Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 625 | God in the Midst

Transcript

625 | God in the Midst · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

• 0:07
  Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast.
• 0:11
  With Kimberly Miller, where we believe that every man, woman,
• 0:14
  boy, and girl must come to Jesus just like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
• 0:20
  Our highest priority is helping you experience the reality of God in your everyday life.
• 0:26
  Whether you're listening in our app, on your favorite podcast platform,
• 0:30
  are on our website at watwm.org.
• 0:34
  We invite you to sit down with us as we open the scriptures to learn more about
• 0:39
  who God is and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
• 1:03
  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
• 1:06
  join Kim Miller and Erika Close in a conversation as we walk with Jesus.
• 1:11
  In today's conversation, we're chatting about what life looks like when we live
• 1:15
  a life that understands that God is in the midst of our lives.
• 1:20
  Well, everyone, thank you so much for joining us. I am Erica Close,
• 1:24
  and I am here with Kim Miller.
• 1:26
  Hello, and thank you so much for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
• 1:30
  I'm so excited about today's conversation. I know, and we really are excited
• 1:34
  about today's conversation. And our hope is that you were able to listen to
• 1:39
  Monday's podcast. So that was number 624, Oh, How He Loves You.
• 1:45
  And in that podcast, Kim, you brought out so many important concepts.
• 1:50
  That I think really gracious. I think they just explain what it means to live
• 1:57
  a life, like to live the Christian life and to live a life that understands
• 2:02
  who God is and to live a life that understands,
• 2:06
  that we're loved.
• 2:08
  I honestly hoped that what people walked away with was really understanding how attainable.
• 2:18
  The promise in John 10.10 that he came to give us life and that we would have
• 2:24
  it more abundantly, that having the abundant life
• 2:28
  isn't like the American dream where you're chasing it and trying to get it,
• 2:32
  but it is ours for the taking.
• 2:34
  It is ours because he has come alongside of us and has said, I love you.
• 2:43
  And there's no limit to his love and no good thing to see withhold from them that walk up rightly.
• 2:48
  And so I wanted people to walk away understanding the value of who they are,
• 2:55
  not because of them, but because of the investment that he didn't just give,
• 3:03
  to us on the cross of Calvary, but continually,
• 3:07
  showers us and bestows upon us with his daily giving us blessings because of
• 3:12
  his love, and he cannot keep from loving us because God is love.
• 3:19
  I just am overwhelmed by the truth that God loves me. I love that.
• 3:28
  I think what you just described there is attainable abundance.
• 3:32
  Absolutely. I love that. I love that.
• 3:35
  In the podcast on Monday, you talked about abundance as being in tune and in
• 3:42
  alignment with God himself.
• 3:45
  When you have him you have it all absolutely and when you have it all you have abundance,
• 3:55
  and it doesn't look like ferraris and mansions and jets,
• 4:02
  it's peace it's joy it's the ability,
• 4:07
  to feel loved and valued and just overcome with the joy of the Lord,
• 4:17
  regardless of the situations,
• 4:19
  whether you're in your darkest hour or your greatest moment.
• 4:23
  It all feels the same because He never changes.
• 4:28
  And when we get a hold of that, the world's got nothing for us.
• 4:32
  Absolutely. And I appreciate that you say, would we get a hold of that?
• 4:38
  Because that is sometimes a process for some of us, right, to really get a hold of that.
• 4:46
  Because it's a process for us to allow him to have all of us.
• 4:50
  Because it's submission, right? We hold that, yeah.
• 4:52
  We get a hold of that when he gets all of us.
• 4:56
  We get all of him, but it's a process for him to get all of us.
• 5:01
  There's a reason why in Psalms 139, the psalmist David said,
• 5:05
  search me, oh God, and try me and see if there'd be any wicked way in me.
• 5:09
  Because there's wicked ways in us that have to be chipped out.
• 5:13
  And that's why it says daily that we are to take up our cross,
• 5:17
  deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him.
• 5:20
  It is a daily choice to follow.
• 5:24
  I don't believe we get saved every day. I believe once we have the Holy Spirit
• 5:29
  talking to us, it convicts us and that's what makes us different.
