Faith-Led Pivots: How to Know When the Nudge Is Divine, Not Distraction

By Dr. LaSonya Lopez, MD

August 1, 2025

There comes a moment in every purpose-driven woman’s life when logic no longer feels like the compass. When the plan you built, the ladder you climbed, the map you followed starts to feel like someone else’s blueprint. And in that tension—a quiet whisper shows up. A holy nudge. A sacred pause. Something that doesn’t shout but doesn’t let go.

The world might call it a distraction. But what if it’s direction? What if it’s divine?

This blog is for the woman who’s been feeling it. The shift. The pull. The uncomfortable clarity that you were made for more—but that "more" doesn’t look like what you imagined.

This is about faith-led pivots: how to know when it’s time to move, how to discern what’s God and what’s noise, and how to surrender to redirection without losing your mind—or your identity.

The Myth of the Linear Path

We were raised in a culture that prizes clarity, milestones, predictability. Especially high-achievers. Have a five-year plan. Map your success ladder. Stick to what you said you'd do.

But faith doesn't move in straight lines. God doesn’t always deliver instructions in bullet points. And sometimes the calling shows up as disruption. The job loss. The burnout. The unexpected illness. The restlessness that no vacation can fix. These aren’t always signs of failure. Sometimes, they’re divine interventions dressed as inconvenience.

What a Divine Nudge Feels Like

It’s rarely dramatic. Often, it’s inconvenient. And almost always, it requires trust before confirmation.

Divine nudges feel like:

• A deep inner knowing you can’t rationalize.

• A growing discomfort in a space that used to feel aligned.

• Doors closing, not because you’re not good—but because you’ve outgrown them.

• A strange peace about a decision that doesn’t make sense on paper.

Faith-led pivots require us to obey before we understand. To move even while we mourn what we’re leaving. To follow without needing the full itinerary.

The Difference Between a Distraction and Divine Redirection

Let’s be real—how do you know if it’s God or just a fleeting feeling?

Here’s the difference:

• Distractions pull you into ego: urgency, comparison, fear of missing out.

• Divine nudges pull you into surrender: peace, stillness, even if there’s uncertainty.

Distraction rushes. God re-centers. Distraction scrambles. God simplifies. Distraction flatters. God fortifies.

A divine pivot won’t always feel good—but it will feel clear. Not in your mind, but in your spirit. It won’t need hype. It will require humility.

Why Faith-Led Pivots Are So Hard for High-Achieving Women

Because we’re not used to waiting. We’re used to proving. We’re used to performing. We’re used to having receipts. So when God says, “Step away,” we want the backup plan. When He says, “Let go,” we ask for confirmation in triplicate. When He says, “Trust Me,” we pull out our journals and make pros and cons lists. But God doesn’t need your strategy deck. He needs your surrender.

Faith-led pivots ask us to walk away from what’s working, what’s familiar, what’s validated. That’s terrifying. But it’s also holy. Because obedience builds things strategy never could.

Case in Point: My Own Surrender Story

When I left clinical medicine, it didn’t make sense to most people. I was fellowship-trained, successful, respected. But I was exhausted. Disconnected. Empty in ways I couldn’t treat.

The nudges came quietly. Every time I put on my white coat, I felt like I was putting on a costume. Every time I entered the OR, I felt efficient—but not embodied.

And then, came the pivot: To wellness. To creative medicine. To teaching, writing, designing sacred containers for women to heal.There was no guarantee. No roadmap. Just a whisper that said: “You’re not leaving medicine. You’re evolving how you practice it.”

That’s faith. That’s freedom.

Signs You're in a Pivot Season

Here’s what to look for:

• Peace that doesn’t match your circumstances

• Clarity that emerges only when you rest

• Stripping away of false identities

• A hunger for deeper alignment, not just achievement

• Unshakable desire to serve differently—even if you don’t know how yet

This isn’t a midlife crisis. It’s a mid-calling course correction. God is not asking you to abandon your gifts. He’s asking you to use them differently.

What to Do With the Fear

Fear doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path. It means you’re human. But let’s name the fears:

• What if I fail?

• What will people think?

• What if I lose everything I’ve worked for?

• What if I’m making it up?

Now ask:

• What if you don’t?

• What if staying costs you more than leaving?

• What if your next breakthrough is on the other side of this exact surrender?

Fear isn’t the enemy. But it shouldn’t be the driver.

Let peace be the compass. Let obedience be the map.

How to Discern Your Pivot

If you’re wondering whether this is your moment, ask yourself:

1. Is this prompting persistent and sacred—or reactive and ego-based?

2. Does this shift align with the fruit of the Spirit—peace, patience, love—even if it feels uncomfortable?

3. Have I made space to hear from God, or am I drowning in noise?

4. Have I sought wise counsel who can pray, not just plan, with me?

5. Am I willing to move even without applause, even if it looks like failure to the world?

Letting Go of the Performance

Faith-led pivots will not always look impressive. There may be silence. Delay. Unfolding.

But they will make you whole.

You may have to explain less. You may disappoint people. You may outgrow old rooms.

But what you’ll gain is worth it:

• Integrity.

• Peace.

• Divine alignment.

You stop playing a role and start living a revelation.

Your Pivot Is Not a Detour. It’s the Way.

One of the greatest lies is that pivoting means you were wrong. No—pivoting means you are listening.

It’s not weak to change directions. It’s strong to honor new instructions.

Sometimes the pivot is slow. Sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes it’s internal before it’s external. But always—if it’s from God—it will lead to restoration.

Final Encouragement

You are not confused. You are being recalibrated. You are not lost. You are being led.

Faith-led pivots don’t make sense until they do. Trust the nudge. Because what God is building through you doesn’t require constant explanation. It requires trust.

So take the next step. Not the one that looks best on a resume. Not the one that will silence the critics. The one that aligns with His whisper. Because obedience is the new strategy. And sacred pivots create lasting fruit. You are allowed to evolve. And you are not behind. You are right on time for what Heaven has written.

Dr. LaSonya Lopez, MD is a fellowship-trained Urogynecologist, wellness educator, and founder of Pure Needs & Co., a holistic women’s wellness company featuring organic skincare, herbal teas, and pelvic health education.