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FORGED FOR YOUR FUTURE ASSIGNMENT | Episode 7 –While You Were in the Valley, God Was Already Moving · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, the place where stronger
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  lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
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  are encouraged, and Christ -centered lives are
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  shaped through ordinary conversations that become
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  extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm
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  your host, Barry Mwamba. There is a question
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  that has stayed with me for quite some time.
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  Why do faithful Christians go through difficult
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  seasons? I don't mean people who are running
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  away from God. I don't mean people who have completely
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  abandoned their faith. I'm talking about believers
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  who sincerely love God, who pray, who seek Him,
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  who desire to obey Him, and yet still find themselves
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  walking through valleys they never expected.
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  Why? Have you ever noticed that almost every
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  great servant of God experienced a season like
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  that? Joseph did. David did. Daniel did. Paul
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  did. Even Peter did. None of them were strangers
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  to hardship. Yet when we read their stories carefully,
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  we discover something fascinating. Not every
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  valley in the Bible has the same purpose. That
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  realization changed the way I read scripture.
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  And perhaps, it will change the way you understand
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  your own life. because I believe there are at
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  least two kinds of valleys that believers experience.
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  The first valley is the one God uses to bring
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  us back to Him. The second valley is the one
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  God uses to prepare us for something greater
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  than ourselves. Those two valleys may look similar
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  from the outside. They both involve pain. They
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  both involve uncertainty. They both involve tears.
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  but they are completely different in purpose.
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  And if we fail to recognize the difference, we
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  may misunderstand what God is doing in our lives.
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  Let's begin with the first one. The first valley
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  is what I would call the valley of positioning.
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  There are seasons when life suddenly shakes us,
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  not because God has rejected us, but because
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  we have slowly drifted away from Him Sometimes
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  it happens through sin. Sometimes through pride.
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  Sometimes through success. Sometimes simply because
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  life became so busy that our relationship with
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  God quietly moved to the background. Then something
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  happens. A storm. A disappointment. A loss. A
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  crisis. And suddenly, the very thing we thought
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  was destroying us. becomes the thing that brings
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  us back to God's presence. Think about the prodigal
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  son. It wasn't comfort that brought him home.
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  It was famine. Think about Jonah. It wasn't the
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  calm sea that changed him. It was the storm.
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  Think about Israel throughout the Old Testament.
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  Again and again, when they drifted from God,
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  adversity became an invitation to return. That
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  is why I love what God says in Second Chronicles
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  714. He doesn't begin with healing. He begins
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  with relationship. If my people will humble themselves,
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  pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked
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  ways, only then does he say, then I will hear,
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  forgive, and heal. Did you notice that? Healing
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  was never the first step. Returning was. God
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  first restores our position before He changes
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  our circumstances. But here's where the conversation
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  becomes even more interesting. What about people
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  who have already returned? What about believers
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  who are intentionally walking with God? Not perfect,
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  because none of us are. But sincere. People who
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  love Him. People who quickly repent. people who
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  desire holiness, people who have made God their
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  dwelling place. Why do they still walk through
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  valleys? Now we have entered a completely different
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  conversation because this second valley is no
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  longer about positioning. It is about alignment.
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  And I believe this is where Psalm 91 begins.
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  Not because David had never experienced difficulties.
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  Not because he had never known fear. Not because
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  he had never cried. But because by the time David
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  wrote those words, he had already learned something
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  about walking with God. He had discovered that
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  there is a difference between knowing God and
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  dwelling with God. I find that fascinating. Because
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  David is no longer talking about someone trying
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  to find God. He is talking about someone who
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  has already made God his home listen to how he
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  begins he who dwells in the secret place of the
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  most high he doesn't say he who visits he doesn't
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  say he who remembers God when life becomes difficult
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  he says he who dwells that word stayed with me
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  because dwelling is much more than believing
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  it is much more than going to church It is much
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  more than praying from time to time. Dwelling
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  is choosing to build your entire life around
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  the presence of God. It is waking up every morning
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  saying, Lord, I don't want to live this day without
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  you. It is learning to recognize the voice of
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  the Holy Spirit. It is becoming intentional about
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  repentance, intentional about forgiveness, intentional
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  about sanctification. Not because we are perfect,
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  because we are not. But because we have discovered
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  there is no safer place than living close to
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  God. And maybe that's why this second valley
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  feels so different. Because God is no longer
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  trying to bring me back. I'm already walking
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  with Him. I'm already depending on Him. I'm already
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  seeking Him. So if He's not bringing me back,
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  what is He doing? That question stayed with me.
