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Faith Over Fear - Hearing God: How to Move Forward in Confidence When You’re Unsure · KFM On Demand

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life audio.
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  Speaker 2: We tend to either be paralyzed to even move in
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  Speaker 2: any direction because we didn't get the magic glow in
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  Speaker 2: the dark sign that's like, go this way. Or we
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: tend to want to chase perfection. So that also paralyzes us.
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  Speaker 2: Or we let fear win where we're not trusting that
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  Speaker 2: if we pursue God and are faithful to him, he
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  Speaker 2: will redirect us.
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  Speaker 3: The Faith Over Fear podcast, where we discuss powerful truths
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  Speaker 3: to quiet anxiety and fear, big and small. I'm Jennifer Slattery,
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  Speaker 3: and I understand the anxiety and uncertainty of feeling like
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  Speaker 3: you must make an important decision when you're not 100%
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  Speaker 3: certain how God is leading. And I suspect maybe you
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  Speaker 3: do as well, because while we belong to a loving, present,
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  Speaker 3: and faithful God who promises to.
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  Speaker 4: Lead us along the very best path for our lives.
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  Speaker 3: His guidance doesn't tend to come through a megaphone or
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: a formal document containing a five-point bullet list. And then
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  Speaker 3: you add in our insecurities, our wounding, our tendencies towards self-deception,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: and all the other things that make us human. And
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  Speaker 3: it's understandable why we can find ourselves stuck in what
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  Speaker 3: feels like a perpetual gray area of indecision. And today
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  Speaker 3: I've invited a woman I greatly respect, Jenny Randall, author
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  Speaker 3: of The Promised Presence, to discuss how we can move
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  Speaker 3: forward in confidence when we lack the clarity that we want. Jenny,
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  Speaker 3: thank you so much for joining us.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for having me on, Jennifer. It's good to see you.
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  Speaker 4: It's always fun to see you. It's awesome.
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  Speaker 3: Today's conversation rests on a few assumptions that we genuinely
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  Speaker 3: want to follow Christ's will for our lives, that we
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  Speaker 3: are actively seeking his will while dealing with those things
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  Speaker 3: like pride and selfishness that can sort of outvolume his voice.
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  Speaker 3: And I pray that this episode helps us recognize the
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  Speaker 3: fears and the lies that might be keeping us stuck.
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  Speaker 3: that we can view them through the lens of God's
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  Speaker 3: unchanging character and pursue as best as we're able the
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  Speaker 3: holiest and the healthiest path before us while remaining pliable
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  Speaker 3: to his redirection. And Jenny, as the founder of the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit Ministry Center. I know, and from having talked
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  Speaker 3: with you and engaged with you, I know you are
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  Speaker 3: incredibly sensitive to the work and the voice of the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit. But I also suspect that that hasn't completely
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  Speaker 3: eliminated all ambiguity when it comes to making some decisions.
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  Speaker 3: At least I hope it hasn't done that, that we
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  Speaker 3: are like you're like me a little. And so Can
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  Speaker 3: you share a time when you felt like you had
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  Speaker 3: to make a big decision or an important decision and
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  Speaker 3: you wanted more clarity?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like it's every day. I'm like, Lord.
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  Speaker 2: But there was a situation maybe eight-ish years ago. My
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  Speaker 2: husband and I really felt called to relocate our family.
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  Speaker 2: At the time, we had two young preschool-aged kids. And
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  Speaker 2: my job was thriving. We were in upstate New York.
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  Speaker 2: We had great church community. We were really involved. But
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  Speaker 2: my husband was struggling. And he struggled with seasonal depression
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  Speaker 2: because he's a native Californian. So the New York snow
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  Speaker 2: is something else.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So I remember our pastor was like, hey... maybe you
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  Speaker 2: should start actually paying attention to what Matt's saying, your husband.
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  Speaker 1: And I was like, what do you mean?
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  Speaker 2: And I realized he was saying things like, oh, I
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  Speaker 2: feel really depressed, like all the time.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't like it here. And I was like, oh, wow,
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  Speaker 1: I should pay attention.
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  Speaker 2: So it just wasn't a great fit for who he
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  Speaker 2: is and how God wired him. And Of course, God
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  Speaker 2: can grace you for an area, but we just felt
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  Speaker 2: led like God wanted us to relocate and move. And
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  Speaker 2: we didn't know where that was. And it was a mystery.
