"Embracing Faith Over Feelings: Ep 3: God's Persistent Voice"

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Music.

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host,

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Connie Morris, where truth speaks, healing begins, and every word is rooted in faith.

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Before we begin, let us go before the Lord in prayer.

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Opening prayer, Father God, we thank you for this moment.

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We thank you for every listener, every heart, and every home represented.

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We invite your presence into this space. As we begin, we stand on the words

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of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4.10.

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And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, So that thou wouldest bless me

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indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me,

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and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.

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And God granted him that which he requested.

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Lord, today we echo that same prayer. Bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening. Bless her mind, her body, her relationships.

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Her dreams, and her destiny.

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Let your blessing not only surround her, but transform her.

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Enlarge our coast. Stretch us beyond what we thought was possible.

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Expand our influence, our impact, and the reach of this message.

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Not for our glory, but for yours.

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Let your hand be with us. Go before us in every conversation.

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Guide our words, anoint our purpose, and let every episode carry your truth with clarity and power.

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Keep us from evil that it may not grieve us.

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Shield us from harm, from cycles of sorrow, from spiritual attack and emotional heaviness.

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Cover us in your grace so we rise in strength, not in grief,

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in wholeness, not in wounds.

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And just as you granted Jabez what he requested, Lord, grant it unto us.

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Let this podcast be a wellspring of truth, a refuge for healing,

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and a launchpad for purpose. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

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Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and we're continuing our series, When God Wants to Talk.

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We are on episode two, devotional two.

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Title is called Responding to the Call. And we are going to be focusing on two

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scriptures today, maybe more.

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And first scripture is found in Isaiah 6, 8.

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And then another scripture is 1 Samuel 3.10. On the first scripture reads,

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I just want to welcome everyone back.

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As you see, I've upgraded the podcast with a little intro music just for fun

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and just for transparency.

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That was a hard task, you guys, just upgrading it with a little music.

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Didn't want to have it too long of a song. And so it's like 10 seconds.

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So it allows you to know it's coming on and then how it acts.

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I'd love to hear your feedback.

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I'm still working on some things, so give me some grace.

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But we are upgrading in 2025.

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I started this podcast last July, and look what God is doing in a year.

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And so remember, I always mention, do not despise small beginnings.

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God rejoices when you start. And so that can still ring true today when God wants to talk.

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Just if you miss Him, get back up and go. get back up and say,

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Lord, this time I'm going to get up. This time I'm going to listen to you.

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So I gave you some challenges the other day.

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We're going to keep going with this Faith on the Go series with episode two,

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devotional to responding to the call.

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We're going to start with Isaiah 6, verse eight, and I'm going to read another

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scripture from 1 Samuel 3.10.

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It says, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord and he had a response.

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His response was, here I am, send me.

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And then in 1 Samuel 3.10, it says, the Lord came and stood there calling as

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at other times, Samuel, Samuel.

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Then Samuel says, speak, your servant is listening.

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By this point, Samuel is no longer confused about who is calling.

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He is posture and position to hear clearly.

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Notice God didn't just call. He stood there.

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This means God's presence entered the room. And when you're ready,

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God just doesn't whisper.

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He shows up. So think about this. As we go through when God wants to talk,

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we always think God is whispering from some heavenly high places that we can

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actually kind of ignore him because he is so far off.

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But I want to tell you that if he's that close that he's whispering,

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that's my clap, that he's right there. Hallelujah. That he's right in the place.

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And so when you hear God talks to you, wake you up, when he wants to speak to you, he is not a far off.

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He is in the room. Wow.

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So we know Samuel, we spoke about that last episode, that there was no voice.

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God was not speaking in the land. But when at the time Samuel was a small child,

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he heard the voice of the Lord. And so now God stood.

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The Lord said he came and stood there and he spoke because he wanted to make

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sure that Samuel understood that it was his voice that he was hearing,

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that it was him that was in the room.

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So doesn't that make you, I don't know about you, but it steers me up to know

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that when God is whispering, he's not whispering through a stranger.

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He is in the room, people.

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And so that should make you want to get up out of your bed and say,

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what is it, Lord? I hear you speak.

