Hebrews to Negroes: Ep. 1: Renamed by Empire, Remembered by God

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you on your drive to work,

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while you're getting ready in the morning, or even in those quiet moments before prayer.

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Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go.

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Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer.

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The prayer of Jabez.

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Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.

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Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

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Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us,

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not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming.

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Enlarge our territory, Lord. Lord, expand our capacity, our mindset,

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our ability to receive what you have for us.

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Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make.

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And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually,

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that we may walk in peace and not in pain.

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And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

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Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today.

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So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see

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us, and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people.

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Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen, and receive your word.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Hello and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host Connie Morris and we have started a new series and this is day

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one episode one of our new series titled Hebrews to Negroes.

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Today's topic will be on when a people lose their name.

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Today we'll begin with one foundational truth. Before captivity, there was identity.

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Before oppression, there was origin.

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Before man gave people names, God already knew their names.

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We're going to learn that names do matter to God.

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In scripture, names were never

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casual. Names carry meaning. Names carry destiny. Names carry destiny.

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Names carry covenant. Names could speak to a person's assignment or family line,

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spiritual condition, or divine purpose.

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We learned that Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Jacob became Israel,

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Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul.

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But there is another kind of name change we see in Scripture.

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The kind that does not come from God, but from empires. The kind that comes

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from captivity, from control, slavery, and domination.

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We talked about Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are the names of young men from Judah.

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They had names connected to God. But when Babylonian took them captive.

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Babylonian gave them new names that was not innocent.

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Babylon was not just changing what people call them.

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Babylon was trying to change what they remember. Because when a system wants

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to control a people, one of the first things it does is attack identity.

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It changes the language. It changes the names. It changes history.

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It changes the education.

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And it changes the image of God. It changes the story that people tell about themselves.

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And if that system is successful, people may begin to answer to a name God never

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gave them. I want to take a pause here because I just finished a series on the

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Morris Perspective podcast, and I titled it Twisted Words.

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And Twisted Words is how they take one word, the society, and they give it a

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meaning and they call it something.

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And it becomes not just that word, it becomes that identity of a group of people.

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And you know what I'm talking about. But now we see that it didn't originate in America.

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We see here that Babylon was a way that if I change your name,

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if I take you hostage, if I take you captive and I change your name,

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I want you to remember Babylon.

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The God that you serve in this present time that's holding you hostage,

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not the God that can get you free.

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Whenever we water down the power of God, we stay captive to the enemy.

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And so you have to pay attention to words. You have to pay attention to what names are being used.

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Pay attention to the narrative because these systems, they are used,

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the names and the words are used to control people. Why? Because we were created in the image of God.

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We covered a lot of that in our verbal suicide series.

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And our words create images. Our word create, like they have power of life or death.

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If someone gives you a name that means death and they keep calling you by that name, that means death.

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And so you have to understand, like I have to find a way to combat that name

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calling because the God I know is about life, right?

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So what happens when we start to change names.

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Or change words to fit a group of people. And we start to mess with their identity.

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And so after, you know, it takes a while, like a generation before you can fit, forget your identity.

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And so if you're in captivity for a long time and you get used to being called

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like these names that they created for the Hebrew boys and you're like,

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how did you keep your power if they called you by another name.

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That's interesting, right?

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And so when we start to attack identity, we begin to, in a society, change the language.

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We love to change the name because we mentioned that before is that those names mean so much to you.

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You have a name and if they don't say it right or they mispronounce it,

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it seems like it's personal because that name means a lot to you. When we change names.

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We change language. We start to

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change history. We start to change the education, what they need to learn.

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We start to indoctrinate, indoctrinate, instead of educate.

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And it changes the image of God because first you have a God that's big and

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then you got this other guy that calling you and you're like,

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I don't even know this guy, you know, and you keep calling me that and that

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means death. So I have to find a way to combat death.

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But it also changes the story that people tell about themselves,

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because after a while, you forget.

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So if that system is successful, people may begin to answer to a name God never gave them.

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And that, mind you, of the enslaved people, they had a name,

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and yet when they were taken into slaves, they gave them another name,

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and that's not the name that God gave them, right? So let's go through...

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Some teaching points here. First one is God names before man renames.

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The Bible begins this conversation with identity.

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In Genesis 14, 13, Abram is called Abram the Hebrew.

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The word matters because it points to a people, a lineage, a covenant story

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before modern racial labels ever exist.

