The Hearts Hello

God Doesn’t Yell—But He’s Definitely Side-Eyeing Your 13,000 “Confirmations”

• Keona T. Ellerbe • Season 3 • Episode 9

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Quiet has a way of changing everything. We open with a breath and move into the heart of spiritual clarity—learning to recognize divine nudges that don’t crash like thunder but arrive as gentle whispers. If you’ve been waiting for a grand sign, you might be missing the recurring thought, the sudden peace, or the subtle disruption that’s already guiding your next step.

Together we unpack how to spot those signals in daily life—send the text, wait to reply, turn off the TV and sit with God—and why small obedience builds the muscle for bigger assignments. We talk about moving with next-step faith instead of demanding a perfect staircase, and how each step prepares you for the one that follows. You’ll learn a simple discernment filter: does this nudge align with your values, lead to peace, require courage without self-betrayal, and move you from fear to trust? If so, that may be your cue to act.

We also confront the mental battlefield head-on. The lies that stall you tend to repeat because they work—until you pass the test. By naming the thought, asking better questions, and taking one focused step, you interrupt old loops and create new evidence that God’s whisper can be trusted. You’ll leave with three practical actions: write the nudge down, discern it against peace and purpose, and follow one whisper this week. Plus, we share reflection prompts to help you build confidence: what small nudge have you ignored, what fruit came from past obedience, and are you willing to trust God with the small—not just the spectacular?

