Latest / truthunedited / The real question is_ _Do you want God to change you__(M4A_128K)

Transcript

The real question is_ _Do you want God to change you__(M4A_128K) · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Have you ever said, God, I need something to change,
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but deep down what you meant was God, change it
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my way. It's one of the most dangerous prayers we pray,
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and not because we're asking for too much, but because
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we're asking with a hidden contract, a silent script we've
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already written in our heads. We don't want just any change.
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We want change on our terms, in our timing, with
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the outcome we already picked. But what if the change
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you're begging for is blocked because it doesn't align with
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God's leadership. Maybe you're asking for healing, but he's asking
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for holiness. Maybe you want a new job, but he's
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trying to teach you perseverance right where you are. Maybe
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you're praying for a relationship to be restored, but God
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is protecting you from it for a reason you can't
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see yet. And here's the deeper issue. We don't just
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want God to move, We want him to agree with
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our plan. So we call it faith when we're really
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practicing manipulation. We say God, I trust you, but what
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we mean is God, I'll trust you as long as
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you do what I think is best. And when he doesn't,
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we get offended, confuse disappointed, even bitter. But here's the
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question no one wants to ask. Do you want to
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follow God or do you just want him to follow you?
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Because the real war isn't over change, it's over leadership.
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There's a young man I know, talented, driven, full of vision.
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He prayed for open doors, He fasted, served, led small groups,
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but nothing moved for years, And one day, in frustration,
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he cried out, God, why haven't you opened the door?
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And in the quiet of his heart he sensed the
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spirit say, because you're still trying to pick the hallway.
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He wasn't waiting on God. He was waiting on God
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to do things his way. And that's all of us,
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isn't it? A single mum begging God to provide, but
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panicking the moment she's asked to tithe, The entrepreneur crying
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out for breakthrough but refusing to release control of the
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business decisions to biblical counsel. The college student wanting direction
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but secretly hoping God's will includes that one relationship they
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know they're supposed to walk away from. We say we
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want God to lead, but we don't want to be
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led anywhere uncomfortable, And yet every real transformation in scripture
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began with this confrontation, not my will but yours. Before
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God brings change around you, he brings surrender within you
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before he parts the sea. He tests your obedience before
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he shows you the map. He asks for your trust
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because he's not just trying to get you to a
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better place. He's trying to make you a different person.
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So the question isn't do you want change? The real
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question is do you want God to change you. By
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the end of this journey, we're going to unpack what
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it really means to be led by the spirit, not
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just inspired by the idea. You'll learn how to hear
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his voice, how to wait without wasting time, how to
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take steps without hijacking his plan, and how to surrender
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not just your situation but your outcome. And if you've
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been stuck in the cycle of praying for change but
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staying in control, this is your turning point. If you've
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ever felt frustrated with your lack of direction, if you've
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cried God, just show me what to do. You're not
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alone and you're not abandoned. This whole channel was created
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for moments like these. Here are deep Bible stories we
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break down scripture, not just for knowledge, but for transformation.
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We've walked through the cries of the Psalms, the fire
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of Isaiah, the strategy of Ephesians, and the wisdom of Proverbs,
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and it's all available add free on our website. We've
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also converted our most impactful video teachings into ebooks for
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those who want to go deeper when the screen turns off.
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But more than anything, this is our prayer that you
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don't just hear truth, you follow it, that this teaching
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becomes a doorway not into information, but into obedience. So
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you'll find everything you need study guides, links and ways
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to support in the description below. With that said, let's
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step into the voice of God's leading, because he is
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still speaking, and he's not just leading you to change,
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he's leading you to himself. It's not that God isn't speaking,
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it's that we can't hear him over the noise. Our
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lives are crowded with voices, social media, reels, podcasts, the
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group chat, news updates, pair and mentors, past regrets, internal fears,
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and our own wishful thinking. And in the middle of
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all that, we're trying to hear the whisper of God.
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But what if the reason we struggle to discern his will.
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Isn't because he's silent, but because we've trained our ears
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to everything but his voice. Jesus said in John ten
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twenty seven, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
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and they follow me. He didn't say might hear? He
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said do, which means the real question isn't is God's speaking,
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it's have I learned to recognize his voice. Imagine a
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mother in a crowded room dozens of children are laughing, crying, yelling,
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but let her child fall just once and her head
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snaps around. Why because she knows that cry, She's heard
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it for years, She's studied its tone. She's trained to respond,
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That's what God wants with you. But that kind of
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clarity doesn't come from a random quiet time or an
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occasional prayer. It comes from history, from proximity, from learning
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his cadence in the Secret Place. Romans twelve two gives
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us the blueprinter. Do not conform to the pattern of
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this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
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Then you will be able to test and approve what
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God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. Did
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you catch that you don't discover God's will by guessing.
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You discover it by being transformed. When your mind is
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renewed by scripture, when your soul is detox from fear, pride,
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and distraction, when your desires have been a line through
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prayer and surrender, then you can discern what's from God
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and what's not. But let's be honest. Most of us
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want clarity without commitment. We want to know what God
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thinks without spending time in his word. We want direction,
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but not discipline. We want answers, but we haven't made
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room for intimacy. It's like trying to tune into a
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radio station while standing under a freeway. You're picking up fragments,
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static interference, but no signal. Why not because the station
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isn't broadcasting, but because the environment is too loud. God's
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voice is wholly. He doesn't compete with chaos. If your
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mind is always scrolling your emotions, always reacting your relationships,
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always feeding your ego or your fear, you won't hear clearly.
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You'll hear fragments that sound close to truth. You'll feel
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what you want to believe. You'll convince yourself it's peace,
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when really it's relief. Let's get real. With some examples.
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You feel drawn to take a job that pays more,
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but something deep in your spirit won't settle. Your friends
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say it's a no brainer, but in the quiet of
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your heart there's tension that's not fear. It might be
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the spirit. Or you're dating someone who seems like a
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perfect fit. You have chemistry, values, plans, but when you pray,
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it's silent, no clarity, just static. Maybe it's not because
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God isn't answering, but because he already has and you
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just don't want to hear no. Or maybe you're thinking
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about moving, changing churches, launching something new. Everything makes logical sense,
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but the more you talk about it, the more you
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find yourself defending it instead of resting in it. That
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could be a spirit detecting a misalignment. And then there's
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the opposite, when you're afraid to move forward because it
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doesn't make sense on paper. But there's peace, deep peace,
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not the absence of fear, but the presence of God
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in the fear. That's usually where he leads. Discerning God's
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voice isn't just about avoiding wrong decisions. It's about learning
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the tone of the one who loves you. The flesh pushes.
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The spirit prompts that. The flesh panics. The spirit brings peace.
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The flesh needs immediate clarity. The spirit is patient even
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in silence. The flesh manipulates outcomes. The spirit invites obedience,
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regardless of results. If the voice your following is frantic, anxious,
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pressure filled, that's not him. If it contradicts scripture, it's
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not him. If it appeals to ego over humility, it's
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not him. If it demands you rush past wisdom or
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isolate yourself from godly counsel, it's not him. The whisper
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of God will never call you to rebellion or rationalization.
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It calls you to relationship. And here's the beautiful part.
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You can learn it. The more you spend time in
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the word, the more the author's voice becomes familiar. The
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more you pray honestly, not performatively, The more your ears
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tune to his presence. The more you obey in small things,
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the more clarity you'll receive in bigger ones, because clarity
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follows consecration. One woman told me she never thought she
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could hear God's voice, but after fasting from media for
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twenty one days, spending intentional time journaling and reading psalms
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each morning. She said, I didn't hear an audible voice,
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but I felt like I knew what peace sounded like
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for the first time. That's it, that's the whisper. Another
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man said he used to rush every decision, hustle, force outcomes,
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but after learning how to ask God, does this glorify you,
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he found himself walking away from things that once seemed golden,
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not because they were wrong, but because they weren't his.