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Before words like Negro, colored, black, African-American, minority, or marginalized,

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people had names, they had families, they had languages, they had nations,

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they had tribes, they had land, they had memory, and most important, they had identity.

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The tragedy of slavery was not only physical bondage, it was also identity theft.

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People were taken from their homes, their families' names were stripped,

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their language were beaten out of them, their tribal connections were broken,

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their spiritual history was distorted, and their children were renamed.

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Their bodies were sold, their humanity was denied. But here is the part we cannot miss.

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What man stole, God still remembers.

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Man can't erase records, but he cannot erase God's knowledge.

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Man can change names, but cannot change God's covenant memory.

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And man may scatter people, but he cannot hide them from the God who sees.

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That's why Isaiah 43.1 is so powerful. I have called thee by name, thou art mine.

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God does not say, I called you by the name your oppressor gave you.

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God does not say, I called you by the label society placed on you.

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God says, I have called thee by name.

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That means God knows the real identity beneath the imposed label.

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Let you not forget that. Teaching point number two, captivity often begins with forgetting.

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In Exodus 1.8, the Bible says, Now there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.

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The one line, this is very powerful. A new king rose who did not know Joseph.

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He did not honor the history.

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He did not remember how Joseph had saved Egypt. He did not respect the covenant people.

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He only saw them as a threat.

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Then the Egyptians said, come on, let us deal wisely with them. What does that mean?

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Let us deal wisely with them.

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That phrase means they created a strategy. They develop a system.

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They use policy, labor, fear, and oppression to control the children of Israel.

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Isn't that something? Let us deal wisely with them.

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Whenever they become threatened, they find a way to oppress,

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to develop a system of control.

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So this is important to remember on day one, because identity theft does not

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always happen all at once.

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Sometimes it happens through a system.

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First, the people are redefined. Then they are feared. Then they are controlled.

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Then they are oppressed, then their children are targeted. We see that on the

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news a lot. Then their history is rewritten.

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That is what happened in Egypt. And the same pattern can be seen throughout history.

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Whenever powerful systems decide that a people must be controlled,

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diminished, or erased, the issue is not only slavery, the issue is memory.

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Because if people forget who they are, They can't begin to live beneath who

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God has called them to be. Haven't we seen that in the society?

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And this was on my other episode. I want to bring it up now.

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There was a spelling bee that I watched.

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And the spelling bee asked this young white male to spell the word niggas.

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And so if you think about it in a common language, you'll say, okay, I can spell it.

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You know, it has two G's, an A and an S. I can figure that out. but this word was not,

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that word. The word niggas, N-E-G-U-S, it meant kingship, royalty,

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you know, so it had a very powerful name. It had a powerful meaning.

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And this little young white guy, little white boy, I think he had to been about 12 years old.

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He was in a spelling bee and he was familiar with that term because he spelled

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it right and he understood what the definition meant.

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And the more I think about that. And that's how I came up with the title, Twisted Words.

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And so that whole series was powerful. But this right here reminds me too of

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how names, the same powerful thing.

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If you change their name, how can I get them not to remember?

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How do I get them not to remember? That's the whole thing.

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What has God called you? What is your real name?

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You are from royalty. You are from a covenant-keeping God, and no matter what they do here.

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We cannot ever forget that. We

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cannot throw our Bible on the table and say that's the white man's Bible.

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Because when we look at it, it starts out in Africa. Hello.

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So we need to pick up our Bible. We need to understand our name.

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We need to understand who our God is.

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And remember that he has not forgotten your name.

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Teaching point number three, Babylon changed their names, but not their God.

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In Daniel 1, Babylon took young men from Judah and placed them in the king's system.

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Babylon changed his diet, their education, their environment,

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and their names. You got to know this, right?

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Daniel means something connected to God as judge.

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Hananiah points to the Lord's grace or favor.

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Mishael asks, who is like God? Azariah means the Lord has help.

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You see their names? The real names, Daniel, Daniel real name was God as judge.

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Hananiah's meaning of his name was grace or favor.

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Mishael name was who is like God.

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And Azariah, the Lord has helped. When they were in Babylon,

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they never forgot their true names.

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And that explains the power that they carry when they were asked to do things

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different from what they were taught as children of God.

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You have to read Daniel. Let's continue.

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But Babylon renamed them. Why?

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Because Babylon wanted to replace covenant identity with empire identity.

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Babylon wanted them to forget Jerusalem.

