My experience has been that the Spirit confirms to me that things will be OK and will work out if I keep trying to do my best and keep love in my heart.
I don’t feel the Lord points me down a path … but does say, “Sure…go ahead…you’ll be just fine going that way if that’s what you want.”
I was scared at first to go down the path of reading too many things on the Internet, and thought to myself that I taught people on my mission to search out truth, and go to the Lord in prayer to confirm truth. If that is what I expect people to do to join mormonism, that I should be safe to do the same in studying mormonism and other things.
My problem is not that the Lord disapproves of my new paths…but that those around me that don’t understand me disapprove.
With new paths come new challenges, and also new revealed truths and blessings. You just have to manage the risks.