WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to Pomoja Ministry. There is a question 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:08.119 we left hanging at the end of our last conversation. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:12.000 If God is carrying you, where is He carrying 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.900 you? Because when you begin looking carefully 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:18.359 at Scripture, you discover that God rarely carries 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:21.179 His people merely so that they can remain where 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:24.399 He found them. He carries them through something 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.780 because there is often something on the other 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:29.850 side. Israel was carried through the wilderness, 00:00:30.449 --> 00:00:33.729 but the wilderness was not the destination. Joseph 00:00:33.729 --> 00:00:36.909 was preserved through the pit, slavery, false 00:00:36.909 --> 00:00:40.329 accusation, and prison, but the prison was not 00:00:40.329 --> 00:00:43.710 the destination. Elijah was sustained underneath 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:47.289 the broom tree, but the broom tree was not the 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:50.590 destination. Peter was preserved through failure, 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:54.700 but failure was not his destination. And when 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:57.579 Jesus described the shepherd finding the lost 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:00.600 sheep, the shepherd did not find the sheep merely 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.899 to sit beside it in the wilderness. He placed 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:07.879 it upon his shoulders and carried it home. There 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.159 is movement in the carrying. There is direction 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.180 in the carrying. There is purpose in the carrying. 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.719 And perhaps this is another mystery of divine 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:22.120 intervention. God is not only concerned about 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.159 what he is bringing you out of. He knows what 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:30.280 he is bringing you toward. Sometimes we become 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.439 so consumed with surviving the present season 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.040 that we forget there may still be something beyond 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:40.439 it. When you are in the fire, you are thinking 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:44.019 about the fire. When you are in the water, you 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:46.900 are thinking about breathing. When you are in 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:49.719 the wilderness, you are thinking about survival. 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:52.780 When you are in the prison, you are thinking 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:56.319 about freedom. When you are exhausted beneath 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:59.659 the broom tree, you are thinking about rest, 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:04.719 and understandably so. Pain has a way of narrowing 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.139 our vision. When something hurts badly enough, 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.360 tomorrow becomes difficult to imagine because 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:15.139 today demands all of our attention. But God does 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.900 not lose sight of tomorrow simply because we 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:21.300 cannot see it. He can be working with a destination 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:24.139 in mind. while we are still trying to understand 00:02:24.139 --> 00:02:27.539 the road, and that changes the question. Maybe 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:30.900 the question is not only, God, why am I going 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:34.900 through this? Maybe another question is, God, 00:02:35.379 --> 00:02:38.400 what are you preserving me for? Because sometimes 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.719 the fact that God continues sustaining you is 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:44.759 itself evidence that your story is not finished. 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.939 Let's talk about Moses in this part one, the 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:55.240 wilderness. was never the destination. Moses 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:57.759 gives us one of the clearest pictures of this. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.800 When he looked backward at Israel's journey, 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:05.300 he said, the Lord your God carried you as a father 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:09.020 carries his son all the way you went until you 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:13.400 reach this place. I love those final words. Until 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.319 you reach this place, God's carrying had direction. 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:21.199 Egypt was behind them. The wilderness was around 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.240 them. But promise was ahead of them. And this 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.960 is important because Israel could easily have 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.599 mistaken the wilderness for their new reality. 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:34.620 Imagine living there year after year. Sand. Heat. 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:40.219 Uncertainty. Mana again. Cloud by day. Fire by 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:44.900 night. Moving. Stopping. Moving again. At some 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.520 point, a temporary environment can begin to feel 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.419 permanent. And maybe somebody listening understands 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:54.099 that. You have been somewhere emotionally, spiritually, 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:58.500 relationally, financially, professionally, or 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:01.120 personally for so long that you have quietly 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:05.099 begun assuming, this must be my life now. But 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.020 length does not necessarily determine destination. