WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.399 Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:05.820 of Christ International Ministries, where we 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:08.800 build stronger lives, deeper faith, and Christ 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.460 -centered homes through biblical teaching, practical 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:14.419 wisdom, and life -changing conversations. I'm 00:00:14.419 --> 00:00:17.199 your host, Barry Mwamba. Today, we arrive at 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.000 what I believe is the heart of this entire series. 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.600 We've seen God work through betrayal. We've seen 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:24.579 him work through waiting. We've seen him work 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:27.679 through silence. But today, I want to speak to 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:30.350 everyone. whose life simply doesn't make sense. 00:00:30.489 --> 00:00:33.130 Because every believer eventually reaches a chapter 00:00:33.130 --> 00:00:36.810 where they stop asking, what is God doing? And 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:40.929 begin asking, Lord, where are you? Maybe that's 00:00:40.929 --> 00:00:43.450 where you are today. Nothing seems to fit together. 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:45.789 The promises don't match your circumstances. 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:48.770 The waiting has become exhausting. The suffering 00:00:48.770 --> 00:00:53.170 seems unnecessary. And you're wondering, how 00:00:53.170 --> 00:00:55.649 could any of this possibly become part of God's 00:00:55.649 --> 00:00:58.189 purpose? Let's discover what the scriptures reveal. 00:00:58.490 --> 00:01:00.909 Let's begin with Paul. Can you imagine becoming 00:01:00.909 --> 00:01:03.750 the greatest missionary in history, only to spend 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:07.150 years in prison? Think about that. If we had 00:01:07.150 --> 00:01:09.629 been writing Paul's story, we probably would 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:12.829 have removed the prisons, the beatings, the shipwrecks, 00:01:13.129 --> 00:01:16.409 the chains, the false accusations. Because none 00:01:16.409 --> 00:01:18.989 of those chapters seem useful, yet God never 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:21.629 wasted them. Paul's imprisonment opened doors 00:01:21.629 --> 00:01:24.670 that freedom never could. He stood before governors, 00:01:25.090 --> 00:01:28.840 kings, Roman officials. The gospel entered places 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.319 Paul could never have reached as a free man. 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:34.260 Even more remarkable, while sitting in prison, 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:38.640 Paul wrote letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:41.159 Philemon. Letters that continue strengthening 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:44.939 the church nearly 2 ,000 years later. Paul thought 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:48.819 he was chained. The gospel wasn't. What looked 00:01:48.819 --> 00:01:52.760 like limitation became multiplication. That is 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:54.900 providence. One thing I've learned from reading 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:58.200 scripture, is this. God rarely tells people the 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:00.579 ending while they're living the middle. Joseph 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:03.500 didn't know. Moses didn't know. David didn't 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:06.859 know. Esther didn't know. Ruth didn't know. Paul 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:09.560 didn't know. Neither did Abraham. Neither did 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:13.240 Mary. Neither did the disciples. But God always 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.539 knew. That changes the way I read the Bible, 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:17.900 and it changes the way I look at my own life. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.560 Because perhaps the chapter that makes the least 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.860 sense today will one day become the chapter that 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.319 makes everything else make sense. Think about 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.919 Mary and Martha. They sent a message to Jesus. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.300 Lord, the one you love is sick. Have you ever 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:34.840 noticed what the Bible says next? Jesus loved 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.199 them. Then he stayed where he was. That almost 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:41.360 sounds contradictory. If he loved them, why didn't 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:44.300 he leave immediately? Because providence works 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:46.560 according to heaven's timetable. By the time 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:49.460 Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been dead 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:53.400 four days. To Mary, the story was over. To Martha, 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:56.659 hope had expired. To everyone standing around, 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.560 the miracle had come too late. But to Jesus, 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:03.259 the story wasn't finished. Sometimes, God allows 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:06.740 a situation to move beyond what we can fix so 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:09.180 that only He receives the glory. What looked 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:12.240 like delay became revelation. What looked like 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:16.360 disappointment became resurrection. That is providence. 