Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / FORGED FOR YOUR FUTURE | Episode 9 – The Story You Never Knew God Was Writing How Faithful Obedience Today Becomes Hope for Generations Tomorrow
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to Pamoja Podcast. The place where stronger
- 0:04lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
- 0:07are encouraged, and Christ -centered lives are
- 0:10shaped through ordinary conversations that become
- 0:13extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm
- 0:17your host, Barry Mwamba. Last time, we finished
- 0:22with one thought that has not left my heart.
- 0:25We said, faith is trusting the author. while
- 0:29he is still writing. But that left me with another
- 0:32question, a question I had honestly never asked
- 0:36before. Have you ever wondered whether the chapter
- 0:40you're living today might one day become someone
- 0:44else's encouragement? Not tomorrow, not next
- 0:48year, maybe long after you're gone. Have you
- 0:53ever wondered if God is writing something through
- 0:57your life? that you may never fully understand
- 1:00while you're still living it. Because the more
- 1:04I thought about David, Daniel and Paul, the more
- 1:09I realized they all had one thing in common.
- 1:14None of them knew how far their obedience would
- 1:17reach. And perhaps that's one of God's greatest
- 1:21mysteries. Let's start with David. I often wonder
- 1:27What David thought, while sitting inside the
- 1:30cave of a dullum. Do you think he ever imagined
- 1:33that thousands of years later, people all over
- 1:37the world would still be praying his words? Probably
- 1:40not. When David wrote, the Lord is my shepherd.
- 1:46I don't think he was trying to write one of the
- 1:49most beloved chapters in the Bible. He was simply
- 1:52writing what he had learned about God. When he
- 1:57cried, the Lord is close to the broken hearted.
- 2:01I don't think he imagined that one day those
- 2:05words would comfort grieving parents, lonely
- 2:08prisoners, missionaries, widows, pastors, young
- 2:13believers, and people he would never meet. David
- 2:18thought he was pouring out his heart before God.
- 2:21God was writing worship for generations. Think
- 2:25about that. The cave was never only about David,
- 2:29it was about everyone who would one day need
- 2:33a song while living in their own cave. I find
- 2:37that incredible because it means God can take
- 2:40one person's darkest season and transform it
- 2:44into someone else's greatest encouragement. And
- 2:47then I ask myself, how many times have I underestimated
- 2:53what God can do with one act of faithfulness.
- 2:57Then my mind went to another man, Daniel, because
- 3:02Daniel teaches us something different. David
- 3:05teaches us how to worship in the cave. Daniel
- 3:08teaches us how to remain faithful when the entire
- 3:13culture moves in the opposite direction. I've
- 3:16always admired Daniel, not because he interpreted
- 3:19dreams. Not because he survived the lion's den,
- 3:24but because of something much simpler. Daniel
- 3:28had already decided who he belonged to long before
- 3:32the crisis arrived. Think about that. The decree
- 3:36didn't create Daniel's faith. The decree simply
- 3:39revealed it. When the king signed the law forbidding
- 3:44prayer, Daniel didn't panic. He didn't negotiate.
- 3:49He didn't begin praying because trouble had arrived.
- 3:53The Bible says he went home, opened his windows
- 3:56toward Jerusalem, and prayed as he had done before.
- 4:00Those last words have always fascinated me, as
- 4:04he had done before. His faith wasn't an emergency
- 4:07response. It was already his way of life. And
- 4:12I think that's exactly what Psalm 91 has been
- 4:16teaching us throughout this season. You don't
- 4:19begin dwelling when the storm arrives. You are
- 4:23already dwelling before the storm comes. You
- 4:27don't build a refuge while the arrows are already
- 4:30flying. The refuge has already become your home.
- 4:36That's why Daniel remained at peace. His prayer
- 4:39life didn't begin with the decree. It had already
- 4:43shaped the man who would face the decree. That
- 4:46really challenged me. Because sometimes we spend
- 4:49more time preparing for success than preparing
- 4:52for adversity. Daniel did the opposite. He prepared
- 4:56his heart. His relationship with God became so
- 4:59deep that when the lions finally came, there
- 5:03was nothing new to learn. He simply continued
- 5:07living the life he had already chosen. And then...