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Your servant is listening. So we should be ready, right?

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We should be ready and open to hear that when that is, I don't know why I can't

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talk because I'm so excited.

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It just reminds me that God is closer than we think.

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You know, hearing God's voice is only the beginning. The next step is responding to what he says.

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When God wakes us in the quiet hours, it's often not just to comfort us,

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but to invite us into his work.

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Like Isaiah, we may feel unworthy or unprepared for the task.

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Still, still, still, still, God isn't looking for perfection.

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He is looking for willingness.

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Think of Samuel's response when God called him in the night.

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His simple words was, Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3.10.

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Shows a heart ready to act on whatever God reveals.

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In this way, in the same way, our willingness to respond with faith opens the

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door for God to use us in ways we can never expect.

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Now, think about that. God shows up in the room.

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Now, God has many other people to talk to. He probably can do it all at the

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same time. But if you think of it, He's talking to you right now.

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Come on, right? he's saying, whatever your name is, my name is Connie.

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Connie, I'm in the room. I have something to say.

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How important when you wake up and you begin to write down what he says.

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And so responding to God doesn't always mean dramatic action.

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Sometimes it's simple as praying for someone. We mentioned that in the last

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episode, that sometimes he wake you up so you can pray for someone.

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Sometimes it's as simple as having someone on your heart.

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You know, there was an incident where there's probably some people that you

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know that you don't get along with.

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And so then you wonder why God puts that person on your heart.

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We don't know what people are going through.

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People can be going through so many things. And like I always explain to you

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that as a police officer, when we go to circumstances and situations or events

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and we have to respond to a call, sometimes we get there.

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The call might say barking dog, but when we get there, it might be something

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totally different where we have to respond differently.

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So sometimes we just don't know what a person is going through.

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And so when God tells you to wake up and pray for your enemy,

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You need to wake up and pray for your enemy because he loves them too.

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And you might be that person that will be the breakthrough for them.

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They might not ever know that you are the one that is praying for them.

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They might not can't stand the face, your face, your breath.

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The way you look, nothing about you, but yet you have been appointed by God

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to pray for that particular person.

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It might not be, sometimes it might not be dramatic. It might be something that you need to do.

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Like the Bible tells us to be at peace with everyone, even if it depends on you.

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So maybe you are the drama keeper and God's telling you to shush your mouth.

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You don't know the whole story.

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So maybe he's telling you in the middle of the night, telling you to shush your

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mouth because you're talking way too much about something you know little about.

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And so, because he might be, or he will be, or he want to work through them,

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but he can't because you're running your mouth too much, right?

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You're anti doing everything God is trying to build.

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You're over there destroying with your mouth because you only know just a little

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bit of the story, you know?

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And sometimes you might have to close your mouth, close your friend's mouth and just sit there.

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Our pastor just went over the story of Job. And sometimes people get so super

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spiritual with the scriptures and they have it all wrong.

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Just as we found out through a Bible study with our pastors that Job,

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they said the right things, all scripture based on everything,

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but it wasn't right. The heart wasn't right.

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It wasn't coming from God. It wasn't coming from the right perspective.

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We need to stop trying to be the Holy Ghost.

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So sometimes the spying of God doesn't always mean dramatic action.

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Sometimes it's simply as praying for someone, meditating on scripture,

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or taking a small step of obedience.

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Every yes to God, no matter how small, builds our faith and aligns us with his purpose.

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So how do we go deeper with the Lord?

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How do we go deeper with the Lord? I don't know about you, but sometimes,

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maybe more times than I want to say, that God

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wants to, he doesn't ask us for perfection, but he does ask us for obedience.

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He doesn't ask us for a lot of sacrifice, but he does ask us for obedience.

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A lot of times we may want to pray and fast, but he just says, I just need you to obey.

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When I say something, I need you to do it, not pray and fast about it,

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just be obedient and do it.

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So if you want to go deeper with God and you want more clarity about what God

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is saying, then you have to be obedient.

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So going deeper, let's cover a couple points here. You have to expect the unexpected.

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I love that. Expect the unexpected.

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God's cause often leads us out of our comfort zones.

