WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.580 Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, the place where stronger 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:06.799 lives are built. Faith is strengthened, hearts 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.480 are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.500 shaped through ordinary conversations that become 00:00:12.500 --> 00:00:16.059 extraordinary encounters with God's truth. One 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:20.399 conversation, one story, one revelation at a 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:25.469 time. I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. In our previous 00:00:25.469 --> 00:00:28.370 conversation, we began exploring one of the most 00:00:28.370 --> 00:00:31.269 powerful patterns found throughout scripture. 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.009 Before Joseph entered the palace, he passed through 00:00:35.009 --> 00:00:39.490 the pit, slavery, false accusation, and prison. 00:00:40.109 --> 00:00:43.170 Before David sat upon the throne, he returned 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:47.049 to the sheep, faced the lion and the bear, confronted 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:51.369 Goliath, endured Saul's jealousy, and spent years 00:00:51.369 --> 00:00:55.420 hiding in caves. Their stories revealed a truth 00:00:55.420 --> 00:00:59.780 that cannot be ignored. God does not merely prepare 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:03.700 assignments for people. He prepares people for 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:08.120 assignments. Joseph was not sent directly from 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.159 the dream to the throne, because although the 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.799 assignment had already been determined, the man 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.260 who would carry it was still being formed. David 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:22.359 was not taken directly from Samuel's anointing 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.840 to Israel's palace, because although the oil 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.180 had already been poured, the heart of the king 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:33.439 was still being forged. The promise may be spoken 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:36.980 in a moment, but preparation often unfolds through 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:41.359 a process. The calling may be revealed quickly, 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.219 but the character required to carry it is usually 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:49.140 developed slowly. And this is where many believers 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:53.200 become discouraged. We assume that once God has 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.060 spoken, everything should begin moving immediately. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:01.400 We believe the promise should remove the process. 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:04.819 We believe the anointing should eliminate the 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:08.439 waiting. We believe the calling should protect 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.460 us from the wilderness. But throughout scripture, 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.939 the opposite frequently happens. The promise 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:19.139 does not always remove the process. Sometimes 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:22.800 the promise begins it. The anointing does not 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.360 always prevent the wilderness. Sometimes it leads 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.819 us directly into it. The calling does not mean 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:33.919 that preparation has ended. Sometimes the calling 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:36.960 is the announcement that preparation is about 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:41.099 to begin. Joseph received the dream before the 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:44.729 pit. David received the oil before the cave, 00:02:45.729 --> 00:02:48.490 and Moses carried the burden of a deliverer long 00:02:48.490 --> 00:02:51.150 before he was ready to stand before Pharaoh. 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:56.069 His story begins in danger. A decree had been 00:02:56.069 --> 00:02:59.550 issued against the Hebrew sons. Yet God preserved 00:02:59.550 --> 00:03:02.650 Moses before Moses could even understand that 00:03:02.650 --> 00:03:05.330 he needed preservation. His mother placed him 00:03:05.330 --> 00:03:08.610 inside a basket and released him upon the Nile. 00:03:08.810 --> 00:03:11.469 But what appeared to be an act of desperation 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:14.729 became the road into Pharaoh's own household. 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.789 The river that should have carried Moses toward 00:03:17.789 --> 00:03:21.099 death carried him toward preparation. The palace 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:24.500 of the oppressor became the school of the future 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:28.159 deliverer. Moses was raised among royalty. He 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.319 learned the culture of Egypt. He understood its 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:34.539 systems, its authority, its language, and its 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:37.719 power. He was educated in the very environment 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:41.159 he would later confront. Nothing was wasted. 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.419 Even Pharaoh's palace was part of the preparation. 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:48.039 But the palace alone could not produce the man 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.740 God needed. Egypt could educate Moses, but it 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:55.060 could not empty him. It could teach him leadership, 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:58.439 but it could not teach him dependence upon God. