May 8, 2026
The Lioness and the Ladies: Ep. 5: The Lioness Knows When to Rest: Strength in Stillness
Host Connie Morris explores Proverbs 31, the Psalms, and Gospel passages to encourage women to embrace rest, trust, and spiritual renewal. She highlights the virtues of a strong, creative woman who finds peace not in constant motion but in trusting God and doing purposeful work.
The episode includes practical examples, personal stories, prayer, and Scripture (Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:27, Exodus 14:14) to remind listeners that rest is restoration and strength comes from stillness and faith.
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00:26 - Opening Prayer and Introduction
02:12 - The Lioness Knows When to Rest
20:30 - The Power of Rest
30:49 - Closing Prayer and Encouragement
WEBVTT
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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
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on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning,
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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. Expand our capacity, our mindset,
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and 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, welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,
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Connie Morris, and I'd like to thank you for joining me for day five,
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The Lioness and the Ladies.
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Today's topic, we're going to cover the lioness knows when to rest.
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Strength includes stillness, and our spiritual focus today will be on rest, trust, and peace.
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And as we read through the Proverbs 31 verses 10 through 30,
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I'm just going to show you some places where the virtuous woman finds rest.
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And you know us, either busy bees, but strong women who goes forth and can conquer the world.
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And they wonder, when do you guys sit still?
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When do you really get rest?
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And the things that causes the lioness and the ladies to rest is to know first who they they are.
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Second, whom they belong to. And then third, who is truly the provider in all of this?
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So let's start at verse 10.
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It says, who can find a virtuous woman for prices far above rubies?
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And I wonder what makes her so valuable.
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The first part that makes her valuable is found in verse 11,
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the heart of her husband does safely trust in her so that he should have no need of spoil.
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So she has a husband who trusts in her.
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And that means that when you have a secure man who allows the woman to just
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be themselves and do what they need to do, that's arrest. You're not Fighting.
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About getting things done or fighting to maybe work out the household or do
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anything. You have a man in your life that's at rest because you are happy.
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You're doing what pleases you.
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Verse 12, she will do him good, not evil, all of the days of her life.
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Why would she do him good? because he's allowing her to be herself.
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Not saying that adultery or affairs are part of that insecurity that carries
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into those relationships, but I want to talk about the virtuous woman.
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We each have our own story.
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And so first of all, she has her husband's heart.
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Second, her mind is made up that she won't do him any harm.
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Let's go to 13, verse 13. She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.
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She is like the merchant's ships.
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She brings food from afar.
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She rises also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and apportion to her maiden.
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She's never tired of taking care of what supports her. Her maiden supports her.
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Her husband supports her.
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Her family supports her. She probably have friends that support her.
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And so that is what gives her rest when she has people she can trust in and rely on.
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And that gives her opportunity to be creative, right?
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You know, you're loved by your family. And so all your energy is not going into
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sleep this night, worrying about anything. It's going into creativity.
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Let me know what you think about that. When we are arrested.
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When we are still, we're able to be creative.
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Let's go to verse 16. She considers the field and buyeth it,
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and the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
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She girded her loins with strength and strengthens her arms.
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I like this part because it shows me here that she is not lounging around.
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That even though she's busy, she'd still find time to get in shape,
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to stay in shape, to stay healthy.
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7 verse 18, she perceives that her merchandise is good.
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Her cattle goeth not out by night. She lays her hand in the spindle and her
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hands hold the dish staff.
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So she's not bossing people around.
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Yes, she's creative. She uses her creativity and she gets to work.
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So she's probably designing, designing outfits, designing how different colors flow, you know.
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So she's not just the boss lady. She's also working.
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That gives her rest because she's not paying out her, you know,
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she's able to be creative under the rest.
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And it's good if you have money to pay for people.
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You hire people to work and you walk around and you tell them what you want.
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But you ever have to hire somebody for something.
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You paid them good money. And then when you find out what they did,
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you're like, I could have did that myself.
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And this just came to my mind. I got this smart camera on my door,
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and it wasn't working properly.
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I paid $100 for this man to come out.
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Take it off, put a battery in and close it back up. And now it's working.
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And I'm like, okay, if I would have just read the instructions,
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if I would have just took time out to figure this out, I would have saved a hundred dollars.
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I paid him a hundred dollars for about 15 minutes of work.
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And I just, cause I watched what he did. I said, oh my gosh,
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I won't be calling you again. I'm going to actually figure this out myself.
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And I did. My door went out again and I said, oh, I remember how to do this.
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And I took it apart, put it back together.
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And so I love that sometimes we have to use our creative ability to fix things.
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Now, if you had a husband, that would be cool. But if you're a single person
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and you can't figure it out, try to figure it out. Don't pay all that money.
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Let's keep going. So you can rest. That $100 could have went for something else.
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Let's go to verse.
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20. How does she rest? She stretches out her hand to the poor and she reaches
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forth her hand to the needy.
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So she can rest because she's not greedy. She gives to the needy.
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So when we're able to have an overflow of something and not trying to make,
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you can make money off of it at your desire, but how about we bless somebody? How about we do that?
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Give it to the needy, not the greedy. and I share the story about what I did for a lady.
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I won't go into that story right now, but I always go through my closet.
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When I buy new outfits or something new, I go in my closet and see what can I give away.
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Because my whole deal is to keep a current wardrobe and sometimes you got to
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do it in parts, but sometimes you look in your closet, you haven't worn that
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outfit in about 10 years.
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It's still new, it looks good. You can't fit it, but you're not going to give it away.
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Somebody can use that for a job interview or something.
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Let's talk about verse 21. She's not afraid of snow for her household,
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for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
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If you live in the Northwest, like I do, guess what?
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Midwest, I live in the Midwest. Midwest, you know it's going to snow. So how do you prepare?
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How do you prepare your family? How do you prepare yourself for the snow?
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How do you prepare your children for the snow?
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And so you're not afraid of the snow. I love snowstorms. I love thunderstorms.
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I love all storms, right?
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Only because I trust God in the storm. Even if you hide, you do the safety factor,
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don't get me wrong, but you see people die in their basement.
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You know, when it's time for you to go, you go, but you can trust that God will protect you.
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You know, you don't do anything stupid, but you know, follow the rules,
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but also add that God factor in your life.
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And I think that this is the whole story about her, the virtuous woman,
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is because she does the work, but she's not doing it in her own strength.
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She's doing it in the strength of the Lord God Almighty. Let's continue.
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Verse 22, she maketh herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.
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Purple in the biblical days were expensive. That dye was very expensive.
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So she's making the finest clothes.
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She's not making some, nothing wrong with how you, whatever you decide to sew, but guess what?
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She's not playing around. She is an artist. She has tapestry.
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She is very wise in how she does her fabric.
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If you can't sew and you're not creative, you're not going to take your most
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expensive fabric and try to cut something up. She knows what she is doing.
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Number 23, how can she rest? Her husband is known in the gates when he sits
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among the elders of the land.
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You can rest when your man got a good job.
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And so it's not dependent on your income to support the house.
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Can I just get an amen out there? So your man has a good job,
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you know, and you can dress up, drive in a fancy car, but yet you are,
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maybe have a side business you do, and you're helping to support the family, but it's not mandatory.
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That's how you can rest. 24. She maketh fine linen and sells it and delivers
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girdles unto the merchants.
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Look at her. She can do silk. She can do purple.
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She can do fine linen and she can do girdles. This lady is skillful.
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Girdles are made out of that lasting material. So you have to be great at sewing.
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Otherwise, you're going to mess some things up.
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She's also using her wisdom. She's not just sticking with one thing.