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They wanted them to forget the God of Israel. Babylon wanted them to serve the king's table.

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Babylon wanted them to become useful to the system that captured them.

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But Daniel made up his mind.

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Daniel 1.8 says, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Let's go to Daniel.

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Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.

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Daniel 1. I want to read the whole 1 verse 8.

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But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion

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of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.

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Therefore, he requested the prince of the Enoch that he might not defile himself.

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So he says, I won't be able to eat this.

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So he was bold enough, say, can you give me something else to eat?

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And the first thing happens is that we have to purpose in our heart not to forget

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our God, not to forget our name, right?

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And so we see this is the key. Daniel was renamed, but he was not redefined.

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Daniel was displaced, but he was not disconnected from God.

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Daniel was trained in Babylon, but he did not belong to Babylon.

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Daniel answered to a foreign name, but he still carried covenant conviction.

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This is a word for any people who have been renamed by the systems of oppression.

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The name they gave you does not have to become the identity you accept.

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First thing we see here, and we see it throughout.

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This podcast today is that we understand, first of all, that God names before

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man's renamed. So God already given you a name.

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And then we understand that the reason for captivity, the reason for the things

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that we as black and brown people experience in America is for us to get so

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caught up in the world that we forget our name. We forget our covenant with God.

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And then we see here that they can change your name, but they cannot change your God.

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If you stay connected to God, and if you know the story of Daniel and the three

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Hebrew boys, remember they threw them in the fire because they wouldn't bow

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down, but they came out strong.

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They kept getting promoted. Daniel lived, I think, through four kings, you know?

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He still has a place in the book of Revelation.

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His book of Daniel, if you read it with Revelations, they go together.

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So Daniel's purpose was so strong. His story was so strong. He did not forget

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his God. So he gets to be part of what you call our end time prophecy.

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Let's go to teaching point number four. Negro was an assigned identity,

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not the original identity. Title of this series is Hebrews to Negroes.

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The word Negro became a racial label placed on people of African descent,

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especially in the context of slavery, colonization, classification,

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racial classification. It was

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not a covenant name. It was not a tribal name. It was not a family name.

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It was not a name rooted in divine purpose. It was a label created within the

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system that classified people by race and used those classifications to justify

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inequality, bondage, and social control.

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That matters because this series is not just asking, what were we called?

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It's asking, who were we before someone else named us?

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What did God know before history was rewritten?

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And what identity was buried beneath the labels of captivity? That was God.

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What has God remembered that system tried to erase? Wow.

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That was what day one leaves us with.

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It must begin with a name because restoration begins when we stop believing

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that the name of bondage is greater than the name of God.

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Wow. Let's go to teaching point number five.

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Identity must lead us back to God, not pride.

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So as we get to learn more and more about our culture, our history through the

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Bible, and through different textbooks, and through the Holy Spirit,

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we must understand that it's not for us to turn prideful.

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We must study identity.

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We must not turn identity into an idol.

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The goal is not to say that we are better than someone else.

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The goal is not to replace one from a pride with another.

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The goal is not hatred. It's not bitterness, revenge. It is restoration.

00:18:31.782 --> 00:18:36.602
The goal is to return to God. The goal is to recover the truth.

00:18:36.822 --> 00:18:40.322
The goal is to heal from trauma of stolen identity.

00:18:40.622 --> 00:18:44.022
The goal is to understand scripture without the filter of oppression.

00:18:44.262 --> 00:18:49.862
The goal is to know that God has already seen the people whom others try to erase.

00:18:49.962 --> 00:18:54.962
Because true identity must produce humility, humility, wholeness,

00:18:55.362 --> 00:18:57.282
wisdom, covenant, faithfulness.

00:18:57.402 --> 00:19:01.042
If identity leaves us away from Christ, it becomes dangerous.

00:19:01.302 --> 00:19:04.382
If identity makes us hate, it becomes corrupted.

00:19:04.642 --> 00:19:10.042
If identity makes us proud, but not righteous, it becomes another form of bondage.

00:19:10.302 --> 00:19:16.402
The question is not only who am I, the question is who am I in God?

00:19:16.562 --> 00:19:18.422
Reminder of what we just discussed.

00:19:18.602 --> 00:19:23.462
We have to understand that Names carry memory. When you take away a person's

00:19:23.462 --> 00:19:28.502
name, you interrupt their connection to family, land, language, and history.