- 5:12I noticed something else. Daniel never knew that
- 5:16thousands of years later, believers around the
- 5:19world would find courage because one man refused
- 5:23to stop praying. He thought he was simply remaining
- 5:27faithful. God was writing encouragement for generations.
- 5:32Do you see the pattern? David didn't know. Daniel
- 5:36didn't know. And then my thoughts went to Paul.
- 5:41because perhaps no one illustrates this mystery
- 5:44more than Paul. Imagine Paul sitting in a prison
- 5:48cell, cold, chained, separated from the churches
- 5:53he loved. He picks up a pen and begins writing.
- 5:57I wonder what was going through his mind. Do
- 6:01you think he ever imagined that nearly 2 ,000
- 6:05years later, people in every nation would still
- 6:09be reading those letters. Do you think he thought
- 6:12one day this letter to the Romans will transform
- 6:17millions of lives? I don't think so. I think
- 6:22Paul believed he was encouraging churches he
- 6:25loved, but while Paul thought he was writing
- 6:28letters, God was writing scripture. That thought
- 6:32overwhelmed me because it reminds me that God's
- 6:37vision is always bigger than ours. Paul saw churches.
- 6:41God saw generations. Paul saw prison. God saw
- 6:46a platform. Paul saw chains. God saw a testimony.
- 6:50Paul saw limitations. God saw a legacy. And maybe
- 6:55that's one of the greatest lessons of this entire
- 6:58season. We spend so much time asking God to show
- 7:03us the end, but perhaps If he showed us everything,
- 7:08we would miss the privilege of simply walking
- 7:11with him one faithful step at a time. Maybe that's
- 7:15why Hebrews 11 never celebrates people who understood
- 7:20everything. It celebrates people who kept walking,
- 7:25who kept praying, who kept worshipping, who kept
- 7:28obeying, even when they could not yet see what
- 7:32God was building through their lives. and then
- 7:36a thought settled deeply into my heart. What
- 7:39if someone's faith tomorrow depends on my faithfulness
- 7:43today? What if the chapter I'm living right now
- 7:48isn't only about me? What if God is writing a
- 7:53testimony that my children, my grandchildren,
- 7:57or someone I will never meet will one day need
- 8:00to keep believing him? That changes everything.
- 8:04Because suddenly, my valley is no longer just
- 8:07my valley. My obedience is no longer just my
- 8:11obedience. My worship is no longer just my worship.
- 8:16If God could use David's songs, Daniel's prayers,
- 8:21and Paul's letters to strengthen generations,
- 8:25who am I to say that he cannot use my faithfulness
- 8:30for someone I may never know? And maybe that
- 8:35has been God's purpose all along. Not simply
- 8:38to bring us through the valley, but to leave
- 8:41behind a testimony that points others to the
- 8:45faithfulness of God. And perhaps that's what
- 8:49has stayed with me the most. Not the miracles,
- 8:53not the deliverances, not even the extraordinary
- 8:56things God accomplished. What has stayed with
- 8:58me is that none of them knew. David never knew.
- 9:02Daniel never knew, Paul never knew, Joseph never
- 9:07knew, Abraham never knew. They simply remained
- 9:10faithful one day, one prayer, one act of obedience
- 9:15at a time. Sometimes I wonder if we spend too
- 9:20much time trying to understand tomorrow while
- 9:23God is simply asking us to be faithful today.
- 9:27Because the truth is God has never asked his
- 9:30people to carry the future. He has only asked
- 9:34them to walk with him Maybe that's why Jesus
- 9:38said do not worry about tomorrow Not because
- 9:42tomorrow isn't important, but because tomorrow
- 9:45already belongs to God Our assignment has always
- 9:50been today today's obedience today's prayer today's
- 9:55forgiveness today's worship today's faithfulness
- 9:59leave tomorrow to the author and then Another
- 10:03thought came into my spirit. Maybe one day in
- 10:07heaven, God will allow us to see everything he
- 10:11accomplished through one simple act of obedience.