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She's very, very creative. Let's continue.
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Verse 25, strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come.
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When we think of strength and honor, it reminds us of a song that praises God
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for his strength and his honor.
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And so when you connect it with the source, that source can rub off on you,
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and you can become just like Jesus, strong and strong.
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Honorable, right? Strength. Why? Because Jesus relied on the Father. You relied on Jesus.
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I mean, it's like a connection of energy.
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Number 26, she opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is the law of kindness.
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So she's not out there cussing up a storm.
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And we know that when we curse, we curse ourself first because it comes right
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out of our mouth into the earth. So they had to go through all that to get out.
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And so guess who gets it first? It's you.
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But she knows how to talk. She knows how to be kind, not nice,
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kind. Kind comes from the heart.
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She, 27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.
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She's not hanging at the club. She's not sitting around doing nothing.
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She is not going to probably let any dust grow on her because she's always about the business.
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And I want to share this with you. When you pray and you have a connection with
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God, you are always not going to be idle because God's got stuff to do and He
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wants you to do it. And so there's no idle moment.
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I'm just thinking like, wow, Lord, there's no idle moments with me.
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When I get tired, I go to bed, but when I'm up, I'm up and I'm moving around. Why?
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Because God got things for us to do.
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We don't have time to sit around.
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That's how she's restful because she is not lounging.
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You ever had a lazy day and you didn't do anything and yet you retired anyway?
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Think about that. So think about being busy and then getting some things done.
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That's the reason for exhaustion, for tiredness.
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27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.
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Verse 28, her children rise up and call her blessed.
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Her husband also, and he praises her. And this is what he says to her.
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He says, many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excels them all.
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Think about that. He's just so proud of her.
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You can rest when someone actually honors what you do, whatever that is.
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If you're a stay-at-home mom and you take care of the kids and your husband
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tells you, wow, you are the excellence of them all, that's satisfactory.
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You can rest in that. And in verse 30, it says, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.
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That's what he's telling her. Her husband is telling her.
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But a woman that fears the Lord, she should be praised.
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So when you are a woman who fears the Lord, not afraid of him, but honor him.
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Honor him with your work. Honor him with your money. Honor him with your time.
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Honor him with your voice.
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Honor him with your presence.
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You know, the way you dress, the way you keep your house clean,
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the way you keep your car clean.
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You know, the way you look, you know, the way you care about your presence.
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And a lot of times, the way we even care enough not to alter it so much.
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You know, like when you're young, people are getting tattoos all over their whole body.
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It is a piece of artwork, but dang, won't you grow weary of that tattoo?
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And when you look in the mirror, you got a tattoo on your face,
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on your nose, on your ear.
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People have got their lips done, their butt done, breasts done, everything done.
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They're no longer their self. Nothing wrong with a little vanity.
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But when you get older, what is that going to look like on your body?
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It was interesting because there was an image of a tattoo when you're like 21,
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and how that tattoo just kind of morphosized as you get older.
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And you're like, why did I put that on my skin? Because my skin's going to start
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drying out. It's going to be wrinkled.
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It's not going to be that plump flower that you have. It's just going to be
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kind of a flower that whittling without water, you know, but right to their own.
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And this is about being a lady.
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What does it take to be a lady? What does it take to be a virtuous woman?
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There is a kind of strength that's always moving, always doing, always caring.
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It feels responsible. It feels necessary. But over time, it can feel like the
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only way to live, like when you're so used to being busy or so used to being tired.
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But in contrast, movement is not always a strength.
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Sometimes it's a strain. There are moments when stopping feels unfamiliar,
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when rest feels undeserved, when stillness feels unproductive,
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and yet without it, everything begins to wear down.
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Even Psalms 23.2 tells us how God desires us.
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He tells us, he maketh me to lie down in the green pastures.
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He leadeth me beside the still waters.
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We see here that he maketh us to rest.
00:17:28.222 --> 00:17:32.362
He maketh us to go by still waters. You ever been by still waters?
00:17:32.562 --> 00:17:35.962
It's just beautiful. It's just a chance. You could just sit there all day because
00:17:35.962 --> 00:17:40.242
you can hear the water flowing, but it's just a nice, restful place.
00:17:40.242 --> 00:17:45.002
So when he lays us down in green pastures, not weeded pastures,
00:17:45.162 --> 00:17:49.922
not the dirt, but something soft, something pretty, something luscious.
00:17:50.242 --> 00:17:54.882
And he asks us to rest. Can you wait here until I come?
00:17:55.702 --> 00:18:00.802
There's a place in God that brings stillness. It's not to slow you down without
00:18:00.802 --> 00:18:04.382
reason, but to restore what has been depleted.
00:18:04.802 --> 00:18:11.802
Rest is not weakness. It's part of his leading. and also as part of your healing.
00:18:12.222 --> 00:18:22.102
When we rest, our body get a chance to sit still and just begin to heal those places.
00:18:22.322 --> 00:18:26.582
And it's interesting because this whole week, I usually get up at three like
00:18:26.582 --> 00:18:30.282
I told you, but lately the Lord had me, I was sleeping at about 4,
00:18:30.402 --> 00:18:33.042
4.30 and then didn't realize that,
00:18:33.646 --> 00:18:37.286
you know, I was like, why I need to pray? And Lord, you can tell the Lord,
00:18:37.426 --> 00:18:40.326
like, close your eyes and put you back to sleep. And I'm like, okay.
00:18:41.066 --> 00:18:45.746
I get up, I pray. The whole week, this whole week has been so different for
00:18:45.746 --> 00:18:51.886
me because of the resting, you know, the resting, because I had a little kink in my lower back.
00:18:52.206 --> 00:18:56.006
And since I've been resting, right, I don't have it anymore.
00:18:56.546 --> 00:19:01.386
You know, since I've been resting, I'm not hungry all the time.
00:19:01.846 --> 00:19:05.086
I'm not having, you know, you have a little hungry attitude.
00:19:06.086 --> 00:19:12.966
So when God begins to shift your life, the first thing he does is gets you to rest.
00:19:13.626 --> 00:19:18.186
He rests, just sitting and resting. I'll go lay down, I don't think I'm just
00:19:18.186 --> 00:19:20.866
going to listen to, because I listen to my own podcast.
00:19:21.086 --> 00:19:24.946
I think I'm going to listen to my podcast and I set it for about 30, 45 minutes.
00:19:25.146 --> 00:19:30.666
And next thing I know, I wake up the next morning and like just feeling really restful.
00:19:31.106 --> 00:19:35.306
It was a part I remember sharing with you guys about turning off the,
00:19:35.306 --> 00:19:41.386
like the YouTubes and the social media and just taking that time in the evening
00:19:41.386 --> 00:19:43.926
and in the morning to just rest.
00:19:44.086 --> 00:19:46.506
The job I have, I can't take my phone inside.
00:19:46.806 --> 00:19:52.046
And so it's slowly taking away that phone addiction where you got to check it every five minutes.
00:19:52.426 --> 00:19:56.106
My phone could be in the other room, which it is. And I'm like,
00:19:56.186 --> 00:19:59.406
I don't need it like I used to because I don't have it all day.
00:19:59.506 --> 00:20:04.846
And I realized that since I'm not on my phone all day, the emails have stopped.
00:20:05.026 --> 00:20:07.706
A lot of the emails, you get a lot of spam emails and stuff.
00:20:07.866 --> 00:20:10.386
It has slowed down because you're not on the phone.
00:20:10.566 --> 00:20:12.706
The phone is not on all the time.