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  Speaker 2: And prayerfully, we felt like, okay, let's land in Florida. And,
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  Speaker 2: you know, along that journey of selling a house. trying
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  Speaker 2: to find a house. All of that, you think the
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  Speaker 2: Lord's loud and clear, and then you're about to sell
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  Speaker 2: your house and then it falls through. And you're like,
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  Speaker 2: what is going on? So there would just be things
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  Speaker 2: like that one after another that you're like, okay, we're
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  Speaker 2: doing this. This is God's confirmation.
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  Speaker 1: We're in route.
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  Speaker 2: And then something would kind of throw you off the
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  Speaker 2: path that makes you question, is this being a viable
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  Speaker 2: thing God wants for us?
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  Speaker 1: So that was a big wrestling match with the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: We did end up moving to a place called Amelia
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  Speaker 2: Island in Florida, and it's been the greatest answer to
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  Speaker 2: prayer ever. For our family, it's been such a blessing.
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  Speaker 2: And looking back, you're like, oh, that tracks. I see
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  Speaker 2: how the Lord was orchestrating it all, right? You can
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  Speaker 2: see the pieces once you're on the other side of it.
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  Speaker 2: But in the midst of it, it's like, maybe we
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  Speaker 2: didn't hear him.
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  Speaker 1: There's doubt.
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  Speaker 2: There's all these things that creep in and you begin
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  Speaker 2: to kind of feel like, I don't want to blow
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  Speaker 2: up my whole life and mess it up.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's a really big fear for those
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  Speaker 3: who are really listening today. I'm assuming that they just
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  Speaker 3: they want to please God. That's like their core desire
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  Speaker 3: and the fear of messing it up. But I wonder,
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  Speaker 3: let's just sit here for a minute. And that fear
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  Speaker 3: of messing it up. Do you think ever that that
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  Speaker 3: that can reveal when like in situations like you talked
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  Speaker 3: about that can reveal maybe a misunderstanding of God's character?
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  Speaker 2: If we're holding on to fear that can show a
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  Speaker 2: misunderstanding of God's character.
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  Speaker 3: I guess I'm wondering how might viewing him. Sometimes I
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  Speaker 3: wonder if we have this view that he's kind of
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  Speaker 3: a pass or fail God and we've got to do
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  Speaker 3: it perfectly or he's going to be like that parent
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  Speaker 3: wagging their finger over us. Like I told you, you
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  Speaker 3: messed up. Go and time out.
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  Speaker 4: I wonder if sometimes that gets tangled in there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like thinking, yeah, that's a great illustration. I found,
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  Speaker 2: especially in my line of work and my own life,
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  Speaker 2: we tend to either be paralyzed to even move in
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: any direction because we didn't get the magic glow in
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: the dark sign that's like, go this way. Or we
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: tend to want to chase perfection. So that also paralyzes us.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Or we let fear win where we're not trusting that
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: if we pursue God and are faithful to him, He
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: will redirect us. Say we mess it up. He can
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  Speaker 2: redirect us. Do we trust him enough that he is sovereign?
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  Speaker 2: These are like my three core tenets I always stand on,
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  Speaker 2: like in our family.
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  Speaker 1: God is sovereign, so he knows what he's doing. He
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  Speaker 1: is good and he is a healer.
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  Speaker 2: So I trust that he can guide and direct me,
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  Speaker 2: even if I butcher it, even if I get it right.
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  Speaker 2: Like he can humble me in that process as I
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  Speaker 2: walk out this life with him.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm also thinking of another fear that sometimes I
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  Speaker 3: will wrestle with when I'm thinking of your story with
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  Speaker 3: your husband. And I'm just going to put myself in
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  Speaker 3: your place. And probably I've built this life. And so
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  Speaker 3: what I think is the trajectory going forward. Then God's like, nope,
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  Speaker 3: you got to do this for this other person. And
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  Speaker 3: I can wrestle with, I don't know if it's selfishness,
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  Speaker 3: but I think it's a fear when you said God
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  Speaker 3: is good. It's a fear that if I follow him
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  Speaker 3: in this direction for my spouse is good, will there
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  Speaker 3: be good for me too? Have you ever struggled with
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  Speaker 3: the sense of like, what about me, God?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
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  Speaker 2: That's the bane of my existence in this ministry work
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  Speaker 2: I do. It's like, God, did you remember that I
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  Speaker 2: thought you called me to this? And is there a
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  Speaker 2: blessing on the other side of this? That's a question
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  Speaker 2: I wrestle with a lot in my own humanity.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. So walk us through that.
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  Speaker 3: First of all, I like that you acknowledge the wrestling
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  Speaker 3: because the one thing that God keeps reiterating to me is,
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  Speaker 3: is bringing it back to relationship. I always want the guidance.
