No Kool-Aid: Ep. 1: Standing Firm in Babylon

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, where we pray bold prayers,

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walk in bold faith, and expect a bold God to show up.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we open every episode with the same unshakable

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confidence Jabez had in 1 Chronicles 4.10.

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Lord, bless me indeed, enlarge my territory, let your hand be with me,

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keep me from evil, and keep me from causing pain. And the Bible says,

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God granted his request.

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So if you're here today, get ready, because we're praying big,

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believing big, and walking in everything God promised. Let's begin.

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

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Morris and we're continuing our series, Living in Babylon Without Drinking the Kool-Aid.

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And I shortened the title, I titled it, Do Not Drink the Kool-Aid or No Kool-Aid.

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And so it's going to be titled under one of those.

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Today we're going to start with our day one, Exile, episode one,

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Exile but not erased, found in Daniel 1, chapter 1, verses 1 through 4.

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God can use captivity as preparation for calling. And so if you have your Bible, go to Daniel.

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My translation is going to be the King James Version.

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And we're going to pick it up right here in Daniel 1, verses 1 through 4.

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It says, In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.

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Came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, into Jerusalem and besieged it.

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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with part of the vessels

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of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar,

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to the house of his God, small case G, and he brought the vessel into the treasure

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house of his God, small case G.

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And the king, Spaniel, Make unto Ephesus and the master of his eunuchs that

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he should bring certain of the children of Israel and the king seed of the princes.

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So he says, I only want certain children brought to me.

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And verse 4 reads, it says, The children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored.

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Skilled in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science,

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and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace,

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of whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

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So when Daniel and several other children that were taken into captivity,

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he didn't just take any children. He took specific ones.

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He wanted the bright ones. He wanted the smart ones. He wanted the ones that

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would grow up and represent his kingdom.

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You see how that works? And so let's continue.

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It says the Hebrew word galah, G-A-L-A-H, means to uncover, carry away, or reveal by removal.

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Exile was not an accident.

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It was an unveiling.

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God allowed his people to be carried into Babylon to expose what had been hidden

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in their hearts and to realign them with his covenant.

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Daniel was young, intelligent, and chosen, not just by Nebuchadnezzar, but by God.

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Babylon thought it had captured him, but in truth, God had commissioned him.

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Daniel verse 1-2 tells us, the Lord gave Jehoiakim of Judah into his hand.

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And so even in captivity, God was still in control.

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We have to look at our life. Even though things have fallen apart,

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even though you made a big error, maybe you even compromised,

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God says, he is still in control. I'm still molding you. I'm still fixing you.

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A lot of times we think we're perfect. We think that we've made it because we

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haven't made the big sin, whatever the big sin is.

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But yet there's little bitty sins that cause us to compromise.

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Okay, so let's keep going.

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Imagine waking up and realizing everything familiar is gone.

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Your homeland, your freedom, even your name. You know they changed their name.

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That's what exile felt like for Daniel.

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Yet even in displacement, God's purpose was not destroyed.

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Exile exposes the difference between what you believe and what you live.

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Daniel didn't lose his faith when he lost his surroundings.

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He discovered how real it was.

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Sometimes God allows us to be carried into unfamiliar places to carry out unseen purposes.

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You may find yourself working, serving, or standing in a space that feels foreign,

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a Babylon, of compromise, confusion, or cultural pressure.

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But like Daniel, you are not abandoned. You are assigned.

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Babylon plan was subtle.

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Reprogram identity. Re-educate values.

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And replace dependence on God with dependence on the system.

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It didn't destroy with swords.

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It's seduced with status. The same strategy remains today.

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The enemy doesn't always attack believers. He distracts them.

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But Daniel showed us how to thrive in a strange land without losing spiritual distinction.

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He didn't resist Babylon with rebellion. He resisted it with resolve. He didn't escape.

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He didn't need to escape. He needed endurance.

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When God plants you in a difficult place, he trusts you to represent him there.

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Your environment may have changed, but your assignment hasn't.

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Like Daniel, you are a light and dark systems. Proof that holiness can stand even in hostile spaces.

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Jeremiah 29, 11 reads, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

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Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.

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The same letter God sent to exiles in Babylon still speaks to you.

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You are planted, not punished.

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Some things I want you to think about. Where in your life do you feel carried

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away from comfort, yet called to remain faithful?

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Two, have you viewed this season as exile or assignment?

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And finally, how can you represent God with excellence right where you are?

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My exile is not evidence of God's absence.

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I am planted in purpose, not trapped in punishment.

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The place that tried to bury me will become the ground that God reveals me.

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I may be exiled, but I am not erased.

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Let's pray. Father, thank you that even in foreign places, your presence never leaves me.

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Help me to see my circumstances through your sovereignty and not through fear.

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Teach me to serve with excellence and stand with integrity wherever you send me.

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Let my faith be the evidence of your faithfulness. In Jesus' name, amen.

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A call to action. I want you to write down three situations where you felt misplaced, overlooked.

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Beside each one, declaring faith, this is my assignment.

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This is my assignment, not my accident.

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And then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how you can represent his kingdom there this week.

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So here we go. How not to drink the Kool-Aid.

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Daniel keeps surviving Babylon without compromise.

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Number one, remember who planted you. You are not in Babylon by chance.

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You are there on divine assignment.

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Daniel 1-2 tells us, and God gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand.

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So that was a purpose movement, a purposeful action.

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And Psalms 37-23 tells us that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

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So don't drink the lie of victimhood. you are positioned, not punished.

