Welcome to Pamoja Podcast. The place where stronger
lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
are encouraged, and Christ -centered lives are
shaped through ordinary conversations that become
extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm
your host, Barry Mwamba. Last time, we finished
with one thought that has not left my heart.
We said, faith is trusting the author. while
he is still writing. But that left me with another
question, a question I had honestly never asked
before. Have you ever wondered whether the chapter
you're living today might one day become someone
else's encouragement? Not tomorrow, not next
year, maybe long after you're gone. Have you
ever wondered if God is writing something through
your life? that you may never fully understand
while you're still living it. Because the more
I thought about David, Daniel and Paul, the more
I realized they all had one thing in common.
None of them knew how far their obedience would
reach. And perhaps that's one of God's greatest
mysteries. Let's start with David. I often wonder
What David thought, while sitting inside the
cave of a dullum. Do you think he ever imagined
that thousands of years later, people all over
the world would still be praying his words? Probably
not. When David wrote, the Lord is my shepherd.
I don't think he was trying to write one of the
most beloved chapters in the Bible. He was simply
writing what he had learned about God. When he
cried, the Lord is close to the broken hearted.
I don't think he imagined that one day those
words would comfort grieving parents, lonely
prisoners, missionaries, widows, pastors, young
believers, and people he would never meet. David
thought he was pouring out his heart before God.
God was writing worship for generations. Think
about that. The cave was never only about David,
it was about everyone who would one day need
a song while living in their own cave. I find
that incredible because it means God can take
one person's darkest season and transform it
into someone else's greatest encouragement. And
then I ask myself, how many times have I underestimated
what God can do with one act of faithfulness.
Then my mind went to another man, Daniel, because
Daniel teaches us something different. David
teaches us how to worship in the cave. Daniel
teaches us how to remain faithful when the entire
culture moves in the opposite direction. I've
always admired Daniel, not because he interpreted
dreams. Not because he survived the lion's den,
but because of something much simpler. Daniel
had already decided who he belonged to long before
the crisis arrived. Think about that. The decree
didn't create Daniel's faith. The decree simply
revealed it. When the king signed the law forbidding
prayer, Daniel didn't panic. He didn't negotiate.
He didn't begin praying because trouble had arrived.
The Bible says he went home, opened his windows
toward Jerusalem, and prayed as he had done before.
Those last words have always fascinated me, as
he had done before. His faith wasn't an emergency
response. It was already his way of life. And
I think that's exactly what Psalm 91 has been
teaching us throughout this season. You don't
begin dwelling when the storm arrives. You are
already dwelling before the storm comes. You
don't build a refuge while the arrows are already
flying. The refuge has already become your home.
That's why Daniel remained at peace. His prayer
life didn't begin with the decree. It had already
shaped the man who would face the decree. That
really challenged me. Because sometimes we spend
more time preparing for success than preparing
for adversity. Daniel did the opposite. He prepared
his heart. His relationship with God became so
deep that when the lions finally came, there
was nothing new to learn. He simply continued
living the life he had already chosen. And then...
I noticed something else. Daniel never knew that
thousands of years later, believers around the
world would find courage because one man refused
to stop praying. He thought he was simply remaining
faithful. God was writing encouragement for generations.
Do you see the pattern? David didn't know. Daniel
didn't know. And then my thoughts went to Paul.
because perhaps no one illustrates this mystery
more than Paul. Imagine Paul sitting in a prison
cell, cold, chained, separated from the churches
he loved. He picks up a pen and begins writing.
I wonder what was going through his mind. Do
you think he ever imagined that nearly 2 ,000
years later, people in every nation would still
be reading those letters. Do you think he thought
one day this letter to the Romans will transform
millions of lives? I don't think so. I think
Paul believed he was encouraging churches he
loved, but while Paul thought he was writing
letters, God was writing scripture. That thought
overwhelmed me because it reminds me that God's
vision is always bigger than ours. Paul saw churches.
God saw generations. Paul saw prison. God saw
a platform. Paul saw chains. God saw a testimony.
Paul saw limitations. God saw a legacy. And maybe
that's one of the greatest lessons of this entire
season. We spend so much time asking God to show
us the end, but perhaps If he showed us everything,
we would miss the privilege of simply walking
with him one faithful step at a time. Maybe that's
why Hebrews 11 never celebrates people who understood
everything. It celebrates people who kept walking,
who kept praying, who kept worshipping, who kept
obeying, even when they could not yet see what
God was building through their lives. and then
a thought settled deeply into my heart. What
if someone's faith tomorrow depends on my faithfulness
today? What if the chapter I'm living right now
isn't only about me? What if God is writing a
testimony that my children, my grandchildren,
or someone I will never meet will one day need
to keep believing him? That changes everything.
