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

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where truth speaks, healing begins, and every word is rooted in faith. Before we begin, let us go before the Lord in prayer. Opening prayer, Father God, we thank you for this moment. We thank you for every listener, every heart, and every home represented. We invite your presence into this space. As we begin, we stand on the words of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4.10.

0:44 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, So that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. Lord, today we echo that same prayer. Bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening. Bless her mind, her body, her relationships. Her dreams, and her destiny. Let your blessing not only surround her, but transform her. Enlarge our coast. Stretch us beyond what we thought was possible. Expand our influence, our impact, and the reach of this message.

1:26 Not for our glory, but for yours. Let your hand be with us. Go before us in every conversation. Guide our words, anoint our purpose, and let every episode carry your truth with clarity and power. Keep us from evil that it may not grieve us. Shield us from harm, from cycles of sorrow, from spiritual attack and emotional heaviness. Cover us in your grace so we rise in strength, not in grief, in wholeness, not in wounds. And just as you granted Jabez what he requested, Lord, grant it unto us. Let this podcast be a wellspring of truth, a refuge for healing, and a launchpad for purpose. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

2:11 Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we're continuing our series, When God Wants to Talk. We are on episode two, devotional two. Title is called Responding to the Call. And we are going to be focusing on two scriptures today, maybe more. And first scripture is found in Isaiah 6, 8. And then another scripture is 1 Samuel 3.10. On the first scripture reads, I just want to welcome everyone back. As you see, I've upgraded the podcast with a little intro music just for fun and just for transparency.

2:53 That was a hard task, you guys, just upgrading it with a little music. Didn't want to have it too long of a song. And so it's like 10 seconds. So it allows you to know it's coming on and then how it acts. I'd love to hear your feedback. I'm still working on some things, so give me some grace. But we are upgrading in 2025. I started this podcast last July, and look what God is doing in a year. And so remember, I always mention, do not despise small beginnings. God rejoices when you start. And so that can still ring true today when God wants to talk.

3:34 Just if you miss Him, get back up and go. get back up and say, Lord, this time I'm going to get up. This time I'm going to listen to you. So I gave you some challenges the other day. We're going to keep going with this Faith on the Go series with episode two, devotional to responding to the call. We're going to start with Isaiah 6, verse eight, and I'm going to read another scripture from 1 Samuel 3.10. It says, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord and he had a response. His response was, here I am, send me. And then in 1 Samuel 3.10, it says, the Lord came and stood there calling as at other times, Samuel, Samuel.

4:17 Then Samuel says, speak, your servant is listening. By this point, Samuel is no longer confused about who is calling. He is posture and position to hear clearly. Notice God didn't just call. He stood there. This means God's presence entered the room. And when you're ready, God just doesn't whisper. He shows up. So think about this. As we go through when God wants to talk, we always think God is whispering from some heavenly high places that we can actually kind of ignore him because he is so far off. But I want to tell you that if he's that close that he's whispering, that's my clap, that he's right there. Hallelujah. That he's right in the place.

5:02 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. He is in the room. Wow. So we know Samuel, we spoke about that last episode, that there was no voice. God was not speaking in the land. But when at the time Samuel was a small child, he heard the voice of the Lord. And so now God stood. The Lord said he came and stood there and he spoke because he wanted to make sure that Samuel understood that it was his voice that he was hearing, that it was him that was in the room. So doesn't that make you, I don't know about you, but it steers me up to know that when God is whispering, he's not whispering through a stranger.

5:51 He is in the room, people. And so that should make you want to get up out of your bed and say, what is it, Lord? I hear you speak. Your servant is listening. So we should be ready, right? We should be ready and open to hear that when that is, I don't know why I can't talk because I'm so excited. It just reminds me that God is closer than we think. You know, hearing God's voice is only the beginning. The next step is responding to what he says. When God wakes us in the quiet hours, it's often not just to comfort us, but to invite us into his work. Like Isaiah, we may feel unworthy or unprepared for the task.

6:36 Still, still, still, still, God isn't looking for perfection. He is looking for willingness. Think of Samuel's response when God called him in the night. His simple words was, Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3.10. Shows a heart ready to act on whatever God reveals. In this way, in the same way, our willingness to respond with faith opens the door for God to use us in ways we can never expect. Now, think about that. God shows up in the room. Now, God has many other people to talk to. He probably can do it all at the same time. But if you think of it, He's talking to you right now.