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  Speaker 3: I always want the plan. I always want the blessing.
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  Speaker 3: But I feel like he is just constantly bringing it
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  Speaker 3: back to where is your heart with me and prioritizing that.
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  Speaker 3: And so the wrestling actually can be really good in
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  Speaker 3: that terms, but really uncomfortable. If we're in that plug
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  Speaker 3: and play, like do X, do Y and Z will happen.
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  Speaker 3: So what does wrestling look like for you in both
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  Speaker 3: the honesty of the uncertainty, but then also the respect
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  Speaker 3: of God, the trust in his character and his heart?
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  Speaker 4: Right.
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  Speaker 2: I love how you worded all of that because it
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  Speaker 2: just reminds me of the reverence of God and the
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  Speaker 2: awe and wonder of who he is. And unfortunately, we
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  Speaker 2: don't always get the 20 point bullet point plan of
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  Speaker 2: what our life looks like. So the wrestling match for
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  Speaker 2: me is just, I have to remind myself that like
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  Speaker 2: the things I said, God is good.
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  Speaker 1: God is sovereign. He is healer.
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  Speaker 2: And I have to be so attuned to who God is.
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  Speaker 2: I have to study the word of God, right? So
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  Speaker 2: I can remind myself, remind my flesh that God is
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  Speaker 2: bigger than this. And I also too have to constantly
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  Speaker 2: remind myself that circumstances, my feelings, if I want to
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  Speaker 2: give up, all this, who I am, all of this, comes.
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  Speaker 1: Under the authority of Christ and who God is.
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  Speaker 2: So if I start to elevate a circumstance, so say,
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  Speaker 2: for example, God wants us to move to Florida. If
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  Speaker 2: that circumstance is something I begin to worship more than
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  Speaker 2: Christ himself, then we're in trouble, right? So like you
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  Speaker 2: were saying, it's like this constant check your heart, check
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  Speaker 2: your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, and that requires repentance, right? And turning from
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  Speaker 1: those thoughts.
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  Speaker 4: So explain for those who are new here, what does
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  Speaker 4: repentance mean?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so repentance is simply, so sin is anything that
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  Speaker 2: takes us away from God's will or his ways.
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  Speaker 1: So is that how you would summarize sin?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it makes sense.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so when we do something that's not honoring to
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  Speaker 2: God or taking us out of his will and ways,
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  Speaker 2: we can repent, which is just saying like, hey, God,
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  Speaker 2: I'm so sorry. And then the other part of repentance
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  Speaker 2: is turning away from that thing. So if I'm repenting
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  Speaker 2: for worshiping, we're going to move to Florida and it's
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  Speaker 2: going to be great and making it all about me
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  Speaker 2: and like forgetting to ask God what he thinks about it. Say,
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  Speaker 2: for example, I need to be like, God, I'm so
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  Speaker 2: sorry I elevated my circumstance or what I even what
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  Speaker 2: I thought you said. I'm sorry I held that in
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  Speaker 2: a higher authority.
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  Speaker 1: Than who you are.
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  Speaker 2: And then kind of surrender, giving that to him and
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  Speaker 2: being like, what do you want to do with it?
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  Speaker 2: What are we going to do next? What's the next
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  Speaker 2: step we're going to do? And as Christ followers, we
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  Speaker 2: have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who he's constantly
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  Speaker 2: available to help us, give us counsel, guide us and
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  Speaker 2: keep us on track to remain close to Christ.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, as you're speaking about the wrestling, I was thinking about,
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  Speaker 3: there's a story in scripture about Abraham. He's one of
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  Speaker 3: the patriarchs and God delivered this really hard truth to him.
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  Speaker 3: And they had this wrestling match back and forth, which
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  Speaker 3: my perspective of that story is that it was to
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  Speaker 3: reveal to Abraham what was in God's heart. Like it
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  Speaker 3: doesn't change, God knew what he was going to do.
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  Speaker 3: In your wrestling, so when you were wrestling about all
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  Speaker 3: of that with your husband, did God reveal things within
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  Speaker 3: you that maybe he wanted to deal with? Or has
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  Speaker 3: there been other times, maybe not in that? Are you
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: understanding what I'm asking? Like, sometimes I wonder if that
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  Speaker 3: ambiguity is divinely intentional to get stuff to come to
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  Speaker 3: the surface that we may not even know are hindering
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  Speaker 3: our obedience and are yielding to him, our pliability.
