Chapter 6; Ep 2: Waiting with Expectation: Growing Faith in God's Timing

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Welcome back, my amazing listeners, to Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our devotional series.

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If you tuned in last time, we kicked things off by talking about asking God with bold faith.

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Today, we're taking it up a notch. Oh, you know it, the wait.

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And let me tell you, the waiting room is where your faith is stretched.

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And sometimes seriously tested.

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Now, waiting can feel like the hardest part of your spiritual journey,

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right? You ask and then silence.

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But here's what I want you to hear today. This is what I want you to hear today.

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The wait is where God is working behind the scenes.

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We're about to dive into a story of a bold prophet named Habakkuk,

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who wasn't afraid to ask God the tough questions, and then waited expectantly.

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Are you ready to grow your faith in the wait? Let's do this.

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All right, picture this. Habakkuk, a prophet, looked at the chaos around him like we do today.

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He looked at the chaos around him and said, God, what is going on here?

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That's real, right? I mean, we've all had those moments when life feels out

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of control and we're like, God, where are you?

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But here's what makes Habakkuk's story incredible.

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After he laid this question before the Lord, he didn't walk around frustrated.

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He positioned himself to wait expectantly.

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So let's break this down.

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Waiting on God is not about sitting around twiddling our thumbs.

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It's about positioning yourself with an expected heart ready to see God move.

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Habakkuk stood on his watchtower ready for God's answer.

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So today we're going to dive into Habakkuk 1 and 2 and discover how to wait

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on God with faith, patience, and a spirit of expectation.

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So let's go into Habakkuk 1 and

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two and one through four. Excuse me. In these chapters, Habakkuk is real with God.

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He's bold enough to ask, why do you let this injustice go on?

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So he's bold enough to go before the Lord.

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He's looking around and he's saying, why are you letting this injustice go on?

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Why is violence everywhere? In Habakkuk 2.1, we see something powerful.

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His response to what God says. He said, I will stand at my watch and station myself.

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I will look to see what he will say to me.

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This isn't a passive waiting. It is active faith.

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He's not doubting if God will answer.

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He's standing at attention, expecting God to show up.

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How many times have we done that? We've prayed a prayer and then someone says,

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have you heard from God? And you go like, well, I'm waiting on him.

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How are you waiting on God? Are you waiting on him with an expectation like Habakkuk?

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He went on his tower and he waited in expectation to see what God would do.

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It says here, listen, God can handle your questions.

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Habakkuk didn't sugarcoat anything. He brought his raw, honest feelings to God.

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And God wants that from you too. But what says Habakkuk apart is his posture of waiting.

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He wasn't impatiently pacing or giving up.

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He was waiting like a soldier on duty, ready for God's direction.

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This is a major lesson for us. So when you ask, get ready to hear.

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Be in a position where your faith is on high alert.

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Oh, that's good. When you ask, position yourself to hear from God.

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So sometimes we'll ask a question. I don't know that's you, we'll ask in prayer,

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and then we'll go on with our other list and never position ourselves during our prayer time,

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just a silent time to see if God is going to respond to our prayers.

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If you pray a lot, and some of you are, it is a continual pray. You probably do.

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Those people who are listening to podcasts about prayer and Bible stuff,

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you're in an expectation of prayer.

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And so the conversation that you have with God is not like a stop and go.

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It seems to me in my prayer time, it's an ongoing conversation.

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So if it's an ongoing conversation that the conversation really never ends,

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you ever notice that? So you can go to him after.

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Praying in the morning, you might have a prayer request and you go to him in

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the evening. This is an ongoing conversation.

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And I think Habakkuk has that relationship with God where he will have these bold questions,

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but then he will go as an ongoing conversation and still wait to hear from God

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because the conversation is going ongoing. It doesn't stop.

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You're not like, you're not praying and then you stop and start another prayer.

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If you're a prayer, an intercessor, if you're just a prayer and you just pray

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all the time, the prayer that you have with God is always, always ongoing.

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Even your dreams are ongoing. Everything has this, it's a storyline.

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It continues on. But I love this. It says he wasn't impatiently pacing or giving up, excuse me.

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He was waiting like a soldier on duty, ready for God's direction.

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This is a major lesson when you ask.

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Get ready to hear. Get in position to hear.

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Get ready to hear the answer from God.

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Be in a position where your faith is on high alert.

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Faith grows in the waiting room.

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It's not easy, I know, but faith isn't just about believing when things happen fast.

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It's about trusting God when everything feels low.

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So James 117 reminds us that every good and perfect gifts come from above.

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But sometimes those gifts come after a season of waiting.

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And you know what? The wait isn't a waste of time.

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God's preparing something greater than you can imagine.

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James 1.17 is your lifeline during the wait.

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Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the

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heavenly lives, who does not change like shifting shadows.

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So what a promise, right? Even when it seems like nothing is happening,

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God is setting up something perfect in his timing.

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How powerful is that, right? God is setting something up perfect in his timing.

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So while you wait, hold on to this truth.

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God's gifts are always good, and he's working things out even when you can't

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see it. I love what Habakkuk does.

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Get in a position to hear.

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Take time to listen to what God has to say. Let's go back over Habakkuk.

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I love Habakkuk. It says, wait expectantly for God's answer.

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Waiting can feel like the hardest part of our faith journey.

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But the truth is, it's in the waiting that God does some of his greatest work in us.

