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WHEN THE FOG ROLLS IN · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Good morning, I hope you had a great weekend and
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: a great day of worship yesterday. I know we did
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: at Sunrise Chapel and as we get ready for this
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: morning's devotion time, the Lord comes to us out of
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Hebrews chapter 11 this morning, a familiar verse. But the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Lord wants to talk to us this morning about when
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the fog rose in, you know, and I got to
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: thinking about that just about a week or so ago
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and the Lord kind of led me to talk about
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: it this morning. Where we live here on this hill
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  Speaker 1: in southern Tennessee, we get a good bit of fog
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: that comes in from time to time and to me
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: there's something interesting about standing on this hill when the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: fog begins to roll in. One moment you can see
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  Speaker 1: the peaks and the valleys very clearly. You can see
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  Speaker 1: the trees and as they kind of climb out towards
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  Speaker 1: the mountaintops and The ridges that stretch off this hill
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  Speaker 1: kind of roll down and you can see it on
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  Speaker 1: the horizon. It's just a beautiful, beautiful view. Maybe even
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: in the wintertime we can see a little snow highlighting
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  Speaker 1: those mountains and ridges and valleys. But then all of
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  Speaker 1: a sudden, the fog begins to come in. And within minutes,
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  Speaker 1: what's so fascinating, within just a few minutes, everything that
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: seems so clear can suddenly just disappear. But here's what
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: we know to be true. And this is what the
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  Speaker 1: Lord really wants us to get out of this analogy
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  Speaker 1: this morning. The mountains are still there. The valleys are
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: still there. All the things that we enjoy that are
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  Speaker 1: beautiful to behold, they're still there. The fog didn't move them.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: The clouds didn't destroy them. Our inability to see them
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: didn't change the reality that they still exist. And what
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the Lord wants to show us spiritually is we simply
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: cannot see But we know it to be true that
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: they're still there. Because here's what Hebrews 11.1 says. Now
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence.
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  Speaker 1: The evidence. Of things not seen. Sometimes our walk with
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: God feels exactly like that. There are moments when his
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  Speaker 1: direction seems really clear. We can see where he's leading us.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: We feel confident about the promises He's made us. We
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: pray and we seem to recognize His hand working. Almost
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: immediately after we pray, we can start beginning to see
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  Speaker 1: results around us. And we worship God and we praise
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  Speaker 1: God for that. But then the fall grows in, spiritually speaking.
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  Speaker 1: And our circumstances begin to change. Questions start to come.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe a prayer that you thought would be answered just
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: as immediate now seems to remain unanswered. For a long
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  Speaker 1: period of time. And suddenly what once seemed so clear.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Becomes difficult to see. Ah but that's where faith comes in.
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  Speaker 1: Because see faith isn't only necessary. When we can see
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  Speaker 1: everything clearly. Faith becomes even more important. When what we
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  Speaker 1: see doesn't seem to match what God has said. So
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  Speaker 1: maybe today. You may be standing in some fog. You
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  Speaker 1: know what God has promised, but you can't see how
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  Speaker 1: in the world it's going to possibly happen. You know
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  Speaker 1: He has been faithful, but right now you can't recognize
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  Speaker 1: what He's doing in your life. You know He has
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: a purpose for all of this, but the road ahead
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  Speaker 1: sure seems to be hidden right now. I want you
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  Speaker 1: to listen closely to this this morning. Never confuse I
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  Speaker 1: can't see it with it isn't there. They're two totally
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  Speaker 1: different things. Just because you can't see it right now
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  Speaker 1: doesn't mean it's not there. God's faithfulness has never disappeared.
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  Speaker 1: God's grace never disappeared. God's purpose for your life has
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  Speaker 1: never disappeared. And His presence in your life has certainly
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  Speaker 1: never disappeared. Eventually the winds of change will come and shift.
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  Speaker 1: The fog will lift And that mountain that seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be gone will suddenly be back into view for you.
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  Speaker 1: So I want you to be encouraged with that today.
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  Speaker 1: Because the truth is it was never gone in the
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  Speaker 1: first place. God's promises were never gone. You just couldn't
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: see them right now. Maybe faith is learning to trust
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  Speaker 1: God in the fog just as much as when we
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  Speaker 1: trust Him in a clear sky. So when you cannot
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  Speaker 1: see what God is doing, hold on to what He's
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  Speaker 1: already done. Fog may not change your view. Fog may
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  Speaker 1: change your view. But it never changes the promises of God.
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  Speaker 1: Circumstances around you may change what you see. But they
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  Speaker 1: will never change the faithfulness of God. So today you
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  Speaker 1: be safe. You be strong and you be blessed. And
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  Speaker 1: you be aware today. That sometimes things are very clear.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes they're not. But God is the same yesterday, today,
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  Speaker 1: and forever. In the clear skies, and even when the
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  Speaker 1: fog rolls in. Lord's will, we'll see you back here
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  Speaker 1: again tomorrow. And until then, I sure hope you have
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  Speaker 1: a great day.