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.680 It could give him knowledge, but it could not 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.539 give him surrender. It could place authority 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:07.680 around him, but it could not establish God's 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.900 authority within him. And so, before Moses could 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:15.419 return to Egypt as a deliverer, he had to leave 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:21.449 Egypt as a fugitive. There is a moment in Moses' 00:04:21.470 --> 00:04:24.649 life that reveals how easily a genuine burden 00:04:24.649 --> 00:04:28.569 can move ahead of divine preparation. Moses saw 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:31.769 an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Something rose 00:04:31.769 --> 00:04:35.990 within him. He recognized injustice. He identified 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:39.029 with the suffering of his people. He wanted to 00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:42.350 intervene. The desire to deliver was already 00:04:42.350 --> 00:04:45.189 present, but the deliverer was not yet ready. 00:04:45.790 --> 00:04:49.269 Moses looked in both directions, saw no one. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.019 killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:57.100 His concern may have been sincere, but his method 00:04:57.100 --> 00:05:00.819 was still shaped by human strength. He possessed 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:03.759 the burden of the assignment, but he had not 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:06.600 yet learned how the assignment must be carried. 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:10.699 That is a dangerous stage in the life of anyone 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:15.009 called by God. You can recognize what God wants 00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:18.009 to accomplish while still being unprepared for 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:21.689 how he intends to accomplish it. You can carry 00:05:21.689 --> 00:05:26.149 a genuine burden and still act prematurely. You 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:29.529 can correctly identify the problem while responding 00:05:29.529 --> 00:05:32.910 through the wrong spirit. You can know what must 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:35.930 change while lacking the maturity, patience, 00:05:36.350 --> 00:05:39.889 wisdom, and dependence required to become God's 00:05:39.889 --> 00:05:43.689 instrument of change. Moses attempted to deliver 00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:47.410 one man through his own strength, but God intended 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.610 to deliver an entire nation through his power. 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:54.529 Moses buried one Egyptian in the sand, but God 00:05:54.529 --> 00:05:58.089 intended to bury Pharaoh's army beneath the sea. 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:03.389 Moses believed his hands were the answer. God 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:06.269 needed to teach him that the answer would be 00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:09.470 God's hand working through him. The assignment 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:13.240 was not wrong. The timing was premature. The 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.959 burden was not false. The servant was unfinished. 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:20.319 And when Pharaoh learned what Moses had done, 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:24.399 Moses fled. In one moment, the prince became 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:27.579 a fugitive. The palace disappeared behind him. 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:31.100 The influence was gone. The recognition was gone. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.579 The position was gone. The future he may have 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:38.160 imagined for himself appeared to collapse. Then 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:42.720 came Midian. No palace, no public platform, no 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.259 visible movement toward Israel's deliverance, 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:50.720 only wilderness, sheep, silence. Ordinary days 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.660 repeated for 40 years. To human eyes, Moses' 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.740 life had moved backward, but in the hands of 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:03.240 God, he had entered the forge. We often speak 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.779 about the wilderness as though nothing happens 00:07:05.779 --> 00:07:10.279 there. We describe it as an empty season, a silent 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:14.180 season, a season where life has stopped, but 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:17.579 the wilderness is never empty when God is present. 00:07:17.980 --> 00:07:21.100 What appears empty of opportunity may be filled 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.240 with preparation. What appears empty of recognition 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.000 may be filled with transformation. What appears 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.560 empty of progress may be the very place where 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:37.069 God is performing His deepest work. Moses entered 00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:40.250 Midian carrying the identity of an Egyptian prince, 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:43.610 but he would leave carrying the heart of a shepherd. 00:07:44.550 --> 00:07:48.629 For 40 years, the man raised in a palace learned 00:07:48.629 --> 00:07:52.389 to guide sheep through difficult terrain. He 00:07:52.389 --> 00:07:56.410 learned patience. He learned attentiveness. He 00:07:56.410 --> 00:07:59.529 learned how to search for those that wandered. 00:07:59.870 --> 00:08:03.889 He learned how to lead without applause. He learned 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:07.230 how to protect what had been placed in his care. 