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And that's where we land. If you want to hear
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God's whisper, you have to create the kind of soul
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he whispers into. You have to choose silence when the
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world offers noise. You have to choose scripture over speculation.
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You have to choose surrender over speed. Because the whisper
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doesn't come to those who demand it. It comes to
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those who wait for it. And now, if you're beginning
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to recognize the tension in your own heart, if you're
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realizing some of your yeses were rooted in fear, pressure
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or personal preference, then you're ready for what comes next.
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Because once you've learned how to listen, you have to
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learn how to follow. And that's the difference between being
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moved by the spirit and being led by him. You've
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probably felt it before, that quiet tug in your spirit,
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not a shout, not a push, just a sense, a prompting,
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a pause. It wasn't pressure, but it wasn't passive either.
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It was the Holy Spirit. That's how he leads, not
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with panic, not with guilt, not with force, but with
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a peace filled precision that whispers this way. Galatians five
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sixteen to twenty five paints the picture clearly. Walk by
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the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of
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the flesh. It doesn't say run, it doesn't say strive.
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It says walk, step by step, in rhythm, in sync,
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like a dance, not a race. But many of us
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mistake the fruit of the spirit for the force of striving.
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We think that to be holy means to be busy,
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to be led means to be constantly doing. But the
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Spirit doesn't drag, He invites, he doesn't guilt trip, he guides.
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He doesn't manipulate with fear. He leads with love. Let's
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look at some real life. There's a woman I know
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who used to serve in every ministry, kids, hospitality, Sunday
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night prayer, Monday morning set up Whennesday night Bible study.
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She was always moving, always led, until one night she
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collapsed from exhaustion. In the silence that followed, she realized
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something gut wrenching. She had been moving for God, but
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not with him. She had confused approval with calling business
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with obedience, and the Spirit gently whispered, I didn't ask
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for all that I asked for you or the man
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who was about to take a high paying promotion, it
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checked every box, more income, better title, prestigious role. Everyone
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told him it was a blessing, but when he prayed,
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he felt no peace, just a quiet unease. It wasn't fear,
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it was the spirit, and so he turned it down.
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Months later, the entire division was laid off in a restructuring.
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God had led him away from something that looked like
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gain but would have ended in collapse. Because that's what
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the spirit does. He leads us not just to success,
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but to safety, not just to opportunity, but to obedience.
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But here's the key. You have to walk. You can't
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expect to hear the spirit clearly if you're sprinting ahead
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in your own strength. You can't claim to be led
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if you're constantly dragging God behind your own agenda. Galatians
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five doesn't just describe the leading, it contrasts it. The
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flesh urges you to rush, The spirit teaches you to wait.
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The flesh wants instant gratification. The spirit grows fruit, slow, patient, steady.
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The flesh pulls toward envy, control, impurity, rage. The spirit
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develops love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
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self control. You can't fake those things. You can't manufacture
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them through sheer effort. At their grown in the soil
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of surrender. So what does it look like to truly
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walk with them spirit? It's the college student who pauses
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before choosing a major, not because she's afraid, but because
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she wants her career to be called not just convenient.
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It's the young couple who prays before every financial decision,
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not just because they're afraid of debt, but because they
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believe stewardship is sacred. It's the man who deletes the app,
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cancels the subscription, blocks the number, not because he's trying
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to earn righteousness, but because the Spirit is leading him
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into freedom. And it's not always loud. Sometimes the spirit
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leads you to stay silent in an argument you're right about.
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Sometimes he leads you to pray for the very person
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who broke your heart. Sometimes he leads you to rest
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when your instinct is to hustle. Sometimes he leads you
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into a room you never wanted to enter so he
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can heal something you never knew was broken. But the
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spirit never drags. If you feel pressured, manipulated, frenzied, it's
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not him. If you feel forced, afraid, or shamed, it's
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not him. Even his conviction feels like mercy. He leads
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with kindness, and his kindness leads us to repentance. But
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don't confuse gentle with passive. The spirit is decisive. He
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will not compete with your will forever. He will not
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scream over the chaos you create. He will not hold
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your hand while you flirt with compromise. He waits, but
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not forever. There are seasons where delay is disobedience, where
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the whisper becomes a warning, where I'm still praying about
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it is a spiritual excuse to avoid what you already know.
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And if you don't move when he leads, you will
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eventually drift where he never called you. So ask yourself
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to day are you walking in step with the Spirit
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or just dragging his name into your plans, is the
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fruit of your decisions, peace, patience, and joy, or burn out,
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confusion and chaos. Because the proof of being spirit led
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isn't in how loud you pray. It's in how you live,
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in how you choose love when anger would be easier.
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In how you wait when the world says run, in
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how you trust when everything feels uncertain, in how you
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obey without needing all the details. That's the life he
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leads you into, not always easy, but always true. And now,
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if your heart is stirring, if you're starting to remember
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places where you've rushed, forced, or dragged God behind your plans,
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there's good news. The Spirit hasn't given up on you.
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He's still whispering, still guiding, still willing to lead. But
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the next move is yours. And if you're ready to
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follow his lead, you have to learn the most uncomfortable,
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freeing lesson of all. Sometimes when God is silent, it's
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not rejection, it's preparation. Because walking with the Spirit isn't
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just about clarity, it's about trust. And now we step
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into the silence that trains us to listen more deeply
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than ever before. You prayed, you fasted, you waited, You
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told yourself, God is going to move. But the phone
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didn't ring, the door didn't open, that the pain didn't stop. Instead,
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there was silence, deafening, paralyzing, frustrating silence. And though your
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lips never set it out loud, your heart began to whisper,
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Has He forgotten me? Did I mess this up? Is
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this punishment? Is this rejection? We rarely talk about it,
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but most believers will face this at some point, the
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ache of feeling like Heaven has gone quiet. You do
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everything right, You stay faithful, you show up to church,
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you tithe, you try not to doubt, But inside there's
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a heaviness, a question that keeps growing. Where is God? Now?
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You're not alone? Ask the woman who's been praying for
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a child for seven years while watching every friend post
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ultrasound photos. Ask the man who's faithfully pursued purity and
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character and still hasn't met a spouse while others around
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him cheat their way into engagement. Asked the cancer survivor
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who finally got through chemo only to hear it's back.
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Ask the college graduate who begged God for guidance. But
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still feels directionless months after tossing their cap. Ask the
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widow who lies in bed every night begging God to
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show her what to do with this life. She didn't
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ask to live alone. They've all felt it at that
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quiet sting, that terrifying stillness, the silence that doesn't come
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with lightning bolts or burning bushes, just absence. But here's
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what you need to hear. God's silence is not rejection.
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It's often preparation. It feels like nothing is happening. But
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what if the silence is when the roots are going deepest.
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Think of Joseph, betrayed, sold enslaved, imprisoned. There were years
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of silence between his dreams and their fulfillment. No prophecies,
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no angelic visits, no updates from heaven, just a dungeon,
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just daily obedience, just disappointment. But underground, character was being carved,
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Humility was being forged, faith was being fire tested because
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the throne he would sit on required a strength. Silence
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could create or David anointed king, then hunted like a criminal.
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God had spoken so clearly and then disappeared into the wilderness.
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But that cave wasn't a detour. It was a class room.
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He learned how to worship without an audience, how to
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cry out without answers, how to obey without applause. Silence
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didn't break him, it built him. And then there's Jesus
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himself for thirty years silence, no miracles, no crowds, just carpentry,
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dust and discipline. He who was the Word lived in
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obscurity for three decades. Why because Heaven knows great callings
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require deep formation, and formation doesn't happen in noise. It
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happens in the quiet. We don't like that part. We
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want burning bushes and parted seas. We want the spirit
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to shout instead of whisper. We want to be led
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with fireworks, not with faith. But God is more committed
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to who you're becoming than how fast you're getting there.