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.259 Now think about Abraham. After waiting years 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:23.159 for Isaac, God asks him, to place that very promise 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:25.900 on the altar. Can you imagine walking toward 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:29.060 Mount Moriah? Every step must have been filled 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:32.460 with questions. Isaac finally asked, My father, 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:35.860 where is the lamb? What a question. Abraham didn't 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:38.280 know how God would do it, but he answered with 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:42.020 confidence, the Lord will provide. Notice something. 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.159 Faith isn't knowing every detail. Faith is trusting 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:47.620 the character of God when you don't know the 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:50.680 details. At the very moment, everything appeared 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.340 lost. God provided a ram. But Abraham's story 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:57.460 was pointing beyond itself. Centuries later, 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.419 on another hill, God would not provide a ram. 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:04.400 He would provide his own son. Providence had 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:07.219 already been writing Calvary long before anyone 00:04:07.219 --> 00:04:11.039 understood it. Now, lift your eyes to Calvary. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.740 If there has ever been a moment that appeared 00:04:13.740 --> 00:04:17.220 to be complete defeat, it was the cross. The 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:20.259 disciples scattered. Hope disappeared. Darkness 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:23.149 covered the earth. The Son of God was nailed 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:26.310 to a cross. Imagine standing there on Friday 00:04:26.310 --> 00:04:28.370 afternoon. Would you have called that victory? 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:31.350 No, you would have called it tragedy. You would 00:04:31.350 --> 00:04:33.209 have called it failure. You would have called 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:36.110 it the end. But heaven called it redemption. 00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:39.889 Satan thought he had won. Religious leaders believed 00:04:39.889 --> 00:04:43.509 they had silenced Jesus. Rome thought another 00:04:43.509 --> 00:04:46.290 execution had taken place. But Sunday morning 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:50.029 changed everything. The greatest evil ever committed 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:52.800 by humanity became the greatest demonstration 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.879 of God's love. The cross teaches us something 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:58.639 we should never forget. Just because something 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.920 looks like defeat doesn't mean God has lost control. 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.560 Sometimes, what appears to be the end is simply 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:09.680 the place where resurrection begins. Can I ask 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:14.720 you something? What chapter are you living today? 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:18.180 Are you in Joseph's pit, wondering why the people 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:20.589 closest to you have hurt you? Are you in Moses' 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:23.769 wilderness, wondering if your best years are 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:26.069 behind you? Are you standing where David once 00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:29.769 stood, being faithful in small things, while 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:33.110 God is preparing you for something greater? Do 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:36.430 you carry Nehemiah's burden, unable to explain 00:05:36.430 --> 00:05:39.050 why one particular need keeps breaking your heart? 00:05:39.209 --> 00:05:42.250 Are you living in Esther's palace, placed somewhere 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:44.769 you still don't fully understand? Or perhaps 00:05:44.769 --> 00:05:47.689 you're walking through Ruth's field, faithfully 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:50.870 doing ordinary things? Never realizing heaven 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:53.649 is preparing extraordinary blessings. Maybe you 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:57.310 feel like Rahab Believing your past has disqualified 00:05:57.310 --> 00:06:00.649 you while God is preparing to rewrite your future. 00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:03.629 Maybe your heart feels like Hannah's Praying 00:06:03.629 --> 00:06:07.910 the same prayer year after year Wondering whether 00:06:07.910 --> 00:06:10.410 heaven still remembers your name. Perhaps you're 00:06:10.410 --> 00:06:14.129 sitting in Paul's prison Faithfully serving God 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:16.569 yet surrounded by chains. You never expected 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:19.189 Maybe you're standing outside Lazarus' tomb, 00:06:19.850 --> 00:06:23.089 convinced that what you've lost is beyond hope. 00:06:23.250 --> 00:06:26.389 Or perhaps you're climbing Abraham's mountain, 00:06:27.110 --> 00:06:30.129 holding tightly to a promise, while God asks 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:33.550 you to trust Him one more step. Or maybe you're 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:36.810 standing at your own calvary, looking at a chapter 00:06:36.810 --> 00:06:41.009 that feels like complete defeat, wondering how 00:06:41.009 --> 00:06:43.569 God could possibly bring anything beautiful from 00:06:43.569 --> 00:06:47.139 this. Can I encourage you? Don't write the final 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:51.060 chapter while God is still writing the story. 