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:10.910 He learned to survive in the very wilderness 00:08:10.910 --> 00:08:13.769 through which he would one day lead an entire 00:08:13.769 --> 00:08:17.230 nation. The assignment was already hidden inside 00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:21.040 the ordinary work. Every path Moses walked with 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:23.879 sheep was preparing him to walk with Israel. 00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:27.860 Every dry place he learned to navigate was preparing 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:31.519 him for the desert ahead. Every vulnerable animal 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.600 entrusted to his care was teaching him something 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.799 about leading frightened, stubborn, dependent 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:41.259 people. Moses probably believed he was merely 00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:44.259 tending the flock of his father -in -law. God 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:46.720 knew he was training the shepherd of Israel. 00:08:46.820 --> 00:08:50.590 Nothing was wasted. not Egypt, not failure, not 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:54.429 exile, not Midian, not one year of those forty 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:58.470 years. The wilderness did not cancel the calling. 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:02.330 It changed the man who would carry it. And perhaps 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:05.490 that is one of the hardest truths for us to accept. 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:09.490 We want God to change our circumstances because 00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:12.830 we assume our circumstances are preventing the 00:09:12.830 --> 00:09:16.549 assignment. But sometimes the circumstances are 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:20.269 preparing us for it. We pray to leave the wilderness 00:09:20.269 --> 00:09:24.289 while God is using the wilderness to remove what 00:09:24.289 --> 00:09:28.710 cannot enter our future. Moses entered the desert 00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:31.389 believing he could deliver through strength. 00:09:31.850 --> 00:09:35.549 He left knowing that without God he could do 00:09:35.549 --> 00:09:38.769 nothing. He entered confident in his ability. 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:42.210 He left conscious of his weakness. He entered 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:46.549 ready to move without being sent. He left unwilling 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:51.129 to move unless God went with him. That transformation 00:09:51.129 --> 00:09:55.009 was not weakness, it was readiness. The Moses 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:58.190 who killed an Egyptian did not yet understand 00:09:58.190 --> 00:10:01.570 how God delivers. The Moses who stood before 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:04.649 the burning bush had finally learned enough to 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:09.570 say, who am I? Forty years earlier, Moses acted 00:10:09.570 --> 00:10:13.049 as though he knew exactly who he was. Forty years 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:16.789 later, He stood before God, asking who he was. 00:10:17.250 --> 00:10:21.009 And only then did God reveal the answer. The 00:10:21.009 --> 00:10:23.490 assignment would not depend upon Moses knowing 00:10:23.490 --> 00:10:27.110 who Moses was. It would depend upon Moses knowing 00:10:27.110 --> 00:10:31.190 who God is. When Moses asked, who am I that I 00:10:31.190 --> 00:10:34.330 should go to Pharaoh, God did not respond by 00:10:34.330 --> 00:10:38.429 enlarging Moses' self -image. God said, I will 00:10:38.429 --> 00:10:42.070 be with you. That was the qualification, not 00:10:42.070 --> 00:10:45.919 the palace. not his education, not his natural 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.399 strength, not his former position, the presence 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:53.440 of God. The wilderness had not made Moses useless, 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:57.419 it had made him dependent, and dependence upon 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.240 God was the strength the assignment required. 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.779 Joseph teaches us that God can use a prison to 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:11.659 prepare a ruler. David teaches us that God can 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:15.940 use caves to prepare a king. Moses teaches us 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:19.740 that God can use a wilderness to prepare a deliverer. 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:24.580 In our next part, we will remain with Moses because 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:27.679 the burning bush was not simply the moment when 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.220 he received an assignment. It was the moment 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:34.360 when everything God had been forming in secret 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:39.320 was summoned into purpose. The man who once moved 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:43.279 before God sent him had now become so conscious 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.379 of his limitations that he struggled to move 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:49.960 when God called him. And there, between human 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:53.480 confidence and human inadequacy, Moses would 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.500 discover the only foundation upon which a divine 00:11:56.500 --> 00:12:01.059 assignment can safely rest. I will be with you. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:06.000 There is something about Moses' story. that I 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.600 completely missed for many years. Maybe you've 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.820 read this passage dozens of times. Maybe you've 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:15.980 even heard sermons about the burning bush. But 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:19.519 let me ask you a question. Was the burning bush 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.960 really the beginning of Moses' assignment? Think 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.159 about it for a moment. Most of us naturally answer, 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.940 of course. That was the day God called Moses. 