• 5:32
  We still sin, but we repent, a true turning away. And he says in 1 John 1,
• 5:38
  9, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
• 5:42
  to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• 5:45
  He loves us and he wants us all to be saved. He wishes that none should perish,
• 5:49
  but that all should come to repentance.
• 5:52
  He loves us.
• 5:54
  And that love, when we start giving him pieces of us, he wants all of us. Right.
• 6:01
  But I think that beautiful picture he gives us in Revelations 3.20,
• 6:04
  where Jesus is on the outside and he's knocking on the door and he says,
• 6:09
  if we'll open the door, he'll come in and, my words, hang with us.
• 6:13
  Sup with us. So he sups with us.
• 6:16
  I believe we have caverns in our heart that we have created and that we have locks on the doors.
• 6:25
  They're there. And some of them, I think we don't even dare hardly open the door and walk through.
• 6:33
  But I believe he's knocking on every door.
• 6:36
  Not just the door of who we are and our soul, but I think he's knocking on every closed door we have.
• 6:44
  And he just wants to come in and wash it up. Right, but he's going to come in
• 6:47
  and heal it, right? That's the thing. And clean it. If we open the door,
• 6:51
  he's going to clean it out.
• 6:53
  He's going to heal it. And, you know, I think that I really like that idea that,
• 6:57
  you said about caverns, because I think there are probably events in our lives,
• 7:03
  that turn into, like, holes that become a cavern.
• 7:07
  And it's a hole because it's something that needs filled. Right,
• 7:11
  right. And in every one of us, there is a piece of us. We're created in His image.
• 7:17
  And so there's a piece of us that longs to be reconciled with him,
• 7:24
  to be in alignment with him.
• 7:26
  And when we allow him to have all of us, when we allow him to do that,
• 7:32
  that's when we know peace that I can't articulate.
• 7:37
  But I've experienced the peace of God. And I want him to have all of me because
• 7:42
  I want to be all for him that I can possibly be.
• 7:45
  And if I'm holding something back from him, he can't use it, right?
• 7:49
  And it can also be a stumbling block for me, so I can't even use the things I do have.
• 7:54
  So I really want him to shine his light in my life and feel the darkness with
• 8:01
  him because he's light. Amen. Amen.
• 8:04
  Oh my goodness, that was just a great introduction. I love that.
• 8:08
  Okay, so let's jump into living a life that understands that God is in the midst.
• 8:14
  You read, and your message on Monday came out of Zephaniah 3.17,
• 8:20
  which says, The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty.
• 8:26
  He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love.
• 8:33
  He will joy over thee with singing. I just, as I read that, he will rest in his love.
• 8:40
  He settled it. He settled it. And it makes me think like, you know,
• 8:44
  the Lord created the heavens and the earth. And on the seventh day, he rested.
• 8:48
  He was done, right? It's settled. It's done. He rests when he's done.
• 8:54
  And I love that picture. You know how like when you really work really hard,
• 8:58
  and you get done and you look at what you've done and there's just this.
• 9:04
  You know and you just feel so good and you can just relax because it's good,
• 9:12
  and when he created us he relaxed,
• 9:15
  So this is just in my image. And in Zephaniah 3.17, he says,
• 9:21
  I can just rest in my love for you. I'm not going to bring this back up and
• 9:25
  wonder, should I love them? Should I not?
• 9:28
  When circumstances change in their life, I'm not changing or going back to the
• 9:33
  drawing board and saying, do I love or do I not?
• 9:37
  It's settled. That's great. He loves me. He sure does. I don't even love me
• 9:41
  all the time, but he does. He does.
• 9:46
  That's good. All right. So you made a statement in the Monday podcast that said,
• 9:52
  why would I ever want what he never intended me to have?
• 9:58
  And I think this is one of the greatest struggles of our life.
• 10:04
  I think this is a struggle that I'm sure has been going on for years.
• 10:08
  I'm certain this struggle just looks different in our time, maybe,
• 10:12
  versus, you know, Abraham's time.
• 10:15
  You know, Abraham didn't have social media, but Abraham could look out over
• 10:20
  a field and see that someone else had more cattle than him or more children
• 10:24
  than him, right? Or something like that.
• 10:28
  You know, jealousy is not new.
• 10:30
  It can't be. It can't because it's one of the Big Ten. Well,
• 10:33
  Solomon said there's nothing new under the sun.