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And if it takes silence to strengthen your surrender, he'll
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let the heavens stay still. I once spoke to a
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woman who prayed for ten years for her husband to
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come to Christ. She nearly gave up in year five.
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She thought God had said no, but he hadn't. He
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had just said not Yet. In year ten, her husband
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got saved on a random Tuesday morning in his truck
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listening to a worship song he didn't even remember downloading.
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He wept for an hour, and now he leads others
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in Bible study. The silence was never about punishment. It
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was about timing. But what do you do in the silence?
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You stop equating silence with absence. You stop measuring God's
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love by how loud he speaks. You start anchoring your
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soul in what he already said. That's what Jesus did
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in the wilderness. Satan tempted him with the silence of hunger,
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but Jesus didn't wait for a fresh word. He quoted
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the written one. It is written, it is written. It
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is written. When God seems quiet, read louder when Heaven
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feels still, worship louder when the plan isn't clear, obey
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in what is the silence isn't empty. Its sacred space.
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It's where roots grow, It's where motives are refined, and
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it's where trust becomes more than a song lyric. It
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becomes your language. And when He does speak, you'll be
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ready to follow. But here's the miracle of the silence.
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It's not just what God does in you, it's what
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you learn about him. You learn that he's faithful even
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when he's quiet. You learn that he's near even when
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you can't feel him. You learn that you don't need
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a constant answer to know you're loved. And if you
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can walk through the silence with your faith intact, you'll
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come out with a peace the world can't understand and
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a discernment it can't fake. So hold on because change
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doesn't start with noise. It starts with trust, and that trust, deep, raw,
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quiet trust is what leads you to the next revelation. Sometimes,
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when you don't know what God wants, you have to
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learn how to move anyway, not recklessly, but faithfully. Because
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silence doesn't always mean stay. Sometimes it means take one
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step and I'll meet you there. And that's exactly what
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we'll explore next. When the path isn't lit, when the
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voice isn't loud, when you're not sure what God wants,
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what do you do? Then you move by faith? What
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do you do when the map disappears, When every option
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feels risky, every prayer feels unanswered, and the future is
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a question mark taped to your chest. You've begged for clarity,
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fasted for breakthrough, laid in bed staring at the ceiling,
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whispering God, I'll do anything to say Chagusai, just tell
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me what you want. But heaven is quiet, the cross
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roads are crowded, and your heart is tired. This is
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where many believers get stuck. Not in sin but in silence,
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not in rebellion, but in confusion. They want to follow God,
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but they're paralyzed by the fear of choosing wrong, so
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they do nothing. They sit, They wait and call it wisdom.
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But slowly that stillness turns into stagnation, and behind it
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all is one hidden fear. What if I move and
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miss God? But what if? The issue isn't that you're stuck,
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It's that you're waiting for a kind of clarity God
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never promised. James one five gives you a starting point.
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If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
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who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will
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be given him. Psalm twenty five four echoes it show
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me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. God's will
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is not a cosmic guessing game. He's not hiding from you.
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He doesn't speak in riddles. He's not teasing your obedience.
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But his will is more often revealed in motion than
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in maps. You don't find it by freezing, you find
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it by walking in faith, step by step. Let's ground
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this in real life. A young woman was praying whether
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to move to a new city. She'd received a job offer,
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but her family was here, her church, her memories. She
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asked everyone for advice, prayed every day, Still no clear answer,
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just fog. Eventually she made a simple decision, I'm going
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to move forward until God stops me. She rented an apartment,
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she packed, She prayed. Still no resistance, no unrest. In fact,
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the further she moved, the more peace she found. Three
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months after moving, she met the mentor who would change
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her life. And looking back, she said, I didn't have
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a sign. I had steps and God was in them.
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Another man felt called to ministry, but every door kept closing.
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No seminary accepted him, no mentors returned his call. He
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felt humiliated, confused, so he asked God, what do you
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want from me? And God whispered back, what's all ready
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in your hands. That day he realized he could start
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a Bible study at the factory where he worked, just
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him and two co workers. Within a year, that group
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grew to over thirty people and led to three baptisms.
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He said, I kept waiting for permission, but God was
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waiting for obedience. It's the point when you don't know
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what God wants. Don't freeze, don't obsess, don't spiral. Do
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what's clear while you wait for what's cloudy. Here's how
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one ask boldly James one. Five doesn't say beg It
27:47
says ask. Ask with expectation, not entitlement. Wisdom isn't a
27:52
reward for good behavior. It's a gift for surrendered hearts.
27:56
But you have to ask sincerely, not while clutching your
28:00
own agenda. In the other hand. Two, Obey what's already obvious.
28:05
You don't need new revelation if you're ignoring old instructions.
28:09
Forgive the person, honor your parents, Stay sexually pure, be generous,
28:15
stay in community. These are not mysteries, their commands. God
28:21
rarely reveals more to those who disregard what he's already said.
28:28
Three Pay attention to peace, not comfort, not ease, not
28:31
good vibes, but peace, deep, quiet, spirit born peace that
28:36
transcends understanding. Philippians four. Seven. If your heart is restless, pause,
28:44
if your soul is settled, keep walking. The Holy Spirit
28:48
often speaks in stillness, not storms. Four Look at the fruit.
28:53
Jesus said, you'll know a tree by its fruit. Matthew
28:56
seven sixteen. Is your decision producing more love, joy, patience,
29:01
and self control? Or is it giving birth to fear, stress, anger,
29:07
or pride. God's will doesn't always feel easy, but it
29:10
always leads to fruit. Five. Seek counsel. Proverbs eleven fourteen
29:17
says in the multitude of counselors there is safety. God
29:21
often speaks through godly community. That doesn't mean ask ten
29:25
people and pick your favorite answer. It means listen to
29:28
voices that no scripture and know you six take a step.
29:35
Faith isn't proved in ideas. It's proved in movement. God
29:39
led Abraham by saying, go to the land I will
29:42
show you. Not here's the full itinerary. If you're waiting
29:47
for complete clarity before taking your next step, you'll wait forever.
29:51
Sometimes the only way to know is to go. Seven.
29:57
Trust that God can redirect. You're not powerful enough to
30:00
ruin God's plan. If your heart is sincere, your desire
30:04
is to honor him and you're willing to course correct,
30:07
God can and will redirect you. He did it with
30:10
Paul in Act sixteen. Paul made plans. God shut the door.
30:15
Then he gave a vision. That's leadership, that's grace. So
30:18
what's in front of you right now? A decision, a
30:21
relationship and a job, offer a church, question, a calling
30:25
you're afraid to say out loud, then ask him, obey
30:29
what you know, take one step and trust that your
30:31
shepherd knows how to lead his sheep. If this is
30:34
speaking to you, if you felt stuck between silence and movement,
30:39
deep Bible Stories was made for you. Everything we teach
30:43
is built on real scripture and raw surrender. We've covered
30:47
how to hear God's voice in the Book of James,
30:50
how to walk in wisdom in Proverbs, how to live
30:53
under grace in Romans, and how to fight for faith
30:56
in Psalms. You can explore the entire teaching libry add
31:00
free and distraction free on our website, and if you
31:04
want to go deeper off line, many of our most
31:07
powerful videos have been transformed into ebooks, perfect for study, journaling,
31:13
or just soaking in the Word with more time. Our
31:16
heart isn't to impress you, it's to invite you into
31:19
a walk with God. That's real, and every share, comment,
31:23
and download helps us keep this mission alive. Find all
31:27
the links you need below. Now, with that foundation laid,
31:31
what happens when you stop striving for answers and start
31:34
surrendering through prayer? Because change doesn't just come from action,
31:39
it comes from alignment, and prayer is where alignment begins.
31:44
We've all prayed the prayer that sounds right but still
31:47
feels powerless. God, just fix it. God, please open this door. God,
31:51
I trust you, but can you make it happen soon?
