Latest / Rise and Thrive with Dr. J. Nicole Podcast / PT. 3 FAITH IN THE FURLOUGH: Captivity but Not Defeat

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PT. 3 FAITH IN THE FURLOUGH: Captivity but Not Defeat · Rise and Thrive with Dr. J. Nicole Podcast

• 0:15
  Welcome back to Part 3 of Faith in the Furlough.
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  I'm Doctor J Nicole, and today's encouragement is simple but
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  powerful captivity does not mean defeat.
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  If you've been impacted by the furlough, I know you may feel
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  like you've been sidelined or you may even feel stuck in your
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  situation and and it's a situation that you didn't choose
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  right. I want to remind you that God's
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  people have been here before and every single time God has shown
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  up. So our anchoring scripture for
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  today comes from Jeremiah 29, verses 4 through 7.
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  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all
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  those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
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  Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they
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  produce. Marry and have sons and
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  daughters. Also seek the peace and
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  prosperity of the city. So which I've carried you into
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  exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because
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  if it prospers, you too will prosper.
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  Even in exile. God gave His people instructions
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  to live, to build and to thrive. OK, so just, like, really think
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  about it. God's people were taken from
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  their homeland, from new jobs, from the routines, and placed in
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  Babylon. That's exile right?
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  Now, a furlough isn't the same as exile, but it can feel like
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  captivity. You didn't choose it.
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  It's disrupted your life and makes you wonder if you'll ever
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  return to normal. But here's the key difference.
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  Exile was about displacement and furlough is about AWS.
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  Neither one was meant to erase God's people and neither one can
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  erase you. Just as he told Israel to plant
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  gardens and build homes and and build homes in Babylon, he's
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  telling you don't stop living because of this.
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  AWS don't shrink back. This is a season where you can
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  grow. I know it's tempting to see
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  furlough as defeat, but the enemy is a liar, OK?
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  And this is not the end of your story.
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  You know, you may feel limited, but God's Word says seek the
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  peace and prosperity of the place you are in.
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  Seek the peace and prosperity of the place that you are in.
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  In other words, even here in this moment of furlough, even
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  now, you can prosper. You can thrive in the furlough
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  not by pretending that it's easy, but by remembering that
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  God's promises don't pause just because you're paycheck done.
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  God is bringing some wonderful things out of people in this
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  time, and sometimes you need that break in order to make it
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  happen. This pause is an opportunity to
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  make them. Here's something I want you to
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  try this week. I want you to make a list of one
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  new thing that you can plants in this season.
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  It could be planting a financial seed.
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  That could look like budgeting differently.
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  Maybe you want to invest some money.
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  This could look like planting a personal seed, starting a side
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  hustle or getting a certification.
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  Planting a spiritual seed. Maybe it's joining a Bible study
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  group or committing to daily prayer.
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  Starting a plan in the Bible. Remember, seeds don't grow
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  overnight, but they do grow, and what you plant during the
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  furlough can bear fruit after it is.
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  So let me leave you with this. Exile was not the end of God's
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  people, and furlough was certainly not the end of you.
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  Captivity is temporary and your destiny is eternal.
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  Let us pray, Lord, thank you that even in the times that feel
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  like captivity, you give us instructions to live, to plant
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  and survive. Remind us that our identity is
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  not tied to the job, but to your Kingdom.
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  Help us to plant good seeds during this season, during this
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  fall and let us see in due season Jesus name, Amen.
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  So if this bless you, share this with someone else who's impacted
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  by the furlough. Make sure you subscribe so you
• 4:41
  don't miss Episode 4 and episode 4.
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  We'll be talking about walking through the fiery furnace of
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  finance and how God shows up in the fire.
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  Remember, you are in captivity maybe, but you are never
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  defeated. I'll see you next time.