7:20 Come on, right? he's saying, whatever your name is, my name is Connie. Connie, I'm in the room. I have something to say. How important when you wake up and you begin to write down what he says. And so responding to God doesn't always mean dramatic action. Sometimes it's simple as praying for someone. We mentioned that in the last episode, that sometimes he wake you up so you can pray for someone. Sometimes it's as simple as having someone on your heart. You know, there was an incident where there's probably some people that you know that you don't get along with. And so then you wonder why God puts that person on your heart. We don't know what people are going through.

8:02 People can be going through so many things. And like I always explain to you that as a police officer, when we go to circumstances and situations or events and we have to respond to a call, sometimes we get there. The call might say barking dog, but when we get there, it might be something totally different where we have to respond differently. So sometimes we just don't know what a person is going through. And so when God tells you to wake up and pray for your enemy, You need to wake up and pray for your enemy because he loves them too. And you might be that person that will be the breakthrough for them. They might not ever know that you are the one that is praying for them.

8:46 They might not can't stand the face, your face, your breath. The way you look, nothing about you, but yet you have been appointed by God to pray for that particular person. It might not be, sometimes it might not be dramatic. It might be something that you need to do. Like the Bible tells us to be at peace with everyone, even if it depends on you. So maybe you are the drama keeper and God's telling you to shush your mouth. You don't know the whole story. So maybe he's telling you in the middle of the night, telling you to shush your mouth because you're talking way too much about something you know little about. And so, because he might be, or he will be, or he want to work through them, but he can't because you're running your mouth too much, right?

9:35 You're anti doing everything God is trying to build. You're over there destroying with your mouth because you only know just a little bit of the story, you know? And sometimes you might have to close your mouth, close your friend's mouth and just sit there. Our pastor just went over the story of Job. And sometimes people get so super spiritual with the scriptures and they have it all wrong. Just as we found out through a Bible study with our pastors that Job, they said the right things, all scripture based on everything, but it wasn't right. The heart wasn't right. It wasn't coming from God. It wasn't coming from the right perspective. We need to stop trying to be the Holy Ghost.

10:17 So sometimes the spying of God doesn't always mean dramatic action. Sometimes it's simply as praying for someone, meditating on scripture, or taking a small step of obedience. Every yes to God, no matter how small, builds our faith and aligns us with his purpose. So how do we go deeper with the Lord? How do we go deeper with the Lord? I don't know about you, but sometimes, maybe more times than I want to say, that God wants to, he doesn't ask us for perfection, but he does ask us for obedience. He doesn't ask us for a lot of sacrifice, but he does ask us for obedience.

10:58 A lot of times we may want to pray and fast, but he just says, I just need you to obey. When I say something, I need you to do it, not pray and fast about it, just be obedient and do it. So if you want to go deeper with God and you want more clarity about what God is saying, then you have to be obedient. So going deeper, let's cover a couple points here. You have to expect the unexpected. I love that. Expect the unexpected. God's cause often leads us out of our comfort zones. Are you willing to step into the unknown, trusting his plans? I put plans on it because usually God have you multitasking up in here, up in here. How many of you out there, you go to work, God has you in the ministry.

11:46 He has you doing a podcast. Then he has you doing something else like me. I just became the president of our HOA board. And, you know, that's working itself. It's like, Lord, I think I have used my talents. You know, remember in the Bible, he gave them five talents. I think God, unless you give me some more talents, I will use them, Lord. I will use my time wisely. But I love that. So expect the unexpected. When God speaks to you, expect that he wants to do something unexpected through you. Number two, faith over feelings. You may not feel ready or equipped, but remember that God equips those he calls.

12:29 That's Exodus chapter 4, verses 10 to 12. We may not feel that we are able to do it, but God calls you. You are well equipped and able to do it. And I never thought and. It never crossed my mind because at the time when I was called years ago, I don't think podcasting was a thing, right? I don't think it was a thing. But now that it's a thing, when God says, kind of, I want you to start a podcast with those devotionals that you wrote for your mom, I'm like, okay, Lord, I don't have a clue on how to start a podcast. And so I had to go study to show myself approved and begin with my little laptop and my little microphone.

