Hey guys and welcome back to the salt not sweetener
podcast. I am your host Danielle Townsend and
now guys This episode this topic has been on
my mind the past couple days in all honesty I
tried to record this episode a few days ago and
I literally recorded a whole hour long episode
and Immediately after I recorded it. I was like,
no, this isn't it deleted the entire hour worth
and honestly I'm glad I did because in this time
period I feel like the Lord has really given
me a depth to this topic that wasn't present
in that last episode and there's a little bit
more of a different direction now that last episode
I focused more on pruning Right? And we know
that pruning is part of the process when it comes
to growth and healing and, you know, pruning
is when the Lord is breaking those things off
of you, breaking them down and allowing you to
develop things like new habits, new coping mechanisms,
new perspectives that bear fruit. So the episode
I had recorded focused more on pruning. And I
feel like the direction the Lord is actually
more calling me to go in and we will discuss
pruning y 'all is The promises process is in
the past couple episodes. We've talked about
Opposition we've talked about warfare We have
talked about prophetic words and we have talked
about the waiting period that comes with receiving
a word from God But I feel led to do more of
like an in -depth discussion today on What happens
when you receive a promise from God? What is
the process that comes along with that? And I
know that this episode today is going to be helpful
for anybody listening There's going to be something
that you can take out of this whether you have
just received a word from the Lord Whether you
have been waiting for weeks on a word from the
Lord whether whether he's given you a vision
or a promise and you've been waiting months years,
whoever you are, whatever part of the process
you're in this is going to be helpful for you.
There I want to start by saying there are some
things that the Lord revealed to me over a year
ago that I am still waiting to see the full fruition
of and this has been a great reminder for me
and an encouragement for me and I pray that whatever
touches your heart in this episode today that
it Refreshes you that it replenishes you that
it renews your mind that it renews your spirit
Believe it or not y 'all. I'm actually a little
bit more organized today. I've taken time and
actually written some things down I really felt
prompted by the Holy Spirit today to have some
things already written down You know, I usually
kind of freestyle with the brock with the brock
The podcast I'm usually freestyling this whole
process Where I just get on here and you know
where the Holy Spirit leads me is Where the Holy
Spirit leads me and I really just allow the Lord
To use me and Today was one of those rare days
that I felt led to have some bullet points down
have some extra notes to refer back to So I know
that God intends to do something with this episode
today. And the first thing I have written down
here, y 'all, are promises from God come with
healing, revealing, and opposition. I don't know
about y 'all, but most of the time when I get
a promise from the Lord, the first thing I receive
is hope, right? When I gave my life to Jesus
back in California, I've told you all the story
before, there were some promises that he made
to me. for example that he was going to change
my living situation that my past pain was going
to become testimony that I was going to live
a life devoted to him and serving him and that
he was going to impact other people's lives through
my testimony there were some other things that
he showed me restoration promises and the very
first thing that came out of those was hope right
because I believed I believed in what he spoke
to me I believed in what he showed me so it gave
me a hope it kind of gave me a goal to work towards
right it gave me like a light at the end of what
felt like a very dark tunnel and what i didn't
know and i'm honestly glad i didn't know at the
time is that those kind of promises come along
with opposition and uncomfortability and hardship
if god would have told me in all honesty y 'all
When he made those promises to me that you were
gonna have to do go through this and go through
that and go through that I probably would have
said, you know what? Never mind. No, thank you.
I Would have gotten overwhelmed scared and dipped
out So glory be to God. He didn't tell me and
he took me through the process slowly I'm gonna
say this again promises from God come with healing
revealing and opposition Speaking from experience
in the process because some of those promises
I have seen God fulfill them. I have seen God
fulfill them and The other ones I know he is
working on it and I know it's going to happen
one day and his timing I have the faith for that
and I have seen things already falling into place
for that glory be to God But in the waiting period
before I received a lot of those things that
the Lord promised to me There were areas of me
that were healed first and those things weren't
healed until those things were revealed and Those
things were often revealed through times of spiritual
opposition God we know that it is in his character
to use all things for your good and that includes
opposition whatever warfare you face whatever
struggles you're going through whatever attacks
of the enemy god can use those to strengthen
you god can use those to further you and to help
you step into your calling he will use them to
prune you and that is what today's episode is
really we're going to touch in a lot on how god
uses the opposition because y 'all we have addressed
opposition a lot here The pod right like we have
addressed. How do you identify opposition? How
does the devil sneak in? How does he manipulate?
How does he plant seeds? We have spent a lot
of time focusing in on how to spot warfare how
to identify warfare and the purpose of the warfare
from the enemy's perspective But today we're
going to be talking about how God uses that And
how the warfare in the opposition is actually
it's literally the dirt That helps you to grow
It's literally the footstool. You know how God
will use your enemies as your footstool This
opposition is literally your footstool and I
pray that after listening to this episode today
You are able to perceive what you are going through
or what you have been going through in a different
way Okay It's really important to know this y
'all when you receive a promise from God you're
also going to receive inner work and That inner
work is usually tied to warfare Okay When God
made a lot of promises to me I I was really hopeful
right and I was like, okay God where they at
where they at where they at and In my private
time with him. He revealed to me I'm gonna do
these things for you one day, but you are not
yet able to steward over them. Basically, God
was saying these promises are for one day, but
they're not for right now. If I gave them to
you now, you wouldn't be able to carry them.
You wouldn't steward over them well. You were
not yet prepared for these things. And when the
Lord revealed that to me, I saw that as an invitation.
into prayer and preparation. Y 'all, when God
reveals, when He gives you a promise, when He
gives you a hope, when He gives you a vision,
sometimes we take that as like a signal to, okay,
now I need to force it and now I need to push
it, now I need to do this. That is not why God
is revealing that to you. He doesn't reveal something
for the intent of you to, in your own control,
force it and work it around and make it happen.
