Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / FORGED FOR YOUR FUTURE ASSIGNMENT/Episode 8 – The Faith That Doesn’t Need an Explanation Trusting God While He Is Still Writing

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FORGED FOR YOUR FUTURE ASSIGNMENT/Episode 8 – The Faith That Doesn’t Need an Explanation Trusting God While He Is Still Writing · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pomoja Podcast. The place where stronger
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  lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
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  are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are
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  shaped through ordinary conversations that become
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  extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm
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  your host, Barry Mwamba. Last time, we discovered
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  something that completely changed the way I look
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  at difficult seasons. We discovered that while
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  David was still sitting in the cave, God was
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  already gathering four hundred men, while Joseph
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  was still sleeping in prison. God was already
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  disturbing Pharaoh's dreams. While Shadrach,
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  Meshach, and Abednego were walking toward the
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  furnace, God had already gone before them. And
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  maybe, while you're walking through your own
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  valley today. God is already moving in ways you
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  cannot yet see. That conversation left me with
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  another question, one that honestly stayed in
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  my heart. If God is already moving, why doesn't
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  he simply tell us everything? Have you ever wondered
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  that? I certainly have. Why doesn't God simply
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  tell Joseph, don't worry, you'll only be in prison
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  for two more years? Why doesn't he tell David,
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  Those 400 men are already on their way. Why doesn't
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  he tell Daniel, the lions won't touch you? Why
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  doesn't he tell Abraham exactly when Isaac will
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  be born? Wouldn't that make life so much easier?
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  Wouldn't faith become so much easier? The more
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  I thought about that, the more I realized. Perhaps
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  God isn't trying to make faith easier. Perhaps
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  he's trying to make faith deeper. Because if
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  God explained everything, would we still need
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  faith? That question brought me straight to Hebrews
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  chapter 11. And I think for the first time I
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  began reading it differently. For years I thought
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  Hebrews 11 was simply a chapter about great men
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  and women of faith. Now I think it's something
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  much deeper. It's a chapter about ordinary people.
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  who kept trusting God while they didn't understand
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  what he was doing. That changes everything because
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  suddenly faith is no longer about seeing the
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  miracle. Faith becomes trusting God before the
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  miracle. Faith is no longer celebrating the answer.
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  Faith becomes continuing to pray before the answer
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  arrives. Faith is no longer standing on the other
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  side of the Red Sea. Faith is taking the first
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  step while the sea is still closed. And then
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  one sentence came into my spirit, a sentence
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  that has stayed with me ever since. Faith is
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  not understanding the author. Faith is trusting
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  the author while he is still writing. The more
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  I thought about that, the more I realized that's
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  exactly what every person in Hebrews 11 was doing.
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  None of them had the complete story. None of
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  them could see the last chapter. None of them
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  knew how everything would unfold. They simply
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  trusted the one holding the pen. And maybe that's
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  where you and I are today. Not at the end of
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  the story, not even close. We're somewhere in
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  the middle chapters. The chapters where questions
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  are still louder than answers, where promises
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  seem bigger than circumstances, where prayers
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  continue even when heaven appears silent. And
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  perhaps that is exactly where faith does its
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  greatest work. There is something I've noticed
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  about almost every servant of God. None of them
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  had the privilege of reading the last chapter.
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  while they were living the middle one. Joseph
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  didn't know prison would become the pathway to
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  the palace. David didn't know the cave would
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  become the birthplace of a kingdom. Abraham didn't
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  know how God would fulfill his promise. Paul
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  didn't know his prison letters would one day
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  become part of the New Testament. They all had
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  something in common. They knew God, but they
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  did not know the entire plan. And maybe that's
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  exactly how God intended it. Because if they
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  had known everything, it wouldn't have required
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  faith. Faith lives where explanations stop. Faith
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  begins where certainty ends. Faith continues
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  walking even when understanding cannot. And I
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  wonder if that's exactly why some of us are struggling.
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  Not because we lack God's promises. But because
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  we want explanations when God is inviting us
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  to trust and maybe That's exactly where faith
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  does its greatest work Not after the miracle
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  before it not after the answer before it not
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  after understanding before understanding ever
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  arrives I think that's why Hebrews chapter 11
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  has become one of my favorite chapters in the
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  Bible Because if you remove the miracles for
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  just a moment, what remains? People, ordinary
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  men and women, living one ordinary day at a time,
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  making one decision of obedience after another,
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  without knowing how their stories would end.
