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Transcript

Worship in the Unfinished | Trusting God Before the Outcome Is Here · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to start with a question.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about worship, what comes to mind?
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is it music, a mood, maybe the right lighting, great singing, or your favorite set of songs?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it a moment where your feelings finally catch up or match your faith?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast, the Enneagram for Real Life.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Here is where you'll find conversations where faith meets story and strategy for lasting transformation.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Amy Wicks, here to help you find wisdom and wholehearted rhythms for moments that matter most.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're learning your type or deepening your spiritual formation, these conversations will remind you that the Enneagram shines a light, but Christ is the transformation.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to share a few thoughts about worship as a rhythm.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Not because everything feels good, but because God is good.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want you to know that these thoughts and this little conversation is part of a mini-series on wholehearted rhythms for 2026.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you can listen to all four of them or just this one, my hope is that you walk away, knowing that the rhythms that I'm sharing about is for staying anchored in God's presence, even when life feels uncertain.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: In yesterday's episode or in the last episode, I shared a little bit more about my word, the word I got for 2025.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was the word joy.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And in summary, it wasn't the kind of joy that depends on circumstances changing or even my feeling.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was the kind of joy that James describes, and James 1 specifically.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's joy that forms you, joy that steadies you.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like this is where I learned a new depth of worship.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because there were so many moments this last year where I wasn't sure there was much to feel happy about or sing about.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: There was a lot of endings that looked like failure, many closed doors that stung like rejection, and certainly many situations that did not resolve the way I had prayed or hoped.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, I experienced deeper and more authentic worship than I ever had before.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't worship that was masking denial, and I was not pretending that everything was fine.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: But worship became a decision to anchor my heart in who God is, not in how my circumstances were working out or how things looked.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So as I continued to learn to worship in moments where the story wasn't finished yet, I over time began to see that what felt like rejection was often God's protection.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, a brilliant Christian author, Bonhoeffer, once wrote that God doesn't give us everything we want, but he does fulfill his promises.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: I had heard that long ago.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'd actually read that long ago.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, I didn't want to have to live that out, but worship really helped me hold on to that truth, especially when those outcomes weren't matching my prayers.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell you that worship in those moments, well, it wasn't pretty or showy or tidy, but worship was honest.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was often whispers of gratitude, even though I was sitting in disappointment.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was almost an offering of trust to the Lord before I could understand what was going on.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it was even choosing to believe that God was still at work, even when I couldn't see how or I didn't like what he was or how he was doing things.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, worship wasn't just about emotion.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe that is true for me in this year ahead.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about my feeling, it's a rhythm, it's a practice.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: As you and I continue on this wholehearted journey, whether it's here on the podcast or in the emails that I send you every week, I want to continue to invite you through Enneagram, through wholehearted story, through how you're wired, to try out practices and rhythms that help you stay grounded when life feels uncertain.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And to consider what would it look like for you to live faithfully with wholehearted rhythms, even in the middle of your story, not just when you're experiencing the happily ever after ending you were going for.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I do believe that real worship, authentic worship, is truly one of the ways that you can stay rooted in Christ while the story is still unfolding.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's a rhythm I keep returning to, and one that you may recognize if you've walked through the wholehearted Journey Abundance journal with me before.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's the five Rs.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't use the R's as a checklist, but I do offer it as a pathway back to worship.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: You can get a copy of that journal through the link in the show notes.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's free.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: You just put in your email and you can get it right away in your inbox and on that webpage.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And there's even a video to accompany you with it if you want to hear more.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, I'm going to give you a quick two-minute version of how to use these 5R rhythms as you're kind of making your way back to a rhythm of worship that's going to work for you in 2026.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So the first step is to reflect.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: You slow down just long enough to tell yourself the truth.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're acknowledging what is hard or what you might be grieving, even where you're experiencing some disappointment.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then I invite you to remember.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Remember who God has been to you, the moments that He provided, when the Lord protected you, and when God carried you when you couldn't carry yourself.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Next, I invite you to repent.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Not because you should be ashamed, but to realign, to let go of the belief that your circumstances define God's goodness and to release the lie that unanswered prayer or prayers that aren't answered yet means that you've been abandoned by God or that God doesn't love you.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Then I invite you to receive, to receive truth again, that God is faithful, God is near, and he's still working, even when you feel like you can't see anything that he's doing.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, I invite you to rejoice, not because everything is fixed, but because in the truth that God is still God and He is good and He has so much love for you.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that, if you go through those steps, well, it leads you right to worship.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It is worship, remembering who God is in spite of your circumstances.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: I do believe that rhythms like that are what scripture points you to again and again.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why James talks about having joy in trials and why Revelation 21 gives you and me a picture of worship that isn't rooted in present comfort, but in the future hope that we have.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: I believe worship becomes the place where you and I can say, this isn't the end of the story, and God is still worthy right here.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening to this and worship feels very complicated, maybe it feels hard or forced or distant, something you used to do, something you aspire to do.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to hear this.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Please don't manufacture joy.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to sing your heart out to work your way out of grief.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, you don't have to pretend.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just want you to begin exactly where you are.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you are feeling happy, whether you are feeling sorrow, whether you're feeling it or not, just begin where you are.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: It can be as simple as even a breath prayer.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: God, I don't understand this.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I choose to trust you.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that, my friend, counts as worship.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: As you continue to dig into the episodes in this series, just know that I'm inviting you to build rhythms that won't collapse even when life gets hard.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, if worship feels hard right now, having a guide to reflect and remember can help.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I linked the wholehearted abundance journal in the show notes so that way you can work through it at your own time and your own pace.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And just know in the days ahead, in the year ahead, we'll keep building rhythms like this and writing, wisdom, and discernment so you don't have to walk this year alone or untethered.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow I'm going to share a little bit about writing, not as productivity, as a way of listening and discerning meaning even when your story is feeling unclear.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, may you worship not because everything is resolved, but because God is still present right where you are.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining me for the Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: If this conversation spoke to you, please share it with a friend.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can also visit simply wholehearted.com to take the free Enneagram quiz and also get your personalized podcast playlist specific for your Enneagram type.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, friend, your starting point doesn't have to be your stuck point.