After God started getting my attention, something else began to shift.
Not all at once. But in a very specific area of my life.
A Decision That Started With Me
I decided to stop listening to secular music.
At the time, I didn’t clearly recognise it as God leading me.
It felt like a personal decision—a shift I thought I should make.
But looking back, I can see that God was already at work in ways I didn’t fully understand.
Because sometimes He doesn’t interrupt with obvious instruction.
He begins by stirring something within you.
Scripture says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
The Struggle I Didn’t Expect
Almost immediately, I realised something practical: I didn’t have enough gospel music to replace what I had removed. Especially in moments like the gym, where I needed energy to keep going.
And that’s where it became real.
It wasn’t just about stopping something. It was about what would now fill that space.
What You Feed On Shapes You
Scripture says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).
And I began to understand this more practically. What you consistently take in doesn’t stay neutral.
It shapes your thoughts.
It influences your emotions.
It forms your inner life over time.
This wasn’t just about music being “good” or “bad.” It was about what was shaping me.
God Had Already Gone Ahead
What I didn’t realise at the time was this: God had already gone ahead of me.
What felt like my own decision was something He would use to draw me deeper. And He had already begun making provision for it.
Scripture says, “The Lord himself goes before you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
A friend had planned a 40th birthday trip to Doha back in May 2024—months before I could see how God would use it.
At the time, it just felt like a normal trip on the calendar.
But God was already working through it in ways I couldn’t yet see.
When God Provides What You Didn’t Plan For
That trip became a turning point for me.
Not because everything changed instantly, but because God used it to begin filling what I had removed.
Every gospel song that played, I found myself drawn to it. I would Shazam it, save it, replay it later.
Without forcing anything, I realised I was slowly building a new playlist. And as my playlist changed, so did my environment.
And I started to realise: God doesn’t just call you to let go of something.
He also fills the space you create as you begin to turn toward Him.
El Roi Was Already There
El Roi—the God who sees me (Genesis 16:13)—had already gone ahead of me.
It was on that trip to Doha in 2025 that He used conversations, people, worship, and even the environment to gently shape something in me.
Not in a forced way. But in a way I could grow into.
A Shift, Not a Moment
This wasn’t an overnight transformation.
And it still isn’t complete.
It has been a gradual shift—one that is still unfolding.
What started as my decision has become something God is still refining, reshaping, and using.
Because sometimes obedience doesn’t feel dramatic. Sometimes it just feels like a simple choice.
And only over time do you begin to realise: God was in it all along—and He’s still not finished yet.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).
Closing Thought
I’m learning that God doesn’t always lead with loud instructions.
Sometimes He works through quiet decisions we think are ours.
And only later do we recognise: He was guiding all along.
Closing Prayer
Father, Thank You for working in my life even when I don’t fully recognise it at the time.
Thank You for guiding me, even through the decisions that seem small.
Help me to be sensitive to Your leading in every area of my life.
And teach me to trust that You are always ahead of me, preparing what I need.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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