• 10:36
  How it manifests could be, but the results and what it is, it's not.
• 10:40
  It's not. And, you know, I think we see so much in social media that gives us
• 10:46
  everything that we could ever imagine or see that we don't have.
• 10:49
  And that was David's big problem. He would see things. Well,
• 10:53
  with Bathsheba, right. He just saw her. And he wanted her and it wasn't his. And he had the power.
• 10:59
  And so you know that's another that's a whole other thing but,
• 11:04
  you know i just let's think about that for a second why would i ever want what
• 11:08
  he never intended me to have he tells us that my god will supply all of your
• 11:14
  needs that means everything he wants for me today,
• 11:20
  i have yes.
• 11:23
  Period. End of podcast. Right.
• 11:27
  So if that's true, why do I want anything else?
• 11:34
  Because we don't put ourselves often, we don't, in the center of God's will.
• 11:43
  We put ourselves in a place to serve ourselves.
• 11:49
  And our flesh will war against our spirit. and daily we wrestle against spiritual things.
• 11:56
  In Ephesians 6, we put on the armor of God. And one of the pieces of the armor is to shield the faith.
• 12:02
  And faith is what it takes to know that where I'm sitting, in the center of
• 12:08
  God's will, regardless of what my view is,
• 12:12
  my vision sees wonder and grace and love and mercy because I'm at the foot of
• 12:20
  the throne and Jesus holds my hand.
• 12:25
  But we put ourselves somewhere else because we've left off the shield of faith.
• 12:31
  And instead of putting ourselves right in the middle of where he is.
• 12:36
  And if we drop the shield, we
• 12:37
  often drop the sword. And when we drop the sword, we don't have a weapon.
• 12:43
  And we don't have the faith to let God do the weapon. And so that's when we
• 12:47
  start spiraling into a tumultual place because we're not seeing God's perspective.
• 12:55
  Things look different from the shepherd's point of view.
• 12:59
  You know, you talked about dropping off pieces of the armor of God.
• 13:05
  And I think one of the pieces of the armor of God that we surrender often is
• 13:11
  the helmet, right? It's the helmet of salvation. That covers our mind. That covers our mind.
• 13:17
  And you mentioned in your message on Monday about how the devil,
• 13:23
  you know, causes so many times, he causes people to say bad things about us.
• 13:29
  But the reality is, and you said this, is we often just talk badly about ourselves.
• 13:35
  And I want to talk there for a minute because I think that that is something,
• 13:41
  that is so common. We get very down on ourselves and we say things to ourselves,
• 13:47
  that we would never say to another person.
• 13:50
  Like we can stand in the mirror and say things about ourselves that we would
• 13:53
  never say to anybody we know or not know.
• 13:57
  And I think it's also... important to remember that in Romans 12,
• 14:00
  1 and 2, he said that we are to renew our mind. That's what transforms us.
• 14:07
  The battleground of the devil is in your mind. And if your mind isn't soaked
• 14:12
  on Jesus, in the Old Testament, he talks, you'd be much more adept to know where this was than I am.
• 14:17
  I want to say Deuteronomy, but if it was, you'll know.
• 14:20
  When he talked about the front You know, putting the word of God in the frontlets of your mind.
• 14:28
  And the Psalm of David said that we are to hide his word in our heart.
• 14:34
  And that's so that the Holy Spirit can bring it to our remembrance.
• 14:38
  But what happens is where we focus our attention is where our mind is.
• 14:46
  And so if our mind is turned away from God and on the things of the world,
• 14:54
  then the devil has a hold on us.
• 14:57
  And we have to give it to him because greater is he that is in us than he that
• 15:01
  is in the world. So that means we're choosing to look.
• 15:04
  At the devil and his ways, which is usually flesh and our personal desires.
• 15:11
  And the, I want what's best for me. I want this. I want that.
• 15:17
  And we've abandoned the faith and the truth that says God wants only what's best for you.
• 15:23
  And whatever's in your life is what's best for you.
• 15:26
  But we don't like it because it doesn't match with our mind.
• 15:29
  And instead of renewing our mind and letting the Lord transform us into who
• 15:34
  he would have us to be and to allow us to see him in all things and to experience
• 15:41
  that personal walk with him at that moment.
• 15:44
  We abandon that and we're over here with the devil. He don't want anything good for us.