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  Speaker 4: Do you find that ever occurs?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think as people of faith, we're constantly on
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  Speaker 2: this refining process. And I know that's like a little
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  Speaker 2: church word, but I think the Lord is constantly trying to.
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  Speaker 1: Make us look more like him. I mean, that's biblical, right?
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  Speaker 2: So part of that is letting go of different things
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  Speaker 2: and like in the journey of figuring out if we're
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  Speaker 2: supposed to move to Florida. That was a humbling experience
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  Speaker 2: because my life was doing great. So now that's part
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  Speaker 2: of the process. Can I humble myself? And no, I
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  Speaker 2: can't until the Lord helps me. So then there's a
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  Speaker 2: dependence of, okay, I'm going to walk with him. We're
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  Speaker 2: going to figure this out. In my work, it's a
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  Speaker 2: constant like, okay, am I going to get over myself
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  Speaker 2: and what I think this job actually looks like? And
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  Speaker 2: can I just serve him regardless? Because did he call
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  Speaker 2: me in the season to this or did he not?
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  Speaker 2: And if I have faith that yes, he did, Then
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  Speaker 2: every day there's that refining of, okay, well now I
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  Speaker 2: got to show up and I'm going to have a
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  Speaker 2: good attitude while I do it, which is going to
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  Speaker 2: be hard. So it's that constant dependence on God to
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  Speaker 2: help us look more like him in the process as,
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  Speaker 2: as we love him and love others too, which is
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  Speaker 2: a big part of this whole thing.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, well, and I actually remember when you were
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  Speaker 3: talking before you launched your ministry. So I remember those conversations.
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  Speaker 3: And you brought up a really good point. I think
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  Speaker 3: a lot of times the doubts and the questions, did
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  Speaker 3: I really understand God? And if I didn't understand him
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  Speaker 3: in this situation, then can I understand him or hear
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  Speaker 3: his voice in other situations? So Let's talk about a
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  Speaker 3: hypothetical situation. You felt like God led you in this area.
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  Speaker 3: You obeyed thinking it was going to take you one way.
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  Speaker 3: You obey and you land in a mess and then
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  Speaker 3: all the doubts come.
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  Speaker 4: So then what do you do?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, I'm laughing because how many times have we been there, right?
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  Speaker 1: I get it. And I think it's, we aren't in,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we're in.
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  Speaker 2: Control of outcomes and what we can control, we can
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  Speaker 2: control and honor God with that. But at the end
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  Speaker 2: of the day, God is doing infinitely more than we
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  Speaker 2: can ever see or imagine. And he's doing things beyond
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  Speaker 2: our scope in the natural because he's a supernatural God.
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  Speaker 2: So I think there's this reminder that, okay, and again,
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to glamorize circumstances above Christ. So say
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  Speaker 2: God did call me into that situation. And now it's
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: a giant mess. I would be like, okay, where was
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  Speaker 2: the fruit that came from that? And then you sit
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  Speaker 2: and you prayerfully consider with the Holy Spirit, okay, what's
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  Speaker 2: the fruit that came from this? And fruit is like, okay,
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  Speaker 2: there was goodness here. I saw the kindness of this
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  Speaker 2: person here. We got to talk to the social worker,
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  Speaker 2: you know, like kind of beginning to recognize how was
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  Speaker 2: God moving and ministering in this situation? Was there something
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  Speaker 2: that I messed up? Did I do something that got
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  Speaker 2: in the way that caused this situation to kind of
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: blow up or seem to be off course? And if
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  Speaker 2: that answer is no, and you're just continually trying, and
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  Speaker 2: even if it's a yes, like continuing to try to
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  Speaker 2: be faithful and steward whatever he asks of us, I
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  Speaker 2: think as long as we remember a couple things that
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  Speaker 2: even if God called you to do something really hard
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  Speaker 2: and it's a disaster, we can be faithful in our life,
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  Speaker 2: whatever paths he has for us, whether suffering or miracles
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  Speaker 2: or whatever, we can pursue Christ with our everything. And
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  Speaker 2: when things go off course in ways we never imagined
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  Speaker 2: outside of our control. And even in our control, can
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  Speaker 2: we still give worship to God? And at the end
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  Speaker 2: of the day, praise the Lord. Well done, my good
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  Speaker 2: and faithful servant. Like I'm not saying blow up your life.
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  Speaker 2: God is so mysterious. And I feel like our humanity,
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  Speaker 2: we just want, we want the 12 point action plan
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: because then we did it right. And we can like,
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: we can quantify that, but we can't really in this
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: faith journey, because We're really in the in-between where the
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: world is broken. So we can do our best. We're
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: in route to the world being totally beautiful. And we
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  Speaker 2: get to be part of that story. So we have
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  Speaker 2: to hold everything loosely and just trust Christ with it.