00:20:13.146 --> 00:20:17.266
Isn't that interesting? And so that's why I said I feel like a shift is happening
00:20:17.266 --> 00:20:23.826
because I'm taking time out instead of listening, spending that time on your
00:20:23.826 --> 00:20:27.466
YouTube, just listening to all that drama, I just turn that off.
00:20:27.586 --> 00:20:30.486
I don't even go there. If I turn it on, I go, okay.
00:20:30.926 --> 00:20:33.426
You become less tolerant of it.
00:20:34.015 --> 00:20:39.335
You know, so remember that stillness is what God does just to slow you down
00:20:39.335 --> 00:20:42.655
just a little bit, but just so you can be restored.
00:20:42.935 --> 00:20:45.695
I know we need to be restored. We got a long ways to go.
00:20:46.155 --> 00:20:50.355
Jesus, he might come tomorrow. He might not come until like maybe 10 years from
00:20:50.355 --> 00:20:52.135
now. Are we ready for the wait?
00:20:52.515 --> 00:20:56.195
Are we going to have our oil? Are we going to be the wise version?
00:20:56.275 --> 00:20:57.535
Are we going to be the foolish version?
00:20:57.835 --> 00:21:01.875
We want to stay prepared. The Bible tells us in Matthew 11, 28,
00:21:01.995 --> 00:21:10.955
it says, Come ye, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
00:21:11.295 --> 00:21:16.935
This is an invitation to lay down when it becomes heavy. A chance to take that
00:21:16.935 --> 00:21:20.095
load off and give it to God.
00:21:20.415 --> 00:21:25.335
Not everything is meant to be carried without pause. Not everything is meant
00:21:25.335 --> 00:21:26.915
to be held without release.
00:21:27.595 --> 00:21:33.255
And like I shared with you before, I am the HOA president. And for the last
00:21:33.255 --> 00:21:37.235
month, two months or so, it's just been a lot of drama.
00:21:38.084 --> 00:21:43.024
And I remember getting into prayer and I said, Lord, I got to give this to you.
00:21:43.344 --> 00:21:45.464
I have to release this to you.
00:21:45.944 --> 00:21:50.064
And I remember releasing it to him. It was heavy because I, you know.
00:21:50.804 --> 00:21:51.884
I'm thinking I'm going to quit.
00:21:52.124 --> 00:21:55.564
I'm done all this, you know, because we get overwhelmed. First thing we do is quit.
00:21:55.944 --> 00:22:01.084
But sometimes we just need to take a pause and then ask God, what's the next steps?
00:22:01.304 --> 00:22:06.224
And I remember the next steps was this. It was like, I want you to write a letter.
00:22:06.944 --> 00:22:13.084
And the letter is to the board, also to the management company, also to the community.
00:22:13.364 --> 00:22:17.804
And it was a nice, nice letter. But one story that he had me put,
00:22:17.924 --> 00:22:21.744
because it's a lot of drama, and I don't really do drama.
00:22:21.904 --> 00:22:25.664
And it was the story of the lady they found in adultery, right?
00:22:25.964 --> 00:22:29.424
So, and remember, there was a man that dragged her out.
00:22:29.664 --> 00:22:32.864
And then Jesus said, he was drawn on the sand. And Jesus said,
00:22:33.024 --> 00:22:38.104
if anyone of you have not sinned, if you are like, if you're so perfect, you're so good.
00:22:38.224 --> 00:22:42.224
But he said, you have not sinned. I want you to throw the first stone.
00:22:42.804 --> 00:22:49.004
And yet, slowly, slowly, each man took that stone and they set it down and they went away.
00:22:49.224 --> 00:22:54.084
And that's what I shared with the community. It's like no one here is perfect.
00:22:54.384 --> 00:23:00.004
But yet we want to always pick up the stone and stone the person bringing the news.
00:23:00.564 --> 00:23:04.384
Right? And I just let that rest. I didn't finish that. I said,
00:23:04.784 --> 00:23:07.304
I let them let that marinate on them.
00:23:07.544 --> 00:23:13.144
This is a time for us to come together, not to be divisive, but if you have
00:23:13.144 --> 00:23:15.224
not sinned, I want you to throw the first stone.
00:23:15.444 --> 00:23:20.884
And I just wrote that and I sent it. And I get home that evening and someone
00:23:20.884 --> 00:23:24.824
put flowers on my doorstep with a card.
00:23:25.824 --> 00:23:29.144
And this is powerful because once we let it go,
00:23:29.938 --> 00:23:34.778
then God can work. When we hold on to it, you're not getting any rest.
00:23:34.778 --> 00:23:35.918
You're not getting any sleep.
00:23:36.218 --> 00:23:40.078
You're just tense and angry about nothing.
00:23:40.418 --> 00:23:44.578
Because if God says you have the victory, if he said you won,
00:23:44.658 --> 00:23:49.338
that you are more than a conqueror, then what are we doing? Why are we always fighting?
00:23:49.598 --> 00:23:53.358
Why do we have to even have the last word, right? So go Exodus 14,
00:23:53.558 --> 00:23:57.058
14 is powerful. It brings it right to what I'm talking about.
00:23:57.258 --> 00:24:01.758
It says the Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.
00:24:01.938 --> 00:24:05.398
I want to fight for you, but I need you to chill out.
00:24:05.578 --> 00:24:09.638
And I said, I'll do that. I'm going to chill out. And I'm going to tell you
00:24:09.638 --> 00:24:12.018
something that the phone hasn't rang.
00:24:12.298 --> 00:24:15.778
There's not a lot of crazy things said on Facebook.
00:24:16.418 --> 00:24:19.678
The security community page that I'm an administrator of.
00:24:19.958 --> 00:24:24.358
It's just been quiet because I remember in that prayer, I said,
00:24:24.458 --> 00:24:29.498
Lord, Isaiah 41 says, it asks for help. I'm going to help you.
00:24:30.058 --> 00:24:34.078
I'm going to strengthen you. And I'm going to uphold you with my righteous right hand.
00:24:34.418 --> 00:24:37.858
Lord, I need some help. Help is not going to come. It's going to come,
00:24:37.978 --> 00:24:41.238
but there'll be something you're required to do. Let it go.
00:24:41.778 --> 00:24:45.918
Whatever that is that you're holding on to, you have to let it go.
00:24:46.098 --> 00:24:48.658
Otherwise, you won't see God at work. He said, if you got it,
00:24:48.738 --> 00:24:49.918
I don't have to hold on to it.
00:24:50.481 --> 00:24:55.221
I don't have to hold on to it. Some battles do not require striving.
00:24:55.521 --> 00:24:59.501
There are moments when stillness is not avoidance, it's trust.
00:24:59.941 --> 00:25:04.421
The lioness is not frantic. She moves when it's time to move,
00:25:04.441 --> 00:25:09.401
but she also rests when it's time to rest. So be still.
00:25:09.801 --> 00:25:14.401
There is no panic in her rhythm. There is no constant urgency.
00:25:14.721 --> 00:25:21.961
There's just balance. And sometimes it's not that you have not allowed yourself to rest.
00:25:22.181 --> 00:25:27.401
Wow, sometimes we muscle through things. I know I'm guilty of that.
00:25:27.821 --> 00:25:30.001
We muscle through it.
00:25:31.221 --> 00:25:34.841
God's not even in it. We're muscling through it. We're exhausted.
00:25:35.141 --> 00:25:38.941
And we'll tell our friends we're exhausted. We're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
00:25:39.221 --> 00:25:46.261
But you never let God in. You never let the Lord who said, I'll fight for you,
00:25:46.441 --> 00:25:48.261
but I need you to hold your peace.