31:55
And when nothing changes, we wonder did I not pray
31:58
hard enough? Did I say it wrong? Is he ignoring me?
32:03
But maybe the issue isn't how we prayed. Maybe it's
32:06
what we think prayer is. Most of us treat prayer
32:09
like a divine transaction. We bring God our list like
32:13
a spiritual Amazon cart and hope he hits check out.
32:17
But real prayer isn't about getting what we want. It's
32:20
about becoming who he wants. Prayer isn't just about requests.
32:25
It's about release, and it's not controlled disguised as spirituality.
32:30
It's surrender disguised as a conversation. That's why deep prayer
32:34
doesn't always change your circumstances. First, it changes you. Jesus
32:40
taught us this not just with words, but with sweat
32:43
and blood. In Gethsemone, he didn't pray once. He prayed
32:48
three times, not casually, not quietly, but with such intensity
32:52
that blood fell from his skin. And what did he say, Father,
32:56
if it be your will, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
32:59
not my will, but yours be done. That prayer didn't
33:03
remove the cross, it prepared him to carry it. He
33:06
didn't walk away with a lighter burden. He walked away
33:10
with a stronger will to obey. Because prayer that aligns
33:14
your heart to God's doesn't always remove the pain, it
33:18
gives you the strength to walk through it. I remember
33:21
talking to a father who lost his daughter in a
33:24
tragic accident. For months, he said the same prayer, God,
33:30
take away the pain, but it didn't go away. He
33:35
stopped praying, stop believing, until one day, sitting alone in
33:40
his truck, he broke down. This time the prayer changed.
33:44
It wasn't polished, it wasn't full of theology. It was raw. God.
33:49
I don't know how to live with this, but I'm
33:52
tired of hating you. Help me see again. That was
33:56
the shift. He didn't ask for a miracle, he asked
33:58
for mercy. He'd didn't demand clarity, he asked for companionship.
34:03
And slowly something changed, not around him, but within him.
34:08
He found peace, not because the pain vanished, but because
34:12
he stopped fighting the process. Because that's what deep prayer does.
34:17
It rewires your soul to trust God's hand more than
34:20
your desired outcome. There's a young woman I know who
34:24
kept praying for a relationship to work. She prayed, fasted,
34:28
even told herself God promised me this, but every time
34:32
they got close to reconciliation, it ended in more emotional wounds. Finally,
34:37
in desperation, she prayed, God, I give him back to you.
34:43
That prayer didn't restore the relationship, It restored her. She
34:47
began to heal, to sleep, to dream again. Why because
34:52
the burden wasn't hers anymore. Real prayer does that. It
34:56
doesn't let you carry everything. It hands things back to
34:59
the one who can. Here's what we forget it. You
35:02
don't need perfect words, you don't need to sound spiritual.
35:06
You just need to be honest, brutally, vulnerably humbly honest.
35:10
Because God doesn't respond to performance, he responds to surrender.
35:15
You want to know if your prayer life is deepening.
35:17
Check what's changing your list or your heart. When you
35:21
used to say fix them, but now you pray change me.
35:24
When you stop asking, when will you move and start praying?
35:28
Help me? Wait when you release the timeline, the title,
35:32
the expectation, and you whisper Even if you don't, I'll
35:36
still worship. That's when prayer becomes power. And no, it
35:41
doesn't always feel supernatural. Sometimes it's just showing up each
35:45
morning when nothing's changed. Sometimes it's sobbing in your car
35:49
and saying his name. Sometimes it's whispering I trust you
35:53
while your hands still shake with fear. But each time
35:56
you do, the roots go deeper. Because prayer isn't proof
36:00
that you're strong, it's the confession that you're not. And
36:03
that's exactly what opens the door for grace. Psalm one
36:07
hundred forty five eighteen says the Lord is near to
36:11
all who call on him, to all who call on him.
36:14
In truth, not perfection, not formula. Truth, the truth of
36:19
your fear, the truth of your doubt, the truth of
36:22
your need. And when you pray that way, something sacred
36:25
happens your desires begin to change. Your definition of answered
36:30
prayer shifts. You stop asking God to build your dream
36:34
and start asking him to build you. You stop trying
36:38
to bend his will towards yours, and you begin to
36:41
bend yours toward his. And now, if your prayers have
36:45
felt powerless, if you've repeated the same phrases and wondered
36:49
why nothing's moved, ask yourself, have I surrendered or have
36:54
I been negotiating? Because that's the dividing line. One changes circumstances,
37:00
the other changes eternity. And that's the kind of prayer
37:03
God is waiting for. So ask, cry, wail, wrestle, but
37:09
don't perform. He's not impressed by your performance. He's moved
37:13
by your surrender. And once you begin to pray like that,
37:16
you're going to notice something else. The change you're praying
37:19
for in the world around you will start to show
37:22
up in the world within you. And that's what comes next.
37:26
Before God gives you new direction, he often gives you
37:29
a new heart. Before the door opens. He changes the
37:33
one who knocks before you walk. In his plan, he
37:37
works on your desires. So now the question becomes, are
37:42
you ready to be changed from the inside out, because
37:46
the next step in following God's lead is letting him
37:49
lead you through transformation, and that means one thing. It
37:54
has to start with you. Most of us pray for
37:57
breakthrough like it's a destination, adore to walk through a blessing,
38:02
to receive a shift in our circumstances that will finally
38:06
make life make sense. But what if the real breakthrough
38:11
doesn't begin around you, but within you. What if the
38:16
delay isn't God withholding something, but God preparing someone you.
38:23
David understood this better than most. He didn't pray Lord,
38:27
change my kingdom, or fix so al or punish those
38:31
who wronged me in Psalm fifty one, after his greatest
38:35
moral failure, his prayer was painfully simpler, Create in me
38:39
a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit
38:42
within me. That's it, No defense, no excuses, Just change
38:46
me first. Because David knew what most of us avoid.
38:51
Sometimes the battle isn't external, it's internal, and God, in
38:57
his mercy, will hold back what you want until you
39:00
become the person who can carry what you're asking for.
39:03
We don't like that truth. We'd rather God change our situation,
39:08
our spouse, our job, our financial reality. But God is
39:13
far more concerned with transforming your heart than tweaking your circumstances.
39:19
Why because external change without internal transformation always collapses under pressure.
39:26
Jesus told his disciples something deeply uncomfortable in John fifteen.
39:31
Every branch in me that bears fruit he prunes. Did
39:37
you catch that? He's not just cutting dead branches, He's
39:41
cutting fruitful ones. Because even success can rot if it
39:45
isn't surrendered. God prunes not to punish, but to prepare.
39:50
He doesn't prune you because you're failing. He prunes you
39:53
because you're ready, ready to grow deeper, ready to be trusted,
39:57
ready to handle more, but only after less. A friend
40:02
of mine once said, I kept asking God to elevate me,
40:05
but all I kept getting was silence. Then one day
40:08
he whispered, I'm not going to elevate someone who still
40:11
resents being hidden. That wrecked him and it changed everything.
40:16
God will not promote you into places where your character
40:20
can't sustain you. He won't open doors your pride will
40:23
slam shut. He won't give you influence if it will
40:27
magnify your insecurity. He won't multiply what your hands are
40:32
still trying to control, because God's goal is not just
40:36
to bless your life, it's to build your life. That's
40:40
why when you pray God, use me, Heaven starts with
40:43
the deep work of changing you. Maybe that's why you're
40:46
feeling the fire right now. Maybe it's not spiritual attack,
40:50
it's spiritual refinement. You're being stripped, not because you're losing,
40:55
but because he's making room for fruit. You're being slowed down,
40:59
not because you're off course, but because he's pacing your growth.
41:03
You're being quieted, not because he's absent, but because he's
41:07
preparing your soul to carry his presence. I spoke with
41:12
a woman who asked God to lead her into ministry.