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:54.060 Because providence is rarely understood while 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:57.500 you're living it. It is almost always understood 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:01.639 looking backward. Joseph understood after Egypt. 00:07:02.100 --> 00:07:08.939 Moses after Sinai. David after the throne. Nehemiah 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:12.699 after the walls were rebuilt. Esther after her 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:17.230 people were delivered. Ruth. after Boaz, Rahab 00:07:17.230 --> 00:07:22.589 after redemption, Hannah after Samuel, Paul after 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:26.910 Rome, the disciples after the resurrection. Perhaps 00:07:26.910 --> 00:07:32.149 one day you will too. Maybe today you don't need 00:07:32.149 --> 00:07:36.149 another explanation. Maybe what your heart needs 00:07:36.149 --> 00:07:40.029 most is confidence. Confidence that the author 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:43.610 has never lost the plot. The God who guided Joseph 00:07:43.949 --> 00:07:47.829 is guiding you. The God who prepared Moses is 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:50.110 preparing you. The God who strengthened David 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:53.709 in obscurity is strengthening you in yours. The 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:56.990 God who placed Nehemiah's burden still places 00:07:56.990 --> 00:07:59.230 holy burdens in the hearts of his people. The 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:02.569 God who positioned Esther is positioning you. 00:08:02.750 --> 00:08:05.810 The God who met Ruth in a field still orders 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:08.269 the steps of his children. The God who redeemed 00:08:08.269 --> 00:08:12.029 Rahab still rewrites impossible stories. The 00:08:12.029 --> 00:08:15.699 God who remembered Hannah still hears every prayer, 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.139 even the ones prayed through tears. The God who 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:22.920 called Lazarus out of the tomb still brings life 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.959 where everyone else sees only endings. The God 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:30.399 who provided for Abraham still provides exactly 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.940 when his children need him most. The God who 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:35.980 strengthened Paul in prison still walks beside 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:39.960 his people through suffering. And the God who 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:44.399 turned a cross into an empty tomb is still writing 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.759 stories that end in his glory. So don't lose 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:53.440 heart. Keep praying. Keep obeying. Keep trusting. 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:58.100 Keep walking. Because one day you'll look back 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:02.679 and you'll realize that the pit led to the palace. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.139 The wilderness led to the promised land. The 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:10.399 battlefield led to the throne. The burden led 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:14.070 to restoration. The field led to redemption. 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:17.629 The prison opened doors no one else could open. 00:09:17.909 --> 00:09:21.990 The mountain revealed Jehovah Jireh. The tomb 00:09:21.990 --> 00:09:26.509 revealed resurrection. The cross revealed salvation. 00:09:26.830 --> 00:09:30.909 And every chapter, even the painful ones, was 00:09:30.909 --> 00:09:35.230 held by the faithful hand of a sovereign God. 00:09:35.490 --> 00:09:38.750 Then, you won't simply understand your story. 00:09:39.610 --> 00:09:42.120 You'll worship the author. because you'll finally 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:46.419 see what heaven saw from the very beginning. 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:51.139 Nothing, absolutely nothing in the hands of God 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:54.879 is ever wasted. Thank you for joining me on this 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:58.200 journey through God's providence. My prayer is 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:01.080 that from this day forward, you will never look 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:03.700 at your life the same way again. Every delay, 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:08.360 every closed door, every unexpected conversation, 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:14.200 every valley, Every victory, every tear, every 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:18.539 unanswered prayer, every painful goodbye, every 00:10:18.539 --> 00:10:22.240 unexpected detour, every season of waiting, none 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.519 of it has been random. For those who love God 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:29.299 and are called according to his purpose, he is 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:34.480 still working, quietly, faithfully, perfectly. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.820 And even when you cannot trace his hand, you 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:41.440 can trust his heart. Until next time, keep walking 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:45.120 by faith, keep trusting his providence, because 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:50.039 your story is not over. The author is still writing. 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:53.159 Together in faith, together in Christ.