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:34.259 That was the day everything started. But was 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:39.820 it really? Was that simply the day God revealed 00:12:39.820 --> 00:12:44.480 what he had been preparing for 40 years? I think 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.759 there is a huge difference. Because if the assignment 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.879 really began at the burning bush, then what were 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.440 the previous 40 years? Were they wasted? Were 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:57.759 they simply years of delay? Did Moses somehow 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.440 lose 40 years of his life? I don't think so. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:06.549 In fact, I think those 40 years, Where the assignment 00:13:06.549 --> 00:13:10.429 before the assignment Have you ever noticed? 00:13:11.269 --> 00:13:15.850 What Moses was doing when God spoke to him? Nothing 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:19.710 extraordinary He wasn't preaching. He wasn't 00:13:19.710 --> 00:13:22.889 performing miracles He wasn't standing before 00:13:22.889 --> 00:13:27.269 Pharaoh He wasn't leading Israel He wasn't even 00:13:27.269 --> 00:13:30.370 praying on top of a mountain. He was simply taking 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:34.440 care of sheep Just another ordinary day Another 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:37.620 ordinary morning. Another ordinary walk through 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:41.639 the wilderness. Then suddenly, he noticed something 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:46.259 unusual. A bush was burning, but it wasn't being 00:13:46.259 --> 00:13:50.200 consumed. I love what Moses does next. The Bible 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:53.419 says, I will turn aside and see this great sight. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.059 He stopped. He paid attention. He didn't keep 00:13:57.059 --> 00:14:01.899 walking. And sometimes, I wonder how many burning 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:05.399 bushes People walk past because they are too 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:09.960 busy to stop and notice what God is doing. Then 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:14.799 God called, Moses, Moses, can you imagine hearing 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:18.940 your name spoken by God himself? And Moses answered, 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:23.480 here I am. Now watch this carefully. God doesn't 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:26.559 begin by giving Moses instructions. He first 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.509 says, take off your sandals. Why? Because before 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:35.070 discussing the assignment, God wanted Moses to 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:39.389 recognize whose presence he had entered. Everything 00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:44.009 begins with God's presence, everything. Then 00:14:44.009 --> 00:14:47.250 God begins speaking about Israel. I have seen 00:14:47.250 --> 00:14:50.809 their suffering. I have heard their cry. I know 00:14:50.809 --> 00:14:54.470 their pain. I have come down to deliver them. 00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:58.929 I love those words. Notice, God does not say 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:03.379 Moses. you are going to deliver Israel. No, God 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:08.259 says, I have come down. In other words, the assignment 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:11.720 was never really about Moses. It was always about 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:15.799 God. Moses would simply become the instrument 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:19.580 through whom God would work. That changes everything 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:23.240 because sometimes we place so much pressure on 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.980 ourselves. We think everything depends on us, 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.980 our strength, our wisdom. our ability, our experience. 00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:36.320 But God reminds Moses from the very beginning, 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:41.100 this isn't your deliverance, this is mine. Then 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.960 comes one of the most honest moments in all of 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:49.039 scripture. Moses asks, who am I? I smile every 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:52.700 time I read that question because 40 years earlier, 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:57.000 Moses wasn't asking, who am I? 40 years earlier, 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:00.389 he believed he already knew. He thought he was 00:16:00.389 --> 00:16:03.889 ready. He acted before God sent him. He tried 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:07.389 to accomplish God's purpose using human strength. 00:16:08.070 --> 00:16:12.690 But now the wilderness had changed him. The palace 00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:15.710 produced confidence. The wilderness produced 00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:19.590 humility. The palace taught him how to rule. 