41:15
She was gifted, passionate, ready to go, but then crickets,
41:20
no open doors, no platforms, just three years of babysitting
41:25
her niece full time. At first, she was bitter. God,
41:29
I asked you to use me and you benched me.
41:32
But slowly, through tears, diapers and lullabies, her character softened.
41:38
She learned patience, humility, servanthood. And wouldn't you know, it
41:43
was through that season that she ended up starting a
41:46
support group for single mothers. That group became a ministry
41:50
that ministry began to grow, and years later she said,
41:54
God wasn't delaying my ministry, he was starting it in me.
42:00
Sometimes the platform is you. Sometimes the ministry starts in
42:04
the mirror. The same God who calls you will cut you,
42:07
not to harm you, but to heal you. So, if
42:09
you're in the waiting, if it feels like nothing's moving,
42:13
if doors remain closed, no matter how hard you pray,
42:17
don't just ask what's wrong with the situation, Ask what
42:20
God might be doing inside you. What is he refining,
42:24
what is he revealing, what is he removing it? You
42:27
may feel buried, but in God's kingdom, burial looks a
42:30
lot like planting. Let him dig deep, let him expose
42:34
the roots, let him cut back what looked fruitful but
42:37
was growing wild. Because you don't want a break through
42:40
that breaks you. You want a break through that builds you.
42:45
And here's the beautiful, terrible truth. Inner transformation hurts. It's
42:49
not a spa day. It's surgery. But it's also sacred
42:53
because God doesn't waste pain, and he doesn't prune what
42:57
he doesn't plan to use. So say it again, then
43:00
mean it deeper this time, create in me a clean heart.
43:04
Change me. First, do the work in me before you
43:07
work through me. That kind of prayer it changes everything
43:11
because the moment your posture shifts from fix this to
43:14
form me, you're ready, ready to see change not as
43:19
something that happens to you, but something God burths through you.
43:24
And as that change begins to grow inside you, the
43:27
Spirit will begin leading you outward, not recklessly but faithfully,
43:33
which brings us to the next step. If God changes you,
43:37
how do you begin walking in the change He's producing?
43:40
How do you move forward not perfectly but surrendered. What
43:44
does it look like to follow God's lead in your
43:47
every day uncertain life? It starts with this, let go
43:51
of the plan and take the next obedient step. Faith
43:55
is not a waiting room, it's a walk. Too many
43:59
believers confuse whose trusting God with doing nothing. They think
44:03
waiting means freezing, that surrender means standing still, and that
44:07
obedience is simply not messing up. But biblical faith was
44:11
never passive. It moves, it builds, it prepares, it prays,
44:16
and then it acts. There's a holy tension between resting
44:20
in God's sovereignty and responding with bold obedience. And if
44:24
we get it wrong, if we rush ahead, we hijack
44:27
his plan. But if we never move, we risk burying
44:31
the very answer he gave us to steward. Let's make
44:34
it real. Think about Noah. God told him a flood
44:37
was coming, a global catastrophe, but he didn't drop an
44:41
arc from heaven. He gave Noah a word, a blueprint,
44:45
and a choice. So Noah built for decades in public
44:50
with no rain, mocked, misunderstood, questioned. Yet every plank was
44:55
an act of faith, because faith doesn't wait for a forecast,
45:00
bays based on the voice of God, not the circumstances
45:03
around you or esther. She didn't sit in the palace
45:09
wringing her hands waiting for God to magically deliver her people.
45:13
She fasted, prayed, listened, then walked in trembling before a
45:19
king who could have ended her life. Why Because who
45:22
knows but that you were born for such a time
45:25
as this. That's what courage in faith looks like, acting
45:29
while still afraid, because you know God is in the purpose,
45:33
even if he hasn't clarified the outcome. And then there's Ni'hemiah.
45:38
He saw that Jerusalem's walls were broken, he didn't just
45:42
weep and pray, he moved, he asked the king for permission,
45:46
He gathered materials, he formed teams. He built with one
45:49
hand and held a sword in the other. He wasn't
45:53
taking over God's plan, he was participating in it. Real
45:57
faith knows this tension. You don't make the outcome happen,
46:01
but you prepare for it too. I once met a
46:05
man who told me he was waiting for God to
46:08
send him a wife. But in the same breath he
46:11
confessed he never went to church events, never invested in friendships,
46:16
and never worked on his own healing. He called it patience,
46:20
but it was really procrastination wrapped in spiritual language. Contrast
46:25
that with a woman I know who felt a deep
46:28
desire to mentor young girls. She had no title, no funding,
46:32
no formal ministry, but she had a room in her
46:35
home and a willingness to start. Every Saturday, three girls
46:40
came over for Bible study. That number became ten, then twenty.
46:46
Now it's a non profit impacting dozens of families. She
46:49
didn't take over God's plan. She simply said yes with
46:54
what she had. Because faith does something. It starts small,
46:58
but it doesn't stay still. And here's what it looks
47:01
like in everyday life. You're praying for a new job.
47:05
That's good, but have you updated your resume? Have you
47:08
reached out to anyone for wisdom? Are you cultivating peace
47:12
in the job you have? Now? You're asking God to
47:16
heal your marriage. Beautiful, but have you gone to counseling?
47:19
Have you forgiven first? Or are you still waiting for
47:22
the apology? You want to be used by God in
47:25
ministry amazing, But are you serving anywhere right now? Are
47:30
you studying the word like someone who wants to feed others,
47:34
not just be fed. You can't pray for God to
47:37
part the sea while refusing to walk toward the water.
47:40
And here's where the tension lives. Yes, God opens the doors,
47:45
Yes he provides the increase. Yes he makes the way,
47:49
but he also asks you to step. He told Joshua
47:53
to march, He told the lepers to walk, He told
47:56
the blind man to go wash. He told Peter get
47:59
out of the boat. In each case the miracle met motion.
48:02
But here's the guard rail. Faith takes steps, but not control.
48:07
You don't manipulate people to get what you think God promised.
48:10
You don't force timing that God hasn't confirmed you don't
48:14
justify pride, bitterness, or ambition under the banner of purpose.
48:19
Faith moves with submission, not just ambition, Because when your
48:23
steps are rooted in obedience, you won't need to panic
48:27
when things take longer than expected. You won't twist scripture
48:30
to fit your plans, you won't compare your time line
48:34
to some one else's. You'll keep walking because your confidence
48:38
is in the one who sent you, not just the
48:41
outcome you're hoping for. And this is where faith becomes
48:45
a daily thing, not a feeling, not a vibe. A
48:48
decision to forgive when they don't say sorry, to tithe
48:52
when the math doesn't make sense, to speak up when
48:55
staying silent would be easier, to show up when you
48:58
feel invisible, build when you still haven't seen the rain,
49:03
Because even if it's slow, even if it's quiet, even
49:06
if it's lonely, its obedience. And when you obey, you're
49:10
never wasting time. You're watering roots, you're clearing ground, You're
49:15
aligning with heaven. And that's the kind of posture that
49:18
changes not only your path but your future. So as
49:21
you take that next step, whatever it is, remember you
49:25
don't need the whole staircase to walk in faith, Just
49:29
the next step, do the small thing, the hard thing,
49:32
the faithful thing, and trust this If it's really God leading.
49:36
He knows how to interrupt you if you're going the
49:38
wrong way. But the only thing he can't bless is
49:42
standing still out of fear. So move forward, humbly, boldly, prayerfully,
49:47
not with the pressure to prove yourself, but with the
49:50
peace of knowing your walking with him. Because when your
49:53
feet walk in faith, your heart stays in rest. And
49:57
that's when you're finally ready to face what may be
50:00
the hardest part of all. What if God's will doesn't
50:04
match what you want? That's where we go next, not
50:07
just when faith walks, but when it surrenders its preferences,
50:11
when obedience remains even if the outcome doesn't. When you're
50:16
yes costs you, but you say yes anyway. There comes
50:19
a moment in every believer's life when God says no
50:23
to something they desperately wanted, not because it was bad,
50:27
not because it was evil, but because it wasn't His best.