God revealing something to you is an invitation
for you to first step pray on it. And often times,
it's an invitation into preparation, right? It's
an invitation to prepare yourself. So I saw these
when God told me, this is what I want to do for
you, but you're not yet ready for it. I was like,
okay. God made me that promise that means I can
get there like if God if God said This is what
I'm gonna do for you one day. It's our it's been
it's done So I'm gonna have the faith that that
is for sure going to happen And if God says I'm
not ready in my brain I was like, okay Well,
then God what what needs to happen for me to
be ready start getting me ready do what you need
to do within me to make me ready and y 'all when
I tell you God moved off that prayer it was almost
instantly I started seeing things about myself
that needed worked on and I started seeing things
about myself that needed healed what the more
I was reading the gospel the more I was like
yep this part of me doesn't look very Christ
-like this part of me doesn't align very well
there were a lot of things that the Lord took
and like literally broke down and me broke down
and me and that was the pruning process That
was the pruning process. We're skipping ahead
a little bit here y 'all I didn't have pruning
written down until later, but you know a Holy
Spirit guiding us right now Pruning is talked
about in John 15. So while I flip to that I Want
to tell y 'all just how much the pruning process
is absolutely crucial Because if you are not
yet prepared to steward over that blessing a
blessing from God may end up feeling like a curse
Crazy, right? But it might. If you do not have
the capability, because a gift from God comes
with weight, it comes with an anointing, it comes
with requirements of like certain fruits of the
spirit to be able to steward over it long term
and to use it to glorify God. Because we're not
talking about just receiving something, we're
talking about once you receive it, being able
to steward over it well and use it to glorify
the kingdom of heaven and use it to like build
up. For example, there was a there was a job
that God gave me that God absolutely blessed
me with because I was not qualified for this
job on my own God had to work things around for
me to have that job And by the time I start working
that job and receiving it, it was an absolute
blessing for me. I was like, oh my gosh, I get
to be in God's Word every day. Oh my gosh, I
get to be around like I'm in a Christ -centered
environment. Oh my gosh, I get to be around like
all these different things. But I started thinking
about it and I was like, yeah, if God would have
given me that like a year ago when I wasn't focused
on Him, when I wasn't craving a Christ -centered
environment, when I didn't have fruits, when
my patience, for example, wasn't... honed in
as much as it is now. I started looking I was
like I would instead see this job as like a high
stress thing. I wouldn't be glorifying God and
appreciating it. I would be looking around like
can I have a different job? Can I have something
else? I don't enjoy this. I don't like this.
If God had given it to me too early it would
have been a thing that I complained about instead
of a thing that I rejoiced about. And the pruning
process is what got me there. Let me tell y 'all,
the patience, I had to be able to steward over
that job well. It wasn't just I woke up with
patience. It was God gave me a lot of opportunities
to extend my patience. And that came by trials
and testings and tribulations. And when you're
facing those trials and those testings and those
tribulations, you have the opportunity to, okay,
I'm either going to react impatiently or I'm
going to react patiently. And I'm gonna pray
to God for the strength to react patiently. I'm
gonna get the strength from him. And that is
a little bit of an example of the pruning process,
right? Because I wasn't the most impatient person
in the world, but my patience could definitely
have been extended. So you can think of it as
my patience branch was bearing a little bit of
fruit, but God recognized in order to go into
the next season, it was gonna need to be capable
of bearing a lot more fruit than it was. So what
he did is he allowed me to go through situations
where my patience had to be grown and my patience
had to be extended. He cut off my old way of
coping. He cut off my old way of being patient
and allowed me to cultivate with him, because
we don't do anything outside of him, a new branch.
I'm going to read this to you all real quick.
John chapter 15. I am the true vine, and my father
is the gardener. Every branch in me that does
not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every
branch that produces fruit so that it will produce
more fruit. You are already clean because of
the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and
I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce
fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me. I am
the vine. You are the branches. The one who remains
in me and I in him produces much fruit because
you can do nothing without me. If anyone does
not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch
and he withers. They gather them, throw them
into the fire and they are burned. If you remain
in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever
you want and it will be done for you. My father
is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit
and prove to be my disciples. And now I think
this is very important that we acknowledge here
that we are not mint. grow these branches we
are not meant to do anything apart from Jesus
and that's why I want to be very thoughtful in
saying like when the Lord cut off my old way
of being with the intent of me to produce something
better I was meant to do it with him not apart
from him It's very tempting when your source
of comfortability is removed or a habit that
brought you comfortability or perspective. When
that is cut off, there is the temptation to go
out and try to create something yourself. There's
the temptation to go out and try to find comfort
in the world. There's a temptation to go out
and try to handle things in a worldly way. And
that can even be seen as a testing of your faith,
right? Do you trust God enough that the answer
will be found with him and in his word? I can
tell you all that every time my patience was
put to the test, I didn't find comfortability
in outside sources and distractions or things
like that. My true comfort and my hope, my hope
was found in Christ. And the patience I have
now, sometimes is supernaturally given to me
by Christ. There are things I can sit through
and tolerate now. Like without having an explosion
or break down or throwing in the towel that a
year ago I would not have been able to go through
I would not and especially two years ago. I Think
it's very important that we acknowledge this
that the habits the coping mechanisms the things
that we develop are meant to be with like a reflection
of Christ Jesus So, your coping mechanism, the
way that you handle warfare, the fruit that you're
producing should look like Christ. It should
be a reflection of Him, right? We know some of
the fruits of the Spirit, love, patience, peace,
joy. These things should reflect Christ. I think
there's someone out here today who needed to
hear that. that Christ isn't like cutting these
things off of you and intending for you to go
out and find new ways and new methods in the
world. He's intending for you to go to Him and
be replenished through Him. That's why I will
always say when you're dealing with warfare,
when you're dealing with opposition, the answer
is in distractions. It's not in busy work. It's
not in relationships with other people. It's
not in numbing the pain. It's not in the drinks,
the smoking. It's not in the exercise. It's not
in all those things. I'm not saying that those
things are... I'm not saying that things like
exercise or a relationship is bad. But that shouldn't
be your go -to. Your go -to should always be
Christ. Christ should always be first in your
life. Christ should be your first therapist.
Christ should be your first friend. Christ should
be... your first advisor. And I've shared this
from experience that at one point in my life,
Christ called me to leave behind all of my coping
mechanisms. Called me to leave behind smoking,
drinking, called me to leave behind new age,
called me to leave behind gossiping, called me
to leave behind all these things. And I was like,
well, what's going to fill the void? What's going
to fill my anxiety? What's going to help me sleep
at night? What's going to bring me peace? What's
going to distract me? And Christ said, try me.
Come to me and watch what happens. And in the
times when I was tempted to go back to those
old things, I chose to go to Jesus instead. When
I was stressed and anxious, I chose to go to
God's Word. And I found a peace that surpassed
all understanding. When something was happening
and I was really uncomfortable and the unknown,
I went to Jesus about it. And he gave me a peace
that he hasn't handled. Whoever you are listening
to stay you need to hear these hardships are
not the hardships opposition whatever warfare
you're facing whatever whatever uncomfortability
you're in right now because Growth comes with
uncomfortability and the cutting off requires
a stepping into the unknown, right? When the
Lord is pruning something out of our life We're
left in a little while of like an unsure space
before that new thing really grows and develops
We're left kind of like where do we go? And what
do we do and I want to tell you today that question
is Jesus Be in God's presence be in his word
Be reading the Bible be worshiping be praising
be in a space of prayer If you don't know what
to do go to him and even if you think you know
what to do go to him We believe not on our own
understanding So if you've received a promise
from God you can bet that you're also going to
see a pruning season Okay, you can think of the
pruning The pruning really is cutting out habits,
methods, thought processes, maybe even relationships,
friendships, connections. Because God intends
for you to go into a new season, right? But this
new season comes with a new weight. There's a
saying I used to hear in new levels, new devils,
and that is not... Word for word in the Bible.