00:25:48.401 --> 00:25:50.921
And that scripture comes from Exodus 14.
00:25:51.161 --> 00:25:55.061
It was a time they were getting ready to cross the Red Sea and they were all
00:25:55.061 --> 00:25:58.881
in a panic because the Pharaoh and his army was closing in on them.
00:25:59.573 --> 00:26:03.813
And then so Moses got nervous too. So Moses is like, what are we going to do,
00:26:03.893 --> 00:26:04.693
Lord? What are we going to do?
00:26:04.853 --> 00:26:07.693
He says, the Lord will fight for you.
00:26:07.873 --> 00:26:10.393
You should hold your peace. Like, stop panicking.
00:26:11.093 --> 00:26:18.753
Stop being uneasy, fretful. Just chill out. I got this, but I need you to get a hold of yourself.
00:26:19.073 --> 00:26:22.293
I'm going to do this for you. Like, I don't want you frantic.
00:26:22.593 --> 00:26:25.553
I want you to take a deep breath, and I want you to relax.
00:26:25.873 --> 00:26:30.453
But we have to learn to trust God. We have to learn that if he said he's going
00:26:30.453 --> 00:26:31.993
to fight for us, then we need to what?
00:26:32.433 --> 00:26:37.913
Get out the way. We need to get out the way. Let's go to John 19.30.
00:26:38.153 --> 00:26:42.373
We're going to talk about the Lion of Judah, the rest that restores.
00:26:42.573 --> 00:26:45.573
John 19.30 tells us that it is finished.
00:26:45.993 --> 00:26:49.773
There is a rest that comes from knowing that the work is complete in him.
00:26:50.133 --> 00:26:55.313
Jesus did not leave everything undone. He did not leave you to strive endlessly
00:26:55.313 --> 00:26:59.433
to prove, to earn, or to carry what he's already settled.
00:26:59.833 --> 00:27:04.513
What he finished allows you to rest in what he's already secured.
00:27:05.668 --> 00:27:10.628
Here's my favorite verse, John 14, 27. He says, peace I leave with you.
00:27:11.168 --> 00:27:18.308
My peace I give unto you. I want to read that whole scripture. Let's go to John 14, 27.
00:27:18.548 --> 00:27:21.028
This is more to it than that.
00:27:21.368 --> 00:27:23.628
John 14, 27.
00:27:23.988 --> 00:27:26.388
All right. It's all in red print too.
00:27:27.408 --> 00:27:31.908
Verse seven, Jesus is speaking and he says, peace I leave with you.
00:27:31.908 --> 00:27:37.588
My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
00:27:37.788 --> 00:27:42.028
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
00:27:42.428 --> 00:27:46.848
You have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you.
00:27:46.988 --> 00:27:52.368
If you love me, you will rejoice, because I said I go unto the Father,
00:27:52.568 --> 00:27:55.368
for my Father is greater than I.
00:27:56.088 --> 00:28:02.528
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it come to pass, you might believe it.
00:28:02.888 --> 00:28:05.868
I love it. He says, the peace I leave with you.
00:28:06.068 --> 00:28:11.828
Jesus was going to go back to heaven. But what he left us in this earth is peace.
00:28:12.048 --> 00:28:16.508
That peace is his present. That peace is the Holy Spirit.
00:28:16.948 --> 00:28:20.308
This is not the kind of peace that depends on a circumstance.
00:28:20.768 --> 00:28:25.908
It's not a temporary. It's not fragile. it remains even when things around you don't.
00:28:26.481 --> 00:28:30.861
When rest is missing, everything feels urgent. When rest is present,
00:28:31.061 --> 00:28:34.241
everything begins to settle into peace.
00:28:34.481 --> 00:28:38.221
The lioness rests because she knows when it's time.
00:28:38.621 --> 00:28:42.421
The lady rests because she trusts in the one who leads her.
00:28:42.801 --> 00:28:47.881
There is a difference between stopping and trusting, between being still out
00:28:47.881 --> 00:28:51.481
of exhaustion or being still in peace.
00:28:51.901 --> 00:28:55.861
In Christ, rest is not an escape, it's restoration.
00:28:56.581 --> 00:29:00.141
I want you ladies not to be afraid to take a moment to rest.
00:29:00.561 --> 00:29:05.381
Come home from work one day, kick off your high heels, put on your PJs,
00:29:05.521 --> 00:29:09.221
get in your pajamas, maybe eating, get breakfast or whatever you want to do
00:29:09.221 --> 00:29:11.821
before you go to bed, before you settle in.
00:29:12.001 --> 00:29:16.501
And I want you to sit in silence and allow that peace of God to fill you.
00:29:16.961 --> 00:29:20.461
You're going to want to do something because it's a little uncomfortable.
00:29:20.661 --> 00:29:25.261
But if you get in the habit of coming home and just sitting in that rest,
00:29:25.261 --> 00:29:28.301
because sometimes we're so busy up until we go to bed.
00:29:28.521 --> 00:29:31.941
So I purposely plan my bedtime around seven o'clock.
00:29:32.581 --> 00:29:36.981
I'll get in that bed at seven o'clock, brush my face, brush my teeth,
00:29:37.101 --> 00:29:41.161
put on my PJs, and I'm in the bed. My goal is not to fall asleep.
00:29:41.501 --> 00:29:43.701
My goal is to sit in peace.
00:29:44.101 --> 00:29:48.221
But you know how peace kind of covers you, that you close your eyes,
00:29:48.221 --> 00:29:50.241
and next thing you know, it's this morning time.
00:29:50.601 --> 00:29:52.601
And you're like, I didn't, I needed that.
00:29:53.452 --> 00:29:57.512
And God gives you a sweet dream. Let's pray. Father God, in the name of Jesus,
00:29:57.992 --> 00:29:59.252
teach me how to rest in you.
00:29:59.612 --> 00:30:04.072
Help me to release what I have been carrying that you have already handled.
00:30:04.512 --> 00:30:09.152
Quiet what is restless within me and lead me into the stillness that restores.
00:30:09.572 --> 00:30:15.272
Let me trust you in the moments when I do not need to strive.
00:30:15.712 --> 00:30:21.052
And remind me, Lord, that you are working, even when I'm still,
00:30:21.332 --> 00:30:27.052
that you are fighting, even when I'm scared and don't know what to do.
00:30:27.192 --> 00:30:32.392
Even, Lord God, when things are moving fast, you are not in a rush.
00:30:32.532 --> 00:30:34.512
You know exactly where you want to put us.
00:30:34.832 --> 00:30:41.112
And so I thank you, Lord God, that I will be still and know that you are God.
00:30:41.452 --> 00:30:44.552
And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
00:30:44.912 --> 00:30:49.512
This is your host, Connie Morris. This is the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.
00:30:50.092 --> 00:30:54.132
So glad you joined me. and I'll see you on the next episode.
00:31:05.489 --> 00:31:08.849
Family, thank you for spending time with me today.
00:31:09.149 --> 00:31:12.829
To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,
00:31:12.889 --> 00:31:15.249
or pushed aside, hear me clearly.
00:31:15.529 --> 00:31:20.069
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.
00:31:20.389 --> 00:31:25.289
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God.
00:31:25.509 --> 00:31:31.569
Because someone out there needs this reminder today. Jeremiah 29,
00:31:31.909 --> 00:31:34.309
11, verses 11 through 14.
00:31:34.589 --> 00:31:39.689
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
00:31:39.689 --> 00:31:43.529
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
00:31:43.809 --> 00:31:48.629
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,
00:31:48.809 --> 00:31:54.089
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
00:31:54.209 --> 00:32:00.149
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.