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  Because when I looked at Joseph, I couldn't find
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  a man running away from God. When I looked at
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  Daniel, I couldn't find compromise. When I looked
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  at David in the cave, I didn't find rebellion.
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  When I looked at Paul in prison, I didn't find
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  disobedience. What I found were men who had already
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  made God their dwelling place. And suddenly,
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  Psalm 91 made sense to me. The promise isn't
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  given to people who occasionally seek God. The
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  promise belongs to people who have decided I
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  would rather lose everything than lose his presence.
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  Now think about that. If these men were already
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  dwelling, if they were already aligned, why didn't
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  God simply keep them away from trouble? Why Joseph's
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  prison? Why David's cave? Why Daniel's lions?
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  Why Paul's chains? That is where I believe the
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  greatest discoveries begin, because perhaps the
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  purpose of this valley is no longer to change
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  my position. Perhaps God is preparing me for
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  something my present eyes cannot yet see. So
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  if these men were already dwelling, If they were
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  already aligned, why didn't God simply keep them
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  away from trouble? Why Joseph's prison? Why David's
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  cave? Why Daniel's lions? Why Paul's chains?
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  That question stayed with me, because if these
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  men loved God, if they sincerely walked with
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  him, why would he allow them to enter valleys
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  that seemed completely unnecessary? Then I started
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  noticing something. The valley wasn't the problem.
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  The battle wasn't the problem either. The real
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  battle was spiritual long before it ever became
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  physical. Paul says something that I think we
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  often read too quickly, for we wrestle not against
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  flesh and blood. I've read that verse many times,
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  but this time I stopped because Paul wasn't just
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  explaining where the battle takes place. He was
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  explaining why faithful believers don't respond
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  the same way everyone else does. Most people
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  only see the physical battle. They see the prison,
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  the accusation, the betrayal, the sickness, the
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  loss, the injustice, the fire, the lions. But
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  God sees something much deeper. He sees a spiritual
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  battle long before it ever appears in the natural.
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  And maybe, That's why he prepares his people
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  before they even know a battle is coming. Have
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  you ever noticed that? Before Moses ever stood
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  before Pharaoh, God had already called him at
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  the burning bush. Before David ever became king,
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  God had already anointed him. Before Peter stood
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  before rulers, Jesus had already told him, don't
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  worry about what you will say. because the Holy
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  Spirit will speak through you. Before Paul reached
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  prison, God had already told him he would testify
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  before kings. God always seems to prepare his
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  people before the battle begins. Then another
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  thought came into my spirit. Maybe that's because
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  God never enters the battle after we do. Maybe
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  he was already there. That thought overwhelmed
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  me. Because if God is already there, then nothing
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  catches him by surprise. Nothing. Not the accusation.
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  Not the betrayal. Not the valley. Not the prison.
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  Not the fire. Not the courtroom. Nothing. We
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  are often surprised God never is. Then my mind
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  immediately went to the fiery furnace. Think
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  about that story for a moment. The king ordered
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  the furnace to be heated seven times hotter.
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  The soldiers who brought Shadrach, Meshach, and
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  Abednego to the furnace died because of its heat.
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  The fire was doing exactly what fire naturally
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  does. It burned. It killed. It consumed. Nothing
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  had changed about the fire. Yet the moment those
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  three faithful men entered, everything changed
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  for them. Not because the fire stopped being
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  fire. but because the presence of God entered
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  before the fire could accomplish its purpose.
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  When the king looked again, he expected to see
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  three men dying. Instead, he saw four men walking,
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  walking, not crawling, not screaming, walking.
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  And that's when something became very real to
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  me. God had already preceded them into the furnace.
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  He wasn't rushing toward them after they entered.
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  He was already there. Waiting, preparing, protecting.
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  The enemy prepared a furnace. God prepared his
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  presence. And perhaps, that's exactly what Psalm
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  91 is trying to teach us. Protection doesn't
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  mean the fire disappears. Protection means the
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  fire loses its authority. The water doesn't disappear.
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  It loses its authority. The valley doesn't disappear.