I want to be very clear But what people mean
when they say that is when you go into a new
space, you're gonna face new challenges You're
gonna face new opposition and that's because
you're walking in With like a new level of responsibility
with a new with a new weight, right? When you're
walking into an upgrade from God whether that
is there's a career Promise for you a marriage
restoration a relationship restoration, you know,
whether it's something to do with ministry Whatever
that next thing that you're stepping into That's
an increase, right? You have to be able to not
only like receive that increase but be able to
continue to hold it and build on it and Oftentimes
to go into the new season You have to have new
ways of handling things, new ways of working
through things, new ways of sorting through things.
That is why the pruning process is so important,
right? because god before you walk through that
door god is looking at you and saying this isn't
going to do well in that next season this isn't
going to bear fruit this isn't going to be able
to hold this weight this isn't going to be able
so before you go into that i'm going to clip
this out i'm going to snip this out i'm going
to remove this and honestly y 'all that is relationships
too there are some friendships relationships
connections people you're close with right now
that if you are close with them in the next season
they would be the opposition they would be that
thing that's constantly the thorn in your side
The foot in the door, that thing that's dragging
you back by the ankle. There have been times
when before I have been able to step into a promise,
there are boundaries I have to put up with certain
people. Because God knew if those people were
as close with me in the next season, they would
take advantage of me. They would be used to plant
seeds of doubt and fear. And remember, we're
checking the spirit behind it. There's a spirit
behind. the action we're not just looking at
the people we're looking at the spirit offering
behind them and we know that that is the enemy
working in working against God's plan but there
are times before you're able to go through that
next door God is going to say you got to have
boundaries you got to have a different circle
you got to have different voices because the
voices you're entertaining now will be detrimental
to you in the next season The pruning process,
although it's painful and it's uncomfortable,
is so absolutely necessary. It's so absolutely
necessary. And it's important to remember that
the pain that you experience right now through
that cannot match the joy that is coming on the
other side. Now, what does the pruning look like?
Like, how does this pruning? I will be the first
to say, y 'all. That sometimes this pruning comes
through opposition through warfare through tactics
of the enemy God uses everything for your good
and sometimes the pruning process has looked
like I sit down and I'm in my journal and I'm
like God like what do we and he and as I'm reading
something I'm like, oh I do that. Oh, that's
an unhealthy coping mechanism That's an unhealthy
view and there's sometimes it's just you're sitting
down and in prayer time and quiet time with him
He reveals these things to me and we work on
him the other times It looks like in the real
world in life Going through a day by day and
something just triggers me It's some kind of
attack. It's some kind of warfare. It's some
kind of opposition and It pulls out a side of
me or a part of me where I'm like who I don't
like that. Oh That's not Christ like Opposition
can be used by God for your pruning. And I want
to give y 'all one example of that, right? And
we can look at Abraham and Sarah. God gave Abraham
a promise. You're gonna be the father of nations.
One day you're gonna have a child. It was the
big promise that Abraham was already like, okay.
Because Abraham was old by the time he got this
promise, y 'all. but by the time he ended up
having especially by the time he ended up having
his child he believed to be like as good as dead
like his body wise not very fertile and his wife
was like a hundred years old she should have
been barren so it was already like a long shot
when he received this promise that you were going
to be a father and oftentimes when God gives
us a promise y 'all it doesn't happen the next
day even the next week there are a lot of times
when God will give us a promise or reveal something
to us months before it happens years before it
happens because as I said the promise is an invitation
into prayer and preparation and it was roughly
20 years in between Abraham receiving that promise
and Abraham actually having that son and he had
a hiccup in between and this is what we're gonna
look in on right because opposition is also able
to be used as like a testing of our faith to
reveal where we're at, what we need to adjust,
what we need to work on. And if you're like,
Danielle, where's the scripture for that? Like,
where is the scripture that like, you know, God
allows us to be tested? I wanna read this to
you real quick. 1 Peter, and we're gonna start
in 1 Peter verse six. you rejoice in this even
though now for a short time if necessary you
suffer grief in various trials so that the proven
character of your faith more valuable than gold
though perishable is refined by fire may result
in praise glory and honor at the revelation of
Jesus Christ sometimes it's necessary for us
to go through opposition for us to go through
suffering grief trials Because this will produce
this will what these trials and testings do What
these trials and testings do is they kind of
reveal where our faith is at, right? They reveal
where our faith is at and When we see where our
faith is that we can see oh, wow. I have come
so far in this area We have really grown here.
But also we may see this area needs some work.
This area needs some growth It's refining our
faith we may think our faith is good and we may
think our faith is rooted but we don't actually
know where our faith is at until we're put in
a situation where we have to rely on our faith
and stand on our faith and this was a situation
that Abraham was put in okay Abraham and Sarah
they they've received the promise and they're
like 10 years in they're waiting well but this
is where the doubts and the lies start coming
in right They start believing the doubts of the
enemy. They start believing the lies of the enemy
They start believing the manipulation of the
enemy. What did the enemy the devil say to Eve
in the garden? He said did God really say that
when she was rooted in when she was standing
on business of God said I can't eat from that
tree God said you shall die the enemy's first
thing he did was he started to get her to doubt
what God said and That God wanted her to wait
on him and to trust in his word Like the enemy
wanted her to start doubting, right? So he said,
did God really say that? And we see here with
Abraham and Sarah, right? They're waiting for
a while and they start to entertain the idea
of, well, God only said it had to come from Abraham.
He never said that Abraham had to have the child
with Sarah. God never said it was Sarah and Abraham's.
He only said it was Abraham's. And they started
entertaining that. And because they entertained
that voice, because they entertained those thoughts,
when we know if they would have held it up to
God's character, God isn't calling Abraham to
cheat on his wife. God is not calling Abraham
to go into adultery, okay? But because they were
listening lies of the enemy doubts fear that
is a form of opposition because they started
entertaining that He ended up falling into the
temptation of taking Sarah's handmaiden. I believe
her name was Hagar hooking up with her and they
had a baby and That baby came with a lot of drama
that whole situation came with a lot of drama
and a lot of things that God Didn't intend for
him to have to go through But God knew he was
gonna go through God already knew he was gonna
go sideways like that because God is all -knowing
and we see that Abraham has to reflect on that
and has to repent and understands where he went
wrong and he has to humble himself before God
and God works the situation out then Abraham
has the opportunity to wait again and then eventually
he sees blessing him and Sarah but what we see
here is this was Abraham was standing on faith
until he wasn't right the opposition opened the
door and he fell into the temptation of believing
the lies and the doubt of the enemy and because
he fell into that you know him falling into that
Was a revealing moment for him because he was
able to see the areas where the enemy could kind
of get through and He could see the areas where
his faith fell short and where his belief in
God and God's ability to do it fell short Where
he his faith that God could do it and require
him not to sin? Require him not to cheat on his
wife require him not to do any of that fell short
in that area And we see that God is merciful
and gracious and gave him another opportunity.