13:13 And you can go back and you can hear how it sounded. It did not sound too good, but I just did what I did the best that I could with what I had. And so God says, okay, now it's time for you to upgrade. And I'm like, oh, upgrade? I still don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing with the little bit of stuff I had. But God honors your faithfulness. Amen. He honors it. And so number three, daily obedience. It says, responding to God isn't limited to big decisions. Practice saying yes to him in everyday moments. And you will find it easier to trust him when things get more extensive, when things get more serious.

13:55 When you don't have. It's like building your faith. He might say, Connie, go out and do ABC. You're okay. I can do ABC because, you know, you've done ABC before. But when he gets you to do spirit, do number D. You'd be like, oh, I've never done D before. But since you came through the bear and a lion and a tiger and a snake, I think I can go ahead and handle this other task because you didn't let me down in those other things. So these little moments of waking up with God and just being obedient to those small, minor tasks really begins to build your faith that you can trust God. I think I shared with you in one of my episodes where I was at a job, just kind of in between jobs.

14:39 I'm at retirement age, so I can pretty much quit, but I love to work. And the Lord told me I had the opportunity to quit the job. And I quit before they noticed. And at the middle, I didn't know where I was going to go. Did not know where I was going to go. He says, Connie, I have a ram in the bush for you. And I said, okay. And I just quit. And I interviewed. I have a job now. is like the best job ever. I think I'll call it my retirement job because it's not a labor-intensive job, but it's just a job that you can do for a long period of time. And I like it. It's just a fun job. I get to teach. I get to do a little bit of everything. And I like working there.

15:20 I like showing up for work. I look forward to going to work. And that's what you want, right? When God says that when I chose, I had many other opportunities, other jobs to choose. But when I chose this job, It wasn't even about the wage or the salary. It was just like he said, choose this one. I wouldn't have chosen over all the other jobs that I were looking at. But once I chose that one, he says, Connie, you chose wisely. You chose righteously. And I said, I don't even know what that means, right? I chose righteously. I chose his way, not my way, right? I chose God's way. And that's pretty much what it is. when we, when God begins to talk, when God wants to talk, he has a plan to, According to Jeremiah 29, 11, you know how I close out every podcast with that because it's been my foundational scripture for over 30 years that God has a plan for us, a plan to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us hope for our future.

16:19 And when you hold on to that scripture and you know that he wants to prosper us, he doesn't want to harm us, that he wants to give us hope for our future. If that's all you know about God, that's enough. That is enough. And so as we go deeper, I want you to learn how to expect the unexpected from God. Faith over feelings, because sometimes we always let our emotions run over. We just think, oh, I don't feel that's God. Well, what about faith? Do you feel that might be faith? What about our new self? What about us trusting God in our new way of thinking? We're doing new things in 2025, and he wants us to have faith over our feelings.

17:02 You know, I think Exodus 4 is about Moses making excuses about why he couldn't do what God told him to do. God said, didn't I make your mouth? Didn't I make your mouth? All you got to do is go talk to Pharaoh. Just do what I said, right? And daily obedience, practice saying yes to God. Some scriptures I want you to meditate on is James 1.22. Two, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself, but do what it says. Don't just be a hearer only, but also be a doer of the word. And the word is the Bible. The word is when God speaks. So when God says, you know, I want you to not talk so much, then you don't talk so much.

17:46 If he's not speaking to you in your sleep or if he's not giving you dreams, then your word is the Bible, the scripture. Do what that says. And I love this one. God requires action, not just acknowledgement. So you might say, I hear you, but then God's word always gives us something to do with it. So don't get comfortable just hearing him. Be comfortable doing what he says. Let's go to John 2, 5. John 2, 5 says, whatever he tells you, do it, right? Whatever God tells you, do it. You know, that scripture came from Mary's mom. Mary's mom, John's mom, Jesus' mom says, we're out of wine and they're having a panic and then.

18:30 Mary told the disciples, whatever he tells you to do, do it. I mean, don't think about it. Don't try to figure it out. Just do what he says. And that's a simple obedience that led to miraculous outcomes. And sometimes we try to figure out how God is going to make A to get to C. Sometimes we just get in the way, right? We just sometimes get in the way. And then Proverbs, we know this one. I think I say it almost every podcast, at least once every month, we get to hear this. Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 to 6, it says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.