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  It loses its authority. Death itself doesn't
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  disappear. It loses its sting. The weapon is
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  still forged. It simply does not prosper. Do
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  you see the difference? The miracle is not always
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  that God removes the battle. The miracle is that
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  the battle can no longer produce the outcome
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  the enemy intended. And suddenly, David's words
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  became much more personal to me. He is my refuge
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  and my fortress. A refuge only makes sense if
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  danger exists. A fortress is only necessary if
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  someone is attacking. David wasn't pretending
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  danger wasn't real. He was declaring that God's
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  presence was greater than the danger. And I wonder
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  if that's exactly what God has been trying to
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  teach his people all along. Not to become fascinated
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  with the battle, but to become confident in the
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  God who has already gone before them. Because
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  maybe, while we are still asking God where He
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  is, He has already entered tomorrow. He has already
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  prepared the answer. He has already limited the
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  fire. He has already declared that the weapon
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  will not prosper. And he has already begun writing
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  a testimony that we cannot yet see. And I think
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  that's where David's cave begins to make sense.
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  Because while David thought he was hiding, God
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  was already moving. Have you ever thought about
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  that? Imagine David sitting inside the cave of
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  a dullum. He has just escaped Saul. He's exhausted.
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  discouraged. He has lost his position, his reputation,
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  his home, his certainty about tomorrow. If you
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  had walked into that cave and asked David, what
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  do you think God is doing right now? I wonder
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  what he would have answered. Maybe. Nothing.
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  Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. I'm just trying to
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  survive another day. But while David was sitting
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  in that cave, God was already doing something
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  David could not see. Somewhere outside that cave,
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  God had already started moving hearts. 400 men,
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  men from different places, different backgrounds,
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  different stories, were already on their way.
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  David didn't know them. He hadn't invited them.
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  He wasn't recruiting an army. He wasn't making
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  phone calls. He wasn't building a kingdom. God
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  was while David was crying inside the cave. God
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  was gathering people outside the cave That is
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  incredible David thought he was waiting on God
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  The reality was that God had already begun working
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  long before David realized it and I started asking
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  myself How many times has God been doing exactly
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  the same thing in our lives? How many times have
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  we prayed? Lord, where are you? While heaven
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  was already moving, how many times have we mistaken
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  silence for inactivity? Because silence does
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  not mean God is absent. Sometimes, silence simply
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  means God is working where your eyes cannot yet
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  see. Then I began seeing this pattern. Everywhere
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  in scripture before Joseph was called out of
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  prison, God had already disturbed Pharaoh's sleep.
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  Joseph didn't know it. He woke up thinking it
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  was another ordinary morning in prison. He had
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  no idea. That's somewhere else. God was already
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  setting the stage for his promotion, before Esther
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  risked her life before the king. God had already
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  positioned her inside the palace years earlier,
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  before Daniel entered the lion's den. God had
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  already determined that the lions would not have
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  the final word. Before Peter stood before rulers
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  and authorities, Jesus had already promised him,
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  don't worry about what you will say. The Holy
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  Spirit will speak through you. Before Paul boarded
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  the ship that would eventually be wrecked, God
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  had already told him, you will stand before Caesar.
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  Do you see the pattern? God never starts working.
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  When we finally notice Him, He has already been
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  working, long before we recognize His hand. And
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  then another thought came into my spirit, one
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  that completely overwhelmed me. Salvation itself
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  was never an emergency plan. When Adam sinned,
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  God didn't gather the angels and say, what do
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  we do now? No, before humanity ever fell, God
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  already knew redemption would come through Christ.
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  God was never surprised, never caught off guard,
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  never forced to improvise. And if salvation,
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  the greatest story in human history, was never
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  an emergency plan, why would I believe that my
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  own life is? Why would I think that my valley
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  caught God by surprise? Why would I imagine that
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  my trial is forcing God to figure out a solution.
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  No, that's not who He is. He is the God who declares
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  the end from the beginning. He is already in
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  tomorrow, while I'm still trying to understand
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  today. And maybe that's why faith is so important,
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  because faith is not believing that God will
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  eventually start moving. Faith is believing that
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  He is already moving. even when I cannot yet
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  see it. Maybe that's why David could eventually
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  sing again. Maybe that's why Joseph never gave
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  up. Maybe that's why Paul could worship in prison.
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  Maybe that's why Daniel kept praying. Not because
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  they understood everything, but because somewhere
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  deep inside, they had become convinced that God
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  was already doing something greater than they
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  could presently comprehend. And I don't know
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  who needs to hear this today, but maybe while
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  you are praying, God is already preparing. Maybe
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  while you are crying, God is already gathering.
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  Maybe while you are waiting, God is already opening.