00:19:28.942 --> 00:19:33.662
Number two, systems rename people to control them. Babylon renamed Daniel and

00:19:33.662 --> 00:19:36.382
his friends. Slavery renamed African people.

00:19:36.742 --> 00:19:40.922
Oppression often begins by changing what people answer to.

00:19:41.302 --> 00:19:46.202
Number three, God's knowledge is greater than man's records.

00:19:46.753 --> 00:19:53.853
Even when records are destroyed, God knows the truth. Heaven does not lose documentation.

00:19:54.393 --> 00:19:57.453
And number four, captivity does not erase the covenant.

00:19:57.673 --> 00:20:03.253
Israel was oppressed in Egypt, exiled in Babylon, and scattered among nations.

00:20:03.453 --> 00:20:05.893
But God still remembered his people.

00:20:06.133 --> 00:20:09.753
And number five, identity must lead back to obedience.

00:20:10.173 --> 00:20:15.413
Knowing who you are should make you walk closer to God, not further away from

00:20:15.413 --> 00:20:18.373
him. So what did they try to make us forget?

00:20:18.653 --> 00:20:23.273
You know, they tried to make us forget our names, our families,

00:20:23.513 --> 00:20:28.633
our language, our history, our spiritual authority, that we were created in the image of God.

00:20:29.073 --> 00:20:32.773
They tried to make us forget that God hears the cry of the oppressed,

00:20:32.773 --> 00:20:35.853
that bondage is not the end of the story.

00:20:35.973 --> 00:20:38.173
But the Bible tells us something different.

00:20:38.473 --> 00:20:42.833
When Israel cried to Egypt, cried in Egypt, God heard them.

00:20:42.833 --> 00:20:48.633
Exodus chapter 2, verse 23 to 25 says, And the children of Israel sighed by

00:20:48.633 --> 00:20:55.513
reason of bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of bondage.

00:20:55.633 --> 00:21:01.013
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham,

00:21:01.293 --> 00:21:02.693
with Isaac, and with Jacob.

00:21:02.953 --> 00:21:07.993
And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

00:21:07.993 --> 00:21:13.633
God hears, God remembers, and God looks, and God responds.

00:21:14.033 --> 00:21:18.513
Some questions I want to leave you with is, what names or labels have been placed

00:21:18.513 --> 00:21:21.073
on you that God never gave you?

00:21:21.193 --> 00:21:26.893
What parts of your identity have been shaped more by society than by Scripture?

00:21:27.113 --> 00:21:32.593
What does it mean to believe that God knows your real name, even when history has been distorted?

00:21:32.813 --> 00:21:35.353
And how can learning the truth about identity.

00:21:35.726 --> 00:21:39.066
Lead you closer to Christ instead of into anger or pride?

00:21:39.266 --> 00:21:46.366
What would change in your life if you truly believe God has called me by name

00:21:46.366 --> 00:21:49.966
and I belong to him? How would you answer these questions?

00:21:50.286 --> 00:21:56.506
And knowing the answer, how would that change your perspective on things,

00:21:56.726 --> 00:21:59.406
both past, present, and your future?

00:21:59.566 --> 00:22:02.506
Let's change the atmosphere with our words through some decrees.

00:22:02.686 --> 00:22:12.146
And it says, It identity.

00:22:12.426 --> 00:22:17.726
I decree according to Isaiah 43, 1, that God has called me by name and I belong to him.

00:22:17.866 --> 00:22:21.406
I decree that what man tries to erase, God can reveal.

00:22:21.686 --> 00:22:25.446
I decree that stolen names do not cancel divine identity.

00:22:25.706 --> 00:22:30.606
I decree that captivity does not cancel the covenant. I decree that being renamed

00:22:30.606 --> 00:22:34.306
by system does forgotten by God.

00:22:34.506 --> 00:22:40.186
I decree that God, who remembered Israel and Egypt, still remembers His people today.

00:22:40.366 --> 00:22:44.206
I decree that my identity will not lead me into hatred, pride,

00:22:44.326 --> 00:22:47.966
or bitterness, but into truth, healing, wisdom, and covenant.

00:22:48.146 --> 00:22:52.606
I decree I will not answer to every label society places on me.

00:22:52.706 --> 00:22:57.526
I decree that I will seek the name, the purpose, identity God has spoken over

00:22:57.526 --> 00:23:02.786
my life. I decree according to Exodus 22, 24, God remembers his covenant.