00:32:00.469 --> 00:32:06.549
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.
00:32:06.729 --> 00:32:11.869
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to
00:32:11.869 --> 00:32:14.669
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.
00:32:14.849 --> 00:32:19.289
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.
00:32:19.409 --> 00:32:20.729
When we feel overlooked.
00:32:21.324 --> 00:32:27.204
Remind us, you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us, you still have a plan.
00:32:27.364 --> 00:32:31.204
And when we feel hidden, remind us, you are still working.
00:32:31.604 --> 00:32:37.264
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.
00:32:37.664 --> 00:32:41.704
Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart,
00:32:42.044 --> 00:32:44.964
not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.
00:32:45.184 --> 00:32:51.724
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place, even the hidden one.
00:32:51.924 --> 00:32:57.664
Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in
00:32:57.664 --> 00:33:00.164
our lives is wasted in your hand.
00:33:00.364 --> 00:33:06.524
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:33:06.924 --> 00:33:11.064
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,
00:33:11.224 --> 00:33:13.264
and I'll see you on the next.
00:00:10.427 --> 00:00:14.207
Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,
00:00:14.287 --> 00:00:19.887
Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you
00:00:19.887 --> 00:00:23.667
on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning,
00:00:24.367 --> 00:00:26.807
or even in those quiet moments before prayer.
00:00:27.127 --> 00:00:33.607
Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go.
00:00:33.927 --> 00:00:40.047
Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer.
00:00:40.427 --> 00:00:42.427
The prayer of Jabez.
00:00:42.867 --> 00:00:46.427
Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.
00:00:46.907 --> 00:00:54.887
Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.
00:00:55.327 --> 00:01:00.667
Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us,
00:01:00.827 --> 00:01:04.727
not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming.
00:01:05.607 --> 00:01:10.187
Enlarge our territory, Lord. Expand our capacity, our mindset,
00:01:10.387 --> 00:01:12.867
and our ability to receive what you have for us.
00:01:13.207 --> 00:01:20.147
Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make.
00:01:20.507 --> 00:01:25.747
And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually,
00:01:26.027 --> 00:01:29.347
that we may walk in peace and not in pain.
00:01:29.687 --> 00:01:35.307
And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.
00:01:35.667 --> 00:01:42.647
Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today.
00:01:42.727 --> 00:01:47.527
So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see
00:01:47.527 --> 00:01:52.527
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, welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,
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Connie Morris, and I'd like to thank you for joining me for day five,
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The Lioness and the Ladies.
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Today's topic, we're going to cover the lioness knows when to rest.
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Strength includes stillness, and our spiritual focus today will be on rest, trust, and peace.
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And as we read through the Proverbs 31 verses 10 through 30,
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I'm just going to show you some places where the virtuous woman finds rest.
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And you know us, either busy bees, but strong women who goes forth and can conquer the world.
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And they wonder, when do you guys sit still?
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When do you really get rest?
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And the things that causes the lioness and the ladies to rest is to know first who they they are.
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Second, whom they belong to. And then third, who is truly the provider in all of this?
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So let's start at verse 10.
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It says, who can find a virtuous woman for prices far above rubies?
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And I wonder what makes her so valuable.
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The first part that makes her valuable is found in verse 11,
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the heart of her husband does safely trust in her so that he should have no need of spoil.
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So she has a husband who trusts in her.
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And that means that when you have a secure man who allows the woman to just
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be themselves and do what they need to do, that's arrest. You're not Fighting.
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About getting things done or fighting to maybe work out the household or do
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anything. You have a man in your life that's at rest because you are happy.
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You're doing what pleases you.
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Verse 12, she will do him good, not evil, all of the days of her life.
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Why would she do him good? because he's allowing her to be herself.
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Not saying that adultery or affairs are part of that insecurity that carries
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into those relationships, but I want to talk about the virtuous woman.
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We each have our own story.
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And so first of all, she has her husband's heart.
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Second, her mind is made up that she won't do him any harm.
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Let's go to 13, verse 13. She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.
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She is like the merchant's ships.
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She brings food from afar.
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She rises also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and apportion to her maiden.
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She's never tired of taking care of what supports her. Her maiden supports her.
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Her husband supports her.
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Her family supports her. She probably have friends that support her.
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And so that is what gives her rest when she has people she can trust in and rely on.
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And that gives her opportunity to be creative, right?
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You know, you're loved by your family. And so all your energy is not going into
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sleep this night, worrying about anything. It's going into creativity.
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Let me know what you think about that. When we are arrested.
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When we are still, we're able to be creative.
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Let's go to verse 16. She considers the field and buyeth it,
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and the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
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She girded her loins with strength and strengthens her arms.
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I like this part because it shows me here that she is not lounging around.
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That even though she's busy, she'd still find time to get in shape,
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to stay in shape, to stay healthy.
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7 verse 18, she perceives that her merchandise is good.
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Her cattle goeth not out by night. She lays her hand in the spindle and her
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hands hold the dish staff.
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So she's not bossing people around.
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Yes, she's creative. She uses her creativity and she gets to work.
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So she's probably designing, designing outfits, designing how different colors flow, you know.
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So she's not just the boss lady. She's also working.
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That gives her rest because she's not paying out her, you know,
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she's able to be creative under the rest.
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And it's good if you have money to pay for people.
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You hire people to work and you walk around and you tell them what you want.
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But you ever have to hire somebody for something.
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You paid them good money. And then when you find out what they did,
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you're like, I could have did that myself.
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And this just came to my mind. I got this smart camera on my door,
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and it wasn't working properly.
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I paid $100 for this man to come out.
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Take it off, put a battery in and close it back up. And now it's working.
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And I'm like, okay, if I would have just read the instructions,
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if I would have just took time out to figure this out, I would have saved a hundred dollars.
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I paid him a hundred dollars for about 15 minutes of work.
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And I just, cause I watched what he did. I said, oh my gosh,
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I won't be calling you again. I'm going to actually figure this out myself.
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And I did. My door went out again and I said, oh, I remember how to do this.
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And I took it apart, put it back together.
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And so I love that sometimes we have to use our creative ability to fix things.
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Now, if you had a husband, that would be cool. But if you're a single person
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and you can't figure it out, try to figure it out. Don't pay all that money.
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Let's keep going. So you can rest. That $100 could have went for something else.
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Let's go to verse.
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20. How does she rest? She stretches out her hand to the poor and she reaches
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forth her hand to the needy.
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So she can rest because she's not greedy. She gives to the needy.
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So when we're able to have an overflow of something and not trying to make,
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you can make money off of it at your desire, but how about we bless somebody? How about we do that?
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Give it to the needy, not the greedy. and I share the story about what I did for a lady.
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I won't go into that story right now, but I always go through my closet.
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When I buy new outfits or something new, I go in my closet and see what can I give away.
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Because my whole deal is to keep a current wardrobe and sometimes you got to
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do it in parts, but sometimes you look in your closet, you haven't worn that
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outfit in about 10 years.
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It's still new, it looks good. You can't fit it, but you're not going to give it away.
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Somebody can use that for a job interview or something.
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Let's talk about verse 21. She's not afraid of snow for her household,
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for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
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If you live in the Northwest, like I do, guess what?
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Midwest, I live in the Midwest. Midwest, you know it's going to snow. So how do you prepare?
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How do you prepare your family? How do you prepare yourself for the snow?
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How do you prepare your children for the snow?
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And so you're not afraid of the snow. I love snowstorms. I love thunderstorms.
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I love all storms, right?
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Only because I trust God in the storm. Even if you hide, you do the safety factor,
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don't get me wrong, but you see people die in their basement.