God didn't rip the promise away. God was like,
yeah, he fell short. He fell into this, but the
promise still stands. I will still do this for
you. And this time around, Abraham waited on
God. Opposition will reveal where our faith falls
short. Opposition will reveal The space is where
we're lacking. I didn't plan on mentioning this
but look at Peter Where Jesus Peter loved Jesus
and Peter was so convinced that he's like I will
die for you and I will never deny you and then
Jesus says You're gonna deny me three times And
Peter was like no way no way that's not gonna
happen And then he was put in the situation and
when he was put in the situation To say I'm a
follower of Jesus no matter what no matter the
persecution and to be like ten toes down And
instead of doing that in that moment he denied
Jesus three times and That was a revealing moment
for Peter that he may not have been as Bold or
confident or rooted as he believed he would be
and remembering all this was before the Holy
Spirit was given to us because you know Jesus
had to leave and Then the helper could come so
that this was that period before the Holy Spirit
was dwelling within us before that was gifted
to us And we see how much Sadness Peter had when
that happened and Sometimes when we face opposition
and a thing like that is revealed when it's revealed
that we fell short in an area There is a temptation
to fall into the grief and the despair and the
sadness right we oftentimes see people compare
judas and peter because judas also betrayed jesus
but judas didn't go and repent he he felt grief
and he felt sad and he felt guilty and sure he
threw that money back but he he ended his life
that grief he was drowned out by that grief by
that pain and by that suffering and Peter was
also feeling grief and sadness you know he repented
and he didn't submit to the condemnation the
enemy when we inevitably fall short because as
followers of Christ we're gonna fall short when
we're faced with testing and trials and tribulation
God doesn't expect us to pass the test every
single time He'll allow us to face testings knowing
that we're going to fail because he knows that
it will reveal an area to us and where we need
to grow. He will allow us to sometimes face tests
that he knows we're going to fall short in because
it will be revealing and it will actually be
used to further our growth. That's why we say
that condemnation is from the enemy, conviction
is from God. because conviction will tell you
hey you went wrong hey you went away hey you
fell short but there is redemption and you can
do better repent and submit your life to Jesus
allow him to guide you and what condemnation
says is you failed too many times you've fallen
short too many times oh you did wrong there's
no turning back like there's there's no up from
here there's no better from here and unfortunately
like it seems like that's what Judas fell into
and someone listening to us say you may need
to hear that although you've maybe fallen into
fallen short in the testing a situation where
you thought you're gonna handle it really well
and you didn't handle it well situation where
you're like man I should have known that was
deception man I should have known that was a
lie I pray that this helps you today don't submit
to that Remember that there's hope in Christ
Jesus and wherever you fall in short, he can
redeem you and he can restore you You just have
to trust him and give it to him The righteous
they fall down the God lifts them up they get
right back up So this I feel kind of kind of
goes into how God uses the opposition to grow
you and to develop you because when the enemy
when the enemy is using these weapons when the
enemy is attacking you when the enemy is delaying
you the enemy isn't doing it in hopes it helps
you he's doing it in hopes it blocks you destroys
you delays you he comes to he steals kills and
destroys and he does that through lies and deception
and however he can do it but that's what he wants
to do is he wants to steal kill and destroy And
God will see these attempts to steal kill and
destroy to steal your purpose to kill your faith
To destroy the hope you have in God to try to
destroy your salvation To try to destroy your
belief in that but there's hope in Jesus Christ
That is the enemy's motive but God will use it
To heal you to reveal Here's another way that
God uses opposition. He will use it to reveal
the people around you and Not enough people realize
this You know, there's a scripture that says
that you shall know them by their fruit and that's
discussing false prophets Right and how you can
tell the difference like does their doctrine
match up with Christ's doctrine? You shall know
them by their fruits what kind of fruits are
they producing we know the fruits of the spirit
love peace patience Joy kindness And Speaking
from personal experience now to be so thoughtful
with the way I say this Holy Spirit helped me
to where this God will use Opposition he will
use the weapons forming against you to reveal
your anointing I Want to start off with that
one to reveal your anointing If God has anointed
you for a position, if He has anointed you for
an assignment, if He has given you a calling,
you're not going to have to run around and tell
everyone this is my calling and this is what
I'm meant to do. God will speak for you. And
oftentimes He will speak through the opposition.
Because we know through reading scripture, how
many times does God's calling come along with
opposition? When someone's doing something that
God calls them to do, inevitably there is opposition.
Opposition? By people who know the Word and by
people who are able to, who know the Holy Spirit,
who know Christ Jesus, we'll be able to see and
discern that opposition. Don't get me wrong,
y 'all. There are sometimes people who are going
through pain and suffering because of the consequences
of their own actions. When we live a life disobedient
to God, when we are living in wickedness, when
we are living, there is pain and suffering that
comes along with that. And there are some pain
and suffering I've experienced in my life that
was because of my poor decision -making. When
you gossip, lie, and slander. For example, if
you gossip, lie, and slander, and then it gets
revealed that you're gossiping and lying and
slandering, that's a consequence of your own
action. If people don't want to be friends with
you, or people don't want to be around you because
all you do is gossip, lie, and slander, that's
not... Warfare of the enemy that's a consequence
of your own action Right and that's just an example
coming from someone who I was a big gossiper
I was a big and there were people who didn't
want to be friends with me or didn't want to
be around me because they Didn't tell me any
business You know, I remember when I when I gave
my life to Jesus I I've met a lot of people there
were a lot of people who were frustrated. This
was something that the Lord had really highlighted
to me and it was helping me to discern a bit
of the difference between warfare and consequences
of their own actions. Because there were some
people who were, they genuinely felt like a victim
and they genuinely felt like other people were
in the wrong because they got caught relying.