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:23.929 The wilderness taught him how to depend. The 00:16:23.929 --> 00:16:26.429 palace made him a prince. The wilderness made 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:31.009 him a servant. And I honestly think God was waiting 00:16:31.009 --> 00:16:35.909 for that question because now Moses was finally 00:16:35.909 --> 00:16:40.490 ready to hear God's answer But notice God doesn't 00:16:40.490 --> 00:16:43.769 really answer Moses's question. He doesn't say 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:47.129 Moses. Let me tell you how gifted you are He 00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:51.409 doesn't say Moses remember your education He 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:55.629 doesn't say Moses remember you grew up in Pharaoh's 00:16:55.629 --> 00:17:00.330 palace instead God answers with something far 00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:04.450 greater. He says I will be with you Almost as 00:17:04.450 --> 00:17:07.809 if God were saying Moses you're asking the wrong 00:17:07.809 --> 00:17:11.890 question The question isn't who are you the question 00:17:11.890 --> 00:17:16.730 is? Who is with you? That is the difference. 00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:21.670 That is why the burning bush Was never the beginning 00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:26.710 it was simply the moment when God unveiled everything 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:31.230 he had been quietly doing for 40 years. Moses 00:17:31.230 --> 00:17:35.529 thought he had been taking care of sheep. God 00:17:35.529 --> 00:17:38.630 had been preparing the shepherd of a nation. 00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:44.609 Nothing had been wasted. Not Egypt, not the failure, 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:50.950 not Midian, not the wilderness, not one single 00:17:50.950 --> 00:17:56.400 day. As I continue reading the Bible, I cannot 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.500 help but notice that God does not always prepare 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:03.619 his servants through prisons, caves, or wildernesses. 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:06.359 Sometimes he prepares them simply by placing 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.680 them exactly where they need to be, long before 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.279 they understand why they are there. That is what 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:17.160 makes Esther's story so remarkable, because unlike 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.880 Joseph, she was not thrown into prison. Unlike 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:25.140 David, She was not hiding in caves. Unlike Moses, 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:28.240 she did not spend 40 years in the wilderness. 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:32.180 Yet God was preparing her just as intentionally 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:36.299 as He prepared each of them. When we first meet 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:39.519 Esther, nothing about her life suggests that 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.960 she will one day influence the destiny of an 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:47.480 entire nation. She is a young Jewish woman living 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:51.579 in exile. An orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, 00:18:52.059 --> 00:18:55.380 far away from the promised land, living under 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:59.259 the authority of a foreign empire. If someone 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:02.579 had looked at her circumstances, they would never 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:05.720 have concluded that she was standing at the entrance 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:09.039 of one of the greatest assignments recorded in 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:13.160 scripture. That is often how God works. He does 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:16.440 not always reveal the assignment while he is 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:20.079 preparing the servant. More often than not, he 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.640 allows the servant to live through ordinary days, 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:28.000 ordinary responsibilities, and ordinary circumstances 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:31.500 without realizing that every one of those moments 00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:35.000 is quietly moving them toward an extraordinary 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.640 purpose. I often wonder whether Esther ever asked 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:42.940 herself the same questions we ask today. Why 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:46.589 did I lose my parents? Why am I living in Persia 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:49.910 instead of Jerusalem? Why did I find favor with 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:54.349 the King? Why am I here? None of those questions 00:19:54.349 --> 00:19:58.150 probably had immediate answers. Each event appeared 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:01.650 disconnected from the others, just another chapter 00:20:01.650 --> 00:20:04.690 in a life she was trying to live faithfully. 00:20:05.730 --> 00:20:10.049 Then everything changed. Haman's decree was issued. 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:13.490 And in a single moment Esther discovered that 00:20:13.490 --> 00:20:16.589 the palace where she had been living was no longer 00:20:16.589 --> 00:20:20.390 simply a palace. It had become the place from 00:20:20.390 --> 00:20:23.789 which God intended to preserve his covenant people. 00:20:24.690 --> 00:20:28.089 That is an incredible thought. The crisis did 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:32.750 not create Esther's assignment. The crisis simply 00:20:32.750 --> 00:20:35.630 revealed the assignment that God had been preparing 00:20:35.630 --> 00:20:40.259 long before Haman ever appeared. That changes 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:43.119 the way we read one of the most quoted verses 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:48.440 in the entire book. Mordecai tells Esther, and 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:50.640 who knows whether you have come to the kingdom 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:55.180 for such a time as this? For many years, I read 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:58.359 those words as if Mordecai was trying to encourage 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:02.059 Esther to become courageous. Now I hear something 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:05.319 much deeper. It is almost as though he is saying, 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:09.099 Esther, don't you see? God has been preparing 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:12.000 this moment long before either of us understood 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.400 it. Becoming queen was never the assignment. 