Mind of Christ: Ep 13: Resting in God's Sovereignty: Finding Peace and Clarity

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

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Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent.

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Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought

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was possible. Enlarge her territory.

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Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment.

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Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent

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to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

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This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today with our Faith on the Go series,

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we're going to discuss resting in God's sovereignty.

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Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

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And so far, we know that our faith is growing because things are happening that

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will never happen, right?

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The mind of Christ is continuing to be matured.

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And so today, as we learn to rest in God's sovereignty, Sovereignty means that

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God knows what's happening.

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He sees the big picture.

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And we're just, we don't know where we are in that big picture.

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Where your faith is leading you. We don't know where we are.

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We know that we have prayers out there that hasn't been answered.

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We know we want the mind of Christ and we're feeling, we're feeling mature,

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we're making wise decisions, but a God that's sovereign tells us to rest in

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that, we have to learn to rest in that.

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And so that's going to be our topic for today.

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And so I thank you for joining us. And that is why the space was created for

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those type of moments, for quiet moments, for your workday,

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for your commutes, and those in between places and spaces where your spirit

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needs to be recharged, refilled, and renewed.

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The goal is for times when you're fighting battles not won yet.

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But already finished in Christ. We don't know where we are on this sovereignty

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part. We don't know where we are in our faith's journey.

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We don't know how close we are to getting our prayers answered.

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But it's for those ones who keep believing, keep pressing, keep walking,

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even when the road gets long and narrow.

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So wherever you are today, settle in and let the word of God strengthen your

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faith while you are on the go.

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Don't let nothing stop you. So today's key scripture is found in Isaiah 26, 3.

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It says, you will keep in perfect peace those who minds are steadfast because

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they trust in you. Isaiah 26, 3.

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Peace is not something Jesus tried to find. It was something he carried wherever he went.

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Crowds followed him. Storms surround him. Religious leaders accused him,

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and yet his soul remained steady.

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When his disciples panicked on the sea, he slept through the storm, Mark 4.38.

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When Martha worried over many things, he calmly said, You are worried and upset

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about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed, only one.

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But a few things are needed, only one. Luke 10, 41-42.

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When soldiers came to arrest him in the garden, he still composed while others drew their sword.

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Jesus lived in perfect peace because he trusted the Father's control.

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He trusted in the Father's control.

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He knows that nothing could touch him unless heaven allowed it.

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Wow, he could rest because he was rooted, not in the moment, but in the mission.

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The peace he Charity was not circumstantial, it was covenantal.

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It came from knowing the Father's plan would never fail.

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Isn't that what we're looking for? We want that type of confidence.

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We want that Jesus confidence, that mind of Christ confidence,

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that he knew he trusted in the Father, that whatever the Father has planned, it never fails.

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It was a covenant that he had. And we have that same covenant.

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And we have to trust that whatever Jesus tells us to do, we do it, that he never fails.

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He is a winner, and we are on the winning team.

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The mind of Christ is a mind at rest, not because it avoids storms,

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but because it knows who commands them.

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Peace and clarity come from trust. When your thoughts are anchored in truth,

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confusion loses its grip.

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When faith is grounded in God's sovereignty, anxiety cannot uproot you.

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Jesus promised, peace I leave with you, peace I give you.

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I do not give to you as the world gives, but let not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

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That's a word from Jesus.

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He says, I leave you with this peace.

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I give you this peace. It's not the world's peace, which is conditional, right?

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But is this so, this is so that your heart's.

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May not be troubled, and do not be afraid. That's how we must trust in the Lord.

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No matter what's shaking, no matter what's moving, we have got our eyes focused on Jesus.

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He's our answered prayer. He's our peace when we need our peace.

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His peace is not passive. It's powerful. It calms the soul and clears the mind.

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That's why Philippians 4, 7 says it, guard

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your heart and mind because peace is

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not a feeling it's a shield whoa revelation

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peace is not a feeling it's

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a shield and you know what that means when you're

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in a chaotic situation and you have the peace of God everybody's wondering what

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you're gonna do what you're gonna do you said I'm gonna listen to whatever the

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Lord tells me to do I'm gonna do that and then when you come through that storm

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and they look at you, they're looking like, wow,

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just like the Hebrew boys in the fire, you don't even smell like smoke.

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Clarity flows from calm.

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You cannot discern clearly when you are emotionally flooded.

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That's why Jesus modeled stillness before every major decision.

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Withdrawing to pray until the spirit and mind were settled in the Father's will.

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Luke 6, 12. I spoke about that on other episodes, finding that stillness.

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When you find that stillness, you're finding what is God saying?

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Where does he want me to be? What does he want me to do?

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Settle yourself. Remember, peace be still. You're speaking over your mind,

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speaking over your body. Yes, it's a lot of anxiety.

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Yes, I feel like this. My body doesn't know how to respond. But yet,

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you sit until you're settled.

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Just like Jesus did. Peace and clarity are not luxuries. They are birthrights for the believer.

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If the prince of peace lives in you, peace should rule, not chaos.

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So ask yourself, where am I losing peace because I'm trying to control what I can't?