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  Sometimes we read Hebrews 11 as though those
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  men and women knew they would become heroes of
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  the faith, they didn't. Abraham had no idea millions
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  of people would one day call him the father of
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  faith. Joseph never imagined that one day children
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  would learn his story in Sunday school around
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  the world. David never thought the songs he was
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  writing in lonely caves would become worship
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  for generations. Paul never imagined that letters
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  written from prison would become part of the
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  New Testament. They were simply living, trusting,
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  obeying, one day at a time. And maybe that's
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  exactly what faith looks like, not seeing the
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  entire staircase, but taking the next step because
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  you trust the one who asked you to move. I think
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  sometimes we make faith look much more complicated
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  than it really is. We imagine faith as something
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  extraordinary, something reserved for spiritual
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  giants. But when I read Hebrews 11, I don't see
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  superheroes. I see people who simply decided,
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  I'm going to trust God today. That's all Abraham
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  could do. That's all Sarah could do. That's all
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  Moses could do. That's all Daniel could do. That's
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  all Paul could do. And maybe that's all God is
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  asking from us today, not to understand the next
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  10 years, simply to trust Him today. Because
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  the truth is, God rarely explains himself completely.
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  Have you noticed that? He gives Abraham a promise,
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  but not a calendar. He gives Joseph dreams, but
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  not an explanation of the prison. He anoints
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  David King, but doesn't tell him about the caves.
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  He calls Moses, but doesn't describe 40 years
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  in the wilderness. He calls Jeremiah, but doesn't
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  promise everyone will listen. He calls Paul,
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  but also tells him, I will show him how much
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  he must suffer for my name. God gives enough
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  light to take the next step, but rarely enough
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  to see the entire journey. And maybe that is
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  intentional, because if God showed me every chapter
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  of my life today, would I still need faith tomorrow?
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  Probably not. I would simply be following information.
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  Faith begins, where explanations end. Faith continues,
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  when emotions fluctuate. Faith remains, when
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  circumstances refuse to change. Faith keeps praying,
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  when heaven appears silent. Faith keeps worshiping,
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  when the prison doors remain closed. Faith keeps
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  loving, when life becomes difficult. Faith keeps
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  obeying, when obedience doesn't immediately make
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  sense. And I wonder if that's why God never gave
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  Joseph an explanation. Because Joseph didn't
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  need an explanation. He needed God's presence.
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  David didn't need an explanation. He needed God's
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  presence. Daniel didn't need an explanation.
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  He needed God's presence. Paul didn't need an
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  explanation. He needed God's presence. Do you
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  see something beautiful here? The more I read
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  the Bible, the more I realize God often gives
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  us something better than explanations. He gives
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  us himself. Moses understood that. When God told
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  him, my presence will go with you, Moses didn't
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  ask for a better strategy. He didn't ask for
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  a detailed map. He simply answered, if your presence
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  does not go with us, do not send us from here.
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  Why? because Moses had already discovered something.
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  The presence of God is greater than knowing tomorrow.
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  And I think that's where faith reaches maturity.
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  Not when I finally receive every answer I've
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  been asking for, but when I can honestly say,
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  Lord, I still have questions. There are still
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  things I don't understand. There are still prayers
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  I'm waiting to see answered. But I know you,
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  and knowing you is enough for me to keep walking.
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  I believe that is the faith Hebrews chapter 11
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  is talking about. Not faith that understands
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  everything, faith that trusts someone, faith
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  that has discovered. The author is trustworthy,
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  even when the chapter being written doesn't yet
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  make sense, and perhaps. That's why none of those
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  men and women quit Not because they had all the
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  answers but because they had become convinced
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  that the one writing their story would never
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  stop being faithful and That thought led me to
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  another question if faith is trusting the author
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  while he is still writing What happens? When
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  the chapter you're living looks nothing like
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  the promise he gave you I think that's where
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  Abraham's story begins. Because if there is one
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  man in the Bible who understood what it meant
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  to trust God without having every answer, it
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  was Abraham. Think about it for a moment. God
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  comes to Abraham and makes an incredible promise.
