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IT HAS BEEN THERE ALL THE TIME · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

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  Speaker 1: Good morning. Thank you for joining us today on This
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  Speaker 1: is the Life podcast. Hope you had a great weekend.
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  Speaker 1: As always, I pray also that you had a great
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  Speaker 1: day of worship yesterday, that you were able to meet
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  Speaker 1: with the Lord and the Lord be able to meet
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  Speaker 1: with you and that you'd took some things away from
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  Speaker 1: your worship service and be able to apply them this
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  Speaker 1: week as you go through life. Today we're talking about
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  Speaker 1: the fact that sometimes we pray for things and ask
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  Speaker 1: God for things that are really right there with us,
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  Speaker 1: right before us all the time. And in Exodus chapter
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  Speaker 1: 4 this morning, verses 1 and 2, the Bible says this,
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  Speaker 1: And Moses answered and said, But behold, They will not
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  Speaker 1: believe me, nor hearken unto my voice. For they shall say,
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  Speaker 1: The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord
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  Speaker 1: said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And
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  Speaker 1: he said, A rod. Now as I read that this morning,
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  Speaker 1: when God called Moses, he could see all the reasons
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  Speaker 1: that he was unqualified for the task that God had
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  Speaker 1: for him. God asked him a simple question after he
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  Speaker 1: told God why he couldn't do it. God gave him
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  Speaker 1: one simple question. What is in your hand? Moses said,
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  Speaker 1: a rod. It was something he already had and carried
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  Speaker 1: every day. So God was showing him and showing us
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  Speaker 1: this morning that even an ordinary thing could serve his
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  Speaker 1: purpose when placed in God's hands. And I wonder how
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  Speaker 1: often we overlook what God has already placed within reach
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  Speaker 1: of us. We pray for encouragement, and then someone calls
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  Speaker 1: to check on us, but it goes unnoticed. We ask
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  Speaker 1: for a way to serve, and while a person close
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  Speaker 1: to us needs a listening ear for just someone to
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  Speaker 1: sit and listen to them. We ask for help sometimes,
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  Speaker 1: but find it difficult to accept it when someone offers it.
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  Speaker 1: And it reminds me of a story that I heard
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  Speaker 1: many years ago of a woman who was caring for
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  Speaker 1: her husband after a long illness. Every morning she prayed, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I need some help. I don't know how much longer
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  Speaker 1: I can do this by myself. Now across the street
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  Speaker 1: lived a neighbor who often waved from her front porch.
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  Speaker 1: And sometimes she brought over supper and other times she
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  Speaker 1: would call and say, Hey, I'm going to the store.
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  Speaker 1: Can I pick up anything for you? Whenever she offered
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  Speaker 1: any of these things or even to sit with her
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  Speaker 1: husband for an hour, The woman gave the same answer.
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  Speaker 1: That's very kind of you, but we're doing fine. And
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  Speaker 1: then one afternoon, while she was exhausted and close to tears,
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  Speaker 1: she prayed the same prayer again. Lord, I need some help.
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  Speaker 1: And then her phone rang, and it was her neighbor.
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  Speaker 1: I've got nothing planned this afternoon, she said. Could I
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  Speaker 1: come and sit with him for a little while while
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  Speaker 1: you take a little time for yourself? And this time,
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  Speaker 1: the woman said yes. And later what she realized was
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  Speaker 1: that she had been asking God to send help while
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  Speaker 1: turning away the very help that God was sending. And
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  Speaker 1: our needs are real just like hers were. The woman
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  Speaker 1: was truly tired and Moses truly faced a calling that
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  Speaker 1: was beyond his own strength. And God did not dismiss
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  Speaker 1: either of those. He drew their attention to something that
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  Speaker 1: was already there. He then invited him Them both to
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  Speaker 1: trust him. With what he had supplied. Maybe you have
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  Speaker 1: been praying the same prayer for a long time. I
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  Speaker 1: want you to keep praying that. But today I also
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  Speaker 1: want you to ask. Lord. What have you placed in
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  Speaker 1: my hand? Or who have you placed near me? What
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  Speaker 1: have I been too weary or too busy or too prideful.
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  Speaker 1: To see. That it was right in front of me
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  Speaker 1: the whole time. See the answer. may come in a surprising,
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  Speaker 1: miraculous way. Sometimes it does. But sometimes God will open
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  Speaker 1: our eyes and realize that the very thing we've been
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  Speaker 1: asking Him for, maybe for years, has been right there
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  Speaker 1: all the time. So today you be safe, you be strong,
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  Speaker 1: and you be blessed. But you also be aware that
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  Speaker 1: what you're asking for could already be there. Just open
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  Speaker 1: your eyes, take a deep breath, And say, God, show
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  Speaker 1: me the answer to what I've been asking for. Lord's will,
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  Speaker 1: we'll see you back here again next Monday. I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to take a few days off, but I will be
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  Speaker 1: back next Monday. Until then, feel free to just pull
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  Speaker 1: up some of the older episodes, some of the songs
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  Speaker 1: that we have placed on our YouTube channel. You can
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  Speaker 1: access them there. And Lord's will, we'll see you back
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  Speaker 1: here again on next Monday. Until then, I sure hope
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  Speaker 1: you have a great and wonderful day.