• 15:48
  So it just spirals down. And he's just putting all these things in your mind
• 15:52
  that are lies and you're saying them to yourself and you're believing it.
• 15:56
  And with each word, you're taking one step further and further away from God.
• 16:01
  But James, I think it's 4.8, says, Draw an eye to God, and he'll draw an eye to you one turn.
• 16:07
  So let's talk about making that turn and what we do when we make that turn.
• 16:11
  Like, what is, how do we combat ourselves?
• 16:15
  How do we stop ourselves? When I hear in my heart the words of my mind,
• 16:24
  and they're contrary to the word of God.
• 16:27
  I am praying as quickly as I can be aware of that.
• 16:30
  Help me, Lord. Help me, Lord. Come quickly, Lord. Even though he's there,
• 16:34
  I need to be able to see him.
• 16:35
  Let me see you. Let me hear you. Help me, Lord. Help me, Lord.
• 16:39
  Just like when Peter fell in the water and he threw his arms up.
• 16:42
  He didn't fall in the water. He sank because he took his eyes off of God.
• 16:45
  But he goes into the water down and he raises his hands. He says,
• 16:49
  Lord, save me. And immediately, Lord saves me.
• 16:52
  So in that deepest, darkest hour, when his eyes were off of Jesus,
• 16:56
  his words were, Lord, save me.
• 16:59
  And I've never forgotten that. You know how important that account and scripture is for me.
• 17:03
  And I really try and I literally say, Lord, save me.
• 17:08
  I need him to save me from myself, save me from the choice I'm making to hear the lies of the devil.
• 17:14
  And it says that we are to be careful, to be vigilant, to be sober,
• 17:19
  because your adversary, the devil, walketh about like a roaring lion,
• 17:23
  seeking whom he may devour.
• 17:25
  But greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.
• 17:27
  But I got to choose Jesus to fight that battle.
• 17:31
  Then if I just keep going further and further away from Jesus,
• 17:34
  then I'm just falling further and further and deeper and deeper into the trap.
• 17:38
  But praise the Lord, I can never get out of his reach.
• 17:42
  And the Lord saved me. And it's an instantaneous, I start yelling,
• 17:47
  Lord, save me, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Because scripture says devil has to flee in his name, right?
• 17:52
  So he can't be getting in my mind and he can't be telling me any new false stuff.
• 17:56
  And then I get to Jesus and I'm asking Jesus to help me straighten out these lies in my head.
• 18:02
  Increase my faith, Lord.
• 18:05
  Love on me. Because love covers a multitude of sins.
• 18:09
  So for me, once I'm aware of what's happening I either choose because I'm completely
• 18:14
  stupid and gone out of control and off the rails to continue to move down there knowing what I'm doing,
• 18:21
  Or I'm Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It's been a while since I've purposely said,
• 18:27
  okay, I'm just going to wallow in my mess.
• 18:31
  Because I've been seeing a lot of moons.
• 18:35
  And I've learned truly at the feet of Jesus is where I want to be.
• 18:41
  You made a statement, I think it was in last week's Monday podcast,
• 18:47
  about something to the effect of Jesus didn't deliver us from our sin for us
• 18:51
  to wallow in it. Amen. Right?
• 18:54
  And I think that that's an exact example of, you know, we don't choose to wallow in it.
• 19:01
  And you talked about prayer.
• 19:06
  When I'm in a negative personal jam, one of the things in addition to prayer is I just...
• 19:14
  Quote, scripture, right? Even if I have to.
• 19:17
  And one of the things. It's what Jesus did when he looked in front of him.
• 19:20
  Right. It's what Jesus did with the devil. And one of the things that I've learned
• 19:24
  is that it doesn't have to be the perfectly applicable scripture.
• 19:32
  Like, it all applies. Do you know what I mean? Oh. Right? Like,
• 19:35
  it doesn't have to be, oh, I'm in this kind of situation with this.
• 19:37
  I need the perfect scripture for this. No.
• 19:40
  John 3.16 is going to work anytime.
• 19:42
  Right? I, you know, I worked really hard a while, just a couple years ago on
• 19:47
  the Romans Road, you know, and that's salvation. I mean, those are scriptures
• 19:50
  we tend to use when sharing the gospel with someone.