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You know, when it's time for you to go, you go, but you can trust that God will protect you.
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You know, you don't do anything stupid, but you know, follow the rules,
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but also add that God factor in your life.
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And I think that this is the whole story about her, the virtuous woman,
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is because she does the work, but she's not doing it in her own strength.
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She's doing it in the strength of the Lord God Almighty. Let's continue.
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Verse 22, she maketh herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.
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Purple in the biblical days were expensive. That dye was very expensive.
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So she's making the finest clothes.
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She's not making some, nothing wrong with how you, whatever you decide to sew, but guess what?
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She's not playing around. She is an artist. She has tapestry.
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She is very wise in how she does her fabric.
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If you can't sew and you're not creative, you're not going to take your most
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expensive fabric and try to cut something up. She knows what she is doing.
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Number 23, how can she rest? Her husband is known in the gates when he sits
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among the elders of the land.
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You can rest when your man got a good job.
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And so it's not dependent on your income to support the house.
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Can I just get an amen out there? So your man has a good job,
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you know, and you can dress up, drive in a fancy car, but yet you are,
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maybe have a side business you do, and you're helping to support the family, but it's not mandatory.
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That's how you can rest. 24. She maketh fine linen and sells it and delivers
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girdles unto the merchants.
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Look at her. She can do silk. She can do purple.
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She can do fine linen and she can do girdles. This lady is skillful.
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Girdles are made out of that lasting material. So you have to be great at sewing.
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Otherwise, you're going to mess some things up.
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She's also using her wisdom. She's not just sticking with one thing.
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She's very, very creative. Let's continue.
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Verse 25, strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come.
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When we think of strength and honor, it reminds us of a song that praises God
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for his strength and his honor.
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And so when you connect it with the source, that source can rub off on you,
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and you can become just like Jesus, strong and strong.
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Honorable, right? Strength. Why? Because Jesus relied on the Father. You relied on Jesus.
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I mean, it's like a connection of energy.
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Number 26, she opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is the law of kindness.
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So she's not out there cussing up a storm.
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And we know that when we curse, we curse ourself first because it comes right
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out of our mouth into the earth. So they had to go through all that to get out.
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And so guess who gets it first? It's you.
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But she knows how to talk. She knows how to be kind, not nice,
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kind. Kind comes from the heart.
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She, 27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.
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She's not hanging at the club. She's not sitting around doing nothing.
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She is not going to probably let any dust grow on her because she's always about the business.
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And I want to share this with you. When you pray and you have a connection with
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God, you are always not going to be idle because God's got stuff to do and He
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wants you to do it. And so there's no idle moment.
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I'm just thinking like, wow, Lord, there's no idle moments with me.
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When I get tired, I go to bed, but when I'm up, I'm up and I'm moving around. Why?
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Because God got things for us to do.
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We don't have time to sit around.
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That's how she's restful because she is not lounging.
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You ever had a lazy day and you didn't do anything and yet you retired anyway?
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Think about that. So think about being busy and then getting some things done.
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That's the reason for exhaustion, for tiredness.
00:14:08.938 --> 00:14:14.538
27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.
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Verse 28, her children rise up and call her blessed.
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Her husband also, and he praises her. And this is what he says to her.
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He says, many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excels them all.
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Think about that. He's just so proud of her.
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You can rest when someone actually honors what you do, whatever that is.
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If you're a stay-at-home mom and you take care of the kids and your husband
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tells you, wow, you are the excellence of them all, that's satisfactory.
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You can rest in that. And in verse 30, it says, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.
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That's what he's telling her. Her husband is telling her.
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But a woman that fears the Lord, she should be praised.
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So when you are a woman who fears the Lord, not afraid of him, but honor him.
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Honor him with your work. Honor him with your money. Honor him with your time.
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Honor him with your voice.
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Honor him with your presence.
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You know, the way you dress, the way you keep your house clean,
00:15:21.344 --> 00:15:22.944
the way you keep your car clean.
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You know, the way you look, you know, the way you care about your presence.
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And a lot of times, the way we even care enough not to alter it so much.
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You know, like when you're young, people are getting tattoos all over their whole body.
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It is a piece of artwork, but dang, won't you grow weary of that tattoo?
00:15:42.882 --> 00:15:44.822
And when you look in the mirror, you got a tattoo on your face,
00:15:44.822 --> 00:15:47.082
on your nose, on your ear.
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People have got their lips done, their butt done, breasts done, everything done.
00:15:54.362 --> 00:15:57.782
They're no longer their self. Nothing wrong with a little vanity.
00:15:58.382 --> 00:16:02.322
But when you get older, what is that going to look like on your body?
00:16:02.602 --> 00:16:08.502
It was interesting because there was an image of a tattoo when you're like 21,
00:16:08.982 --> 00:16:13.582
and how that tattoo just kind of morphosized as you get older.
00:16:14.042 --> 00:16:17.202
And you're like, why did I put that on my skin? Because my skin's going to start
00:16:17.202 --> 00:16:18.542
drying out. It's going to be wrinkled.
00:16:18.742 --> 00:16:22.062
It's not going to be that plump flower that you have. It's just going to be
00:16:22.062 --> 00:16:28.782
kind of a flower that whittling without water, you know, but right to their own.
00:16:29.002 --> 00:16:31.042
And this is about being a lady.
00:16:31.482 --> 00:16:36.062
What does it take to be a lady? What does it take to be a virtuous woman?
00:16:36.062 --> 00:16:41.562
There is a kind of strength that's always moving, always doing, always caring.
00:16:41.902 --> 00:16:48.762
It feels responsible. It feels necessary. But over time, it can feel like the
00:16:48.762 --> 00:16:53.682
only way to live, like when you're so used to being busy or so used to being tired.
00:16:54.182 --> 00:16:57.282
But in contrast, movement is not always a strength.
00:16:57.582 --> 00:17:02.642
Sometimes it's a strain. There are moments when stopping feels unfamiliar,
00:17:03.022 --> 00:17:07.122
when rest feels undeserved, when stillness feels unproductive,
00:17:07.122 --> 00:17:11.522
and yet without it, everything begins to wear down.
00:17:12.482 --> 00:17:16.662
Even Psalms 23.2 tells us how God desires us.
00:17:16.862 --> 00:17:21.242
He tells us, he maketh me to lie down in the green pastures.
00:17:21.482 --> 00:17:24.042
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
00:17:24.602 --> 00:17:27.982
We see here that he maketh us to rest.
00:17:28.222 --> 00:17:32.362
He maketh us to go by still waters. You ever been by still waters?
00:17:32.562 --> 00:17:35.962
It's just beautiful. It's just a chance. You could just sit there all day because
00:17:35.962 --> 00:17:40.242
you can hear the water flowing, but it's just a nice, restful place.
00:17:40.242 --> 00:17:45.002
So when he lays us down in green pastures, not weeded pastures,
00:17:45.162 --> 00:17:49.922
not the dirt, but something soft, something pretty, something luscious.
00:17:50.242 --> 00:17:54.882
And he asks us to rest. Can you wait here until I come?
00:17:55.702 --> 00:18:00.802
There's a place in God that brings stillness. It's not to slow you down without
00:18:00.802 --> 00:18:04.382
reason, but to restore what has been depleted.
00:18:04.802 --> 00:18:11.802
Rest is not weakness. It's part of his leading. and also as part of your healing.
00:18:12.222 --> 00:18:22.102
When we rest, our body get a chance to sit still and just begin to heal those places.