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Are you willing to step into the unknown, trusting his plans?

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I put plans on it because usually God have you multitasking up in here,

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up in here. How many of you out there, you go to work, God has you in the ministry.

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He has you doing a podcast. Then he has you doing something else like me.

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I just became the president of our HOA board.

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And, you know, that's working itself.

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It's like, Lord, I think I have used my talents.

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You know, remember in the Bible, he gave them five talents.

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I think God, unless you give me some more talents, I will use them, Lord.

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I will use my time wisely. But I love that. So expect the unexpected.

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When God speaks to you, expect that he wants to do something unexpected through

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you. Number two, faith over feelings.

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You may not feel ready or equipped, but remember that God equips those he calls.

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That's Exodus chapter 4, verses 10 to 12.

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We may not feel that we are able to do it, but God calls you.

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You are well equipped and able to do it. And I never thought and.

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It never crossed my mind because at the time when I was called years ago,

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I don't think podcasting was a thing, right?

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I don't think it was a thing. But now that it's a thing, when God says,

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kind of, I want you to start a podcast with those devotionals that you wrote

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for your mom, I'm like, okay, Lord, I don't have a clue on how to start a podcast.

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And so I had to go study to show myself approved and begin with my little laptop

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and my little microphone.

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And you can go back and you can hear how it sounded. It did not sound too good,

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but I just did what I did the best that I could with what I had.

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And so God says, okay, now it's time for you to upgrade.

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And I'm like, oh, upgrade? I still don't know what I'm doing.

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I don't know what I'm doing with the little bit of stuff I had.

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But God honors your faithfulness. Amen. He honors it.

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And so number three, daily obedience. It says, responding to God isn't limited to big decisions.

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Practice saying yes to him in everyday moments. And you will find it easier

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to trust him when things get more extensive, when things get more serious.

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When you don't have. It's like building your faith.

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He might say, Connie, go out and do ABC.

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You're okay. I can do ABC because, you know, you've done ABC before.

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But when he gets you to do spirit, do number D.

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You'd be like, oh, I've never done D before. But since you came through the

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bear and a lion and a tiger and a snake, I think I can go ahead and handle this

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other task because you didn't let me down in those other things.

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So these little moments of waking up with God and just being obedient to those

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small, minor tasks really begins to build your faith that you can trust God.

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I think I shared with you in one of my episodes where I was at a job,

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just kind of in between jobs.

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I'm at retirement age, so I can pretty much quit, but I love to work.

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And the Lord told me I had the opportunity to quit the job. And I quit before they noticed.

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And at the middle, I didn't know where I was going to go. Did not know where I was going to go.

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He says, Connie, I have a ram in the bush for you. And I said,

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okay. And I just quit. And I interviewed.

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I have a job now. is like the best job ever.

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I think I'll call it my retirement job because it's not a labor-intensive job,

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but it's just a job that you can do for a long period of time. And I like it.

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It's just a fun job. I get to teach. I get to do a little bit of everything.

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And I like working there.

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I like showing up for work. I look forward to going to work.

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And that's what you want, right?

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When God says that when I chose, I had many other opportunities, other jobs to choose.

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But when I chose this job, It wasn't even about the wage or the salary.

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It was just like he said, choose this one. I wouldn't have chosen over all the

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other jobs that I were looking at.

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But once I chose that one, he says, Connie, you chose wisely.

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You chose righteously. And I said, I don't even know what that means, right?

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I chose righteously. I chose his way, not my way, right? I chose God's way.

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And that's pretty much what it is. when we, when God begins to talk,

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when God wants to talk, he has a plan to,

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According to Jeremiah 29, 11, you know how I close out every podcast with that

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because it's been my foundational scripture for over 30 years that God has a

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plan for us, a plan to prosper us,

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not to harm us, to give us hope for our future.

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And when you hold on to that scripture and you know that he wants to prosper

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us, he doesn't want to harm us, that he wants to give us hope for our future.

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If that's all you know about God, that's enough. That is enough.

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And so as we go deeper, I want you to learn how to expect the unexpected from God.

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Faith over feelings, because sometimes we always let our emotions run over.