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Do I pause and pray when confusion comes or do I push through without listening?

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Have I confused busyness with purpose or silence with absence.

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Remember, God's sovereignty means he never loses control even when you lose sight.

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Peace is not the absence of noise, but the awareness of his nearness.

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Walk it out like Jesus. How did Jesus do that?

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How did he decide to do what he did?

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Let's go. Number one, pause before you react.

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Breathe before you respond.

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Jesus waited for direction before answering his accusers.

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John 8, 6 through 8. He says, pause.

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How many times do we not pause? If we pause long enough, we won't say what we

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say. We won't do what we do.

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We won't have regret because we're following him in everything he tells us to do.

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Pause before you react will save you a lot of time.

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A lot of hurt people have been hurt because people just say what they got to

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say and they don't have a pause button. but Jesus waited for a direction before

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answering his accusers.

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Number two, anchor your thoughts in truth.

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Declare Isaiah 26.3 over yourself when anxiety arises.

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Meditate on his promises daily. Philippians 4.8.

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We're doing this for 14 days. If you're following me, I've been on this for

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I'm almost going into my third year.

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We are doing great things. Why? Because we are anchoring our thoughts and truth.

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We are not going to walk in anxiety. We will have the mind of Christ.

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We're going to meditate on his promises.

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What you meditate on becomes big. And you'll be like, wait a minute. That can happen.

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That can happen. Yes, it can happen. Why?

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Because your faith is making you whole. That's good. Number three, rest in God's timing.

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Jesus deliberately delayed Lazarus miracles, Lazarus miracles,

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when we raised him from the dead,

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John 11, 6, because peace trusts divine timing, even when it seems late.

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Even when it's, it ain't God being late. He's saying, even when it seems late,

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it ain't late to God. It just seems late to us.

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So Lazarus was still dead, whether they came on the first day or the fourth day, remember?

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But they, Jesus waited because he waited on God's timing.

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And in God's timing, he raised Lazarus from the dead, from dead, from the dead.

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So you have to be able to trust in God's timing. Number four,

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pray for perspective, not just resolution. That's powerful.

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Ask God, what are you showing me in this? I know, rather than when will this

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end? We want things to end.

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He says, I'm working on you.

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Lord, what are you showing me in this? Because sometimes we'll have such a bad,

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maybe whatever happens in our life. And sometimes that incident,

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my last, I had one that lasted almost two years.

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And it's like, Lord, what are you showing me in this?

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And I learned so much in those two years.

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First of all, walking by faith, picking up your Bible, reading it.

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When you're back up against, when your back is up against the wall and you need

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Jesus to move, guess what?

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You will get in your word. You will pray.

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You will ask him like, what can it, when is this going on? I didn't know when

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it was going to end. My goodness.

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And then when it ended, I just felt like, you know, you just hit the floor like an empty bag sack.

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I'm like, whew. But that wasn't the fight.

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The fight's not over because it's done.

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That just taught me how to fight. And so I thought that was this.

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I was like, oh my gosh, I don't want to have to go through that again.

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But you learn how to fight.

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You learn how to fight when you ask God for his perspective.

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And that's the According to James 1.5, let's do number five. Let go to grow.

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Surrender what you can't fix. True clarity comes after release.

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Surrender what you can't fix.

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Surrender what you can't fit. Wow. I mean, let it go.

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And you know, there's always something I think a saying says,

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let it go. If it returns, then it's yours. If it didn't, then it was never yours to begin with.

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Sometimes we have to let things go. According to Psalms 4610, let it go.

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Let's pray. Father, thank you for being the keeper of peace.

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When life feels uncertain, remind me that you are still in control.

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Quiet the storms in my mind and bring clarity to my thoughts.

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Teach me to rest in your timing and trust your process.

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Help me to live from stillness, not striving. And let your peace guide my heart like a shield.

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And your word guides me, guides my steps like light.

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In Jesus' name, amen. I decree I have the mind of Christ.

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My thoughts are steady. My heart is calm and my spirit is anchored in peace.

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Confusion cannot control me.

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Fear cannot shape me. I rest in God's sovereignty and clarity flows freely through my trust in him.

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What situation in your life right now needs you to stop striving and start trusting?

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And how can resting in God's sovereignty bring you back, bring back your peace and clarity?

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Powerful. Where do you need to stop striving and start trusting?

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Ask the Father, and he will tell you.

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Wow, you've been listening to Faith on the Go with your host,

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Connie Morris from Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I pray that this word energizes

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your faith and reminded you of God's promise. What did he promise?

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That he'll give you perfect peace as you rest on his sovereignty.

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Stop striving and let it go.

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Why? Because God said in Isaiah 55, 11, that so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth.

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It should not return to me void, but it should accomplish what I please and

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should prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

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Father, prosper the word of peace in the lives of your listeners today.

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Let that word not return void, but let it prosper where it was said.

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Let us not strive, but let us just walk in obedience to you,

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listening to your voice.

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And let us trust, Lord God, that you will finish the work that you have started.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out,

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I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

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Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper

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you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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So today we receive that truth.

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You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray.

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You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue.

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You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every

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place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

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Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.