One of the major keys to receiving direction from God in our lives is learning to ACKNOWLEDGE Him - so says Proverbs 3:6:
"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
Acknowledge in Hebrew is more than just a gesture or expression of recognition. It is the same word used in Genesis 4:1 when Adam knew his wife Eve: "YADA," which means "to know, understand, and become skillful through experience. Acknowledging involves experiential encounters that lead to intimacy, and it is closely connected to "trust" mentioned in Prov. 3:5.
It reveals to us that through experiential encounters with our Father, we come to "know" how He directs His children....and the more and more we come to know the nature of how He moves and how He directs us, we learn to trust and acknowledge Him more and more....and His direction becomes first nature to us.
So, know that you may not understand God's direction in your life at the present moment, but the place that you are in is so that He can establish intimate relationship with you through experiential encounters - How can you truly "know" His direction if you never experience it through real life encounters?
My translation would be: Trust God as He gives you experiential encounters in life, and He will make Himself known to you as He directs you along the journey.
Enjoy the ride.
Janice Sanders