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Number two, don't let relocation cause redefinition.

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Babylon renamed Daniel, but heaven never did.

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Daniel 1.7 tells us that the chief official gave them new names.

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Isaiah 43.1 reads, I have called you by name. You are mine.

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So don't drink confusion. Where you are doesn't determine who you are or whose you are.

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Recognize false comfort. The king's food was baked for compromise.

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Daniel 1a tells us, but Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.

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And 1 John 2 reads, do not love the world or anything in the world.

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The world and its desires pass away.

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1 John 2, 15 through 17.

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So don't drink compromise. Appetite always tests allegiance.

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I just had this thought right now at our church, we're in the middle of a fast and prayer.

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You know, a lot of times in January, that's what happens and a prayer focus.

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And many times people will do different. Fasting is no food.

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It's not about no social media or no going to the bar or no eating.

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It's really about eating. It's about getting the flesh in order so that you

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can have your spirit ready to hear from God.

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And many people do different things to avoid reducing that food diet because

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our body craves food. We want it.

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We smell it. It's like we have to have it.

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But if you ever try to just not, just resist it, it's a hard resisting, right?

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Over three or four days, you start to resist it because now you're focused.

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It takes up to about six days and it tells us until the body just no longer

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needs the food, you know, but you have to eat within 10 days or so, 10 or 21 days,

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no longer than 40 days because then starting to, your body starting to eat itself, right?

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And so this is powerful because Daniel...

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Decided not to eat the royal food. Now you're in a palace, you're exiled.

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So you were one of the special group, a special group of people that is in the palace.

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We don't know where everybody else, when you get exiled, sometimes you don't

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get the best of the best, but Daniel had an opportunity to eat the best of the best.

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And he decided, I am not going to eat this.

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All I want is, I think it was pulp and water.

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He wasn't trying to know fancy, know meat. He just wanted vegetables.

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I think the Daniel Fast consists of vegetables, very light, nothing really flavorful.

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You're not supposed to enjoy the Daniel Fast.

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People create new recipes to make it enjoyable. Daniel Fast was just plain food.

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But we know what happened with him after that. He looked more healthier.

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He was healthier. He had more discernment.

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And so we have to learn to calm our appetite. And that's for me too.

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I need to not do it. So I'm able now to not eat during the workday,

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which is powerful for me because a lot of times during a workday,

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that's when we get all our calories because someone's always bringing something in, right?

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But if you're able to train your body, nope, not during this particular hour

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we're not eating and your body will begin to obey it.

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It resists, but after a while it realized that at a certain time that,

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you know, our body is time to eat.

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You know, you're always hungry at a certain time because you've trained your

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body to eat at that certain time.

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If you can always readjust it, that's a long talk on that, but hey, let's keep going.

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Stay aware of your influence and your distinction brought promotion,

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not isolation. In Daniel 1.20, it tells us, in every matter of wisdom and understanding,

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the king found them 10 times better. And that's what I was talking about.

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When he did not eat the food of the land, when he did not drink the Kool-Aid,

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he was better. He was smarter. He was wiser.

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After 514 tells us, you are the light of the world.

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A city on a hill cannot be hidden. So don't drink conformity.

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You were born to shine, not to blend.

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And number five, our last one, hold your peace and your position.

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Daniel didn't panic. He prayed.

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Daniel 6 verse 10 says, he knelt down three times that day and prayed.

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Psalms 46.10 said, Be still and know that I am Lord.

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So don't drink fear when Babylon roars.

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Bow your heart and.

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Borrow your heart, not your faith. He went into exile.

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And at the moment he went into exile, when they began to serve him food,

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he immediately decided, I'm not going to eat the food.

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That means I don't think he ate the food ever during his kingdom.

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He probably stayed with what he knows. Because we can get, think about you're

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in a castle, you're a royalty.

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You can have whatever you want, anytime you want. It's like being on a cruise

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ship, right? All food everywhere.

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But yet, Daniel fasting and discipline of his body created something in him.

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It created a hunger for prayer.

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It says in Daniel 6.10 that he knelt down three times that day and prayed.

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He had a relationship with God that was so much stronger than the appetite of food.

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Okay, let's declare some things. Though I live in Babylon, Babylon will not live in me.

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My identity is secure. My purpose is divine. And my appetite is holy.

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And my loyalty belongs to God alone.

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Thank you for joining me on this episode. This is a diary of a black woman podcast,

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and I'm your host Connie Morris, and I will see you on episode two titled The Name Game.

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Until then, goodbye.

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Family, thank you for spending this time with me today. To every woman listening

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who has ever felt hidden, overlooked, or pushed aside, I want you to hear me clearly.

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God has not forgotten you and neither have I.

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That's why I moved everything to our new home on pod page.

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So you would have one place to connect with me, read the devotionals,

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listen to the podcast, and reach out whenever you need to.

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If you wanna leave me a message, send an email or simply find encouragement,

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It's all there at diaryofablackwomanllc.com.

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And if this podcast has blessed you and you want to support the work I'm doing,

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you'll find a buy me, a coffee link on the site as well.

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No pressure, just love and community. Before we leave, I want to speak the word

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that I close with every time because somebody needs this reminder today.

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It comes from Jeremiah 29, 11, 14.

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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you

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and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future, then you will call

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upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

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You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart,

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I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

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Beloved, God has a plan for your life, a real one, a good one.

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And as long as you keep seeking him, you will find him even from the hidden places.

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I love you. I'm praying for you, and I'll meet you next time.