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  I will make you into a great nation. It's a beautiful
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  promise, an extraordinary promise. But there
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  was one problem. Abraham didn't even have a son.
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  Have you ever thought about that? God spoke about
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  a nation while Abraham was still waiting for
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  one child. I don't know about you, but if I had
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  been Abraham, I probably would have had a few
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  questions. Lord, you set a nation. Can we first
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  talk about one son? And maybe... That's exactly
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  where faith begins. Faith begins when God's promise
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  seems much bigger than your present reality.
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  Every morning Abraham woke up. The promise remained.
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  But nothing around him seemed to change. Another
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  day passed. Nothing. Another month. Nothing.
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  Another year. Still nothing. Can you imagine
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  that? The promise hadn't changed. God hadn't
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  changed. But Abraham's circumstances looked exactly
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  the same. I think that's where many believers
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  quietly struggle. We don't struggle because God
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  has never spoken. We struggle because He spoke.
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  And then everything became quiet. We expected
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  immediate movement. God invited us into waiting.
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  And waiting is probably one of the greatest classrooms
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  of faith, because waiting forces us to answer
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  one question. Do I trust God because I already
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  see the miracle? Or do I trust Him simply because
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  He spoke? Those are two very different kinds
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  of faith. One depends on visible evidence. The
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  other depends on the character of God. And when
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  I read Hebrews chapter 11, I realize God never
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  asked Abraham to believe in the impossible. He
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  asked Abraham to believe. In him, that changes
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  everything, because faith is not confidence in
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  circumstances. Faith is confidence in the one
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  who made the promise. The promise may seem impossible,
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  but the promiser remains faithful. Sarah eventually
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  learned the same lesson. At first, she laughed,
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  not because she hated God, because the promise
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  seemed impossible. Humanly speaking, It was impossible.
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  Time had already spoken. Age had already spoken.
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  Biology had already spoken. Everything around
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  her was saying, it cannot happen. But God had
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  already spoken. And when God speaks, His word
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  always has the final authority. That's why I
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  love something the angel asked Sarah. Is anything
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  too hard for the Lord? Notice, God didn't explain
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  how. He simply reminded her who he is. Sometimes,
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  God answers our questions, not by explaining
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  his methods, but by revealing his character.
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  That thought really challenged me because I realized
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  I spend too much time asking, how? While God
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  keeps reminding me, look at who is speaking.
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  Maybe faith has never been about understanding
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  God's methods. Maybe faith has always been about
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  knowing God's heart. And that's exactly what
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  Abraham learned. He never knew every detail.
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  He simply became convinced that the God who made
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  the promise was faithful enough to fulfill it.
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  Then something beautiful happened in my heart.
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  I realized every servant of God eventually reaches
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  this place. A place where they stop depending
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  on explanations and start depending on God's
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  character. Joseph reached that place. David reached
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  that place. Daniel reached that place. Paul reached
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  that place. And perhaps, God is inviting us there
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  too. Not to understand everything, but to know
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  Him so deeply that even when life doesn't make
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  sense, our confidence in Him never changes. Because
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  once you know the author, you stop panicking
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  every time you don't understand the chapter.
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  And that made me think about Joseph again, because
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  no one, perhaps more than Joseph, lived through
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  chapters that looked completely opposite to the
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  promise God had given him. Yet somehow, he never
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  stopped believing. God gave Joseph two dreams,
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  beautiful dreams, powerful dreams, dreams about
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  purpose, dreams about influence, dreams about
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  leadership. Imagine being Joseph that morning.
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  You're 17 years old. God has just shown you something
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  extraordinary about your future. If someone had
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  asked Joseph, what do you think happens next?
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  What do you think he would have answered? Perhaps,
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  God is about to open doors. Perhaps my life is
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  about to become easier. Instead, his brothers
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  hated him. Then they betrayed him. Then they
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  threw him into a pit. Then they sold him as a
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  slave. Then he was falsely accused. Then he was
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  forgotten in prison. Can you imagine how confusing
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  that must have been? Because if I compare the
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  dream to the journey, Nothing seems to match.
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  The dream speaks about leadership. The journey
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  speaks about slavery. The dream speaks about
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  honor. The journey speaks about humiliation.