If this conversation met you in a busy season, consider it a permission slip to slow down, listen closely, and move with quiet courage. Share this episode with a friend who needs a gentle push, subscribe for weekly moments of clarity, and leave a review to help more people learn to trust the whisper.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey. All right. So before we get started, let's breathe together. Inhale for four and hold it. Exhale for eight. I needed you to do that really quickly. Why? Because I need you to lean in. This episode isn't about loud. It's not about shouting. It's not about a grand announcement. It's about those quiet moments that change everything. The simple, the still, the soft nudges. You've been feeling, but maybe haven't given yourself permission to trust. So today we're talking about how God reestablishes us not through chaos, but through clarity. And sometimes the clarity doesn't come as a voice from the clouds, it comes as a whisper in your soul. So I know, I know you're like, what? What's a nudge? And why is it that we miss it? Well, let me just say this: that when you get that nudge, you are not crazy. That you are not making it up, that you are not being too sensitive. Because that feeling, that knowing, that thought that keeps coming back, that whisper that you try to ignore but keeps pulling at you, that's your nudge. And I need you to hear me clearly that nudges are one of the most divine tools God uses to shift your direction without breaking your back. But most of us miss them because we're waiting on this thunder when God is speaking in a whisper. So I need you to recognize a nudge. And I'm going to break it down for you like this. A nudge can look like a recurring thought, one that won't leave you alone. You try to brush it off, and there it is again. It could be a moment of peace. Right in the middle of a storm, there's an idea that doesn't bring fear, but it brings stillness. Or it could show up as a disruption where your plan was moving one way, but something is tugging at you in another direction. It's not always deep. Sometimes it's as simple as send that text message. Don't respond to that email right now. Turn off the TV and just sit with me. And let me tell you, I used to override all of that. I used to say, that can't be God. That's that's too small. But now, oh my gosh, I have learned to lean in because it's sacred. Have you ever just had a moment where someone that you haven't spoken to in a really long time crosses your mind, crosses your heart. And you're like, you know what? I'm going to call them, what do you say? Later. Later comes and goes. It's been a week, and it pops back up in your mind again. Call so-and-so. And when you call that person and say, I was supposed to call you a week ago, what do they sometimes say? Either something was hitting the fan in their life, or they really needed a friend in that moment. Or it could be the other way around, which I'm finding for me now is because I will lean into when that person does indeed cross my heart and my mind. I'll send that text message, I'll make that phone call because I never know what's going on. But clearly, if you have crossed my mind for some odd reason that I have no clue about, God is clearly instructing me to give you a call. It could very well be that you making that phone call is going to cause them to maybe run late. Could be preventing them from having some sort of accident or helping them to remember something that they were supposed to do. You just never know. And so we have to get comfortable and we have to get and have to be aware enough of when we are being nudged to do something. But what happens when we follow the nudge? Or when should we follow the nudge? And so here's the thing: not every nudge needs a 30-day confirmation and three signs from heaven. I know that I'm talking to you. I know that you're saying I just I'm gonna wait for confirmation. I I may have heard something, but I'm not quite sure. And then you what do you do? You'll go and run it by 13,000 people and ask for their opinion. And then what happens? You don't do anything with it. Why? Because they weren't given the nudge. So it could be a nudge if it aligns with your values and what you already know to be true. If it leads to your peace and not confusion, if it requires faith but not self-betrayal, if it pushes you out of fear and into trust, then it might be time to move. See, you don't need the full staircase, you just need the next step. And you don't need everyone's approval, just God's whisper and your obedience. I want you to think about it like this: you being able to hold your hand out, and the person is saying, Trust me. You don't know where exactly you're going, but you know that you're walking and they're saying, Okay, take a step. All right, we're getting ready to step off the curb one foot at a time. All right, we're getting ready to cross the street. You can't see it, but you are trusting the person enough to guide you that you're no harm is going to come to you. That's what happens when you follow the nudge. That's what happens when you lean into. That's what happens when you're not focused on what A through Z, the whole staircase is going to look like. Because let me tell you something. Even if you were given the full staircase, some of you will still not move your feet. Why? Because it will look daunting and overwhelming to you. You will begin to look at all of the things that you need to do right then and there. But what God does is He gives you a glimpse into where it is that you're getting ready to go, and He gives you just enough for you to move your feet, just enough for you to motivate yourself, just enough for you to take the next step. And when you take the first step, he gives you the next set of instructions. Because there's no need in giving you all of the instructions right then and there if you are not going to take the first step. That's just like you getting a recipe and you reading through the whole recipe. You got all of the ingredients, you got all of these things. But it it tells you and it gives you all of that, in addition to it, breaks it down step by step. So the same thing happens, the same thing applies in this scenario. You do step one, you get step two. And at some point, you get to the end where you have this full recipe and you have this amazing thing, but you can't do it all at one time. You can't try to skip steps because there is a lesson in every step that you take, and especially knowing how God operates and how He moves, the steps end up getting harder the more you go up. But the step below it was preparing you for the next one. And then there are going to be times when you need to ask the next question. Now, let me pause right here and say this because obedience does not mean recklessness. There will be times when a nudge feels confusing. You're not sure if it's God, your emotions, your trauma, or your ambition talking. That's when you pause. That's when you say, Okay, Lord, I feel this, but is this you? What's the timing for this? What are you trying to show me through this nudge before I run with it? See, your discernment is not delay, it's clarity. So it's okay to ask the next question, not because you're afraid, but because you're invested. So be okay with asking the question. God's not gonna get mad. Just ask the question. So here are my action steps for you this week. I want you to actually do something with this word. Because you already know that we don't do passive listening around here. Not here, not on this, not on this show. We take action. And so the very first thing that I need you to do is write the nudge down. Don't just feel it, put it on paper. What have you been feeling drawn to do or say lately? Number two, discern it. Is it leading you toward peace? Is it aligned with your purpose? If yes, you already know. If no, take it back to God. Ask him the next question. And number three, follow one nudge this week, big or small, it doesn't matter, just one. Move on one whisper. I dare you. I dare you. And watch how God begins to move in your life. Because what I know is that there has to be a level of I can trust with this nudge. I can trust that if I share this with them that they are going to do exactly what it is that I have asked them to do. You have to get comfortable with the nudges. It's almost like a test. If I whisper this to them, will they move? Will they recognize my voice? Will they ask another question? Will they sit still enough? And here's another piece to this in your quiet time, in your prayer time, ask for discernment. Not just, you know, asking for wisdom, ask for knowledge. Ask what should I be asking? I know that might sound strange, but ask what should I be asking? When you're getting ready to go into a meeting, what should I know before I get here? How should I show up? How should I prep? How should I prepare? How should I prepare for what it is that you're getting ready to do through me? Because we have to begin to move. We have to begin to get to a place where we're not just sitting on the words that we have been given. Those times are far gone. You have sat on enough that you know without a shadow of a doubt that you're supposed to be doing. But you allowed fear to step in the way. You have allowed the opinions of other people to step in the way. You thought, you even told yourself that you are not qualified to do the very thing that you know that you're supposed to do. So you talked yourself out of the thing, not anybody else. See, one thing that I know for sure, two things for certain, is that the devil's playground is your mind. And it's not anyone else coming in. But what he does all day long is to throw thoughts. That's all he can do. And if he can get you off your square, if he can get you off your game, if he can talk you out of the very thing that you know that you're supposed to do, because let me tell you something. Not only does God know where it is that you're getting ready to go, the devil knows what's inside of you. He knows all of those times where he's talked you out of the very thing that you know that you're supposed to be doing. And so, guess what? If you don't pass that test, the same thing begins to pop back up again. Now, I know I'm not qualified for that. Where did that thought come from? Because it's already been tested and proven that it works on you. So until you begin to step outside of your comfort zone, until you begin to tell yourself that that is a lie and move, you have failed the test again. So why switch the test up? Why when it's already proven that it works? So will you pass the test this time? Will you decide that where did that thought come from? Why is it showing up again? And when you begin to make the decision that you are going to move off of the nudge that you know you're supposed to be doing, that and that only is the time that that test will be passed, and you won't have to take that one again. So, my reflection questions for you that I want you to journal and to speak them out loud as you walk today, as you are taking some time for yourself today, is what's one nudge I've been ignoring because it didn't feel important enough? When was the last time I followed a nudge and what fruit came from it? And am I willing to trust God with small obedience, not just big breakthroughs? See, the small builds up to the big, but you have to be trusted with the small first. Because just like I shared with you earlier, what if you are given that nudge to call that person and you decide that you're going to call them later? Get comfortable with the small so that the big will begin to show up in your life. So listen, friend, this journey of reestablishing your life, your identity, your confidence, it's not about making big, bold moves every single day. Sometimes it's about being sensitive enough to hear God in the silence and being bold enough to follow him without a full map. That's what strength looks like in this season. Not noise, not hustle, not perfection, just obedience to a whisper. So today, follow it. And if it's unclear, ask. Then trust. You're not lost, you're being led. And I'm right here with you always. So if this episode met you right where you are, if it reminded you to pause and pay attention, share it with someone else because let's normalize trusting the nudge. And guess what? In the next month, I'm going to be hosting a living cold workshop, Passion and Purpose, where we're going to talk about these things and more. So it's some new things on the horizon, y'all, right? So check out my new YouTube page, and it's going to be at Kiana Telena. So every Thursday there's going to be a live session. And if you miss it, no problem. It'll be there for you to come back to. But I'm excited because we're walking this reestablished journey together. All right.