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  Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, that's us doing
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  Speaker 2: our best.
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  Speaker 3: Right. As you were talking, I was thinking of a
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  Speaker 3: couple situations in my life. The first I'd probably say,
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  Speaker 3: I actually received Christ as Savior first. I don't know
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: the age because I wasn't raised in a Christian home
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  Speaker 3: and it was at a Good News Bible Club in
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: a trailer park in this podunk town in Oregon. And
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: the woman who opened her home to me and a
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  Speaker 3: bunch of other kids, I mean.
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  Speaker 4: We were dirty. We were probably not well raised.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: You know, we didn't have the manners and we made
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: a mess of her trailer, I'm sure.
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  Speaker 4: And then we moved. And she never had any idea that.
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  Speaker 3: Here I am now podcasting decades later. She's going to
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  Speaker 3: be one of the first people I meet in heaven.
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  Speaker 3: So she could have thought that like it didn't go
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  Speaker 3: at all like I thought. And then the other example
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  Speaker 3: I want to give that is profoundly meaningful to me.
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  Speaker 3: My dad did not like Christians for most of his life.
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  Speaker 3: And there were times I want to go back to
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  Speaker 3: you said, did we mess up? I messed up with
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: my dad all the time. There were times I came
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: so hard and heavy because I wanted him living with Christ.
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: And so I would push him away. And it got
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: to a point where he wouldn't even let me use
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: the name God without him getting activated because to him,
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: the way he received it was, My daughter thinks I'm,
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: you know, it came as a rejection, not as the
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: love and the good news it was in my ignorance.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: And there were just times where I would go forward
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: and I would respond well at times. And the Holy
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: Spirit was totally leading. And then there are times my
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: fear and my humanity was leading. And yet the day
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: before his death, he died unexpectedly from an embolism. He
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: posted something on social media that I am a spirit
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: led child by God, child of God. So I want
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: to go back to like, I feel like God knows
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: we're going to mess up, right?
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: That's beautiful.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah. And, and he can, because I.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: Don't know if I've ever, Jenny, I don't know if
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: I've ever obeyed God perfectly. I've always had a mix
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: of selfishness and holiness and fear and faith and confidence and,
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: you know, all the things. And I think that's where
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: the rub comes. I could in my humanity get so
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: stuck on my sins. of my calling or my life
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: or my parenting or my marriage. And I just want
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: to go back. Can you give those three tenets again?
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: And how would that speak to when we're like, I
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: messed up 50% of the time?
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, God is good. God is sovereign and God is
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: our healer.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: And two, it's like studying God's word and like, what
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: is the Holy Spirit? Like, what are the tenets for
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: you in this season? Because that'll change, right? But what
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: are the character traits of who God is that you
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: have to hold on to. God is grace-filled. God is loving.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: God is kind.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: As we build our life with him, what are the
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: character traits that we know to be true, that are biblical,
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: that we can hold on to when we get confused,
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: when we're struggling, when we're blowing up our life unintentionally
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: and we're like, oh gosh, just help me.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: God is helper, right?
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: So that's why it's so imperative to act as spiritual
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: disciplines and not just because that's the Christian thing to do,
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: but because it brings us closer to a God who
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: loves us and it slows us down enough to not
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: only see him and worship him, but also to see
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: ourselves and.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: Have that reflection.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: And I love how you were like, when I don't
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: get it perfect, if we think we're getting our life perfect,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: then we better humble ourselves real fast because Because then
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: I would ask the question, well, are you trying to control.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Everything, right? Because there's that facet of things too.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: How many times do I try to control stuff because
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: there's anxiety there if I don't, right? Because I don't
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: know what's going to happen.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: And a lot of times these are really, like when
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: I'm talking about my dad's salvation, that's not a small thing.
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: No, huge.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: And true, are we trusting God to orchestrate the lives
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: that we're involved in? that we're a part of stewarding
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: relationships with? Are we trusting God to guide our conversations
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: and our words and not our words? And I mean,
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: I'm a parent, so that's of two teens. So that's
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: a wrestling match in itself.
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: Daily.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: Every time they pick up their car keys, right?
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: You're like, look, can I trust you with the freeway?
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: Oh yeah.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: They're not driving yet, but I'm a year away and
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh Lord.
