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When God Doesn't Show up the way we expect · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

• 0:05
  Welcome to Half-Faith, Let It Begin. This is Ariel Santana.
• 0:09
  Can you believe I'm seven years old already? I'm old enough now to introduce my dad.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, your host, my dad, Angel Santana.
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  Two thousand came and the spark was lit. A testimony raw, it wouldn't quit.
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  His mother's voice, a guiding thread.
• 0:54
  Hello, everyone, and welcome to Half Faith, Let It Begin. It's a Tuesday. It's March 24th.
• 0:59
  My name is Angel Santana, and this week we're spending a little extra time together.
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  Each morning, we're preparing our hearts for Palm Sunday.
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  Yesterday, we talked about making room for Jesus.
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  Today, I want to talk to you about something that many of us struggle with,
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  myself included, even if we don't always admit it.
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  Sometimes God doesn't show up the way we expect it.
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  And if we're being honest, that can be frustrating. It can be confusing.
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  It can even shake our faith just a little.
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  Because we pray, we hope, we believe, and we picture in our mind how things are supposed to go.
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  We expect the door to open. We expect the problem to be fixed.
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  We expect the answers to come quickly.
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  But then, God moves in a way we didn't see coming.
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  Or worse, it feels like he didn't move at all.
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  Palm Sunday is actually one of the clearest examples of this in the Bible.
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  The people in Jerusalem were waiting for their king. They were waiting for someone
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  strong, someone powerful, someone who would come in and change everything.
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  They thought Jesus was going to come riding in on a horse like a warrior,
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  but instead he came in on a donkey.
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  In Matthew chapter 21 verse 5, it says, see your king, see your king comes to
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  you, gentle riding on a donkey.
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  Not loud, not forceful, not the way anyone expected.
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  And I think sometimes God still works like that today. We expect something big and he comes quietly.
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  We expect something fast and he moves slowly.
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  We expect something easy, and he gives us something that makes us grow.
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  In those moments, it's easy to think something is wrong. We start asking questions
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  like, why isn't this working?
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  Why isn't this taking so long?
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  Why did this go the way that I, why didn't this go the way I prayed for?
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  But if, but if God's still moving, just not the way we imagined.
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  Sometimes the donkey is part of the plan. Sometimes the slow road is the right road.
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  Sometimes the answers we didn't want is the one that brings us closer to him.
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  The people on Palm Sunday almost missed the moment because they were looking for the wrong picture.
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  They wanted a king with power. But God sent a king with peace.
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  They wanted control, but God sent them humility.
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  They wanted victory right away, but God had a bigger story to tell.
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  And in the same thing that can happen in all our lives.
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  We can miss what God is doing because it doesn't look the way we thought it would.
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  Maybe the job didn't go the way we wanted. Maybe the job didn't work out.
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  Maybe the plan changed. Maybe the door closed.
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  Maybe the answer was no, but that doesn't mean God isn't there.
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  It might mean he's coming on a donkey instead of a horse. It might mean he's
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  working on his way. We don't understand yet.
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  It might mean he's preparing something deeper than what we asked for.
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  Faith isn't just trusting God when things go the way we want.
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  Faith is trusting God when he shows up differently.
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  As we get closer to Palm Sunday this week, I want to challenge you to ask yourself something honest.
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  I'm only looking for God in the ways I expect, or am I willing to see him the way he comes?
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  Because sometimes the blessings looks different. Sometimes the answers sound different.
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  Sometimes the road feels different. But God is still there, still guiding,
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  still working, still coming into our life, even if it's on a donkey.
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  Let's pray. Lord, help us trust you even when we don't understand.
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  Help us believe that you are working even when things don't go the way we expected.
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  Give us patience when the answer is slow and give us faith when the path looks different.
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  Help us see you even when you come in a way we didn't imagine.
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  In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
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  Thank you for joining me today on Have Faith, Let It Begin. Tomorrow,
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  we're going to talk about something powerful, how to praise God even when life
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  isn't perfect. Have a blessed day.
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  Have faith, let it begin. Have faith.
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  Let it begin.