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:19.900 It was the preparation for the assignment. That 00:21:19.900 --> 00:21:24.240 one sentence completely changes the story. Esther 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.200 thought she had received a position, but God 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.019 had entrusted her with a purpose. She thought 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:34.559 she had found favor before a king. but God had 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.339 been positioning her to stand in the gap for 00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:40.819 an entire nation. She thought she was simply 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:44.160 living her life, while heaven had already woven 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:47.480 every chapter together into a story she could 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:52.240 not yet see. Doesn't that sound familiar? Joseph 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.259 did not understand why he was in prison until 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:59.099 years later. David did not understand why God 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:03.329 allowed the caves until he became king. Moses 00:22:03.329 --> 00:22:06.710 did not understand why forty years disappeared 00:22:06.710 --> 00:22:09.930 into the wilderness until he stood before the 00:22:09.930 --> 00:22:13.930 burning bush. And Esther did not understand why 00:22:13.930 --> 00:22:17.009 she had become queen until the day her people 00:22:17.009 --> 00:22:20.930 stood on the edge of destruction. The pattern 00:22:20.930 --> 00:22:26.109 is always the same. God rarely explains his preparation 00:22:26.109 --> 00:22:29.660 while we are living through it. More often, He 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:33.200 allows us to discover its purpose only when the 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.720 assignment finally comes into view. Perhaps that 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.660 is why so many of us become discouraged during 00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:44.539 seasons that appear ordinary. We assume nothing 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:47.900 important is happening because nothing dramatic 00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:52.049 is taking place. We believe God is silent because 00:22:52.049 --> 00:22:55.750 our circumstances seem unchanged, yet scripture 00:22:55.750 --> 00:22:58.990 keeps reminding us that some of God's greatest 00:22:58.990 --> 00:23:03.130 work happens quietly, long before anyone recognizes 00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:06.990 it. What if your present season is more significant 00:23:06.990 --> 00:23:10.430 than you realize? What if the place where you 00:23:10.430 --> 00:23:13.230 are serving today, the people you are meeting, 00:23:13.650 --> 00:23:16.630 the experiences you are living through, and even 00:23:16.630 --> 00:23:19.609 the disappointments you have carried? are not 00:23:19.609 --> 00:23:23.269 isolated events, but part of God's preparation 00:23:23.269 --> 00:23:27.490 for an assignment you cannot yet see. Joseph 00:23:27.490 --> 00:23:31.789 discovered it. David discovered it. Moses discovered 00:23:31.789 --> 00:23:36.289 it. Esther discovered it. And perhaps one day 00:23:36.289 --> 00:23:39.710 you will look back over your own life and realize 00:23:39.710 --> 00:23:43.089 that what seemed like disconnected chapters were 00:23:43.089 --> 00:23:46.490 actually being written by the same faithful author 00:23:46.490 --> 00:23:51.539 all along. As we bring this conversation to a 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:54.579 close, one truth continues to echo throughout 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:58.400 the pages of scripture. Joseph's prison, David's 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.299 caves, Moses' wilderness, and Esther's palace 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:06.440 were all different places. Yet the same God was 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:09.720 accomplishing the same purpose. He was forging 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:13.740 his servants for their future assignment. But 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:17.339 our journey is far from over, because there is 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:21.170 another young man. whose story reveals an entirely 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:25.029 different dimension of God's preparation. Unlike 00:24:25.029 --> 00:24:28.690 Joseph, he was not sold into slavery. Unlike 00:24:28.690 --> 00:24:32.930 David, he did not flee into caves. Unlike Moses, 00:24:33.450 --> 00:24:35.849 he did not spend 40 years in the wilderness. 00:24:36.650 --> 00:24:39.470 Unlike Esther, he did not enter the palace through 00:24:39.470 --> 00:24:44.750 favor. He arrived in Babylon as a captive. Everything 00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:47.289 around him was designed to change his identity. 00:24:47.609 --> 00:24:51.349 His homeland was taken. His language was challenged. 00:24:51.970 --> 00:24:55.250 His education was redefined. Even his name was 00:24:55.250 --> 00:24:58.930 changed. The world expected Babylon to transform 00:24:58.930 --> 00:25:04.089 Daniel. Instead, God used Babylon to prepare 00:25:04.089 --> 00:25:08.509 Daniel. Join me in our next conversation as we 00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:11.309 discover one of the greatest lessons for every 00:25:11.309 --> 00:25:15.329 believer living in today's world. Can God prepare 00:25:15.329 --> 00:25:18.069 your future assignment while you are living in 00:25:18.069 --> 00:25:21.769 a culture trying to redefine who you are. Because 00:25:21.769 --> 00:25:26.210 sometimes the greatest forge is not a prison. 00:25:26.670 --> 00:25:29.750 It is remaining faithful in Babylon.