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: Pray it up. Yeah.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Or I know parents whose kids are going off
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: to college and they're like, did I give them the
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: foundation they need? And also I think it's important too,
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: as we're having these conversations, let's go back to my, well,
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: even your Florida story. Sometimes I feel like we get
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: stuck in the snapshot, not recognizing I have had times
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: where God was deeply at work. We followed him in
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: a certain area and it was a three year, four year,
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: sometimes longer, really painful transitional season. But then, like you said,
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: when you look back, it's like, OK, God changed this
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: about my heart. God did this in my marriage. God
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: did this in this relationship. So I think sometimes it's
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: hard when we're stuck in that messy middle to trust
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: that beauty truly is coming.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Mm hmm. 100%. I mean, that's literally why I wrote
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: my book, The Promised Presence.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: I remember I was crying in the middle of the
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: night on the bathroom floor, struggling with some health stuff.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: And I was just so sick. And I remember throwing
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: myself a pity party, which is fine.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: And I was like, why isn't anyone coming to help me?
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: This is horrible.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: And I remember I heard, and I'm not one to
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: be like, oh, I heard the Lord audibly. But I
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: felt in my spirit, the Lord was saying something so
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: clear to me And it was, Jenny, nobody's going to
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: save you except me. And it was like the gut
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: punch to the heart and the flesh that I needed
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: in that moment. And I remember getting up off the
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: floor and leaving changed. I didn't do anything other than
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: like being a human and being sick.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Yes, I believe God is a miracle working God. I
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: left that.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: Room empowered to continue on and healed in a way
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: that to get over myself in that moment. And I
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: think we want to hold circumstances so tight in control,
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: or we want to hold what we think God is
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: doing so tight that we miss these beautiful moments of
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: him empowering us or him speaking to our heart the
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: truth that we need to hear in that moment. So
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: a lot of this faith journey is also slowing down.
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: And simply being like, God, what are you doing? Or like, God,
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: give me eyes of faith to see what you're doing.
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: I don't want to be a person that misses it,
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: but if I do help me see it later and,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: and I'll thank you for it. We can carry gratitude
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: for something the Lord did 20 years ago.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: We can still be like, thanks God.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: When I, like you said, you didn't do anything except
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: for you did something really important.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: You showed up.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: You sought the Lord in your pain. And to me,
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: that is kind of the crux. We can get so
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: caught up in our struggle, which is totally normal, right?
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: But I was thinking the ancient Israel... with the judges
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: and like, why did they keep falling into this same
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: pattern over and over and over? And as I was
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: wrestling through that myself and praying through it, because I
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: don't want to be like them, right?
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: I don't want to just keep landing.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: And what really I felt like God was highlighting through
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: that entire book of scripture, they were constantly seeking rescue
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: over relationship with the Lord. And so I think it's
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: hard when we feel like our life is imploding. Of course,
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: we want the solutions. But like you said in your story,
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: God was your solution. We're kind of bumping up in
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: time and I want to make sure we get two
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: important questions answered that I just have a sense that
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: listeners are like, hey, I need to.
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: Know now this is what I'm dealing with. What do
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: you do?
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: Like, we want to seek the Lord in everything we do.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: But honestly, if we were to pray and get guidance
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: for every single thing in our lives, we would never,
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: you would never get that book written if you had
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: to pray for every sentence.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: So what do you do when you feel like you
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: have to make a decision now? quickly.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: And I'd like you to, Jenny, talk to me from
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: two aspects. What are we doing today for that really
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: rapid decision we have to make tomorrow so we can
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: be more confident in that? And then what do we
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: do if we're in that place right now and we
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: have to make a rapid decision where we feel like
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: I don't have time to go sit in my prayer
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: closet until the Holy Spirit speaks?
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: So for the rapid decision-making, you mentioned you compared God
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: to a parent helping us equipping us and giving us
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: the tools and things like that. So we have to
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: trust that God too. He's our father and he's good.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: And sometimes when we're walking out this faith journey, God
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: will let us choose. And I think that's a foreign
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: idea to us because we want it to be so
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: black and white. But if you're analyzing a situation and
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: there's two options and you haven't heard a clear direction,
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: maybe he's saying, hey, you can decide this one.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Both are good. Both are of me. I can bless both.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: I can guide you down both paths. You choose.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: And then just be confident in that choice and do
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: whatever you think is the most fun or like whatever, right?
