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Transcript

Keep Feeding | When No One Seems To Be Listening · Wilder Whispers Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friend, welcome to Wilder Whispers, a space where we slow down and listen for God's voice in the ordinary moments of life.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Shay Wooden, and I'm so glad you're here.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We often expect God to speak through big moments, a sermon, a breakthrough, a perfectly quiet prayer time, and he does.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: But so often, he chooses quieter ways, in the middle of everyday life, in the unnoticed moments, in gentle whispers that invite us closer.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Each episode, I'll share one simple story and the quiet truth God revealed through it.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not because it was extraordinary, but because he was present.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So wherever you are right now, take a breath, let's slow down, and listen together.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever felt discouraged because you couldn't see the results of your obedience?
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've prayed, maybe you've shared your faith, maybe you've simply tried to do what God asked you to do.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And yet from where you're standing, it seems like nothing is happening.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Recently, Holy Spirit reminded me of a simple truth that I think every believer needs to hear.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: A few mornings ago I was outside feeding the fish in our pond.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Earlier this week I had been doing the same thing, walking out to the pond, tossing the food into the water, and waiting.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: No ripples, no splashes, no fish.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: The food would hit the water and just float there.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now I knew there were fish in the pond.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: We had stocked it ourselves.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: They hadn't disappeared, but from where I was standing, it looked like nothing was happening.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: The next day, the same thing.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the day after that.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'd throw the food out and watch it sit on the surface with no response at all.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Then this morning, I walked out to the pond again with a scoop full of fish food.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I scattered it across the water, and almost immediately fish began surfacing, one after another.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: The water that had seemed so still suddenly came alive with movement.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I stood there for a moment and thought about that.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The fish were there all along.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Just because I couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just because they weren't surfacing didn't mean they weren't aware of the food.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly, what started as a simple morning chore became something much deeper.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: I began thinking about all the times we share Christ, teach his word, pray for someone, invite someone to church, or tell someone what God has done in our lives, and it seems like nothing is happening.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: No response, no interest, no visible change.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: We throw the seed, we cast the bread, we feed the water.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it feels like we're standing there looking at a quiet pond.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: But what if the silence isn't telling the whole story?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: What if something is happening beneath the surface that we simply can't see?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: As I stood there watching the fish surface and eat, I sense Holy Spirit whisper, keep feeding them.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: That was it.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Just three words.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Those three simple words stayed with me.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: The more I thought about them, the more I realized this wasn't really about fish.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: It was about people.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It was about the call that every believer has to make Christ known.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't tell us to build platforms, he didn't tell us to collect followers, he didn't tell us to measure success by numbers, responses, or visible results.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: He told us to go, to preach the gospel, to make disciples, to be fishers of men, as Jesus called his disciples in Matthew four nineteen.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're honest, one of the hardest parts of obeying that call is continuing when it feels like nobody is responding.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: We share our testimony and nothing happens.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: We invite someone to church and they decline.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about Jesus and the conversation changes.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: We pray for a loved one year after year and they seem no closer to God than when we started.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're not careful, discouragement can slowly turn into silence.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We may never say it out loud, but we begin to think, what's the point?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is anyone even listening?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Does any of this matter?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But as I stood there by that pond, I was reminded of something important.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that I couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the same is often true when we share Christ.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: People are listening more than we realize.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're watching how we live.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: They're paying attention to how we respond when life gets hard.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: They're noticing our faith even when they never mention it.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some are wrestling with questions they don't know how to ask.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some are carrying wounds they don't know how to heal.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Some are running from God while secretly longing to be found by Him.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just because nothing is surfacing doesn't mean nothing is happening.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel is working beneath the surface long before we see the evidence of it.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 55 11 tells us that God's word doesn't return void.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: It accomplishes what He sends it to accomplish.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: That means every conversation matters, every invitation matters, every testimony matters, every seed sown matters.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not because of who is sharing it, but because of the power contained within the gospel itself.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is we were never called to produce the harvest.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's God's job.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3 6, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Notice what Paul didn't say.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't say I planted, Apollos watered, and we worried about whether anything was happening.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: He understood something many of us forget.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Faithfulness and fruitfulness are not the same thing.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: God calls us to faithfulness.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: He produces the fruit.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Our responsibility is obedience.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: His responsibility is the increase.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's freeing when you think about it.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because it means the pressure is off.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to convince anyone.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to argue anyone into the kingdom.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to manufacture hunger.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You simply keep feeding.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: You keep sharing Christ.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: You keep speaking truth.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You keep loving people.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: You keep sowing the seed.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: You keep casting the bread upon the waters.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: You keep feeding.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then you trust God to do what only He can do.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Some people surface quickly.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Others take years.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Some may remember a conversation you had long after you've forgotten it.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some may hear the gospel from you today and respond to Christ years from now.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: You may never know how God used your obedience on this side of eternity.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: But that doesn't change your assignment.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Not because they're responding, not because you see results.