19:11 In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight. Trusting God's call, even when it doesn't make sense, leads to clarity and direction. We know that Samuel heard God, he walked in the room, and so remember that. And when he whispers, I mean, he's close. He's closer than we think. So Samuel responded to God. You know, God, I love this, that God didn't give up after the first try. Samuel had an understanding. I don't know what that voice, it doesn't sound familiar. But we think that if we miss him, like God is very persistent. When he has something to say, he's not going to allow you to miss what he has to say. He's going to keep you up until he gets what he has to say out.

19:57 You know, he'll say, hey, you can't sleep. And you're listening. You're like, okay, Lord, what is it? He'll wake you up. He said, the Lord calls Samuel a third time, 1 Samuel 3.8. God didn't give up after the first try. He didn't give up after the second try. He kept calling. Why? Because God is not in the business of wasting words. He's in the business of reaching hearts. So maybe you missed it. Maybe that first devotional you said, dang, missed him. But maybe you didn't recognize him the second time he called because that sleep felt too good. But God is so committed to your destiny that he'll speak.

20:38 Until you recognize the sound of his voice. Think about a mother calling a child. Even when the child ignores her, she doesn't stop. She raises her voice. She changes her tone. She gets closer because she loves to hear. She wants him to recognize his voice. You know how kids, when you have a new baby coming up, they can be kind of, they're learning like, is mom mean, not mom mean, is mom mean serious about this? Don't touch that. And we raise it up. Don't touch that. I said, don't touch that. They go, oh, mom said, don't touch that. That means don't touch that. After a while, you don't have to yell. They'll just know your fluctuation in your voice means don't touch that.

21:22 You know, or when you call their name, Billy, and right there, that means don't touch that. So they get to know the sound of your voice. That's the way God is. He is not going to stop calling you until you actually learn to hear his voice. Isn't that? God is a great father. He's a great teacher. He wants you to recognize him. So don't beat yourself up. Don't beat yourself. Beat yourself up if you missed it before. Just lean in now. God is patient and he will speak until you understand. John 10, 27 says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. God didn't just speak in biblical time. He speaks now. His voice is not locked in the pages of scripture. He lives in your spirit, echoes through wise counsel, and whispers in moments of stillness.

22:13 If you are His, you can hear Him. This means no more disqualifying yourself. So start your day with a space to hear. Test what you hear against the Word and write it down. Don't let busy schedules or fear of being wrong keep you from expecting to hear. God still speaks. Will you listen? Jeremiah 33 says, call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty, great and unsearchable things you did not know. This isn't just about Samuel. This is about you. God wants to tell you unsearchable things, but he won't tell you over your distractions.

22:54 He speaks to the one who calls out and quiets down. It's not about being perfect. It's about being present. You don't need to be a prophet, a teacher, a seminary graduate. You just need to speak, say, speak, Lord, I am listening. When was the last time you gave God your full attention? No multitasking, no scrolling, just stillness. You are not disqualified. You are not too far gone. If God spoke to a boy in the temple, he can speak to a woman in her car, in her kitchen, or in her quiet tears. God is speaking, and he is talking to you.

23:38 He, beloved, God is not silent. He's not distant. He's certainly not done speaking. Maybe life has gotten loud. Maybe distractions have drowned out his whisper. But the God who spoke to Samuel, to Moses, to Elijah, is still speaking today. The question isn't, is God talking? The question is, am I really listening? So here's a challenge for today. Even this week, you can quiet the noise, create a space, and lean in. God is still speaking. God is still speaking. Just kind of encourage yourself with this faith on the go message that God is still speaking. Some action things you can do to get set up for this day.

24:21 If you feel like you, like, dang, it's not working. Connie said we can hear the voice of the Lord and nothing's happening. Remember, if you are his sheep, you can hear his voice. So pray for courage. Ask God to give you the boldness to say yes at whatever he asks, even if it feels difficult. Take a step. Think about something God may have been nudging you to do. It could be as simple as reaching out to someone, starting a new habit or letting go of something holding you back. Take one step this week and act on it. Quick prayer for you guys. Lord, thank you for calling me and trusting me to partner with you. Teach me to respond with faith, and obedience, even when I don't feel prepared. Help me to trust your wisdom, even over my understanding, and take both steps towards your purpose. Here I am, Lord.