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We just think, oh, I don't feel that's God.

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Well, what about faith? Do you feel that might be faith?

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What about our new self? What about us trusting God in our new way of thinking?

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We're doing new things in 2025, and he wants us to have faith over our feelings.

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You know, I think Exodus 4 is about Moses making excuses about why he couldn't

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do what God told him to do.

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God said, didn't I make your mouth? Didn't I make your mouth?

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All you got to do is go talk to Pharaoh.

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Just do what I said, right?

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And daily obedience, practice saying yes to God.

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Some scriptures I want you to meditate on is James 1.22. Two,

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do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself, but do what it says.

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Don't just be a hearer only, but also be a doer of the word.

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And the word is the Bible.

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The word is when God speaks. So when God says, you know, I want you to not talk

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so much, then you don't talk so much.

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If he's not speaking to you in your sleep or if he's not giving you dreams,

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then your word is the Bible, the scripture.

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Do what that says. And I love this one. God requires action,

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not just acknowledgement.

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So you might say, I hear you, but then God's word always gives us something to do with it.

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So don't get comfortable just hearing him.

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Be comfortable doing what he says.

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Let's go to John 2, 5.

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John 2, 5 says, whatever he tells you, do it, right?

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Whatever God tells you, do it. You know, that scripture came from Mary's mom.

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Mary's mom, John's mom, Jesus' mom says, we're out of wine and they're having a panic and then.

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Mary told the disciples, whatever he tells you to do, do it.

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I mean, don't think about it. Don't try to figure it out. Just do what he says.

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And that's a simple obedience that led to miraculous outcomes.

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And sometimes we try to figure out how God is going to make A to get to C.

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Sometimes we just get in the way, right? We just sometimes get in the way.

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And then Proverbs, we know this one. I think I say it almost every podcast,

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at least once every month, we get to hear this.

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Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 to 6, it says, Trust in the Lord with all your

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heart and lean not to your own understanding.

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In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight.

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Trusting God's call, even when it doesn't make sense, leads to clarity and direction.

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We know that Samuel heard God, he walked in the room, and so remember that.

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And when he whispers, I mean, he's close. He's closer than we think.

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So Samuel responded to God.

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You know, God, I love this, that God didn't give up after the first try.

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Samuel had an understanding.

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I don't know what that voice, it doesn't sound familiar. But we think that if

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we miss him, like God is very persistent.

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When he has something to say, he's not going to allow you to miss what he has

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to say. He's going to keep you up until he gets what he has to say out.

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You know, he'll say, hey, you can't sleep. And you're listening.

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You're like, okay, Lord, what is it?

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He'll wake you up. He said, the Lord calls Samuel a third time, 1 Samuel 3.8.

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God didn't give up after the first try. He didn't give up after the second try. He kept calling.

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Why? Because God is not in the business of wasting words.

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He's in the business of reaching hearts. So maybe you missed it.

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Maybe that first devotional you said, dang, missed him.

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But maybe you didn't recognize him the second time he called because that sleep felt too good.

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But God is so committed to your destiny that he'll speak.

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Until you recognize the sound of his voice. Think about a mother calling a child.

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Even when the child ignores her, she doesn't stop. She raises her voice. She changes her tone.

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She gets closer because she loves to hear.

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She wants him to recognize his voice. You know how kids, when you have a new

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baby coming up, they can be kind of, they're learning like, is mom mean,

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not mom mean, is mom mean serious about this? Don't touch that.

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And we raise it up. Don't touch that. I said, don't touch that.

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They go, oh, mom said, don't touch that. That means don't touch that.

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After a while, you don't have to yell.

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They'll just know your fluctuation in your voice means don't touch that.

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You know, or when you call their name, Billy, and right there,

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that means don't touch that. So they get to know the sound of your voice.

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That's the way God is. He is not going to stop calling you until you actually

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learn to hear his voice. Isn't that? God is a great father.

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He's a great teacher. He wants you to recognize him.

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So don't beat yourself up. Don't beat yourself. Beat yourself up if you missed

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it before. Just lean in now.

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God is patient and he will speak until you understand.