That was a trend. There were multiple people
around me who, it was around that time I was
giving my life to Christ when I started walking
in truth. and I started seeing God's ability
to reveal and there were multiple people who
had been lying a lot and a lot and a lot and
some of their lies were coming out right and
it was coming out the things that they were saying
were lies or things that they were believing
were lies and they were losing the ground that
they had gained They were experiencing people
not wanting to talk to them or people not wanting
to be friends with them or you know Just they
were experiencing consequences because of that
and instead of taking responsibility for they
lied and they did wrong and is a consequence
of their own action they were looking at it as
Warfare and other people being the problem and
other people attacking them and other people
hurting them and other people Y 'all, there are
times in our life when we are experiencing warfare
and opposition, but there are also times in our
life when we are just experiencing consequences
for our bad decision -making skills and our inability
to own up and our inability to walk in the way
that God is calling us to. And I want to be so
clear that you have the opportunity, if that
is you, if you fall into that category, you too
can be restored. You too can be redeemed. It
requires submitting yourself to Christ and submitting
yourself to his word, humbling yourself. is possible
there is no condemnation here okay but the way
that you choose to respond this was where we
were going at y 'all the way that you choose
to respond responding in Christ -like ways What
can actually reveal the people around you that
aren't exactly Christ -like I remember there's
a time in my life when God gave me a promise
that he was like I'm gonna restore you and I'm
gonna redeem you and at the time when Christ
gave me that promise there was like a lot of
lies being believed about me there was a lot
of deception and The way I was being viewed by
a lot of people was worked and people weren't
seeing me They weren't seeing my intention. They
weren't they weren't seeing Christ in me. They
weren't any of that and all I wanted was to go
and speak it for myself and to like reveal it
and to do all these things and I remember God
saying the way you live your life is gonna be
revealing enough and I didn't understand what
that meant at the time and looking back now I
do where it's the fruits will speak for themselves
the fruits will speak for themselves you know
there there are people since God has given me
that promise that I have had relationships restored
I've had reputation restored and there are people
who have honestly spoken to me that they're like
yeah I believed you were this way and I believe
these things about you and these lies about you
and these things about you but just by seeing
how you respond in life just by seeing how you
operate just by seeing how you respond to daily
challenges just by seeing how you you react differently
now like I can see that Christ is working in
you like people the lies fell off they stopped
believing him just based off of the decisions
I was making in my daily life. How instead of
getting angrier, feeding into drama, I chose
to be at peace, do my best to live peaceably,
and how I would separate myself and just go into
prayer time, how I chose to live apart from the
world. They saw in Christ working in me, and
me looking more Christ -like, the fruits I was
producing, the fruits of the Spirit, they were
able to see who I truly was. And they were also
able to see, because they were able to see that,
they were able to see some of the fruits being
produced around me that weren't very Christ -like.
God sometimes will use that opposition to reveal
your anointing, to reveal who you are, and to
expose things around you or people around you
that might not be the most Christ -like. There's
a reason why and you can read it multiple times
in scripture, especially in Psalms. I believe
is it Psalm 6 or Psalm 7 where it literally talks
about enemies falling on their own sword when
people set up traps and they fall into their
own traps. How many times were in the gospel
were the Pharisees asking questions to Jesus
purposely trying to trip him up and Jesus knew
that was what they were doing where they would
you know ask questions they would hype him up
and say like oh you're you know you're a teacher
you're so smart you know everything and then
they would ask him a question hoping that they
could twist or manipulate his answer and Jesus
being so far ahead of them knowing you know,
had a perfect answer, answered in a way that
would leave them baffled. And I think it's important
that someone hears us today that that is a way
that the enemy operates. That that is that can
very well be an opposition That's something I've
faced and I know other people have faced when
someone comes to you and they're asking a question
and like on the surface level They're hyping
you up and they seem really kind but there's
an ulterior motive behind the discussion There's
an ulterior motive behind what they're saying
and what they're speaking from personal experience
y 'all especially I experienced that some there
I had a handful of people doing that to me when
I gave Especially when I was really fresh to
give my life to Jesus and I did not have the
words yet I did not have the wisdom yet. You
know how God called me to respond? Was to be
silent when I would receive messages or things
that you know, the Lord would reveal to me Hey,
there's an ulterior motive. I know it looks kind
but this isn't actually a kind message The Lord
knowing that I did not yet know how to respond
lovingly or Christ like or how to answer that
question because I didn't I Was very new the
Lord called me to be silent to keep my mouth
shut and to be patient and to wait on him and
he even used that to reveal God can even use
your silence if you're being silent out of obedience
God will use that too and that was a testing
of my faith I'm sharing that personal testimony
with y 'all because I know that there are other
people out here. There is no testing or tribulation
that I have faced that someone else hasn't faced
and that's biblical. There's no testing or like
tribulation that you're going through, no temptation
that is not known to man. That's the wording
for it. There is no temptation that you are facing
that you know man has already not experienced
and no temptation greater than you are able to
resist. So I'm sharing these things, these personal
testimonies, knowing that like I'm not the only
one who's been through it and there's someone
else out there today who's gonna get comfort
through that. And that was a test of my faith,
right? For example, y 'all, as someone who I
always wanted to defend and speak up for myself,
I had to trust that God's way was better than
my way. Even though to me I was like, God, being
silent doesn't make any sense. Being silent actually
looks like it like proves a point. me being silent
actually in my mind I was like me being silent
doesn't that just make me look like an avoidant
doesn't that just make me look like more guilty
and the Lord just really gave me a trust me trust
me and when I look back now I'm like yeah I'm
glad I trusted God with that but that right there
y 'all is an example but that also revealed the
opposition around me right because I'll give
y 'all just a real -life example of this too
is my silence and my lack of participation also
meant that there was nothing left for me to be
blamed for right they could no longer say danielle
did this or danielle said that or danielle did
that because i said nothing and i did nothing
there was nothing to twist there was nothing
to do you know there i was no longer able to
be blamed in that way i was no longer it was
no longer able i was no longer to look like the
perpetrator either because i had no and my decision
to focus on myself and do my own thing and other
people's decision to continue to focus on me,
to continue to attack me or to continue to gaslight
me or things like that. It started to reveal
who moved on and who hadn't. Who was trying to
hurt who, right? It started to reveal how much
I never really was doing things that people were
saying I was doing. And that wasn't an overnight
thing. It took a period of time for that to come
out and for that to happen. And maybe you're
someone today who God has talked about there
was going to be a restoring of your reputation
or truth coming out. I'm here today to speak
from experience that God will do that. He's done
it in my life and He can do it in your life.
And oftentimes the instructions He gives you
don't make sense in the moment. For me, it was
be silent and focus on Jesus and just make the
changes that he's called me to make. And when
I look back now, I'm like, oh, wow, those were
the fruits and they speak for themselves. Oh,
wow. The Lord was literally allowing the enemy
to fall on his own sword. People fell in their
own traps like that. God, when I just focused
on him, everything else fell into place. The
truth about me was revealed because opposition.
Continued. That's interesting thing is God used
the opposition To show my response and my reactions
and to prove my fruit That wouldn't have happened
if there wasn't opposition And I hope this is
your encouragement maybe this is your encouragement
amen Y 'all we have got you know how I said I
have like a note we haven't really been following
that I have these notes written down and we've
just kind of we've gone for it. So I think it's
safe to say this notebook is about to just be
kind of like set aside. But there are a couple
other biblical stories of opposition I want to
give to y 'all if you're like, okay, but Danielle,
that's cool to hear your testimony. That's wonderful.
But where where are the biblical testimonies?
Let's get into this, babes. Let's get into this.
First one is, and this is the one that the Lord
really pointed out to me this morning when I
was doing my scripture reading is Herod. King
Herod and baby Jesus. When Jesus was just an
infant, y 'all opposition starts long before
you step into the calling or long before you
step into the promise. Like how he said that
there's promises I'm still waiting on God to
deliver on in my life. Like I see things coming
into place. I haven't seen the full thing. God
gave me those promises well over a year ago,
and the opposition against those things started
well over a year ago. Actually, when he gave
me those promises, I'm like, God, I think the
opposition has already been going on for a while.