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Not because the water suddenly comes alive.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them because Christ is worthy to be proclaimed.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them because someone once faithfully fed you.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them because the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And keep feeding them because the one who called you is faithful.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: So what do we do with this?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is this Who is the person you've quietly stopped believing God for?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Who have you stopped praying for?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Who have you stopped sharing Christ with because you didn't see an immediate response?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a family member.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a friend.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a coworker, a neighbor, or someone God placed on your heart years ago.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And one time you prayed faithfully for them.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: You looked for opportunities to talk with them about Jesus.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: You believed God was working.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: But when nothing seemed to change, discouragement set in.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And little by little you stopped feeding.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Friend, maybe the Lord is inviting you to pick that assignment back up again.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Not with pressure, not with the responsibility of trying to change someone, simply with obedience.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Pray again, invite again, share again, trust again.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, you are not responsible for creating hunger in someone else's heart.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Only God can do that.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Your responsibility is to faithfully place the food before them, to live the gospel, to speak the gospel, to point people to Jesus whenever he gives you the opportunity.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps this application reaches beyond a sub pause restart.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps this application reaches beyond a specific person.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've grown discouraged in the broader calling God has given you.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: You've been teaching, serving, witnessing, sowing, and because the results haven't looked the way you expected, you've begun to question whether it matters.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: If that's you, hear the whisper again.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Keep feeding them.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Keep doing what God has called you to do.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keep releasing what He has placed in your hands.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Keep being faithful in the small things, because faithfulness is never wasted.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: The water may look quiet today, but that doesn't mean God isn't working beneath the surface.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Before we pray, I want to invite you to do something.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Ask the Holy Spirit to bring one person to your mind.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just one.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: As their name comes to mind, resist the temptation to think about what you can see.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Don't think about how long it's been.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Don't think about their resistance.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't think about how many times you've tried before.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, place them back into God's hands.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that He loves them more than you do.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that He is pursuing them even when you can't see it.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: And remember that your responsibility isn't to save them.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Your responsibility is simply to be faithful.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Today, make a fresh decision to trust God with what is happening beneath the surface and to keep feeding.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, I thank you for allowing us to be a part of your mission.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the people who faithfully shared your love with us.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the prayers that were prayed over us, the seeds that were planted, and the people who refused to give up on us when we were far from you.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Father, forgive us for the times we've allowed discouragement to silence us.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Forgive us for measuring faithfulness by visible results.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Forgive us for giving up too soon, growing weary and doing good, or deciding that nothing was happening simply because we couldn't see it.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to remember that you are always at work, even beneath the surface.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Father, I pray for the people you've brought to our minds today, the family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and prodigals that we've been carrying in our hearts.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Father, you know their names, and you know their stories, and you know every wound, every question, every fear, and every struggle.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Father, draw them to yourself.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Open their eyes to your goodness.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Soften their hearts to your voice.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Place people in their path who will point them to Jesus.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And Father, help us to be faithful whenever you give us an opportunity to share your love.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Give us courage where fear has held us back.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Give us patience when we don't see immediate results.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Give us faith to trust that your word is accomplishing exactly what you have sent it to do.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Father, help us to keep feeding.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to keep praying.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to keep sharing.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to keep pointing people to Jesus, whether we see the harvest today, years from now, or only when we stand before you in eternity.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because you alone save.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: You alone transform hearts.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: You alone give the increase.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we trust you with the results.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus we pray.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: As I think back to that morning by the pond, I can't help but smile.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: For several days the water looked quiet.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing surfaced, nothing moved.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: It would have been easy to assume that nothing was happening.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: But looking back, I realized the pond had been teaching me patience all week.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: The fish were there all along.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: I just couldn't see them.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder how often that's true in the kingdom of God.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: How often God is working in ways we can't see.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: How often a seed is taking root beneath the surface.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: How often a prayer is moving a heart toward him.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: How often a conversation about Jesus lingers in someone's mind long after we've forgotten it.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a world that celebrates immediate results.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: But God's work is often much slower, much deeper, and much quieter than we respect.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Our job is not to measure the harvest.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Our job is to remain faithful, to keep praying, to keep loving, to keep sharing, to keep feeding, and then trust the one who sees beneath the surface.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because just because you can't see movement doesn't mean God isn't moving.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And just because no one has surfaced yet doesn't mean they never will.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And today's whisper to carry with you is this keep feeding them.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: The water may be quiet, but God is still working beneath the surface.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending this time with me on Wilder Whispers.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: I hope today's story reminded you that God is closer than we often realize and that he's still speaking, even in the ordinary moments of life.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Whispers are the language of closeness.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: They invite us to lean in.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: As you go about your day, whether you're working, resting, driving, or just trying to catch your breath, stay attentive.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: God is not far away.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: He's not silent.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's near and he's speaking.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep listening.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is Wilder Whispers, and I'm Shay Woodham.