Welcome back to Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of
life of Christ International Ministries. Pomoja
means together, and that's exactly what this
space is about, the place where stronger lives
are built. Faith is strengthened, hearts are
encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are shaped
through ordinary conversations that become extraordinary
encounters with God's truth. One conversation,
one story. One revelation at a time. Thank you
for joining me for another powerful conversation.
During our last conversation, we stood inside
the house. We felt its heat. We discovered the
mysterious door. We looked at the sealed windows
and we left with more questions than answers.
Originally, I thought this conversation would
begin explaining those mysteries. But as I continued
praying, meditating, and reflecting on my father's
story, the Holy Spirit gently redirected my attention.
He brought me back, not inside the house, but
outside, back into the forest. Because there
was something I had overlooked for nearly 20
years, something my father included in the story
that I had never stopped to consider. The man
didn't suddenly appear in front of the house.
He walked. And the more I reflected on that simple
detail, the more I realized it wasn't simply
part of the story. It was part of the revelation.
Sometimes the details we read too quickly are
the very places where God has hidden his greatest
truths. That is one of the beautiful things about
walking with God. His word is living. His wisdom
is living. The Holy Spirit doesn't change the
truth. He deepens our understanding of it. The
story hasn't changed. The revelation has grown.
So before we begin talking about life inside
the house, I believe we first need to understand
the journey that brought the man there. Because
in God's kingdom, preparation always comes. before
responsibility, formation, before assignment,
character, before covenant. The man was walking.
He didn't know that, hidden somewhere in that
forest, there was a house waiting to be discovered.
He simply kept walking, step after step, until
one day, he saw something that changed the direction
of his life. I don't believe the forest is there
by accident. Throughout scripture, the journey
often matters just as much as the destination.
God rarely works in a hurry. He works deeply.
We often ask, Lord, when will I arrive? While
God quietly asks, who are you becoming while
you walk? The forest is where God forms us. The
forest is where pride is confronted. Character
is refined. Faith is tested. Patience grows.
The forest is where God prepares people before
He entrusts them with greater things. God's pattern
has never changed. Look throughout the Bible.
God almost never entrusted someone with a great
assignment without first taking them on a journey.
Consider Noah. God asked him to build an ark
before a single drop of rain had fallen. Imagine
the ridicule. Imagine the questions. Imagine
spending years building something the world could
not understand. But Noah wasn't simply building
an ark. God was building Noah. Faith often begins
long before visible evidence appears. Abraham
received a promise, but waited 25 years before
Isaac was born. Why? Was God delaying his promise?
No. God was preparing the man who would carry
the promise. By the time Isaac arrived, Abraham's
faith had been tested. His dependence on God
had deepened. His heart had matured. Sometimes
the greatest miracle isn't receiving God's promise.
It's becoming the kind of person who can carry
it faithfully. Look at Joseph. At 17, God gave
him a dream. If dreams alone were enough, Joseph
could have gone directly from the field to the
palace. Instead, there was a pit, slavery, false
accusation, prison, years of waiting, years of
injustice, years that seemed wasted. But heaven
never wastes preparation. Every season shaped
Joseph into the leader Egypt would one day need.
The palace wasn't the miracle. The man Joseph
became was. Think about Moses. raised in Pharaoh's
palace, educated with the wisdom of Egypt, confident
in his own strength. Yet after one impulsive
decision, he spent 40 years in the wilderness.
40 years. That sounds like a delay to us. But
to God, it was preparation. Before Moses could
lead God's people out of Egypt, God had to remove
Egypt from Moses. Sometimes God separates us
from what wants to find us, so he can prepare
us for what he has called us to become. Then
there is David. Long before he wore a crown,
he cared for sheep. No audience, no applause,
just faithfulness. He learned courage defending
sheep from lions and bears before he ever stood
before Goliath. He learned worship in lonely
fields before he led a nation. He learned dependence
in caves before he ruled from a palace. God entrusted
David with a kingdom, only after teaching him
how to be faithful in hidden places. Joshua walked
beside Moses for decades. He learned leadership
by serving. Elisha spent years faithfully serving
Elijah before receiving a double portion. Ruth
wasn't searching for Boaz, she was faithfully
caring for Naomi. Purpose often finds those who
remain faithful where God has planted them. Esther
didn't know that the palace would become the
place where she would save a nation. God prepared
her quietly before revealing her purpose publicly,
even our Lord Jesus Christ. spent approximately
30 years in quiet preparation before three years
of public ministry. Think about that. The Son
of God, 30 hidden years, three public years.
If God chose preparation for His own Son, why
should we be surprised when He chooses preparation
for us? God's preparation is never punishment.
It is love. Marriage. Follows the same pattern.
Marriage is no different. Many people pray for
a husband. Many pray for a wife. Those are beautiful
prayers. But perhaps there is an even greater
prayer. Lord, prepare me. Because before God
gives you a husband, he shapes a man. Before
he entrusts you with a wife, he shapes a woman.
God is not merely preparing two people to live
together. He is preparing two disciples to reflect
Christ together. The wedding is not the destination.
It is the beginning. A groom becomes a husband.
A bride becomes a wife. Then in time, perhaps
a father, perhaps a mother. Each season carries
new responsibilities, new sacrifices, new opportunities
to love like Christ. Marriage isn't simply something
we enter. It is someone we become within. Maybe
today you feel like you're still walking through
the forest. You're wondering why God hasn't opened
the next door. Why the promise seems delayed.
Why others appear to have arrived before you.
Don't despise the forest. God often does his
deepest work there. The forest is not evidence
that God has forgotten you. It is often evidence
that He is preparing you. Preparation may feel
slow. It may feel hidden. It may even feel lonely.
But when God prepares someone, nothing is wasted.
Not a prayer, not a disappointment, not a delay,
not a tear. He is shaping you for what He already
knows is ahead. As I look back over my own life,
I no longer see delays. I see preparation. I
no longer see random seasons. I see the careful
hand of a father leading me, one step at a time,
through the forest. Perhaps you're walking through
your own forest today. If you are, keep walking.
Trust him. The journey is not keeping you from
God's purpose. The journey is part of God's purpose.
And one day, You'll look back and realize that
every step was leading you to the house. Next
time, we'll finally arrive at the front door.
We'll discover why the man was so deeply attracted
to that house, why he willingly chose to enter,
and what that decision reveals about God's design
for marriage and covenant. Until then, may the
Lord strengthen your faith, guide your steps,
and remind you that his preparation is always
an expression of his love. Thank you for joining
me. Grace and peace. I'll see you in our next
conversation.