00:18:22.322 --> 00:18:26.582
And it's interesting because this whole week, I usually get up at three like
00:18:26.582 --> 00:18:30.282
I told you, but lately the Lord had me, I was sleeping at about 4,
00:18:30.402 --> 00:18:33.042
4.30 and then didn't realize that,
00:18:33.646 --> 00:18:37.286
you know, I was like, why I need to pray? And Lord, you can tell the Lord,
00:18:37.426 --> 00:18:40.326
like, close your eyes and put you back to sleep. And I'm like, okay.
00:18:41.066 --> 00:18:45.746
I get up, I pray. The whole week, this whole week has been so different for
00:18:45.746 --> 00:18:51.886
me because of the resting, you know, the resting, because I had a little kink in my lower back.
00:18:52.206 --> 00:18:56.006
And since I've been resting, right, I don't have it anymore.
00:18:56.546 --> 00:19:01.386
You know, since I've been resting, I'm not hungry all the time.
00:19:01.846 --> 00:19:05.086
I'm not having, you know, you have a little hungry attitude.
00:19:06.086 --> 00:19:12.966
So when God begins to shift your life, the first thing he does is gets you to rest.
00:19:13.626 --> 00:19:18.186
He rests, just sitting and resting. I'll go lay down, I don't think I'm just
00:19:18.186 --> 00:19:20.866
going to listen to, because I listen to my own podcast.
00:19:21.086 --> 00:19:24.946
I think I'm going to listen to my podcast and I set it for about 30, 45 minutes.
00:19:25.146 --> 00:19:30.666
And next thing I know, I wake up the next morning and like just feeling really restful.
00:19:31.106 --> 00:19:35.306
It was a part I remember sharing with you guys about turning off the,
00:19:35.306 --> 00:19:41.386
like the YouTubes and the social media and just taking that time in the evening
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and in the morning to just rest.
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The job I have, I can't take my phone inside.
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And so it's slowly taking away that phone addiction where you got to check it every five minutes.
00:19:52.426 --> 00:19:56.106
My phone could be in the other room, which it is. And I'm like,
00:19:56.186 --> 00:19:59.406
I don't need it like I used to because I don't have it all day.
00:19:59.506 --> 00:20:04.846
And I realized that since I'm not on my phone all day, the emails have stopped.
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A lot of the emails, you get a lot of spam emails and stuff.
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It has slowed down because you're not on the phone.
00:20:10.566 --> 00:20:12.706
The phone is not on all the time.
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Isn't that interesting? And so that's why I said I feel like a shift is happening
00:20:17.266 --> 00:20:23.826
because I'm taking time out instead of listening, spending that time on your
00:20:23.826 --> 00:20:27.466
YouTube, just listening to all that drama, I just turn that off.
00:20:27.586 --> 00:20:30.486
I don't even go there. If I turn it on, I go, okay.
00:20:30.926 --> 00:20:33.426
You become less tolerant of it.
00:20:34.015 --> 00:20:39.335
You know, so remember that stillness is what God does just to slow you down
00:20:39.335 --> 00:20:42.655
just a little bit, but just so you can be restored.
00:20:42.935 --> 00:20:45.695
I know we need to be restored. We got a long ways to go.
00:20:46.155 --> 00:20:50.355
Jesus, he might come tomorrow. He might not come until like maybe 10 years from
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now. Are we ready for the wait?
00:20:52.515 --> 00:20:56.195
Are we going to have our oil? Are we going to be the wise version?
00:20:56.275 --> 00:20:57.535
Are we going to be the foolish version?
00:20:57.835 --> 00:21:01.875
We want to stay prepared. The Bible tells us in Matthew 11, 28,
00:21:01.995 --> 00:21:10.955
it says, Come ye, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
00:21:11.295 --> 00:21:16.935
This is an invitation to lay down when it becomes heavy. A chance to take that
00:21:16.935 --> 00:21:20.095
load off and give it to God.
00:21:20.415 --> 00:21:25.335
Not everything is meant to be carried without pause. Not everything is meant
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to be held without release.
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And like I shared with you before, I am the HOA president. And for the last
00:21:33.255 --> 00:21:37.235
month, two months or so, it's just been a lot of drama.
00:21:38.084 --> 00:21:43.024
And I remember getting into prayer and I said, Lord, I got to give this to you.
00:21:43.344 --> 00:21:45.464
I have to release this to you.
00:21:45.944 --> 00:21:50.064
And I remember releasing it to him. It was heavy because I, you know.
00:21:50.804 --> 00:21:51.884
I'm thinking I'm going to quit.
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I'm done all this, you know, because we get overwhelmed. First thing we do is quit.
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But sometimes we just need to take a pause and then ask God, what's the next steps?
00:22:01.304 --> 00:22:06.224
And I remember the next steps was this. It was like, I want you to write a letter.
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And the letter is to the board, also to the management company, also to the community.
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And it was a nice, nice letter. But one story that he had me put,
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because it's a lot of drama, and I don't really do drama.
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And it was the story of the lady they found in adultery, right?
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So, and remember, there was a man that dragged her out.
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And then Jesus said, he was drawn on the sand. And Jesus said,
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if anyone of you have not sinned, if you are like, if you're so perfect, you're so good.
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But he said, you have not sinned. I want you to throw the first stone.
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And yet, slowly, slowly, each man took that stone and they set it down and they went away.
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And that's what I shared with the community. It's like no one here is perfect.
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But yet we want to always pick up the stone and stone the person bringing the news.
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Right? And I just let that rest. I didn't finish that. I said,
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I let them let that marinate on them.
00:23:07.544 --> 00:23:13.144
This is a time for us to come together, not to be divisive, but if you have
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not sinned, I want you to throw the first stone.
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And I just wrote that and I sent it. And I get home that evening and someone
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put flowers on my doorstep with a card.
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And this is powerful because once we let it go,
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then God can work. When we hold on to it, you're not getting any rest.
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You're not getting any sleep.
00:23:36.218 --> 00:23:40.078
You're just tense and angry about nothing.
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Because if God says you have the victory, if he said you won,
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that you are more than a conqueror, then what are we doing? Why are we always fighting?
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Why do we have to even have the last word, right? So go Exodus 14,
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14 is powerful. It brings it right to what I'm talking about.
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It says the Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.
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I want to fight for you, but I need you to chill out.
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And I said, I'll do that. I'm going to chill out. And I'm going to tell you
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something that the phone hasn't rang.
00:24:12.298 --> 00:24:15.778
There's not a lot of crazy things said on Facebook.
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The security community page that I'm an administrator of.
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It's just been quiet because I remember in that prayer, I said,
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Lord, Isaiah 41 says, it asks for help. I'm going to help you.
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I'm going to strengthen you. And I'm going to uphold you with my righteous right hand.
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Lord, I need some help. Help is not going to come. It's going to come,
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but there'll be something you're required to do. Let it go.
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Whatever that is that you're holding on to, you have to let it go.
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Otherwise, you won't see God at work. He said, if you got it,
00:24:48.738 --> 00:24:49.918
I don't have to hold on to it.
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I don't have to hold on to it. Some battles do not require striving.
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There are moments when stillness is not avoidance, it's trust.
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The lioness is not frantic. She moves when it's time to move,
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but she also rests when it's time to rest. So be still.
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There is no panic in her rhythm. There is no constant urgency.
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There's just balance. And sometimes it's not that you have not allowed yourself to rest.
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Wow, sometimes we muscle through things. I know I'm guilty of that.
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We muscle through it.
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God's not even in it. We're muscling through it. We're exhausted.
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And we'll tell our friends we're exhausted. We're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
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But you never let God in. You never let the Lord who said, I'll fight for you,
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but I need you to hold your peace.
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And that scripture comes from Exodus 14.
