and pastor of the Chicago-based Life Changers International Church, states that "Hearing the voice of God begins with hearing the voice of Love." God's direction for your life will always be based on love. 

2) Study God's Word. The Bible is God's manual for mankind. It is his primary way of giving us direction for our lives. While the Bible provides general principles for knowing what direction to take (for example, the 10 commandments and the Book of Proverbs), situations arise that are not specifically answered in the Word, like "Should I take this job?" or "Does God want me to move to Atlanta?". 

When facing such choices, we can apply the following principles from God's Word to make wise decisions:

• Ask God for wisdom (James 1:5)
• Claim God’s promise of direction (Psalm 32:8; John 10:27)
• Seek the advice of wise counselors (Proverbs 11:14: 24:6)
• Allow God’s peace to be our umpire (Colossians 3:15)

3) Obey the inner witness (Isaiah 30:21). God speaks to our spirits, telling us whether or not to take a certain direction. When our spirits are peaceful, we know we are moving in the right direction. When our spirits are restless, we should wait, continuing to pray until we do have peace. 

4) Observe circumstances. God sometimes indicates his direction through circumstances. We must be careful, however, to discern whether God is behind the circumstances or whether the devil is setting a trap for us. Again, peace will provide the answer. 

As God's children, we can expect him to direct us. As we spend time with him, we will learn to recognize his voice. When we learn to recognize his voice, we will have little, if any, trouble knowing which direction to take.