50:32
And that moment doesn't feel holy. It feels like heartbreak.
50:36
You prayed, you planned, you prepared. Maybe it was a
50:40
relationship you thought would lead to marriage, a job you
50:43
thought was finally the one, a dream you thought had
50:47
God written all over it. You prayed Lord open the door,
50:51
and he closed it so gently it almost felt cruel.
50:54
This is the moment no one preaches about with cute
50:57
sermon titles, the moment when God's will and your wants
51:01
part ways, the moment when faith doesn't look like dancing,
51:05
it looks like dying. Jesus stood in that moment in
51:09
the garden under moonlight, knees in the dirt, alone, the
51:14
cross loomed just hours away, and in his humanity, he
51:19
whispered something so honest most of us are afraid to
51:22
say it out loud. Father, if you are willing, take
51:25
this cup from me. Even Jesus asked for a different way.
51:30
Even Jesus brought his desire before the Father. But then
51:34
came the line that changes everything. Yet, not my will,
51:38
but yours be done. That's the prayer of the surrendered heart,
51:42
the moment when you say, I trust you more than
51:45
I trust my own desire. But it's not easy. A
51:49
woman I know had been praying for a child for years.
51:53
She and her husband tried everything, doctors, diets, declarations. They
51:58
even felt God had promised them this, but the pregnancy
52:02
never came. Eventually, her prayer changed. It went from God,
52:07
please give me a child to God, make me whole,
52:10
whether or not you do. That was the shift that
52:14
was her gathseemonine, and in that surrender she found a strange,
52:18
fierce joy, not because the pain vanished, but because she
52:22
stopped needing a specific outcome to feel loved. Paul had
52:26
a thorn, too, something so painful, so persistent, that he
52:30
begged God three times to remove it. We don't know
52:34
what it was. Some say illness, others say depression or
52:38
spiritual torment or something worse. But here's what we do know.
52:42
God said no. But it wasn't silence, it wasn't punishment.
52:47
It was this, My grace is sufficient for you, for
52:51
my power is made perfect in weakness second Corinthians twelve nine.
52:57
And Paul didn't just accept it. He rejoiced, not in
53:01
the pain itself, but in the presence of God that
53:04
the pain revealed. Because here's the truth. Sometimes what you
53:08
call obstacles are God's greatest invitations. You wanted ease, He
53:14
gave endurance. You wanted a rival, He gave identity. You
53:18
wanted a destination, he gave you depth. There's a young
53:22
man I know who spent years praying for a music career.
53:25
He was talented, godly diligent, but every opportunity fell through,
53:31
he got bitter. He told God, I thought this gift
53:35
was from you, And slowly, painfully, God redirected his gift
53:40
not to stages, but to a rehab center, where he
53:43
now leads worship every week for recovering addicts. No lights,
53:47
no crowds, just redemption. He once told me, this isn't
53:51
the dream I prayed for, but it's the dream I
53:54
was made for. See, joy isn't found in getting what
53:58
you want. It's found in discovering what he wants and
54:01
realizing it's better than you imagined. But that only happens
54:05
when you're willing to lay down the idle of your
54:08
own plan. So many of us pray like this, God,
54:12
your will be done as long as it doesn't cost
54:15
me this God, I trust you. As long as I
54:19
still get married, God, I'll follow you. Just don't take
54:22
that away. But that's not surrender. That's a spiritual contract.
54:27
Real trust says, even if I never get married, you're
54:31
still good even if the healing doesn't come, and you're
54:34
still holy, even if the dream dies, you're still worthy.
54:39
And when you say that with tears in your eyes
54:41
but peace in your soul, hell shakes. Because nothing disarms
54:46
the enemy like a believer who no longer worships outcomes.
54:50
That's when you're finally free, not because the path makes sense,
54:55
not because the pain is gone, but because you know
54:58
who's walking with you. So if if your desires in
55:01
God's will are in conflict right now, pause, don't rush,
55:06
don't fake joy, don't pretend it doesn't hurt. Do what
55:09
Jesus did. Bring it all to the garden weep. If
55:13
you must wrestle, if you must, but end the prayer
55:16
like he did. That's not my will but yours. Because
55:21
that's not just surrender, that's victory. And when you pray
55:25
like that, you begin to see life differently. You begin
55:28
to walk in peace others can't explain. You begin to
55:32
live like it's already handled. And that's where we go. Now.
55:36
If you've truly surrendered, if you've laid down the dream,
55:40
if you've said yes to His way over yours, then
55:43
the next question is how do you live Now, how
55:46
do you carry yourself when the future is still foggy
55:49
but your heart is free. You walk forward with confidence,
55:53
not because you know what's coming, but because you know
55:57
who leads you. What if I get it wrong? What
56:01
if I step out in faith, pray, sincerely, make the
56:05
best decision I can and it still blows up in
56:08
my face. That's the fear that paralyzes more believers than
56:12
any demon ever could not fear of sin, not fear
56:16
of satan, but fear of messing up the will of God.
56:20
We treat his will like a tight rope over lava.
56:23
One wrong step and we fall into some eternal plan
56:27
be We're terrified that our decisions are permanent etchings, not
56:32
steps in an unfolding journey with a merciful guide, And
56:35
so in our fear of failure we freeze. But what
56:39
if we've misunderstood the heart of God? What if He's
56:42
not looking for flawless execution but for faithful intention. Scripture
56:48
is full of people who made decisions based on imperfect understanding,
56:52
and God still met them with grace. Think of Peter.
56:57
He sincerely thought he was ready to die, for in
57:01
the garden, soared in hand, he was bold, but by
57:05
the firelight. As the pressure mounted, he denied his savior
57:08
three times failure, Yes, final number. Jesus didn't toss Peter aside.
57:14
He restored him on the shore, not with shame, but
57:18
with love. Three denials were met with three questions, do
57:22
you love me? Because with Jesus, restoration is not withheld
57:27
from the broken hearted, It's offered to them. Or take Jonah?
57:31
Did he misunderstand God's will? Number? He knew it and
57:36
still ran the opposite direction. Yet even in his rebellion,
57:41
God orchestrated a storm, a ship, and a fish, not
57:46
to crush him, but to reclaim him. Jonah ran from
57:51
his calling, but he ran right into God's mercy. Even Paul,
57:55
arguably the most prolific apostle in scripture, wanted to go
57:59
to Asia to preach the gospel. His motives were good,
58:02
his plan was strategic, But in Acts sixteen it says
58:06
the Holy Spirit forbade him to go. Paul got it wrong,
58:10
and instead of punishing him, God redirected him to Macedonia,
58:15
where revival broke out. So what's the common thread? God
58:19
doesn't demand perfect direction, He desires a surrendered disposition. He
58:24
honors movement, even if it needs correcting, because the shepherd
58:28
doesn't just lead, he redirects. Think of it this way.
58:33
Have you ever tried to steer a parked car. You
58:36
can spin the wheel all you want, but unless it's moving,
58:39
it won't change direction. It's the same with your life.
58:43
God can only steer what's in motion. You don't need
58:46
to fear missteps if your heart is set on him.
58:51
Let me tell you about a woman named Briel. She
58:53
believed God was calling her to start a non profit
58:56
to support young mothers. She took out loan, recruited volunteers,
59:02
built a small office, and it collapsed within a year.