- 10:15Maybe David will finally see every broken heart
- 10:19strengthened by his songs. Maybe Daniel will
- 10:22finally see every believer who found courage
- 10:26because he refused to stop praying. Maybe Paul
- 10:29will finally see every life transformed by letters
- 10:33he wrote from a prison cell. Can you imagine
- 10:37that moment? I honestly believe all of them will
- 10:41stand in amazement, not because of what they
- 10:44accomplished, but because of what God accomplished
- 10:48through ordinary people who simply refused to
- 10:51stop trusting him. And maybe that will be our
- 10:55amazement too. Maybe one day God will show us.
- 11:00That a conversation we thought nobody heard strengthened
- 11:04someone's faith. That a prayer we thought went
- 11:07unnoticed changed someone's eternity. That an
- 11:12act of forgiveness broke a chain that had lasted
- 11:15for generations. That a difficult season became
- 11:19someone else's reason to keep believing. Because
- 11:24God has always done that. He takes ordinary obedience.
- 11:28and produces extraordinary fruit, not because
- 11:32of us, because of Him. And that brings me back
- 11:36to where this entire season began. There are
- 11:39moments when God brings us back to Him. He repositions
- 11:44us. Then there are seasons when He aligns us
- 11:47more deeply with His presence. Then come valleys
- 11:51that begin forging something inside us, not to
- 11:55destroy us, but to prepare us. Then we discover
- 11:59that while we are still in the valley, God is
- 12:03already moving. Then we learn to trust him while
- 12:08he is still writing. And finally, we begin to
- 12:11realize that the story he is writing has never
- 12:15been only about us. It is about every person
- 12:19whose faith will one day be strengthened because
- 12:23we chose to remain faithful. I don't know where
- 12:27you are today. Maybe you're still in the cave.
- 12:31Maybe you're still in the prison. Maybe you're
- 12:34standing in front of a furnace. Maybe you're
- 12:37praying like Daniel, waiting like Abraham, or
- 12:41wondering like Joseph. If that's where you are,
- 12:45don't lose heart. The chapter you're living today
- 12:48is not the entire story. The author is still
- 12:53writing. And if there is one thing this season
- 12:57has convinced me of, it is this. Our greatest
- 13:00privilege is not knowing how the story ends.
- 13:04Our greatest privilege is knowing the one who
- 13:08is writing it. So keep dwelling, keep praying,
- 13:12keep worshiping, keep obeying, keep trusting.
- 13:16One day, whether in this life or in eternity,
- 13:20you will discover that not one tear, not one
- 13:23prayer not one act of obedience, not one moment
- 13:27of faith was ever wasted, because our God has
- 13:32never wasted the faithfulness of those who make
- 13:36Him their dwelling place. Amen. So keep dwelling,
- 13:41keep praying, keep worshipping, keep obeying,
- 13:44keep trusting, because one day, whether in this
- 13:48life or in eternity, you will discover that not
- 13:52one tear Not one prayer, not one act of obedience,
- 13:57not one moment of faith was ever wasted. Our
- 14:01God has never wasted the faithfulness of those
- 14:05who make Him their dwelling place. And perhaps
- 14:09that brings us to one final question, a question
- 14:14that has been quietly growing throughout this
- 14:17entire season. If God is already moving before
- 14:21we see Him, If he is writing a story greater
- 14:24than ourselves, if our valleys are preparing
- 14:28us for his purpose, if our faithfulness can strengthen
- 14:31generations we may never meet, then why does
- 14:36God choose to work this way? Why doesn't he simply
- 14:40remove the valley? Why doesn't he skip the waiting?
- 14:45Why doesn't he take away the fire, the prison,
- 14:48the cave, the wilderness? Why does he choose
- 14:53to forge his people? I believe the answer to
- 14:57that question is Where this entire journey has
- 15:01been leading us because our final conversation
- 15:04is not about the valley It is not even about
- 15:08faith. It is about the master craftsman The God
- 15:12who never wastes a season who never wastes a
- 15:16wound who never wastes a tear who never wastes
- 15:20a prison, who never wastes a cave, who never
- 15:24wastes a furnace, who never wastes a life completely
- 15:28surrendered to him. In our final episode, we'll
- 15:32discover that what felt like the breaking of
- 15:36your life may actually have been the making of
- 15:40your calling. Because sometimes, God doesn't
- 15:44simply prepare you for an assignment. Sometimes,
- 15:49you become the assignment. Until then, keep trusting
- 15:54the author because he is still writing.