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John 10, 27 says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

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God didn't just speak in biblical time. He speaks now.

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His voice is not locked in the pages of scripture. He lives in your spirit,

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echoes through wise counsel, and whispers in moments of stillness.

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If you are His, you can hear Him.

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This means no more disqualifying yourself.

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So start your day with a space to hear.

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Test what you hear against the Word and write it down.

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Don't let busy schedules or fear of being wrong keep you from expecting to hear. God still speaks.

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Will you listen? Jeremiah 33 says, call to me and I will answer you and tell

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you great and mighty, great and unsearchable things you did not know.

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This isn't just about Samuel.

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This is about you. God wants to tell you unsearchable things,

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but he won't tell you over your distractions.

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He speaks to the one who calls out and quiets down.

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It's not about being perfect. It's about being present.

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You don't need to be a prophet, a teacher, a seminary graduate.

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You just need to speak, say, speak, Lord, I am listening.

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When was the last time you gave God your full attention?

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No multitasking, no scrolling, just stillness. You are not disqualified. You are not

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too far gone. If God spoke to a boy in the temple, he can speak to a woman in

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her car, in her kitchen, or in her quiet tears.

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God is speaking, and he is talking to you.

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He, beloved, God is not silent. He's not distant. He's certainly not done speaking.

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Maybe life has gotten loud. Maybe distractions have drowned out his whisper.

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But the God who spoke to Samuel, to Moses, to Elijah, is still speaking today.

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The question isn't, is God talking?

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The question is, am I really listening? So here's a challenge for today.

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Even this week, you can quiet the noise, create a space, and lean in.

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God is still speaking. God is still speaking.

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Just kind of encourage yourself with this faith on the go message that God is

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still speaking. Some action things you can do to get set up for this day.

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If you feel like you, like, dang, it's not working.

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Connie said we can hear the voice of the Lord and nothing's happening.

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Remember, if you are his sheep, you can hear his voice.

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So pray for courage. Ask God to give you the boldness to say yes at whatever

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he asks, even if it feels difficult. Take a step.

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Think about something God may have been nudging you to do.

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It could be as simple as reaching out to someone, starting a new habit or letting

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go of something holding you back.

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Take one step this week and act on it.

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Quick prayer for you guys. Lord, thank you for calling me and trusting me to

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partner with you. Teach me to respond with

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faith, and obedience, even when I don't feel prepared. Help me to trust your

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wisdom, even over my understanding, and take both steps towards your purpose. Here I am, Lord.

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Use me. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Here's one challenge that I want to give you. As you go through your days and

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into your nights, stay alert to moments when God might be asking you to respond.

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Practice saying yes to small prompts from him, such as praying for someone.

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Offering encouragement, or dedicating time to studying his word.

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Reflect on how these small acts are obedience drawn that will draw you closer

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to him. I want to just share this quick testimony.

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I remember just recently regarding this prompting in my heart.

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I told you there was just a person I wasn't getting along with at church,

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and we just, maybe we have both strong personalities.

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So first, as I was praying, praying in my holy language in my morning prayer

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time, Lord asked me to just reach out in the text and just pretty much take my part of the blame.

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And I sent out a text. I don't remember what it said, but I just took my part.

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I'm going to do my part to not cause any more conflict with you or any more drama.

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And I'll just do my part to do that. And I just wish that we could continue

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a friendship that we had in the beginning.

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And it was early in the morning, I didn't expect any response because I get

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it really early, but I did it immediately.

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So sometimes as you walk with God, if you overthink it, you won't do it.

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Sometimes you have to respond immediately. That's why it's so important that you write it down.

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Right away, or if it's something you need to do, then you do it.

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So he was speaking to me in prayer.

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I stopped my prayer. I did the text, sent it to him.

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And then next Sunday, I don't know what day it was on, when I saw the lady,

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she says, Connie, you know, you're right. We were friends.

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We're always going to be friends. We just need to spend more time and maybe

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go to lunch or dinner and just spend more time together. We just haven't done that.

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And that resolved that conflict. Not saying we're going to be best buddies,

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but I'm saying that it helped resolve the tension that we have between each other.

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So God is a God of peace. He's not an author of confusion and drama.

