WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.059 Welcome to Pamoja Podcast. The place where stronger 00:00:04.059 --> 00:00:07.139 lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:10.240 are encouraged, and Christ -centered lives are 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:13.339 shaped through ordinary conversations that become 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:17.179 extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm 00:00:17.179 --> 00:00:22.000 your host, Barry Mwamba. Last time, we finished 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.699 with one thought that has not left my heart. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:29.129 We said, faith is trusting the author. while 00:00:29.129 --> 00:00:32.590 he is still writing. But that left me with another 00:00:32.590 --> 00:00:36.509 question, a question I had honestly never asked 00:00:36.509 --> 00:00:40.570 before. Have you ever wondered whether the chapter 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:44.090 you're living today might one day become someone 00:00:44.090 --> 00:00:48.229 else's encouragement? Not tomorrow, not next 00:00:48.229 --> 00:00:53.630 year, maybe long after you're gone. Have you 00:00:53.630 --> 00:00:57.049 ever wondered if God is writing something through 00:00:57.049 --> 00:01:00.780 your life? that you may never fully understand 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:04.340 while you're still living it. Because the more 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:09.700 I thought about David, Daniel and Paul, the more 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:13.719 I realized they all had one thing in common. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.280 None of them knew how far their obedience would 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.000 reach. And perhaps that's one of God's greatest 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:27.060 mysteries. Let's start with David. I often wonder 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:30.120 What David thought, while sitting inside the 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:33.560 cave of a dullum. Do you think he ever imagined 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.180 that thousands of years later, people all over 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:40.799 the world would still be praying his words? Probably 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:45.340 not. When David wrote, the Lord is my shepherd. 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:49.159 I don't think he was trying to write one of the 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.920 most beloved chapters in the Bible. He was simply 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:57.420 writing what he had learned about God. When he 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:01.700 cried, the Lord is close to the broken hearted. 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.879 I don't think he imagined that one day those 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.840 words would comfort grieving parents, lonely 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:13.680 prisoners, missionaries, widows, pastors, young 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:18.039 believers, and people he would never meet. David 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.199 thought he was pouring out his heart before God. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:25.460 God was writing worship for generations. Think 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:29.560 about that. The cave was never only about David, 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:33.020 it was about everyone who would one day need 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:37.039 a song while living in their own cave. I find 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.759 that incredible because it means God can take 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:44.580 one person's darkest season and transform it 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.800 into someone else's greatest encouragement. And 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:53.000 then I ask myself, how many times have I underestimated 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:56.860 what God can do with one act of faithfulness. 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:02.400 Then my mind went to another man, Daniel, because 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.500 Daniel teaches us something different. David 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:08.719 teaches us how to worship in the cave. Daniel 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:13.099 teaches us how to remain faithful when the entire 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:16.520 culture moves in the opposite direction. I've 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.900 always admired Daniel, not because he interpreted 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:23.699 dreams. Not because he survived the lion's den, 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:28.000 but because of something much simpler. Daniel 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.280 had already decided who he belonged to long before 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:36.419 the crisis arrived. Think about that. The decree 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:39.960 didn't create Daniel's faith. The decree simply 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:44.120 revealed it. When the king signed the law forbidding 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:48.879 prayer, Daniel didn't panic. He didn't negotiate. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.620 He didn't begin praying because trouble had arrived. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.460 The Bible says he went home, opened his windows 00:03:56.460 --> 00:04:00.080 toward Jerusalem, and prayed as he had done before. 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:04.280 Those last words have always fascinated me, as 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.900 he had done before. His faith wasn't an emergency 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:12.560 response. It was already his way of life. And 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:16.120 I think that's exactly what Psalm 91 has been 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:19.269 teaching us throughout this season. You don't 00:04:19.269 --> 00:04:23.550 begin dwelling when the storm arrives. You are 00:04:23.550 --> 00:04:27.490 already dwelling before the storm comes. You 00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:30.889 don't build a refuge while the arrows are already 00:04:30.889 --> 00:04:35.209 flying. The refuge has already become your home. 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:39.970 That's why Daniel remained at peace. His prayer 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:43.670 life didn't begin with the decree. It had already 00:04:43.670 --> 00:04:46.470 shaped the man who would face the decree. That 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:49.550 really challenged me. Because sometimes we spend 00:04:49.550 --> 00:04:52.889 more time preparing for success than preparing 00:04:52.889 --> 00:04:56.449 for adversity. Daniel did the opposite. He prepared 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:59.930 his heart. His relationship with God became so 00:04:59.930 --> 00:05:03.670 deep that when the lions finally came, there 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:07.110 was nothing new to learn. He simply continued 00:05:07.110 --> 00:05:12.310 living the life he had already chosen. And then... 