The enemy doesn't wait until you have that thing
to try to destroy it. The enemy will try to snuff
you out before you can step into it, before you
even start building it. If the enemy can get
you to not do the pruning process, if the enemy
can get you to not do that work, if the enemy
can get you to not be that person, the enemy
is going to stop you before you. He's going to
try to stop you and block you and delay you long
before you actually see it. When the enemy sniffs
out or whiffs out that God has a plan or a purpose
for you, he's going to try to snuff it out, sometimes
before you even know it's there. And that example
we have right here with Jesus. When Jesus was
born, He was just he was a baby. He was an infant
and King Herod Ordered for a massacre of the
boys in Bethlehem all the boys two years old
and under Here it ordered for all of them to
be killed You remember Joseph actually got communication
from Like God spoke to him in a dream. I believe
it was an angel He sent to speak to Joseph in
a dream and say do not go back You don't see
it yet But Herod is about to start killing infants.
Don't go back y 'all need to pick up and move
and Joseph had faith in what God spoke over what
he saw even though he didn't see the commands
or the orders yet He wasn't sitting around to
find out he trusted in God and because he trusted
in God He was moved to a safe space so that way
when that warfare did pick up when the opposition
when all that started going down Jesus was in
a safe space But what's the spirit behind here
doing that because it's not God It's the opposition.
It's the enemy. It's the devil and we see the
devil trying to take Jesus out long before he
stepped into his ministry Jesus didn't start
doing his ministry until I believe he was in
his 30s This was like a this was Close to like
a 30 year gap. The enemy was already trying to
take Jesus out long before long before The enemy
was already trying to steal kill destroy long
before Jesus was even ministering The enemy will
try to take you out before you even step into
the ministry He will try to take you out at the
beginning of the pruning process or before you
even know you're going through a pruning process
So if you're like Danielle, where is the biblical?
Where's the biblical example of the enemy is
going to be trying to take you out long before
you step into it right here Jesus inherited right
here You're saying Daniel, where's the example
that there's yeah, I know we have Abraham and
Sarah, but where's another example? You having
to wait in between the promise and warfare and
trying to take you out. Look at Saul and David
David was anointed to be king when someone else
was already king Saul was still king When David
was anointed and David was like a little shepherd
boy David didn't appear to be qualified whatsoever.
And this is where we talk about the pruning process
will qualify you Okay, because David was the
youngest of the brothers his brothers and his
father didn't even think he was this is how under
qualified they thought he would be is he wasn't
even brought along when the prophet was anointing
the king and he was looking through the bro's
he's like is there anyone else because it's none
of these guys and they're like i mean we do have
a younger the youngest he's he's out in the field
like his own family didn't even believe that
he was deserving of the anointing his own family
didn't even believe he was capable of that his
own family didn't believe it And when he was
anointed king, he didn't go straight to the palace.
He went back to the fields. When he was anointed
king, he went back to the fields. He went back
to tending over the animals. He went back to
doing all that. And then he went on to fight
Goliath and he wasn't king yet. He went on to
win a lot of battles for King Saul. He went on
to be playing the harp to bring Saul peace when
a wicked spirit was attacking him. He went on
to be attacked again and again and again. He
had the anointing on his head. The enemy knew
he had an anointing and tried to snuff him out
before he became king. Look at how many times
the enemy, moving through Saul, tried to take
David out before he stepped into the throne.
There is a time period where David was literally
hiding in caves. And this is another, if you
all need another biblical example of waiting
on God and not doing it yourself, look at David
when he was in that cave and Saul came in to
take a pee. He came in to take a pee and David
had the opportunity to take Saul out right then
and there. He was being encouraged by his besties
to take him out. You know, there are some people
who walk throughout this life with the mentality
of, if God didn't want me to do it, why would
he give me the opportunity? The devil gives you
opportunities too. Not just because you can doesn't
mean God condones. Everything is permissible,
not everything edifies. And I used to be one
of those people that walked with that, too. Well,
if God didn't want me to take the job, if God
didn't want me to date the person, if God didn't
want me to say that thing or do that thing, why
can't he allow me to be in the position where
I could? And it's like, no. The devil will give
you opportunities to stray and go away from God,
too. And David was able to recognize that. And
keep in mind, David had been weary at this point.
He'd been running tired. David knew he was anointed
to be king. He knew the kingship was his. It
wasn't like he was trying to steal something
that wasn't his. He knew it was his name on it.
but it wasn't yet his time and he had the opportunity
to take a shortcut to bypass God and try to force
his way into kingship and that would have been
by taking Saul out that moment and instead of
taking Saul out he cut off a little hem of his
garment just to show how close he got and he
let Saul go and you know what in God's timing
Saul fell on his own sword David didn't have
to take him out David wasn't the enemy. David
wasn't the one who took all the shortcuts. David
wasn't the one to blame. The one who was to blame
for his own fall was Saul. And trusting God and
believing in him and listening to his steps and
his guidance will do that for you. You'll be
left in a place where the enemy falls on his
own sword and you are not. The blood is not on
your hands. But see, if David would have listened
to the whispers, to the deceptive voices, the
blood would have been on his own hands. And instead
of being clean in the situation, he would have
been the murderer. He would have been the killer.
He would have been the one who snuffed out the
competition. We see with David's life, David
had the anointing and was sent back to the fields.
Everything that David went through qualified
him to be the king that he was. And was he perfect?
No. But he was still favorable in God's eyes.
When Jesus was here, he was known as being from
the line of David. David's name was still, it
was blessed. God doesn't expect perfection, but
he does expect repentance and obedience and a
humble heart. Like that's what he desires from
us. He knows we're not going to be perfect, but
that's what he desires. And although David fell
short in many areas, especially when he was older,
let's be so for real, you know, he didn't always
wait on God like that. He didn't always, we see
when he got older, he made some pretty big mistakes.
But he still humbled himself before the Lord.
He still repented. And I think David is a wonderful
example, y 'all, of God will give you a promise,
he will give you an anointing, he will say something
for you, and then you will have to go through
the preparation and the pruning process. Because
when David fought Goliath, he wasn't yet king.
When David was going through and... Winning all
these battles and doing all these things he wasn't
yet king. When David was playing the harp and
bringing peace to Saul he wasn't yet king. He
had the anointing but he wasn't yet king. God
will sometimes reveal something or speak something
to you far before it's your time because it gives
you something to hope for and it gives you something
to prepare for. Imagine like you're going through
all this warfare and all this preparation and
then you have no idea there's no hope for it.