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  The dream speaks about influence. The journey
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  speaks about isolation. Have you ever had a season
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  like that, where what God promised and what you
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  are experiencing seem to be moving in opposite
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  directions? I think many believers quietly lose
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  heart right there. Not because God failed to
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  speak, but because life stopped looking like
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  the promise. And yet, Joseph never stopped being
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  Joseph. Have you ever noticed that? He served
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  faithfully in Potiphar's house. He served faithfully
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  in prison. He interpreted dreams with the same
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  integrity, whether he was wearing a servant's
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  garment or a prisoner's garment. His circumstances
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  kept changing. His character didn't. That really
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  challenged me. Because sometimes we postpone
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  faithfulness until the miracle arrives. Joseph
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  remained faithful before the miracle. He remained
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  honest before justice. He remained excellent
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  before promotion. He remained dependent on God
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  before deliverance. And maybe that's what faith
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  really looks like. Faith is not waiting to become
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  faithful when life finally makes sense. Faith
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  is remaining faithful while life makes no sense
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  at all. Then something else caught my attention.
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  Joseph never spent his life trying to force God's
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  promise to happen. He didn't escape the prison.
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  He didn't manipulate Pharaoh. He didn't seek
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  revenge against his brothers. He simply remained
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  faithful where God had placed him. I wonder how
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  often we exhaust ourselves trying to open doors
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  that only God can open. Joseph teaches us something
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  beautiful. Your responsibility is faithfulness.
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  God's responsibility is fulfillment. That takes
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  a tremendous burden off our shoulders because
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  faith doesn't have to manufacture the miracle.
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  Faith simply continues walking with God until
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  his time arrives and maybe That's why Joseph
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  could later say to his brothers, you meant evil
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  against me, but God meant it for good. Notice,
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  he didn't say, now I understand everything. He
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  simply recognized that God had been writing another
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  story behind the one everyone else could see.
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  The pit wasn't the end. The slavery wasn't the
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  end. The prison wasn't the end. They were chapters.
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  necessary chapters, chapters Joseph would never
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  have chosen, but chapters God refused to waste.
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  And then it suddenly became personal for me.
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  How many chapters in my own life have I been
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  trying to close while God was still writing them?
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  How many times have I called something a failure,
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  that God was calling preparation? How many times
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  have I prayed, Lord, get me out? while God was
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  quietly saying, Barry, I'm not finished writing
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  this chapter yet. That thought changed me, because
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  maybe the goal is not to escape every difficult
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  chapter. Maybe the goal is to remain faithful
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  until the author turns the page. And when I thought
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  about that, my mind immediately went back to
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  David. Because if Joseph teaches us how to trust
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  the promise, David teaches us how to worship
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  while you're still waiting for it. And perhaps
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  that's where we'll begin next time. Because David,
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  Daniel, and Paul all discovered something that
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  Joseph had not yet fully revealed. They discovered
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  that faith doesn't simply keep believing. Faith
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  begins to sing. Faith begins to worship. Faith
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  begins to write. David sang in the cave. Daniel
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  prayed in exile. Paul wrote from prison. None
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  of them knew that what they were doing in those
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  dark moments would one day strengthen generations
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  they would never meet. Think about that for a
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  moment. David thought he was writing songs to
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  God. God was preparing the worship of his people
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  for thousands of years. Daniel thought he was
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  simply remaining faithful in a foreign land.
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  God was revealing his kingdom to generations
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  yet unborn. Paul thought he was encouraging a
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  few churches from a prison cell. God was building
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  the theological foundation of his church. None
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  of them realized that while they were simply
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  trying to remain faithful, God was creating a
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  legacy. And maybe, That's one of the greatest
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  lessons of faith. Faith is not only believing
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  that God will fulfill his promise. Faith is continuing
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  to worship, to pray, to write, to obey, even
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  when you have no idea how far your obedience
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  will reach. Perhaps the greatest works God accomplishes
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  through our lives are the ones we will never
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  fully understand while we are living them. And
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  that is exactly where our next conversation begins.
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  Because if faith continues walking, even without
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  explanations, what happens when God turns your
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  cave, your exile, or your prison into a testimony
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  that will outlive you? I cannot wait to explore
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  that with you. Until next time, keep trusting,
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  keep dwelling, keep obeying. Because the author
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  is still writing.