59:06
No funding, no clients, no momentum. At first, she thought
59:10
she'd missed God entirely. But in the aftermath, as she
59:13
picked up the pieces, she met another leader, some one
59:17
running a thriving ministry but longing for help. They asked
59:21
her to come on board the non profit she thought
59:25
was her dream, It was really her training. She later
59:28
told me. If I hadn't failed there, I wouldn't have
59:31
been ready here. And that's what we forget. Failure in
59:35
God's hands is never wasted. It's refined, repurposed, redeemed, Sometimes
59:41
your misstep is the very thing that humbles you into
59:44
being usable. Sometimes your closed door is what trains your
59:48
heart to listen. Sometimes the detour builds muscles the destination
59:53
will require. But all of that depends on what you
59:56
do after the failure. Will you harden pretend, or will
1:00:01
you humble yourself? Psalm thirty seven twenty three to twenty
1:00:05
four says, the steps of a man are established by
1:00:09
the Lord. When he delights in his way, though he fall,
1:00:13
he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds
1:00:17
him with his hand. Did you catch that? Not? If
1:00:20
he falls, though he falls, failure is assumed. But it's
1:00:24
not the end. Why because the Lord's hand never leaves you.
1:00:29
So stop idolizing perfection, stop treating obedience like a minefield.
1:00:34
God is not looking for perfect robots. He's looking for
1:00:37
yielded children, children who get up after falling, children who say, Father,
1:00:42
I didn't know, but I'm still here. Children who trust
1:00:46
that even their wrong turns are within the gps of grace.
1:00:51
Maybe you've made a decision and it backfired. Maybe you've
1:00:54
stepped out believing it was God and now you're embarrassed.
1:00:58
Maybe your dream fell upon and you've labeled yourself a disappointment.
1:01:03
But what if that wasn't the end of the story.
1:01:06
What if God is saying, now that your hands are
1:01:09
off the wheel, watch what I can do? You see,
1:01:13
humility is the soil where wisdom grows, and brokenness is
1:01:17
the place where his strength is made perfect. So if
1:01:20
you've failed, good, you're an excellent company. David failed and
1:01:25
became a man after God's heart. Peter failed and became
1:01:29
the rock of the early Church. You've failed, then you're
1:01:32
ready to be formed. Because God doesn't work with polished,
1:01:36
He works with available. And if that's you, if you've
1:01:39
walked through the fire, if you've prayed the wrong prayer,
1:01:42
made the wrong move, or trusted the wrong person, but
1:01:46
your heart still whispers, God, I'm yours, then hear this.
1:01:51
You haven't missed it, you haven't lost it. You haven't
1:01:54
disqualified yourself. You're right on time. And as you rise,
1:01:58
dust covered and grain soaked, you'll begin to notice something else.
1:02:03
You're not walking the tightrope anymore. You're walking with a shepherd,
1:02:07
one who can take every detour and bend it back
1:02:09
into purpose. And now that you know failure isn't final,
1:02:13
you're ready for the next revelation. What does it look
1:02:18
like to live like it's already handled, to walk not
1:02:21
with fear but freedom, To stop questioning every step and
1:02:26
instead trust the one who holds the path. That's where
1:02:29
we go next, because the final evidence of true surrender
1:02:33
is not how hard you cry, it's how boldly you
1:02:36
walk forward with your hands open. Everyone says they want
1:02:41
change until nothing changes. You prayed, you surrendered, you even
1:02:46
acted in faith, But weeks turned into months and the
1:02:50
situation still looks the same. The breakthrough hasn't come, the
1:02:54
door hasn't opened, the healing hasn't happened, and now you're
1:02:58
left wondering did I miss it, I fail, or worse,
1:03:01
did God forget me? Here's a truth few talk about.
1:03:05
Real change rarely looks like progress at first. In fact,
1:03:09
it often looks like regression, silence, setbacks, stillness. But just
1:03:15
because something is still doesn't mean it's dead. And just
1:03:20
because you can't see the fruit doesn't mean God isn't
1:03:23
growing the roots. Jesus said it like this in John
1:03:28
twelve twenty four. Unless a grain of wheat falls into
1:03:32
the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it
1:03:36
dies it bears much fruit. Did you catch that? The
1:03:42
seed must go down before it comes up. It has
1:03:45
to be buried in darkness, in silence, in mystery, before
1:03:49
it can break the surface. It's not dead, it's just hidden.
1:03:53
That's the spiritual reality for so many seasons of your life.
1:03:57
The change is happening, It's just happening underground. Ask Anny Gardner.
1:04:04
The first sign of a healthy plant isn't the flower.
1:04:07
It's the root system. That's the part no one sees.
1:04:11
That's the part God often grows first, because a life
1:04:15
that blooms before it's rooted will collapse the first time
1:04:19
the wind blows. So maybe the delay isn't punishment. Maybe
1:04:23
its protection. Maybe the stillness isn't stagnation, its preparation. I
1:04:29
remember a young man who came to me frustrated. He'd
1:04:33
graduated from seminary, eager to preach, to serve, to lead,
1:04:38
but nothing opened. He applied for positions, sent out resumes, nothing.
1:04:44
For two years, he worked at a hardware store, wondering
1:04:47
what he did wrong. But during that time something happened.
1:04:51
He started mentoring a few teenagers from his church, not
1:04:55
from a pulpit, but from a picnic table. Not with
1:04:59
a microphone, but with meals and car rides and quiet prayers,
1:05:04
And one day, without fanfare, his church asked him to
1:05:07
lead a discipleship group. It grew, then grew again that
1:05:12
became the church's student ministry. Years later, he told me,
1:05:17
the season I thought was wasted was the one that
1:05:21
rooted me. That's the truth of divine change. It often
1:05:25
begins in obscurity. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness
1:05:30
before his burning bush moment. Joseph spent years in prison
1:05:34
before his promotion to the palace. Even Jesus, God Incarnate,
1:05:39
spent thirty silent years before ever performing a miracle. Why
1:05:45
because God values formation more than performance. Because being hidden
1:05:50
is often God's way of holding you close. Because what
1:05:54
you call inactivity, he calls intimacy. Still, it's hard, isn't it.
1:05:59
We in a world that measures everything by results, speed,
1:06:03
and visibility. If it's not producing, if it's not viral,
1:06:07
if it's not recognized, it must not be real. But
1:06:12
the Kingdom of God doesn't run on likes, stats, or
1:06:16
instant gratification. It runs on faith, endurance, stillness. Isaiah forty
1:06:22
thirty one says, but they who wait for the Lord
1:06:25
shall renew their strength. Notice it's not just those who hustle, build,
1:06:31
or speak. It's those who wait, not with apathy, but
1:06:35
with expectation, because waiting isn't wasting its worship. Think of
1:06:41
a mother in her third month of pregnancy. No one
1:06:43
congratulates her yet, no baby bump, no fluttering kicks, no
1:06:48
nursery prep. But inside her life is forming organs, limbs, breath.
1:06:55
The change is invisible, but it's essential, and to interrupt
1:06:59
that unseen growth would be to risk the entire future.
1:07:03
So don't despise your third month. Don't panic when nothing moves.
1:07:07
Don't compare your underground season to some one else's blooming one.
1:07:11
You don't know what God is fortifying beneath the surface
1:07:14
of your surrender, that struggle you're still facing. It may
1:07:18
be strengthening your spiritual muscles. That prayer that feels unanswered.
1:07:23
It may be aligning your heart more than your situation,
1:07:27
that silence. It may be the sacred space where your
1:07:31
roots go deep enough to carry the weight of your future.
1:07:34
A friend of mine went through a brutal break up.
1:07:37
She had prayed, fasted, and believed that man was her
1:07:41
husband when it ended. She was crushed not just because
1:07:46
the relationship failed, but because she felt like her discernment
1:07:49
had failed. For over a year. She didn't date, didn't chase,
1:07:54
didn't try to fill the time. She just healed, prayed, served.
1:08:00
During that season, she started a devotional blog, mostly for herself.
1:08:05
That blog began to reach thousands. Years later, she met
1:08:09
someone new, different, kinder, better, and when I asked her
1:08:15
about it all, she said, I wouldn't trade those quiet years.