That's when you think like life just sucks to
suck. But when you know that there is something
greater coming of this there is a hope in that
You know, it makes me think of Saul And I believe
it's in the book of Acts when Saul is told by
God like you need to go to this place I believe
it's Rome he's going to it's been a while since
I've read the Sibir with me all and He understands
if he goes there's gonna be a lot of pain and
there's gonna be a lot of suffering and the people
around him find out that he's playing on going
to that and there's actually prophets from the
Lord different people that come up to him and
start pleading with him do not go and they start
saying if you go you're gonna be bound if you
go you're gonna be in chains if you go you're
gonna be in pain and they were thinking that
you know saying this was gonna scare him away
from going But to him, that was just more confirmation
because when God told him, God also warned him
there was going to be pain and suffering that
comes with it. So when these people started speaking
of pain and suffering and him going to that place,
he was like, now I know God has called me to
it. Now I know for sure God has called me to
do it. There are sometimes, y 'all, when I remember
I've written down promises in my journal from
God and right after I write down that thing he's
doing for me, I'm also writing down and there's
going to be opposition and this is going to happen
and that's going to happen. And then. When I
go into that season, before God has blessed me
with that promise, I see that very opposition
I wrote down. And I'm able to start thinking,
oh my gosh, I'm facing this opposition and everything.
I'm in the birthing process. The promise is on
the way. Opposition I'm facing isn't the fearful
thing or the doubtful thing. It's a confirmation
that God's about to do his big one. God's about
to do his thing. Again, y 'all. Words, prophetic
words, visions, promises from God are an invitation
to prayer and preparation. Here's another story.
We got another one right here y 'all. Look at,
if you read the book of Nehemiah and the book
of Ezra, right? They're rebuilding. It's about
the rebuilding of the temple. Notice how the
enemy didn't wait until the temple was rebuilt
to start opposing or coming at them. It was as
Nehemiah was building the temple. The people
who opposed were lying and deceiving and trying
to call him down, trying to take him out. They
were trying to like literally off him. It was
while he was in the building process, they were
trying to take him down. They were trying to
snuff him out. They didn't want as soon as they
heard that that temple was going to be rebuilt,
bam, they were on him. And he had to work through
the opposition. Someone needs to hear this today.
Opposition. isn't a sign to stop, it's a sign
to keep going. I used to view opposition as a
sign of, oh, God didn't want me to do this. If
God called me to do it, I used to view God will
make a way as the process will be easy. And if
God has anointed it, if God has asked me to do
it, that there's not going to be any opposition.
And that's actually very far from the truth.
We see throughout reading scripture that people
who are stepping into their calling, doing the
things that God called them to do, come along
with a lot of opposition. Like a Paul everywhere
he went he was persecuted, but he was doing what
God called him to do look at Nehemiah And look
at in the book of Ezra. They're rebuilding the
temple And there's opposition every step of the
way Look at Joseph Look at the opposition he
faced while just trying to stay rooted in his
faith to God If you're obeying God there's gonna
be opposition of the enemy because the enemy
doesn't want to see God's will come to fulfillment
He doesn't want to see your faith be strengthened.
He doesn't want to see other people's faith be
strengthened through what God is doing in your
life So, yeah, yeah if you're facing opposition
opposition isn't a sign that this isn't from
God opposition is actually often a sign that
what you're doing is from God and To get your
strength from him We look at in the book of if
you're reading the book of Ezra, they're going
through building the temple They are even having
their things supplied from the king himself And
there's some way some of the people who are up
against them writing a letter to the king line
saying oh if he Rebuilds it, you know, he's not
gonna you they're not gonna donate. They're they're
not gonna pay their taxes They're not gonna do
these things like trying to say well if you if
you allow them to do this They're actually gonna
hurt you. They're gonna betray you. They're gonna
do all these things They manipulated the king
for a little bit and the king was like, oh, you
know what? No, I'm not gonna help them. Oh, I'm
not gonna allow this to happen And then God sent
a prophet some prophets to speak to them and
to encourage them and they start building regardless
of whether or not the king said they could do
it and then when the king You know when they
when they defended themselves by just speaking
to their testimony and speaking about what God
has ordered them to do and their intentions the
king allowed them to keep going and someone needs
to hear this today opposition can actually be
your deliverance and your breakthrough opposition
can actually be the thing that allows you to
step into your calling like when you look at
i believe again referring back to the book ezra
the people being able to build that temple was
actually like their kind of exodus because there
were people who were in slavery and in bondage
And when it was permitted that they were able
to go and rebuild the temple, they were freed
and able to go do that. And opposition came along
with it. But look at Esther. Let's look at Esther.
Because she was set aside for a time such as
this. And the opposition actually forced her
to step into her calling. She became queen and
she was keeping her Jewish heritage hidden and
everything. She was living quietly. And it was
when her people were put on the line in her own
life. When opposition arrived, when it was, I
believe his name was Haman, drafted up that decree
to have them all taken out and she had to fast
and go before God and she had to by faith reveal
her heritage. She was able to be the deliverer
for her people. Well, God was the deliverer and
she was the vessel. Sometimes opposition will
force you to step into your calling. That's another
way God will use opposition with Esther. She
was just living her life as queen, doing her
thing. I'm sure it wasn't totally easy. We see
that the king wasn't always, you know, the most
peaceful. I imagine he wasn't the easiest to
live with. I imagine it wasn't easy leaving her
kinsmen behind or having to, you know, keep her
Jewish heritage quiet. But when opposition arrived
and she had the choice she could have either
hid herself quietly and God would have brought
up a deliverer out of somewhere else and she
would have suffered. That was spoken to her.
or she could by faith step into what God called
her. God didn't put her in that position just
for her to enjoy her life. God put her in that
position so that one day she could be used by
him. And that's to go around again y 'all and
talk about how when God will give us blessings
and things and he wants us to enjoy and he wants
us to delight, but they should always be used
to glorify him and to further his kingdom. And
that's a perfect example with Esther, right?
being put in that position of being queen and
she has a lot of things to enjoy she has you
know and a lot of areas a really nice lifestyle
but she's called to put that on the line to do
something that glorifies God God didn't put her
in that position simply to enjoy it and to keep
it all to herself God put her in that position
so that way she would be ready to be used by
him in a time such as this look at Nehemiah Looking
back to Nehemiah when Nehemiah was ordered by
God to go and start rebuilding the temple Look
at the position. He was in I believe he was the
cup bearer for the king He was already in the
position to be able to go talk to the king He
wasn't that cup bearer just simply to enjoy the
life being a cup bearer who's that cup bearer?
So that way when God decided it was time he would
be there to speak to the king. Look at Moses.
