One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned while teaching and discipling people is this: God rarely ever transforms us in giant leaps. Most often, He shapes us one nudge at a time. We don’t usually wake up suddenly holy, mature, wise, and disciplined. Instead, God steadily forms Christ in us through small, repeated promptings of the Holy Spirit. Over time, those little nudges become the very catalysts that turn ordinary people into leaders of faith.
Scripture reveals this pattern clearly. Philippians 2:13 NLT — “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
This verse isn’t describing a dramatic spiritual overhaul that happens overnight. It’s describing God gently influencing us — shaping our desires, guiding our choices, stirring our conscience. Little internal movements… holy nudges… that slowly transform the heart.
Most people don’t realize how powerful these nudges are. We tend to look for the big moment — the life-changing encounter, the dramatic revelation, the thunderbolt from Heaven. But more often, God works through the whisper, the conviction, or even something simple like that thing the Pastor said last Sunday that suddenly hit your heart like it was meant just for you. These nudges don’t feel big, but they are the building blocks of spiritual leadership.
Think of Moses. Before he ever stood before Pharaoh, before he ever stretched his staff over the Red Sea, God nudged him at a burning bush. One nudge led to the next. One obedience led to another. And an unsure, reluctant man slowly became one of the greatest leaders in the history of faith.
God still works this way. Isaiah 30:21 NLT says, “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” What is this except God’s gentle guiding voice — His nudges — steering us step by step?
The problem isn’t that God isn’t nudging us. It’s that we often ignore them. We dismiss them as our own thoughts. We brush them off because they feel small or inconvenient, or we are simply not paying attention. But every time we respond to a nudge — even a tiny one — something inside us strengthens. We gain spiritual muscle. We grow in obedience. Our hearts become more sensitive to His prompting. And over time, these small obedience's accumulate into a blooming transformation.
People who become leaders — husbands and wives who lead their homes, parents who model Christ, believers who influence others — aren’t built in a moment. They’re built through a long series of nudges responded to faithfully. Each nudge makes us a little braver, a little humbler, a little wiser, a little more like Jesus.
And here’s the beautiful part: God is patient with us in this process. He knows we’re learning. He knows we stumble. He knows we respond imperfectly. Yet He nudges again and again because He sees the person we are becoming. He sees the leader hidden inside the learner. He sees the finished work long before we do.
And one day, we look back and realize: “I didn’t become who I am by accident. God shaped me — one nudge at a time.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT — “And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.”
Father, thank You for every gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit that shapes us into the likeness of Your Son. Help us recognize Your voice more clearly, respond more quickly, and trust that small obediences lead to great transformation. Make us men who are teachable, humble, and responsive to Your leading — one nudge at a time. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