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.060 Israel spent years in the wilderness. It was 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:15.740 still not Canaan. Joseph spent years away from 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:19.000 the fulfillment of his dream. The delay did not 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.459 cancel the dream. David spent years running from 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:25.860 Saul. The cave did not become his throne. There 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:29.579 are places God may sustain you in that he never 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.480 intended you to settle for. And this is where 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.040 we need wisdom. Because sometimes survival can 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:38.759 become comfortable. We learn how to live in the 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:41.959 wilderness. We learn where the manna falls. We 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:44.649 learn where the water comes from. We learn how 00:04:44.649 --> 00:04:47.850 to arrange our tents, we become familiar with 00:04:47.850 --> 00:04:50.810 uncertainty, and eventually the place we once 00:04:50.810 --> 00:04:53.529 prayed to escape can become the place we are 00:04:53.529 --> 00:04:57.089 afraid to leave. But divine intervention sometimes 00:04:57.089 --> 00:05:00.170 comes not merely to comfort you in the wilderness. 00:05:00.829 --> 00:05:05.149 Sometimes God says, get up, it is time to move. 00:05:05.750 --> 00:05:08.509 Because what sustained you in one season may 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:12.279 not be what God intends for the next. Israel 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.459 could not build its future around manna forever. 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:20.139 Manna was miraculous, but manna was wilderness 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:23.420 provision. And when Israel entered the land, 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:26.699 the manna stopped. Think about that. Something 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:30.319 supernatural stopped, not because God had abandoned 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:33.139 them, but because they had arrived somewhere 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:36.899 new. Sometimes we interpret the ending of one 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:39.850 form of provision as the disappearance of God 00:05:39.850 --> 00:05:42.910 when actually it may be evidence that the season 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:46.810 has changed. Yesterday God carried you one way. 00:05:47.009 --> 00:05:51.389 Tomorrow He may carry you another way. The method 00:05:51.389 --> 00:05:54.910 can change without the carrier changing. And 00:05:54.910 --> 00:05:57.850 that is why faith cannot become attached merely 00:05:57.850 --> 00:06:02.170 to methods. Faith must remain attached to God. 00:06:03.269 --> 00:06:06.660 Let's discuss about Joseph. preserved for something 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:10.819 he could not yet see. Now think about Joseph. 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:15.079 Joseph receives a dream, and almost immediately 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.600 afterward, his life seems to move in the opposite 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:22.800 direction. He dreams of elevation, then goes 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:27.339 down into a pit. He dreams of significance, then 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:31.540 becomes a slave. He remains faithful, then is 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:36.129 falsely accused. He serves well. then is imprisoned. 00:06:37.069 --> 00:06:40.029 If Joseph judged God's purpose only by his present 00:06:40.029 --> 00:06:43.129 environment, almost every chapter would appear 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:46.269 to contradict the promise. And yet there is a 00:06:46.269 --> 00:06:48.829 phrase that keeps appearing in Joseph's story. 00:06:49.750 --> 00:06:53.990 The Lord was with Joseph. That phrase matters 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:57.769 because God being with Joseph did not always 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:01.550 mean Joseph's circumstances immediately improved. 00:07:02.170 --> 00:07:05.160 God was with Joseph in Potiphar's house. God 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:08.600 was with Joseph in prison. God was with Joseph 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.980 before Pharaoh ever knew his name. Which means 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:17.000 divine presence was operating long before public 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.839 elevation appeared. And then suddenly the chapter 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:24.720 changes. Pharaoh dreams. Nobody can interpret 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:28.839 it. The cup bearer remembers Joseph. Joseph is 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:31.959 summoned. And in what seems like a single day, 00:07:32.180 --> 00:07:35.540 the prisoner becomes the governor. But Joseph's 00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:38.959 story is bigger than personal promotion. God 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:41.600 was not merely carrying Joseph toward a better 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.560 position. There was famine coming. There were 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.540 lives that would need preservation. There was 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:50.920 a family through whom God's covenant purposes 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.779 would continue. And years later, when Joseph 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:57.959 finally sees his brothers again, he can interpret 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.839 his story differently. You intended to harm me. 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:05.709 But God intended it for good, to accomplish what 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:09.550 is now being done, the saving of many lives. 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:13.730 Joseph can finally see destination. The pit did 00:08:13.730 --> 00:08:16.810 not explain itself. The prison did not explain 00:08:16.810 --> 00:08:21.069 itself. But eventually, purpose illuminated the 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:24.250 road behind him. And I want to be careful here. 00:08:24.589 --> 00:08:27.910 Not every painful thing that happens to us should 00:08:27.910 --> 00:08:31.189 be casually labeled as something God caused. 