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  Maybe while you are wondering how this story
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  will end, God has already written the next chapter.
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  You simply haven't arrived there yet. And that
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  brings me to one final thought, perhaps the most
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  beautiful one of all, because if God was already
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  gathering 400 men for David, what else had he
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  already prepared before his servants ever entered
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  their greatest battles? Then I started going
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  through the Bible and I realized this is how
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  God has always worked before Joseph walked out
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  of prison. God had already disturbed Pharaoh's
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  sleep. Before David left the cave, God had already
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  gathered his future army. Before Esther stood
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  before the king, God had already placed her inside
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  the palace years before anyone understood why.
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  Before Peter stood before rulers and authorities,
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  Jesus had already promised him, don't worry about
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  what you will say. The Holy Spirit will speak
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  through you. before Paul ever arrived in Rome.
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  God had already declared, you will testify before
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  Caesar. Then my mind stopped at one story, the
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  fiery furnace. I have read that story many times,
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  but this time I saw something different. The
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  king thought he controlled the furnace. He ordered
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  it to be heated seven times hotter. The soldiers
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  carrying Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were
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  killed by the flames. The fire behaved exactly
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  as fire should. It burned, it consumed, it killed.
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  Nothing had changed about the nature of the fire,
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  but something had already changed before those
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  three men ever stepped inside. God had already
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  gone before them. The fire still burned. but
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  it could no longer accomplish what it was designed
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  to do. Think about that. The men who approached
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  the furnace without God's covering died. The
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  men who entered it with God's presence walked.
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  Not because the fire stopped being fire, because
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  God had already prepared the outcome even before
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  they entered. Then I remembered something else.
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  When Israel stood in front of the Red Sea, It
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  looked like there was no way forward. The sea
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  was in front of them. Pharaoh was behind them.
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  From a human perspective, it was over. But while
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  they were wondering, God already had a path.
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  The sea did not decide to open by itself. God
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  already knew where his people would walk. He
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  already knew where the walls of water would stand.
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  He already knew Where Pharaoh's army would fall
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  the miracle wasn't an emergency it was already
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  in the heart of God and then Something became
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  very clear to me Maybe that is why Paul could
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  write with so much confidence We know that in
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  all things God works for the good of those who
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  love him who are called according to his purpose
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  Notice what Paul doesn't say he doesn't say we
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  hope He says, we know. How could he know? Because
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  by then, Paul had walked with God long enough
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  to understand something. God never starts working
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  when we finally see him moving. He has already
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  been moving, long before our eyes catch up with
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  his plan. And maybe that is what faith really
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  is. Faith is not trying to convince yourself
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  that everything will somehow work out. Faith
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  is resting in the certainty that God is already
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  ahead of you, already in tomorrow, already in
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  the courtroom, already in the valley, already
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  in the fire, already in the prison, already preparing
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  people, opening doors, closing others, moving
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  hearts, ordering steps, arranging meetings, protecting
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  you from dangers you will never even know existed.
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  Maybe the greatest miracles in your life are
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  the ones you never saw. The conversations God
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  prevented, the accidents he stopped, the doors
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  he closed, the people he removed, the attacks
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  he never allowed to reach you. And maybe one
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  day in eternity, God will show us everything
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  he was doing while we thought he was silent.
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  That thought fills my heart with peace. Because
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  it reminds me that my life has never been in
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  my hands. It has always been in his. So if today
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  you find yourself in a cave, don't assume heaven
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  has stopped moving. While David was sitting in
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  the cave, God was already gathering 400 men.
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  While Joseph was sleeping in prison, God was
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  already troubling Pharaoh's dreams. While the
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  three Hebrew men were walking toward the furnace,
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  God had already gone before them. While Esther
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  was faithfully serving, God was already preparing
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  the moment that would save a nation. And while
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  you are praying today, while you are wondering,
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  while you are waiting, while you are trying to
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  understand, God is already moving. He always
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  has been. Because our God is never caught by
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  surprise. He never improvises. He never reacts.
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  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
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  and the end, the one who declares the end from
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  the beginning. And perhaps that is why I can
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  finally rest. Not because I know how this story
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  ends, but because I know the one who has already
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  written the ending. So I'll keep praying. I'll
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  keep dwelling. I'll keep trusting. I'll keep
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  believing. Because if history has taught us anything,
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  it is this. God has never abandoned those who
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  made Him their dwelling place, and He will not
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  begin with you. Amen. Hallelujah.