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: As long as it's honoring God as you walk that out.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: Another thing I actually wrote, so I wrote this book
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: called Getting to Know God's Voice. And it's like how
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: we get to know God's voice and like, how do
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: we actually hear him? Because it isn't always butterflies and rainbows.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: And I wrote at the beginning of the book, the
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: check yourself before you wreck yourself test. And it's seven things.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: And I think the listeners might find this helpful. It's
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: seven questions you can ask before you're making like a
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: big decision. And the first one is the best one,
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: which is does what I'm considering agree with scripture and
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: God's character? And then the second one is, will this
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: situation bring me closer to God? And then what do
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: my spiritual leaders and those that I trust that are
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: also following Jesus, what do they think about the situation?
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: As you're making these decisions, when you have time, because
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: I know this is not a rapid fire, like, When
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: you have time, you can go through these. And then
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: the fourth question is, what is this still small voice
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: of God saying to me? Because sometimes the Lord will
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: remind you of scripture as you're praying or you're on
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: a walk and something will come up in your mind
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: and you're like, oh, maybe that's the Lord. And then
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: the fifth one is, what circumstances are surrounding this situation?
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: So this is now looking past yourself and trying to
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: get this faith perspective of, okay, well, what do I
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: see God doing? And the sixth one is, what do
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: my trusted followers family members and friends say about this?
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: And then lastly, what response will bring me peace? So
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: those are kind of like the things I go through
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: when I'm checking myself and trying to figure out like,
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: how is the Lord ministering to this situation?
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: And that's been helpful.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, so we'll link to both of your books
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: actually in our show notes, because since we've been doing
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: this whole series on hearing the voice of God, that
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: sounds like a great resource that listeners can walk through.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: And I know you personally, so I know you have
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: lots of, I'm assuming you have lots of encounters.
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: With the Holy Spirit in the book that they can
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: connect with the Lord. Let's now talk about, as we close,
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: like kind of land our plane, we have... Done everything
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: we can. Done the questions. We've checked our heart. We've
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: read scripture.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: And we're walking forward, but we've been walking forward in
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: a little bit of uncertainty. So talk to us about
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: remaining pliable.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: So as a Christ follower, anybody that proclaims Christ as
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: our Lord and Savior has the Holy Spirit. And the
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit indwells us, which means he actually is indwelling
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: our thoughts, our physical body.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Our minds. He can impact.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: Our actions, our circumstances, like everything that makes us, if
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: we give the Holy Spirit access to you, he wants
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: to be a part of it. So I think remembering that,
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: which is crazy because you used to have to go
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: encounter God in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. And
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: then Jesus is like, hey, I'm going to send you
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: a helper. And this is New Testament. This is how
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: the church was strengthened. And he gave us the Holy Spirit,
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So we have access
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: to a God who dwells within us and also in
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: our midst. And when I was in seminary, one professor
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: would always say he dwells differently in different places. So
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: if we're constantly being like, okay, God, I give you
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: access to my heart. I give you access to my
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: physical wellness. I give you access to my actions, my thoughts, my,
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: like everything. We're going to be walking with God and
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: we're doing this faith thing. And that's the best we
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: can do. So in the midst of our own uncertainty,
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: trying to get it right, but failing, you just go
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: back to God.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: He's already there. He's close. He's within us.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: And he wants to fellowship with us. And I think
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: we forget that our life is an act of worship. So,
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: when we have to be movable or moldable and.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Adaptable, which can be so horrible. I think God will
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: grace us for that.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: And we can ask him, God, Hey, I need, I
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: need your grace to fall.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: On this conversation that I have to have.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: I recently was really good friends with somebody and she
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: decided she didn't want to be friends with me anymore.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: That was like heartbreaking.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: Not willing to have a conversation, not willing to like
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: sit down and talk things out. And I'd like to talk, like,
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: let's feel all the feelings and process everything. And just
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: let's be honest about it. And she's saying no, which
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: is her choice. Just as I get to be like, hey,
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: let's have it. She gets to be like, nope, we're
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: not doing it. She needed to set that boundary. And
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: I have to respect that because I want to love her.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: And if that's what she's choosing, right? So That circumstance
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: didn't go the way I wanted. It's so hard.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: I'm still grieving it. And I'm asking the Lord, did
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: I do anything wrong? Do I need to repent?
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: So it's like, it's uncomfortable. Being a Christian is so uncomfortable.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: It's so, right? Don't you think? But it's beautiful. I
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: could cry.
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: The fact that God invites us on mission with him
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: is wild. It should be the joys of our life.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: So wherever he places us, that's where I want to be.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: And I want to trust that He's ministering in and
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: through me, even if I don't like what it looks like.