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:16.519 I noticed something else. Daniel never knew that 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.819 thousands of years later, believers around the 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:23.339 world would find courage because one man refused 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:27.660 to stop praying. He thought he was simply remaining 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:32.079 faithful. God was writing encouragement for generations. 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:36.779 Do you see the pattern? David didn't know. Daniel 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:40.740 didn't know. And then my thoughts went to Paul. 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:44.579 because perhaps no one illustrates this mystery 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:48.800 more than Paul. Imagine Paul sitting in a prison 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.160 cell, cold, chained, separated from the churches 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:57.139 he loved. He picks up a pen and begins writing. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:01.800 I wonder what was going through his mind. Do 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:05.259 you think he ever imagined that nearly 2 ,000 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:09.420 years later, people in every nation would still 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:12.759 be reading those letters. Do you think he thought 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:17.740 one day this letter to the Romans will transform 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:22.259 millions of lives? I don't think so. I think 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:25.959 Paul believed he was encouraging churches he 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:28.740 loved, but while Paul thought he was writing 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:32.899 letters, God was writing scripture. That thought 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:37.060 overwhelmed me because it reminds me that God's 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:41.360 vision is always bigger than ours. Paul saw churches. 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:46.000 God saw generations. Paul saw prison. God saw 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.500 a platform. Paul saw chains. God saw a testimony. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:55.600 Paul saw limitations. God saw a legacy. And maybe 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.779 that's one of the greatest lessons of this entire 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:03.160 season. We spend so much time asking God to show 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:07.610 us the end, but perhaps If he showed us everything, 00:07:08.350 --> 00:07:11.569 we would miss the privilege of simply walking 00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:15.910 with him one faithful step at a time. Maybe that's 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:20.029 why Hebrews 11 never celebrates people who understood 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:24.529 everything. It celebrates people who kept walking, 00:07:25.069 --> 00:07:28.610 who kept praying, who kept worshipping, who kept 00:07:28.610 --> 00:07:32.329 obeying, even when they could not yet see what 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:36.100 God was building through their lives. and then 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:39.699 a thought settled deeply into my heart. What 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:43.800 if someone's faith tomorrow depends on my faithfulness 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:48.220 today? What if the chapter I'm living right now 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:53.000 isn't only about me? What if God is writing a 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:56.519 testimony that my children, my grandchildren, 00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:00.579 or someone I will never meet will one day need 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:03.620 to keep believing him? That changes everything. 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:07.519 Because suddenly, my valley is no longer just 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.500 my valley. My obedience is no longer just my 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:15.860 obedience. My worship is no longer just my worship. 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:20.360 If God could use David's songs, Daniel's prayers, 00:08:21.180 --> 00:08:24.699 and Paul's letters to strengthen generations, 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:30.100 who am I to say that he cannot use my faithfulness 00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:35.460 for someone I may never know? And maybe that 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:38.799 has been God's purpose all along. Not simply 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:41.299 to bring us through the valley, but to leave 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:45.759 behind a testimony that points others to the 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:49.440 faithfulness of God. And perhaps that's what 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.580 has stayed with me the most. Not the miracles, 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:56.059 not the deliverances, not even the extraordinary 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:58.820 things God accomplished. What has stayed with 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:02.559 me is that none of them knew. David never knew. 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:07.019 Daniel never knew, Paul never knew, Joseph never 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:10.840 knew, Abraham never knew. They simply remained 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:15.720 faithful one day, one prayer, one act of obedience 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:20.220 at a time. Sometimes I wonder if we spend too 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:23.000 much time trying to understand tomorrow while 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.480 God is simply asking us to be faithful today. 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:30.320 Because the truth is God has never asked his 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:34.149 people to carry the future. He has only asked 00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:38.350 them to walk with him Maybe that's why Jesus 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:42.309 said do not worry about tomorrow Not because 00:09:42.309 --> 00:09:45.769 tomorrow isn't important, but because tomorrow 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:50.289 already belongs to God Our assignment has always 00:09:50.289 --> 00:09:55.190 been today today's obedience today's prayer today's 00:09:55.190 --> 00:09:59.149 forgiveness today's worship today's faithfulness 00:09:59.149 --> 00:10:03.549 leave tomorrow to the author and then Another 00:10:03.549 --> 00:10:07.669 thought came into my spirit. Maybe one day in 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:11.730 heaven, God will allow us to see everything he 00:10:11.730 --> 00:10:14.730 accomplished through one simple act of obedience. 00:10:15.730 --> 00:10:19.210 Maybe David will finally see every broken heart 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:22.809 strengthened by his songs. Maybe Daniel will 00:10:22.809 --> 00:10:26.269 finally see every believer who found courage 00:10:26.269 --> 00:10:29.990 because he refused to stop praying. Maybe Paul 00:10:29.990 --> 00:10:33.990 will finally see every life transformed by letters 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:37.429 he wrote from a prison cell. Can you imagine 00:10:37.429 --> 00:10:41.909 that moment? I honestly believe all of them will 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:44.850 stand in amazement, not because of what they 00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:48.129 accomplished, but because of what God accomplished 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:51.830 through ordinary people who simply refused to 00:10:51.830 --> 00:10:55.970 stop trusting him. And maybe that will be our 00:10:55.970 --> 00:11:00.570 amazement too. Maybe one day God will show us. 