• 19:54
  But if I'm in a personal jam by myself and having a, you know,
• 19:58
  a moment, they work really well, too, at getting the devil to go away because
• 20:03
  you're bathing your mind in scripture.
• 20:07
  And Scripture, you know, the Bible says Scripture can't go out and return void.
• 20:13
  It can't go across our mind either and not do something.
• 20:17
  It's too powerful. And what He's done for you before, He'll do again.
• 20:21
  And if He saved you in that situation, He's going to save you in the other situation.
• 20:25
  There certainly is a great benefit in learning to rightly divide the word of
• 20:30
  truth so that you know what verses to say in what situations.
• 20:34
  But if you've got nothing else, Lord, save me. it's right there the scripture right i mean.
• 20:40
  God just wants to hear from you right and he's going to open that door immediately
• 20:44
  and come barging in i i to me he's like like the SWAT team all in one here comes the trinity,
• 20:51
  and look out people you're you're going down right right i love that and you
• 20:55
  know i think that's how we calm,
• 20:57
  calm our hearts you know i think one of the things you know again remember we're
• 21:01
  talking about god being in our midst,
• 21:04
  Because he's in our midst, he calms our hearts.
• 21:08
  And you talked in the podcast on Monday about how understanding that God is
• 21:13
  in our midst brings a calm to our hearts that is not temporary,
• 21:20
  like so many other things are that we might use to calm our hearts, like,
• 21:25
  alcohol, drugs, you know, that kind of stuff. Those are temporary fixes.
• 21:29
  And they really don't fix. No, they don't fix. They're not even Band-Aids. Right.
• 21:34
  He's a permanent healer amen and he is the great i am,
• 21:39
  so whatever it is that we need finances healing emotional physical companionship it's who he is,
• 21:49
  and that shield of faith don't ever underestimate the value of that piece of
• 21:54
  the armor of god absolutely all right i want to close,
• 21:59
  the podcast was just this idea.
• 22:02
  You talked about so many different things in Monday's podcast,
• 22:06
  but one of the things you just sort of mentioned is that,
• 22:10
  you know, knowing God and having him in our lives and understanding that he's
• 22:15
  in the midst changes the narrative.
• 22:18
  And that's what God wants for our lives, right? Psalm 149.4 says the Lord takes
• 22:23
  pleasure in his people, right? He's happy to have us as his children.
• 22:30
  And as his children, our lives are different.
• 22:35
  And he wants to change the narrative in our lives.
• 22:40
  You know, so often we come to him and we're in one place and he saves us and
• 22:48
  he fully changes the direction of our lives.
• 22:52
  I know he did that for me.
• 22:55
  And my life is not at all what I thought it was going to be when I was like 15, right?
• 23:00
  He changed my direction, but He changes the narrative.
• 23:05
  He changes the narrative on a daily basis. When the world tells us one thing,
• 23:09
  He changes the narrative. But what does that idea of God changing the narrative
• 23:14
  of your life mean for you?
• 23:17
  I have not seen and ear have not heard what lies in store for them that love
• 23:21
  the Lord, and no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
• 23:25
  Goodness and pleasure is everlasting in the presence of the Lord.
• 23:31
  That is the narrative that changes my wickedness, my sinfulness,
• 23:38
  the frailty of who I am, and the limit of my capacity.
• 23:43
  But when I'm in Jesus, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.
• 23:49
  The world truly is an open door when He is the door.
• 23:55
  Amen. We're going to leave it there. We thank you for listening.
• 23:59
  We invite you to stick with us and enjoy our next podcast.
• 24:03
  And just know that you are loved, and Jesus loves you.
• 24:10
  Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. You can find quotes and scripture
• 24:15
  references from this episode in the show notes.
• 24:18
  We pray today's message has been a blessing. If it has, please consider leaving
• 24:23
  a rating or review on your podcast platform.
• 24:26
  Your feedback helps others discover the truth of God's word.
• 24:30
  You can connect with Women at the Well Ministries through our app at watwm.org
• 24:36
  and on Facebook and Instagram.
• 24:38
  While you're there, learn more about Bible Bits, Kim's daily devotional delivered
• 24:42
  Monday through Friday by text message and the Bible Bit podcast.
• 24:47
  Thank you for your prayers and support.