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Habakkuk shows us how to wait expectantly.

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He asks tough questions and when positioned himself to hear,

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and then he positions himself to hear from God with confidence.

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Waiting is never passive. It's the stance of trust, knowing that God's timing

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is perfect. He is not delayed.

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He will not delay beyond what is needed.

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Sometimes when I pray, like this morning, I can say, you know,

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I had a lot of questions, you know, but then when I sat in the presence of God,

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It seemed like I just sat there and he answered them without me even saying a word.

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And most of those questions were kind of, you know, they just a lot of questions

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like Habakkuk, what's going on? Little questions like that.

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Little questions, just wanted to know what was going on. When is this?

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When is that? This was kind of busy questions.

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But once I sat in the presence of God and just sat there quietly,

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it's like he answered them without me saying a word.

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In the waiting, in the expectation of wanting to hear, not always opening my mouth.

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Like, you know, you have the, you know, in a classroom, you always have the

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student, if they would just listen to the question or take time to listen,

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they can figure out the answer or how the process works.

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But they got 12 questions in a row, you know, those type of ways that you can

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go before God. You just kind of sit back and listen.

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And a lot of times you can hear the scriptures that he wants you to know about

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the answers because his word is inside of you. Right.

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You know, and so I love Habakkuk. So waiting in expectation to hear from God,

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waiting in silence with intentionality just to listen.

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Not always going before him with a whole lot of questions.

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Nothing wrong with that. It's a time and a season. But sometimes,

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like I said, if you're in prayer a lot, the conversation is ongoing.

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And sometimes he answers your questions before you ask them.

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What are you waiting for right now? whether it's an answer, a breakthrough, or a move of God.

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Remember that God's silence doesn't mean inactivity. He's preparing something amazing.

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Say it, amazing. God does amazing things in your way.

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So just a couple points of encouragement and then some scripture for support.

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Number one, wait with expectation.

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Habakkuk waited with faith, in faith, fully expecting God's response.

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Trust that God is faithful and will answer in his perfect timing.

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Your wait is not wasted. Number two, during the wait, God is strengthening you,

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preparing your heart and setting things in motion that you cannot see.

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So don't give up.

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Position yourself to hear, like Habakkuk. Stand ready and attentive.

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Keep praying, stay faithful, and be alert for God's voice in unexpected places.

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I want to repeat that. Position yourself to hear, like Habakkuk.

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Stand ready, attentive. attentive, keep praying, stay faithful,

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and be alert for God's voice in unexpected places.

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And he does speak to you, your answer in unexpected places.

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It might not be while you're sitting there waiting. It could come across.

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It's always fun. God knows how to get your attention. He knows how to answer your prayers.

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And he's, I think he enjoys that. It'll give you your answer at these unexpected places, times.

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Okay, our scripture foundation is Habakkuk 1, 2, and 1 through 4.

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But any additional scriptures, supporting scriptures, Psalms 27,

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14, I read, Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. way for the Lord.

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This encourages bold patience, trusting that God is faithful,

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even when we don't see immediate results.

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Isaiah 40, 31, but they who wait for the Lord should renew their strength.

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They should mount up with wings like eagles.

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They should run and not be weary.

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They should walk and not faint. A reminder that waiting on God strengthens us.

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It's not a passive activity, but a bold stance in trust. And in Lamentations

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3, 25-26, it says the Lord is good to those who wait for him.

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To the soul who seeks him, it is good that one should wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord.

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The scripture calls us to wait with expectation and patience,

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knowing that God's timing is perfect.

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I know waiting feels like a grind sometimes, right?

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But remember this, God's delays are not his denials.

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And the way he's building your character, strengthening your faith,

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and setting you up for something beyond what you could not have imagined.

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So as you go through your week, position yourself like Habakkuk.

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Stand at your watchtower, ready for God's answer because it's coming.

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So let's do some interactive activities for this week here.

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So take a moment and ask yourself, what are you waiting for?

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Are you standing expectantly or are you losing hope?

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This week, challenge yourself to change your posture in the wait.

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God's answer is closer than you think. Then I want to challenge you.

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Yeah, got to challenge you. So I dare you this week to position yourself like Habakkuk.

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Spend time in prayer, expecting God's response, and watch how your perspective shifts.

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You know, don't leave God's presence so quickly, right?

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So take a moment, ask yourself, first one is what you're waiting for,

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and then I want you to wait in expectation.

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Challenge yourself to change your posture and your wait. So get excited about

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waiting. Wait for an answer.

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Then I dare you again to spend time in prayer and just expect a response.

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Expect to hear something from God.

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You know, many times if I don't hear God during my prayer time,

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many times I hear him in my dreams. He'll speak to me in my dreams.

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So he will speak to you. He will speak to you.

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So next time we're moving on to moving from waiting to action.

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Because when God speaks, we need to move, right?

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We're diving into how to respond to God's guidance with boldness, fearless action.

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You don't want to miss it. So be sure to hit the subscribe button.

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Until then, stay blessed, stay bold, and keep seeking God's grace.

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Thank you for hanging out with me on Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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With our devotional series. In today's episode, you got fired up,

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but don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear this.

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And as always, you can find more content and encouragement on our website,

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diaryofablackwomanllc.com.

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Till next time, stay strong, stay strong in the weight, and keep walking in grace. Amen, amen.