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It was a time they were getting ready to cross the Red Sea and they were all
00:25:55.061 --> 00:25:58.881
in a panic because the Pharaoh and his army was closing in on them.
00:25:59.573 --> 00:26:03.813
And then so Moses got nervous too. So Moses is like, what are we going to do,
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Lord? What are we going to do?
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He says, the Lord will fight for you.
00:26:07.873 --> 00:26:10.393
You should hold your peace. Like, stop panicking.
00:26:11.093 --> 00:26:18.753
Stop being uneasy, fretful. Just chill out. I got this, but I need you to get a hold of yourself.
00:26:19.073 --> 00:26:22.293
I'm going to do this for you. Like, I don't want you frantic.
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I want you to take a deep breath, and I want you to relax.
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But we have to learn to trust God. We have to learn that if he said he's going
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to fight for us, then we need to what?
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Get out the way. We need to get out the way. Let's go to John 19.30.
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We're going to talk about the Lion of Judah, the rest that restores.
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John 19.30 tells us that it is finished.
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There is a rest that comes from knowing that the work is complete in him.
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Jesus did not leave everything undone. He did not leave you to strive endlessly
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to prove, to earn, or to carry what he's already settled.
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What he finished allows you to rest in what he's already secured.
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Here's my favorite verse, John 14, 27. He says, peace I leave with you.
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My peace I give unto you. I want to read that whole scripture. Let's go to John 14, 27.
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This is more to it than that.
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John 14, 27.
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All right. It's all in red print too.
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Verse seven, Jesus is speaking and he says, peace I leave with you.
00:27:31.908 --> 00:27:37.588
My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
00:27:37.788 --> 00:27:42.028
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
00:27:42.428 --> 00:27:46.848
You have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you.
00:27:46.988 --> 00:27:52.368
If you love me, you will rejoice, because I said I go unto the Father,
00:27:52.568 --> 00:27:55.368
for my Father is greater than I.
00:27:56.088 --> 00:28:02.528
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it come to pass, you might believe it.
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I love it. He says, the peace I leave with you.
00:28:06.068 --> 00:28:11.828
Jesus was going to go back to heaven. But what he left us in this earth is peace.
00:28:12.048 --> 00:28:16.508
That peace is his present. That peace is the Holy Spirit.
00:28:16.948 --> 00:28:20.308
This is not the kind of peace that depends on a circumstance.
00:28:20.768 --> 00:28:25.908
It's not a temporary. It's not fragile. it remains even when things around you don't.
00:28:26.481 --> 00:28:30.861
When rest is missing, everything feels urgent. When rest is present,
00:28:31.061 --> 00:28:34.241
everything begins to settle into peace.
00:28:34.481 --> 00:28:38.221
The lioness rests because she knows when it's time.
00:28:38.621 --> 00:28:42.421
The lady rests because she trusts in the one who leads her.
00:28:42.801 --> 00:28:47.881
There is a difference between stopping and trusting, between being still out
00:28:47.881 --> 00:28:51.481
of exhaustion or being still in peace.
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In Christ, rest is not an escape, it's restoration.
00:28:56.581 --> 00:29:00.141
I want you ladies not to be afraid to take a moment to rest.
00:29:00.561 --> 00:29:05.381
Come home from work one day, kick off your high heels, put on your PJs,
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get in your pajamas, maybe eating, get breakfast or whatever you want to do
00:29:09.221 --> 00:29:11.821
before you go to bed, before you settle in.
00:29:12.001 --> 00:29:16.501
And I want you to sit in silence and allow that peace of God to fill you.
00:29:16.961 --> 00:29:20.461
You're going to want to do something because it's a little uncomfortable.
00:29:20.661 --> 00:29:25.261
But if you get in the habit of coming home and just sitting in that rest,
00:29:25.261 --> 00:29:28.301
because sometimes we're so busy up until we go to bed.
00:29:28.521 --> 00:29:31.941
So I purposely plan my bedtime around seven o'clock.
00:29:32.581 --> 00:29:36.981
I'll get in that bed at seven o'clock, brush my face, brush my teeth,
00:29:37.101 --> 00:29:41.161
put on my PJs, and I'm in the bed. My goal is not to fall asleep.
00:29:41.501 --> 00:29:43.701
My goal is to sit in peace.
00:29:44.101 --> 00:29:48.221
But you know how peace kind of covers you, that you close your eyes,
00:29:48.221 --> 00:29:50.241
and next thing you know, it's this morning time.
00:29:50.601 --> 00:29:52.601
And you're like, I didn't, I needed that.
00:29:53.452 --> 00:29:57.512
And God gives you a sweet dream. Let's pray. Father God, in the name of Jesus,
00:29:57.992 --> 00:29:59.252
teach me how to rest in you.
00:29:59.612 --> 00:30:04.072
Help me to release what I have been carrying that you have already handled.
00:30:04.512 --> 00:30:09.152
Quiet what is restless within me and lead me into the stillness that restores.
00:30:09.572 --> 00:30:15.272
Let me trust you in the moments when I do not need to strive.
00:30:15.712 --> 00:30:21.052
And remind me, Lord, that you are working, even when I'm still,
00:30:21.332 --> 00:30:27.052
that you are fighting, even when I'm scared and don't know what to do.
00:30:27.192 --> 00:30:32.392
Even, Lord God, when things are moving fast, you are not in a rush.
00:30:32.532 --> 00:30:34.512
You know exactly where you want to put us.
00:30:34.832 --> 00:30:41.112
And so I thank you, Lord God, that I will be still and know that you are God.
00:30:41.452 --> 00:30:44.552
And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
00:30:44.912 --> 00:30:49.512
This is your host, Connie Morris. This is the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.
00:30:50.092 --> 00:30:54.132
So glad you joined me. and I'll see you on the next episode.
00:31:05.489 --> 00:31:08.849
Family, thank you for spending time with me today.
00:31:09.149 --> 00:31:12.829
To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,
00:31:12.889 --> 00:31:15.249
or pushed aside, hear me clearly.
00:31:15.529 --> 00:31:20.069
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.
00:31:20.389 --> 00:31:25.289
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God.
00:31:25.509 --> 00:31:31.569
Because someone out there needs this reminder today. Jeremiah 29,
00:31:31.909 --> 00:31:34.309
11, verses 11 through 14.
00:31:34.589 --> 00:31:39.689
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
00:31:39.689 --> 00:31:43.529
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
00:31:43.809 --> 00:31:48.629
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,
00:31:48.809 --> 00:31:54.089
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
00:31:54.209 --> 00:32:00.149
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.
00:32:00.469 --> 00:32:06.549
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.
00:32:06.729 --> 00:32:11.869
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to
00:32:11.869 --> 00:32:14.669
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.
00:32:14.849 --> 00:32:19.289
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.
00:32:19.409 --> 00:32:20.729
When we feel overlooked.
00:32:21.324 --> 00:32:27.204
Remind us, you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us, you still have a plan.
00:32:27.364 --> 00:32:31.204
And when we feel hidden, remind us, you are still working.
00:32:31.604 --> 00:32:37.264
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.
00:32:37.664 --> 00:32:41.704
Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart,
00:32:42.044 --> 00:32:44.964
not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.
00:32:45.184 --> 00:32:51.724
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place, even the hidden one.
00:32:51.924 --> 00:32:57.664
Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in
00:32:57.664 --> 00:33:00.164
our lives is wasted in your hand.
00:33:00.364 --> 00:33:06.524
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:33:06.924 --> 00:33:11.064
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,
00:33:11.224 --> 00:33:13.264
and I'll see you on the next.