1:08:19
They made me who I was when the right thing
1:08:21
finally came. That's the power of buried seasons. They don't
1:08:26
just grow results, they grow youw So if nothing's moving
1:08:29
right now, breathe. God might not be silent because he's mad.
1:08:33
He might be quiet because he's focused, focused on your soul,
1:08:38
focused on your roots, focused on forming the parts of
1:08:41
you that will still be standing when the platform is gone,
1:08:45
when the crowds fade, when the noise dies down. He's
1:08:50
not rushing you, He's rooting you. And just when you're
1:08:53
tempted to give up, remember the seed. Because the same
1:08:56
God who allowed the burial, we'll call forth the blooming.
1:09:01
And when he does, your life will rise, not just
1:09:03
in visibility, but in strength, which leads to the final call.
1:09:08
Now that you've surrendered, now that you've trusted him underground,
1:09:13
how do you lived to day even before anything visibly shifts.
1:09:17
You live like it's already handled. Not because it feels
1:09:21
that way, but because the one who promised is faithful.
1:09:24
That's where we end. Faith not just as hope for
1:09:27
the future, but has confidence for now. Because the roots
1:09:31
are growing, the story is unfolding, and the change has
1:09:36
already begun. There comes a moment, quiet unnoticed by the world,
1:09:41
when something shifts in your soul. You stop trying to
1:09:45
force the outcomes. You stop rehearsing the fears, You stop
1:09:48
begging God to hurry up, and start thanking him for
1:09:51
already knowing, And right there, without fireworks or fanfare, you
1:09:56
cross a line that can never be uncrossed. Truly let
1:10:00
God lead, and everything changes. Not because your circumstances flipped
1:10:05
over night, not because every door swung open or every
1:10:09
pain vanished, but because you did. You are no longer
1:10:13
your own GPS. You are no longer your own defense attorney,
1:10:16
your own rescue plan, your own timing strategist. You have
1:10:21
surrendered the illusion of control, and in its place you
1:10:25
have gained something hell cannot counterfeit. Peace. That peace is
1:10:29
not passivity. It's not laziness or apathy. Its power, its clarity.
1:10:34
It's the power to move forward without striving, to obey,
1:10:38
without manipulating, to wait without anxiety, to trust without a
1:10:43
backup plan. When you finally let God lead, your steps
1:10:48
start to make sense in reverse. The job you didn't
1:10:51
get it wasn't rejection, it was redirection. The door that slammed,
1:10:57
it was saving you from a room that would have
1:10:59
crushed your spear. The relationship that ended, it wasn't loss,
1:11:03
it was protection. You stop seeing delays as punishment. You
1:11:08
start seeing silence as strategy. You realize God hasn't just
1:11:12
been leading you to a place, He's been forming a person.
1:11:16
You think of the woman who spent years in a
1:11:20
career that drained her. Every morning she prayed God, there
1:11:24
has to be more. But the door didn't open right away.
1:11:29
For five years it stayed shut. But in those years
1:11:33
she began volunteering at her church, writing devotional thoughts on Instagram,
1:11:38
mentoring younger women on the week ends. None of it
1:11:41
looked like progress until one day someone shared one of
1:11:46
her devotionals with a small publisher that turned into a
1:11:50
book deal. That book opened doors, and to day that
1:11:55
woman travels the world not as a speaker, but as
1:11:59
a witness to the goodness of God's timing. She didn't
1:12:03
get there by hustling harder. She got there by letting
1:12:06
God lead. Or the single dad who wrestled with addiction
1:12:10
for a decade, He lost everything, custody, marriage, confidence. For
1:12:15
years he prayed for restoration, but what he got first
1:12:20
was refinement, sobriety, counseling, obscurity. For a long time, it
1:12:24
felt like nothing, but it was everything because now he's
1:12:28
mentoring young men, leading recovery groups, loving his daughter with
1:12:32
a whole heart. That's what it looks like to live
1:12:35
a life led, not managed. This is what happens when
1:12:40
the shepherd takes the reins. Your heart finds rhythm again,
1:12:44
your mind gets quiet, your soul stands tall. Not because
1:12:48
everything's easy, but because you know who's steering. And the
1:12:53
more you surrender, the more you realize God isn't just
1:12:55
leading you to a future. He's restoring your identity. Your
1:13:00
not chasing dreams anymore. You're walking in design. This isn't
1:13:04
about perfection. It's about posture, and that posture, humble, trusting, yielded,
1:13:09
is what gives birth to a life that's finally free,
1:13:13
Free to obey without fear, free to release without resentment,
1:13:18
free to fail without shame, free to walk even when
1:13:22
you don't know where it's leading, because He does. So.
1:13:25
If you're there now, at the edge of surrender, trembling,
1:13:29
scared of losing control, take the step, not because you
1:13:34
have all the answers, but because He is enough. And
1:13:37
if you've already taken it, if you've been learning to
1:13:40
live with your hands off the wheel and your eyes
1:13:43
on heaven, then breathe your right where you need to be,
1:13:49
and what's ahead is more than you asked, imagined, or
1:13:53
even prayed for, because when God leads, he doesn't just
1:13:57
get you there, He makes you whole on the way.
1:14:01
Let's pray, Father, we finally stop running, We finally stop wrestling.
1:14:06
We finally stop reaching for the pen you've been holding
1:14:08
the whole time. We hand it back. You write the story,
1:14:12
you lead the way. We say yes, even when we
1:14:16
don't know what that yes will cost, because we trust
1:14:19
you more than we trust ourselves. We thank you for
1:14:22
the missteps that didn't disqualify us. We thank you for
1:14:26
the silence that wasn't absence but preparation. We thank you
1:14:31
for the pruning that made room for purpose. And most
1:14:34
of all, we thank you for not letting us get
1:14:37
what we wanted when you knew it would break us.
1:14:41
Teach us to walk not ahead of you, not behind you,
1:14:44
but with you, in rhythm, in peace, in courage, help
1:14:49
us live lives that whisper to the world. God is
1:14:52
leading me, and that's enough. We surrender again to day,
1:14:56
not just the big things, but the little ones, the calendar,
1:15:00
the conversation, the unseen choices. We give you not just
1:15:05
our pain but our plans, not just our burdens, but
1:15:10
our desires. And as we do, we trust You are good,
1:15:13
you are near, You are enough, and because you are leading,
1:15:17
we are home. Amen. If you made it to the
1:15:22
end of this teaching on letting God lead, thank you.
1:15:25
It means you're not just interested in inspiration, but transformation.
1:15:30
That's rare and it's powerful. Our prayer is that this
1:15:35
wasn't just information but a holy interruption, a reminder that
1:15:40
you don't have to carry the weight, a warning not
1:15:43
to take back what you've surrendered, and maybe just maybe
1:15:47
an invitation back into the arms of the Shepherd. If
1:15:52
this blessed you know there's more add free, distraction free
1:15:56
waiting for you. On our website. We've walked through Proverbs, Romans, James,
1:16:02
the Psalms, and now together through surrender. And for those
1:16:07
who love to study more deeply or want to keep
1:16:10
these truths close, many of our most powerful videos have
1:16:13
been turned into e books available now to help you
1:16:17
go further. But more than content, this is a mission.
1:16:21
We're not here to go viral. We're here to go deeper.
1:16:24
And if that's your heart too, than welcome home. You've
1:16:28
always been part of this family. Support what we're doing
1:16:31
by sharing this video, subscribing or exploring the links below.
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Every clique helps keep the word alive and help someone
1:16:41
else find what you just did. And as you go,
1:16:44
May God lead you boldly. May you walk with clarity,
1:16:47
courage and peace. May your surrender echo into your family,
1:16:51
your future, and your faith. And may you never forget
1:16:54
He's still leading. You're still called. The story isn't over.
1:16:59
We'll see you in the next one. Stay close to
1:17:01
the truth. This is deep Bible stories where the Word
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