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:04.759 That a conversation we thought nobody heard strengthened 00:11:04.759 --> 00:11:07.980 someone's faith. That a prayer we thought went 00:11:07.980 --> 00:11:12.220 unnoticed changed someone's eternity. That an 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:15.919 act of forgiveness broke a chain that had lasted 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.940 for generations. That a difficult season became 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:24.320 someone else's reason to keep believing. Because 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.360 God has always done that. He takes ordinary obedience. 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:32.240 and produces extraordinary fruit, not because 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:36.080 of us, because of Him. And that brings me back 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.659 to where this entire season began. There are 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:44.059 moments when God brings us back to Him. He repositions 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:47.840 us. Then there are seasons when He aligns us 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:51.360 more deeply with His presence. Then come valleys 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:55.580 that begin forging something inside us, not to 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:59.389 destroy us, but to prepare us. Then we discover 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:03.210 that while we are still in the valley, God is 00:12:03.210 --> 00:12:08.049 already moving. Then we learn to trust him while 00:12:08.049 --> 00:12:11.929 he is still writing. And finally, we begin to 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:15.250 realize that the story he is writing has never 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:19.210 been only about us. It is about every person 00:12:19.210 --> 00:12:23.370 whose faith will one day be strengthened because 00:12:23.370 --> 00:12:27.799 we chose to remain faithful. I don't know where 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.919 you are today. Maybe you're still in the cave. 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:34.120 Maybe you're still in the prison. Maybe you're 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.080 standing in front of a furnace. Maybe you're 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.039 praying like Daniel, waiting like Abraham, or 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:44.919 wondering like Joseph. If that's where you are, 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:48.860 don't lose heart. The chapter you're living today 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:53.639 is not the entire story. The author is still 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:57.000 writing. And if there is one thing this season 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.980 has convinced me of, it is this. Our greatest 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:04.240 privilege is not knowing how the story ends. 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.159 Our greatest privilege is knowing the one who 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.620 is writing it. So keep dwelling, keep praying, 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.799 keep worshiping, keep obeying, keep trusting. 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:19.879 One day, whether in this life or in eternity, 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.899 you will discover that not one tear, not one 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:27.809 prayer not one act of obedience, not one moment 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:32.509 of faith was ever wasted, because our God has 00:13:32.509 --> 00:13:36.450 never wasted the faithfulness of those who make 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:41.070 Him their dwelling place. Amen. So keep dwelling, 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:44.769 keep praying, keep worshipping, keep obeying, 00:13:44.950 --> 00:13:48.490 keep trusting, because one day, whether in this 00:13:48.490 --> 00:13:52.809 life or in eternity, you will discover that not 00:13:52.809 --> 00:13:57.220 one tear Not one prayer, not one act of obedience, 00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:01.620 not one moment of faith was ever wasted. Our 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:05.919 God has never wasted the faithfulness of those 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.980 who make Him their dwelling place. And perhaps 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:14.139 that brings us to one final question, a question 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:17.639 that has been quietly growing throughout this 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.120 entire season. If God is already moving before 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.570 we see Him, If he is writing a story greater 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:28.029 than ourselves, if our valleys are preparing 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.970 us for his purpose, if our faithfulness can strengthen 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:36.649 generations we may never meet, then why does 00:14:36.649 --> 00:14:40.570 God choose to work this way? Why doesn't he simply 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:44.389 remove the valley? Why doesn't he skip the waiting? 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:48.190 Why doesn't he take away the fire, the prison, 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:53.139 the cave, the wilderness? Why does he choose 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:57.539 to forge his people? I believe the answer to 00:14:57.539 --> 00:15:01.220 that question is Where this entire journey has 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:04.360 been leading us because our final conversation 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:08.220 is not about the valley It is not even about 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:12.659 faith. It is about the master craftsman The God 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:16.500 who never wastes a season who never wastes a 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:20.679 wound who never wastes a tear who never wastes 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.340 a prison, who never wastes a cave, who never 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:28.679 wastes a furnace, who never wastes a life completely 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:32.620 surrendered to him. In our final episode, we'll 00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:36.019 discover that what felt like the breaking of 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:40.159 your life may actually have been the making of 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:44.340 your calling. Because sometimes, God doesn't 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:48.879 simply prepare you for an assignment. Sometimes, 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:54.419 you become the assignment. Until then, keep trusting 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:58.620 the author because he is still writing.