00:23:02.966 --> 00:23:04.606
And I decree according to Daniel

00:23:04.606 --> 00:23:08.886
1, 8, I can live in a foreign system and still keep a faithful heart.

00:23:09.066 --> 00:23:15.086
I decree that the name man gave me is not greater than the name God knows.

00:23:15.466 --> 00:23:19.186
Let's pray. Father God, you are the God who calls us by name.

00:23:19.366 --> 00:23:24.146
You are the God who remembers what man tries to erase. You have a God who sees

00:23:24.146 --> 00:23:28.846
beyond labels, beyond captivity, beyond broken records, beyond stolen history,

00:23:29.286 --> 00:23:33.026
beyond false name placed on your people, Lord.

00:23:33.413 --> 00:23:36.833
Today, we ask you to restore our understanding of our identity.

00:23:37.033 --> 00:23:41.693
Help us to know who we are without becoming prideful. Help us to seek truth

00:23:41.693 --> 00:23:43.033
without becoming hateful.

00:23:43.273 --> 00:23:46.593
Help us to examine history without losing our holiness.

00:23:47.133 --> 00:23:50.473
Help us to ask hard questions while remaining anchored in Christ.

00:23:50.693 --> 00:23:54.913
Father, we bring every stolen name, every broken family line,

00:23:55.253 --> 00:23:59.573
every erased history, every silenced language, every distorted image,

00:23:59.873 --> 00:24:05.153
every identity wound passed down through generations. Heal what was broken.

00:24:05.553 --> 00:24:08.213
Reveal what was hidden. Restore what was stolen.

00:24:08.713 --> 00:24:12.513
Correct what was false. Awake what has been sleeping. And Lord,

00:24:12.713 --> 00:24:17.013
just like Daniel was renamed in Babylon, yet he remained faithful to you.

00:24:17.233 --> 00:24:20.773
Help us to live in this world without letting it define us.

00:24:20.913 --> 00:24:24.893
Let us remember that our identity is not found in oppression.

00:24:25.273 --> 00:24:27.453
Slavery, racism, or labels.

00:24:27.693 --> 00:24:31.313
Our identity is found in you. Call us back to the covenant.

00:24:31.573 --> 00:24:37.753
Call us back to truth. call us back to righteousness, call us back to Jesus Christ.

00:24:37.813 --> 00:24:43.233
May we never forget that name that man gave us is not greater than the name

00:24:43.233 --> 00:24:46.453
that you have given us. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:24:46.793 --> 00:24:52.613
I want to close it out to let you know that before we were called Negroes, we had a name.

00:24:52.773 --> 00:24:55.733
Before system erased records, God remembered.

00:24:55.993 --> 00:25:00.993
And before captivity renamed the people, haven't already knew who we were.

00:25:01.320 --> 00:25:06.720
And what God knows, man cannot permanently erase. And I thank you.

00:25:07.100 --> 00:25:13.660
That was the end of episode one, day one of our new topic, Hebrews to Negroes.

00:25:13.760 --> 00:25:18.700
And it's very, very rich, as you can see, understanding our history through

00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:21.220
the Bible, which is so powerful.

00:25:21.580 --> 00:25:26.220
And sometimes I'm just, I pause and I'm just amazed. And I listen to it again

00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:30.380
and I'll hear things I didn't hear or even thought I didn't say because God

00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:33.620
can speak to each and every one of your hearts.

00:25:33.840 --> 00:25:39.360
And so I'd like to say I added a special segment to the podcast.

00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:41.900
It's an opportunity to accept Jesus.

00:25:42.478 --> 00:25:47.838
As your Lord and Savior. I never, ever want to take for granted that everyone knows Jesus.

00:25:48.218 --> 00:25:53.578
And so take the time to say the prayer and then join me back for episode two,

00:25:53.738 --> 00:25:56.658
day two, from covenant to captivity.

00:25:57.018 --> 00:26:02.178
This has been the Diary of Black Women podcast, and I'm your host,

00:26:02.238 --> 00:26:05.458
Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode.

00:26:05.678 --> 00:26:09.398
Before we close today, I don't want to take for granted that everyone listening

00:26:09.398 --> 00:26:11.138
knows Jesus personally.

00:26:11.218 --> 00:26:15.998
If you have listened to this episode or any other episodes and felt something

00:26:15.998 --> 00:26:21.018
stirring in your heart, maybe you know about God, but you're not sure you truly know Him.