Look at Moses Moses grew up around Pharaoh We
know he left spent that time in the wilderness
and then when he started be using by God he came
back He had the ability to go speak to Pharaoh
that other people did not God will put you in
a position to be used by him that position sure
He wants you to delight and enjoy in the things
But you should be ready to use that to glorify
him and maybe someone needs to hear this and
maybe this is your conviction today If you're
in a position, you're in a space, there are things
that you're enjoying, whether it's money, or
fame, or attention, or notoriety, or wherever
it is, how is God calling you to use that to
glorify him? And is there a way he's been calling
you to use it, that you've been refusing because
you're afraid of loss, you're afraid of uncomfortability,
you're afraid of whatever hardship? Because that
was Esther. And Esther was about to lose her
life. Okay, she could have been killed just by
approaching the king. Moses could have easily
been taken out by Pharaoh at any point walking
up there. Pharaoh could have just had him offed.
Like when we're talking about looking at the
fleshly stance of it, right? Those were the fears
they were probably moving with. Think about the
rich man who... He said, God, he was talking
to Jesus, what do I have to do to enter the kingdom?
And Jesus said, you have to sell everything you
own. And he walked away sad because he had a
lot of stuff. Even though his life looked very
perfect in all those other areas, he was refusing
to give up that security and that comfort when
God called him to. And I'm not telling you that
God is calling you to donate all your money or
do anything like that. I'm just saying, is there
something that God has placed on your heart?
to do with the position you're in. Is there something
you can do, whatever it is, if it's fame, career,
money, if it's you have a testimony to share
that you've been holding in. This doesn't have
to be something seemingly extreme like that.
This can be God has been calling you to go and
share a testimony with a person. God has been
calling you to speak a truth. God has been calling
you to do a thing. Maybe it's just one person
God has been calling you to speak to. Or one
person he's been calling you to impact and you're
afraid to do it Has God put you here for a time
such as this? Has God allowed you to be blessed
with these things for a time such as this? Opposition
will cause you to step into your calling Look
at Esther And here's another one one more example,
we'll talk about Joseph y 'all when Joseph had
a vision from God That one day his brothers were
going to be bowing down before him And he went
and told his brothers, his brothers, at first
wanted to kill him, but decided to sell him into
slavery. It appears like he has no favor. You
know, sometimes people assume, and I'm being
so thoughtful with the way I word this, How we
said earlier that opposition will be revealing
of your anointing people who don't know about
opposition people who aren't rooted in the word
People who don't know how God operates may mistake
opposition for God's wrath And we've talked about
this in many episodes that there is sometimes
when God will allow you to be turned over to
the consequences of your own actions and you
will see wrath and That is how we may know that
God is displeased look in the book of Jeremiah.
It's all up in the book of Jeremiah We see it
in parts of the book of Ezekiel, but there's
always a redemption with it too, right? But there
are times when there is pain and suffering and
hardship that is actually what we talked about
earlier in verse Peter, where this is the testing
of your faith, the proving of your faith, or
this is your pruning. But if you take a close
look at Joseph's story, you can still see the
anointing shine through. If you know God's hand,
You can see it in Joseph's story. Okay, because
Joseph, you know from an outside look Oh, does
God really favor him? He was able to be sold
into slavery But we see what happens when Joseph
is sold into slavery Potiphar's house is blessed.
God blesses Potiphar's house. So that way Joseph
may be blessed Even when Joseph is hurt God's
hand still shows through it's so clear that God
is pleased with Joseph because he's still seeing
blessing And we see Potiphar's wife trying to
come on to Joseph. And Joseph, this is where
the fruits are put to the test, right? Is Joseph
going to give in to that? Or is he going to keep
his faith in God, his faith in God's Word, and
how he knows God calls him to act? And he's like,
no, I'm not going into adultery. I'm not going
into that. And sometimes standing on faith comes
with opposition. And what happened when Joseph
was rooted in faith? He gets tossed in a jail,
she falsely accuses him. Sometimes we'll have
to suffer for a short period of time on behalf
of our faith. That's biblical. Again, look back
to 1 Peter, how we read about it. And we see
that with Joseph, but we still see his anointing
shining through. And we might not have been able
to see his anointing. on this level if he hadn't
been put in those places of suffering because
even when he's put in the jail he is put in a
position where he is like in a leadership position
and he is still blessed in the jail and he is
still able to interpret dreams in the jail he
is still being used in the jail and one day someone
remembers him from the jail talks about him to
uh talks about him to and i forget what his title
is if he was um the emperor the pharaoh the the
king, it's been a while since I read the story
y 'all, but he gets spoken to. And immediately
Joseph is brought out, he interprets a dream,
and he is put in a position of high place. And
his brothers are brought before him, and God's
word is fulfilled, and they are bowing before
him. And this is also an opportunity for Joseph's
roots to be tested. Was he going to get vengeful?
Was he going to make fun of his brothers? Was
he going to say, ha ha, now y 'all are bowing
down before me, coming towards me? Was he going
to be spiteful? And we see what Joseph showed
was love and forgiveness and understanding Now
at first he was a little his methods weren't
very good, you know with like, you know planning
those things in the bags and yeah, he wasn't
perfect, but He forgave them and we see that
the brothers were even skeptical at the point
when Joseph's dad died The brothers were like,
oh now he's gonna turn on us and Joseph was like
no, no, no Times like that God will use to reveal
the fruit and we see Joseph's fruit in that moment
And I hope that me sharing these stories with
you has spoken to you or helped you in some way
I truly feel like God is going to move through
this episode. I truly feel like this episode
is going to be a blessing Like each person listening
to say there is something you can take out of
it I know we've touched on opposition a lot and
how to identify and what the enemy is trying
to do. I pray that listening to this today has
given you a new perspective, a new point of view,
and maybe there's some questions you've been
asking God, you've been asking him for direction,
and I pray that in a way he has spoken through
me to you today. I pray that there is a refreshing
and a renewal, that there is a new understanding.
I pray that the instructions you've been waiting
on God to give you, you receive those instructions,
you receive the guidance, you receive the clarity
and the boldness to move through them. And I
pray that my personal testimony has helped you
in a way, y 'all, because I know that God...
funny enough talking about promises y 'all I
remember God telling me when I was really in
a low space and this was right when I was giving
my life to Christ I remember God saying all this
pain and all these mistakes that you've made
in your life and all these places where you feel
unworthy and you feel like you've fallen short
I will turn those into testimony and you will
glorify me by sharing your testimony with people
And me even being able to share these testimonies
with y 'all today in a way of look at what God
did and look at how He can use them is God fulfilling
His promise to me. Me being able to do this today
is God fulfilling His promise to me. And again,
I know that anything that I have faced is not
uncommon, that there is someone else out there
today who has faced a variant of what I have
faced. And I pray that my sharing how I went
through and God has helped me overcome or how
God has used it helps you and encourages you
now I do ask y 'all hit subscribe wherever it
is you're listening to this podcast hit subscribe
like it leave a review it helps to leave reviews
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share it with somebody share it with someone
that the Lord is putting on your heart to share
a shirt with a friend shirt with a family member
share it on social media it helps And I hope
that y 'all have a wonderful new year. I'm recording
this on December 31st, the last day of 2025.
And I will see y 'all in 2026. God bless.