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Well, I think it goes back to when you open
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: the conversation, you emphasize the importance of humility. And I
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: think recognizing that His will can change over time. He
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: might call us to one thing today and then tomorrow
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: to something else. We can hear him wrong and then
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: he'll lovingly nudge us and be like, I used to
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: lead a parachurch women's ministry and we had, we are
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: a speaking ministry. And I had one of my speakers,
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: she was amazing, just amazing. And shortly before an event,
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: the Lord told her very clearly, you need to step away.
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: This isn't, I did not give you a go ahead
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: for this ministry. responsibility right here and she had to
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: courageously pick up the phone and choose to follow the
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: holy spirit even if that meant upsetting me upsetting whatever
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: was going on so i think and that can be
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: hard but you know what i actually respected her so
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: much for that because i knew that was really challenging
• 30:58
  Speaker 3: i knew her heart i knew she wasn't just being
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: flippant but I think back to that humility that sometimes
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: he does ask us to do really hard, uncomfortable things,
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: but there's still beauty. His heart is always still to
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: lead us towards beauty.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Yes and amen.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: And I think too, like just you reflecting on that circumstance,
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: it's like now that you're on the other side of it,
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: I wonder what fruit came from her faithfulness.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: What fruit did you see?
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: Because you had to find somebody to fill the spot.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: And I'm sure there was fruit that came even from
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: that other speaker that was able to step in.
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, and I think for me, too, it really
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: reiterated to me, I want to be 100% led by Christ,
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: even if there's fallout. And I think it helped me,
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: which is ironic, and every situation is different, because I'm
• 31:45
  Speaker 3: not talking about just flaking off on your responsibilities. That
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: is so far from what this woman was doing. Mm-hmm.
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: It greatly elevated my trust for her because I knew like, okay,
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: you may not do it perfectly, but I know above
• 31:59
  Speaker 3: all else, you are seeking to honor God. And I
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: would love to have this conversation forever with you, Jenny,
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: because this is an important conversation, but we're going to
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: have to land the plane.
• 32:09
  Speaker 4: So I want to.
• 32:11
  Speaker 3: Tell a little bit about your book, The Promised Present.
• 32:14
  Speaker 3: I'm going to read some of the back cover. Discover
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: the transformative supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, even in
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: life's brokenness, to find restoration and purpose in a world
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: that feels out of control. Today, as in biblical times,
• 32:30
  Speaker 3: God holds the power to transform, heal, and deliver people.
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: This Bible study through Luke and Acts reminds us that
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: God can turn messes into miracles through the supernatural activity
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: of the Holy Spirit. In The Promised Presence, Jenny Randall
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: shares topical Bible teaching, her own faith journey, and practical
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: applications to help us do, I'm going to name a
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: few things. You can find more by going to Amazon
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: to buy her book, which you'll want to do. Understand
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: the Spirit's influence on the early church and in our
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: lives today. Discover biblical answers to common questions about Holy
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: Spirit and his work. Grow in our understanding of spiritual gifts. Learn,
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: I love this one, it's so important. Learn how to
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: operate in the power of the Spirit to advance God's kingdom.
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: As we close out, what is one, if you can
• 33:19
  Speaker 3: give one truth or one action step to the person
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: listening today who is facing a difficult decision that they
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: don't have full clarity on, what would you say to them?
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  Speaker 1: So I would share two things.
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  Speaker 2: I would prayerfully consider what's the last thing the Lord
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  Speaker 2: asked you to do and did you actually do it?
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  Speaker 2: And then I guess I would share three things. I'm
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: so sorry. The third is if he asked you to
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: be patient, be patient and ask for patience. And then
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: the other one is a baby step counts as movement.
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: I think we think we want these big dramatic sprints
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: and that's.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: Not how the Lord works. Any movements with the Lord
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  Speaker 1: is good movement.
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  Speaker 4: I love it.
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: I love this conversation. It's a great way to end
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  Speaker 3: our series. And I appreciate... the emphasis you placed on
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  Speaker 3: God's majesty, his sovereignty, his fatherly heart. To those who
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: are listening, I hope this gave you some encouragement to
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  Speaker 3: know that God isn't watching over you, waiting for you
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  Speaker 3: to mess up. He's not wanting to catch you so
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  Speaker 3: that he can discipline you. He really has your best
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  Speaker 3: in mind. And above all else, he wants you to
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: pursue him. And when we pursue him, As best as
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: we're able, he takes care of everything else. If you
• 34:32
  Speaker 3: haven't already done so, I encourage you to subscribe to
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: this podcast. Then you won't miss a single episode. Share
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: this one with your faith community. Maybe talk it through
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: and you can be one another's supports as you work
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: through some difficult decisions. And until next time, may you
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: live as one who truly has been set free.