00:26:21.298 --> 00:26:25.438
Maybe you grew up in church, walked away, got hurt, became tired,

00:26:25.518 --> 00:26:28.138
and never fully surrendered your life to Jesus.

00:26:28.438 --> 00:26:31.238
I want you to know this. God loves you.

00:26:31.458 --> 00:26:37.978
He has not forgotten you. He is not waiting to shame you. He is calling you home.

00:26:38.278 --> 00:26:42.338
The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you declare with your mouth.

00:26:42.758 --> 00:26:49.718
Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

00:26:50.038 --> 00:26:55.478
Salvation is not about being perfect. It's about surrendering to the one who is perfect.

00:26:55.838 --> 00:27:03.198
Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and made a way for you to be forgiven, restored, and made new.

00:27:03.398 --> 00:27:07.798
So right where you are, you can pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus,

00:27:08.158 --> 00:27:10.078
I come to you today with an open heart.

00:27:10.178 --> 00:27:15.278
I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died on the cross for my sins.

00:27:15.438 --> 00:27:19.418
And I believe that God raised you from the dead today.

00:27:20.234 --> 00:27:24.934
I confess that I need you. I repent of my sins. I ask you to forgive me,

00:27:25.114 --> 00:27:27.954
cleanse me, and make me brand new.

00:27:28.174 --> 00:27:34.234
Jesus, come into my heart. Be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my King.

00:27:34.434 --> 00:27:39.514
I surrender my life to you. I give you my past, my present, and my future.

00:27:39.774 --> 00:27:43.774
Teach me how to walk with you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit.

00:27:44.214 --> 00:27:49.494
Lead me in truth, healing, obedience, and love. From this day forward,

00:27:49.634 --> 00:27:52.914
I belong to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:27:53.254 --> 00:27:58.294
If you pray that prayer from your heart, I want you to know that heaven has heard you.

00:27:58.514 --> 00:28:02.834
This is not the end. This is only the beginning of your walk with Jesus.

00:28:03.194 --> 00:28:06.974
Find a Bible-believing church, begin reading the word of God,

00:28:07.314 --> 00:28:10.274
pray daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow.

00:28:10.574 --> 00:28:15.294
God is not looking for perfection from you. He is inviting you into relationship,

00:28:15.874 --> 00:28:19.134
transformation, and eternal life. through Jesus Christ.

00:28:19.574 --> 00:28:25.554
And remember, you are loved, you are not forgotten, and God still has a purpose for your life.

00:28:25.754 --> 00:28:28.494
Thank you for listening to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

00:28:28.894 --> 00:28:33.334
Until next time, keep walking in truth, faith, and freedom.

00:28:44.306 --> 00:28:47.446
Family, thank you for spending time with me today.

00:28:47.706 --> 00:28:51.446
To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,

00:28:51.566 --> 00:28:53.846
or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

00:28:54.126 --> 00:28:58.666
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

00:28:59.026 --> 00:29:03.906
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God.

00:29:04.106 --> 00:29:08.626
Because someone out there needs this reminder today.

00:29:08.966 --> 00:29:15.686
Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you,

00:29:15.846 --> 00:29:19.466
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

00:29:19.826 --> 00:29:22.126
plans to give you hope and a future.

00:29:22.406 --> 00:29:27.226
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,

00:29:27.506 --> 00:29:32.686
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

00:29:32.806 --> 00:29:38.766
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

00:29:39.206 --> 00:29:45.146
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

00:29:45.346 --> 00:29:50.466
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

00:29:50.466 --> 00:29:53.266
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

00:29:53.446 --> 00:29:57.886
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

00:29:58.026 --> 00:30:01.866
When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us.

00:30:02.026 --> 00:30:07.346
When we feel forgotten, remind us you still have a plan. And when we feel hidden,

00:30:07.586 --> 00:30:09.846
remind us you are still working.

00:30:10.266 --> 00:30:15.866
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.

00:30:16.266 --> 00:30:20.306
Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart,

00:30:20.526 --> 00:30:23.566
not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

00:30:23.766 --> 00:30:28.186
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place.

00:30:28.732 --> 00:30:33.992
Even the hidden one. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken,

00:30:34.192 --> 00:30:38.772
and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand.

00:30:38.992 --> 00:30:45.112
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:30:45.672 --> 00:30:49.672
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

00:30:49.852 --> 00:30:52.732
and I'll see you on the next episode.