Because suddenly, my valley is no longer just
my valley. My obedience is no longer just my
obedience. My worship is no longer just my worship.
If God could use David's songs, Daniel's prayers,
and Paul's letters to strengthen generations,
who am I to say that he cannot use my faithfulness
for someone I may never know? And maybe that
has been God's purpose all along. Not simply
to bring us through the valley, but to leave
behind a testimony that points others to the
faithfulness of God. And perhaps that's what
has stayed with me the most. Not the miracles,
not the deliverances, not even the extraordinary
things God accomplished. What has stayed with
me is that none of them knew. David never knew.
Daniel never knew, Paul never knew, Joseph never
knew, Abraham never knew. They simply remained
faithful one day, one prayer, one act of obedience
at a time. Sometimes I wonder if we spend too
much time trying to understand tomorrow while
God is simply asking us to be faithful today.
Because the truth is God has never asked his
people to carry the future. He has only asked
them to walk with him Maybe that's why Jesus
said do not worry about tomorrow Not because
tomorrow isn't important, but because tomorrow
already belongs to God Our assignment has always
been today today's obedience today's prayer today's
forgiveness today's worship today's faithfulness
leave tomorrow to the author and then Another
thought came into my spirit. Maybe one day in
heaven, God will allow us to see everything he
accomplished through one simple act of obedience.
Maybe David will finally see every broken heart
strengthened by his songs. Maybe Daniel will
finally see every believer who found courage
because he refused to stop praying. Maybe Paul
will finally see every life transformed by letters
he wrote from a prison cell. Can you imagine
that moment? I honestly believe all of them will
stand in amazement, not because of what they
accomplished, but because of what God accomplished
through ordinary people who simply refused to
stop trusting him. And maybe that will be our
amazement too. Maybe one day God will show us.
That a conversation we thought nobody heard strengthened
someone's faith. That a prayer we thought went
unnoticed changed someone's eternity. That an
act of forgiveness broke a chain that had lasted
for generations. That a difficult season became
someone else's reason to keep believing. Because
God has always done that. He takes ordinary obedience.
and produces extraordinary fruit, not because
of us, because of Him. And that brings me back
to where this entire season began. There are
moments when God brings us back to Him. He repositions
us. Then there are seasons when He aligns us
more deeply with His presence. Then come valleys
that begin forging something inside us, not to
destroy us, but to prepare us. Then we discover
that while we are still in the valley, God is
already moving. Then we learn to trust him while
he is still writing. And finally, we begin to
realize that the story he is writing has never
been only about us. It is about every person
whose faith will one day be strengthened because
we chose to remain faithful. I don't know where
you are today. Maybe you're still in the cave.
Maybe you're still in the prison. Maybe you're
standing in front of a furnace. Maybe you're
praying like Daniel, waiting like Abraham, or
wondering like Joseph. If that's where you are,
don't lose heart. The chapter you're living today
is not the entire story. The author is still
writing. And if there is one thing this season
has convinced me of, it is this. Our greatest
privilege is not knowing how the story ends.
Our greatest privilege is knowing the one who
is writing it. So keep dwelling, keep praying,
keep worshiping, keep obeying, keep trusting.
One day, whether in this life or in eternity,
you will discover that not one tear, not one
prayer not one act of obedience, not one moment
of faith was ever wasted, because our God has
never wasted the faithfulness of those who make
Him their dwelling place. Amen. So keep dwelling,
keep praying, keep worshipping, keep obeying,
keep trusting, because one day, whether in this
life or in eternity, you will discover that not
one tear Not one prayer, not one act of obedience,
not one moment of faith was ever wasted. Our
God has never wasted the faithfulness of those
who make Him their dwelling place. And perhaps
that brings us to one final question, a question
that has been quietly growing throughout this
entire season. If God is already moving before
we see Him, If he is writing a story greater
than ourselves, if our valleys are preparing
us for his purpose, if our faithfulness can strengthen
generations we may never meet, then why does
God choose to work this way? Why doesn't he simply
remove the valley? Why doesn't he skip the waiting?
Why doesn't he take away the fire, the prison,
the cave, the wilderness? Why does he choose
to forge his people? I believe the answer to
that question is Where this entire journey has
been leading us because our final conversation
is not about the valley It is not even about
faith. It is about the master craftsman The God
who never wastes a season who never wastes a
wound who never wastes a tear who never wastes
a prison, who never wastes a cave, who never
wastes a furnace, who never wastes a life completely
surrendered to him. In our final episode, we'll
discover that what felt like the breaking of
your life may actually have been the making of
your calling. Because sometimes, God doesn't
simply prepare you for an assignment. Sometimes,
you become the assignment. Until then, keep trusting
the author because he is still writing.