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So there's drama in your life. And don't think that everything's going to be

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resolved overnight or that you're going to be buddy-buddy.

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Sometimes people are not meant to be your buddy-buddy. But you as a Christian,

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God doesn't want that drama in the church. And so if it's up to you,

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I mean, if he tells you to do something, don't expect hugs and kisses.

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Like I said, she did not respond back to the text.

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She responded in person. Whether she responded in person or over the text, I did my part.

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So we then, some people continue the drama. Well, I reached out to them and

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they didn't respond. And I saw her and she still didn't say anything.

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That's not your issue. Your issue was, were you obedient to God? Period.

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Now you leave room for the Holy Spirit to work in their heart while Holy Spirit

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is working in your heart.

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Because if you still got that going on, then he's not done working in your heart.

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So even if they would have came to you, you would have expected them to say

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a certain way. Just like a story of Naaman in the Bible.

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Naaman went to Elijah. I think it was Elijah or Elisha.

00:28:24.026 --> 00:28:31.166
Probably Elijah. Went to Elijah for healing. And Elijah sent him to go dip in the Jordan.

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And the Jordan is a dirty river. And he was like responding,

00:28:35.746 --> 00:28:38.926
like, I thought you was going to wave your hand and, you know,

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wanted some kind of a way that he wanted to receive this healing.

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But God had a way that he wanted Naaman to receive the healing.

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And so Naaman was just having a bad time at receiving the way he wanted it his way.

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He didn't want it the way that Elijah did it. And then he didn't get it from

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Elijah. Elijah sent it through the messenger.

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So think about that. You have the way you want to receive an approval or okay

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or apology, and God does it another way.

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Now, Naaman did get healed of leprosy because he obeyed what the prophet said.

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And so, but what happened if he didn't? That's the same way I want to respond

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to this message today is like, what is it that God has told you to do?

00:29:25.674 --> 00:29:29.834
And you're waiting for a particular response because this is responding to the call.

00:29:30.194 --> 00:29:35.694
You're waiting for a particular response and you have yet to receive that response

00:29:35.694 --> 00:29:37.894
because you want it a particular way.

00:29:38.014 --> 00:29:41.054
And God says, ah, this is how it's going to be done.

00:29:41.214 --> 00:29:45.954
And so maybe he is still working on you. So I'm going to close out with that

00:29:45.954 --> 00:29:48.434
thought and allow you to think on that.

00:29:48.554 --> 00:29:53.494
And as we continue our Faith on the Go message with When God Wants to Talk,

00:29:53.634 --> 00:29:55.954
until we meet again, see you later. Bye.

00:29:56.194 --> 00:30:00.054
As we close this episode of the Diary of a Black Woman podcast,

00:30:00.054 --> 00:30:04.534
we declare the word of the Lord from Jeremiah 2911.

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I speak this over every listener. You'll rise again.

00:30:08.554 --> 00:30:13.254
You'll recover what was lost. And you'll walk boldly into what God has prepared.

00:30:13.714 --> 00:30:20.334
With no shame, no fear, and no apology. May every broken place become a place of breakthrough.

00:30:20.614 --> 00:30:23.814
May every delay become divine preparation.

00:30:24.114 --> 00:30:29.694
And may the fire of God stir up every gift lying dormant within you.

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This is more than a podcast. This is a call to arms.

00:30:33.494 --> 00:30:35.754
We're not just healing. We're rising.

00:30:36.054 --> 00:30:41.094
We're not just telling stories. We're building an army of women walking in truth,

00:30:41.214 --> 00:30:46.154
in power, and in purpose. This has been the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with

00:30:46.154 --> 00:30:47.454
your host, Connie Morris.

00:30:47.734 --> 00:30:53.574
Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone God is calling higher.

00:30:53.974 --> 00:31:01.934
Visit www.diaryofablackwomanllc.com to stay connected, get resources,

00:31:02.134 --> 00:31:05.474
and join the movement. And I'll see you on the next episode,

00:31:05.594 --> 00:31:08.414
because God's not finished, and neither are we.

00:31:09.040 --> 00:31:18.475
Music.