25:08 Use me. In Jesus' name, amen. Here's one challenge that I want to give you. As you go through your days and into your nights, stay alert to moments when God might be asking you to respond. Practice saying yes to small prompts from him, such as praying for someone. Offering encouragement, or dedicating time to studying his word. Reflect on how these small acts are obedience drawn that will draw you closer to him. I want to just share this quick testimony. I remember just recently regarding this prompting in my heart. I told you there was just a person I wasn't getting along with at church, and we just, maybe we have both strong personalities. So first, as I was praying, praying in my holy language in my morning prayer time, Lord asked me to just reach out in the text and just pretty much take my part of the blame.

26:01 And I sent out a text. I don't remember what it said, but I just took my part. I'm going to do my part to not cause any more conflict with you or any more drama. And I'll just do my part to do that. And I just wish that we could continue a friendship that we had in the beginning. And it was early in the morning, I didn't expect any response because I get it really early, but I did it immediately. So sometimes as you walk with God, if you overthink it, you won't do it. Sometimes you have to respond immediately. That's why it's so important that you write it down. Right away, or if it's something you need to do, then you do it. So he was speaking to me in prayer.

26:42 I stopped my prayer. I did the text, sent it to him. And then next Sunday, I don't know what day it was on, when I saw the lady, she says, Connie, you know, you're right. We were friends. We're always going to be friends. We just need to spend more time and maybe go to lunch or dinner and just spend more time together. We just haven't done that. And that resolved that conflict. Not saying we're going to be best buddies, but I'm saying that it helped resolve the tension that we have between each other. So God is a God of peace. He's not an author of confusion and drama. So there's drama in your life. And don't think that everything's going to be resolved overnight or that you're going to be buddy-buddy.

27:23 Sometimes people are not meant to be your buddy-buddy. But you as a Christian, God doesn't want that drama in the church. And so if it's up to you, I mean, if he tells you to do something, don't expect hugs and kisses. Like I said, she did not respond back to the text. She responded in person. Whether she responded in person or over the text, I did my part. So we then, some people continue the drama. Well, I reached out to them and they didn't respond. And I saw her and she still didn't say anything. That's not your issue. Your issue was, were you obedient to God? Period. Now you leave room for the Holy Spirit to work in their heart while Holy Spirit is working in your heart.

28:07 Because if you still got that going on, then he's not done working in your heart. So even if they would have came to you, you would have expected them to say a certain way. Just like a story of Naaman in the Bible. Naaman went to Elijah. I think it was Elijah or Elisha. Probably Elijah. Went to Elijah for healing. And Elijah sent him to go dip in the Jordan. And the Jordan is a dirty river. And he was like responding, like, I thought you was going to wave your hand and, you know, wanted some kind of a way that he wanted to receive this healing. But God had a way that he wanted Naaman to receive the healing. And so Naaman was just having a bad time at receiving the way he wanted it his way.

28:52 He didn't want it the way that Elijah did it. And then he didn't get it from Elijah. Elijah sent it through the messenger. So think about that. You have the way you want to receive an approval or okay or apology, and God does it another way. Now, Naaman did get healed of leprosy because he obeyed what the prophet said. And so, but what happened if he didn't? That's the same way I want to respond to this message today is like, what is it that God has told you to do? And you're waiting for a particular response because this is responding to the call. You're waiting for a particular response and you have yet to receive that response because you want it a particular way.

29:38 And God says, ah, this is how it's going to be done. And so maybe he is still working on you. So I'm going to close out with that thought and allow you to think on that. And as we continue our Faith on the Go message with When God Wants to Talk, until we meet again, see you later. Bye. As we close this episode of the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, we declare the word of the Lord from Jeremiah 2911. I speak this over every listener. You'll rise again. You'll recover what was lost. And you'll walk boldly into what God has prepared. With no shame, no fear, and no apology. May every broken place become a place of breakthrough.

30:20 May every delay become divine preparation. And may the fire of God stir up every gift lying dormant within you. This is more than a podcast. This is a call to arms. We're not just healing. We're rising. We're not just telling stories. We're building an army of women walking in truth, in power, and in purpose. This has been the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone God is calling higher. Visit www.diaryofablackwomanllc.com to stay connected, get resources, and join the movement. And I'll see you on the next episode, because God's not finished, and neither are we.

31:09 Music.