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:36.519 Joseph himself acknowledges human evil. You intended 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:40.360 to harm me. Scripture does not pretend the brothers' 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:44.340 actions were good. They were not. But the mystery 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:47.440 of providence is that human evil did not have 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.600 the authority to write the final chapter. You 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:54.840 intended harm, but God. Those may be two of the 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.320 most powerful words in Scripture. Human intention 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:03.070 existed, but God. Betrayal existed, but God. 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:07.850 The pit existed, but God. False accusation existed, 00:09:08.429 --> 00:09:13.009 but God. Prison existed, but God. The enemy may 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:15.789 influence a chapter. He does not own the author. 00:09:16.389 --> 00:09:18.809 And perhaps divine intervention sometimes means 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:21.809 God takes something he did not approve, something 00:09:21.809 --> 00:09:24.590 he did not call good, something that genuinely 00:09:24.590 --> 00:09:27.809 wounded you, and refuses to allow it to become 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:32.740 meaningless. He redeems. He redirects. He restores. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.899 He preserves. And somehow what was designed to 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:40.120 end you becomes part of a testimony that serves 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.940 someone else. Joseph thought he needed deliverance 00:09:43.940 --> 00:09:47.899 from prison. God knew nations would need Joseph 00:09:47.899 --> 00:09:51.639 outside the prison. There was a destination bigger 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.519 than Joseph's comfort. There was assignment. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.539 Let's talk about Elijah. God fed him because 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:02.029 there was still more. Then there is Elijah, one 00:10:02.029 --> 00:10:05.070 of the most dramatic prophets in scripture. He 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:08.929 confronts Ahab. He stands on Mount Carmel. He 00:10:08.929 --> 00:10:13.070 calls Israel back to God. Fire falls from heaven. 00:10:13.450 --> 00:10:16.230 The prophets of Baal are defeated. It is one 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:19.649 of those moments where Elijah appears almost 00:10:19.649 --> 00:10:23.230 invincible and then Jezebel sends one message. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.379 Elijah runs. He enters the wilderness. He sits 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:30.240 beneath a broom tree, and he has had enough. 00:10:30.379 --> 00:10:33.340 This powerful prophet reaches the end of himself. 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:36.440 And what does God do? God does not begin with 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:39.559 a sermon. God does not shame Elijah for being 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:43.279 exhausted. An angel touches him and says, Get 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:47.139 up and eat. Elijah eats. He rests. The angel 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:51.279 returns and says again, Get up and eat, for the 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.759 journey is too much for you. Listen to that language. 00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:57.919 The journey is too much for you. That sounds 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:01.379 like carrying. God acknowledges the limitation 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:04.480 of Elijah's strength, but God also knows something 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:08.159 Elijah cannot see in that moment. There is still 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.240 journey ahead. There is still instruction ahead. 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:14.419 There are still kings to anoint. There is still 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:17.840 Elisha to call. There is still succession to 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:20.759 establish. There is still assignment. Elijah 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.899 thought he had reached the end. God gave him 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:26.879 strength for what came next, and perhaps this 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.320 is one of the ways God carries us. Sometimes 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.700 he carries us by giving us enough strength for 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:36.779 the next step, not enough information for the 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:40.820 next 10 years, not enough explanation to understand 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:44.659 everything, just enough grace for today, enough 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:48.820 bread, enough water, enough rest, enough strength 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:52.169 to stand again. And then he says, get up. because 00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:55.049 there is still somewhere to go. Maybe you are 00:11:55.049 --> 00:11:58.529 asking God for the entire map, and God is giving 00:11:58.529 --> 00:12:02.049 you bread for the next step. Maybe you are asking 00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:05.429 Him to explain your future, and God is saying, 00:12:05.850 --> 00:12:09.250 eat, rest, recover, I am not finished with you. 00:12:09.889 --> 00:12:12.750 There are seasons when divine intervention looks 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:16.590 dramatic. Fire from heaven, seas opening, prison 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:20.220 doors shaking, angels appearing. But sometimes 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:24.080 divine intervention looks like bread beside an 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.500 exhausted man. Sometimes the miracle is sleep. 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:30.580 Sometimes the miracle is strength returning. 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:34.360 Sometimes the miracle is discovering that after 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:38.340 you thought everything was over, God still has 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:42.320 somewhere for you to go. Let's talk about the 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.940 master himself, Jesus Christ. The shepherd carries 00:12:45.940 --> 00:12:49.360 the sheep home. And then Jesus gives us perhaps 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.440 the most intimate picture. A shepherd has one 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:55.879 hundred sheep, one becomes lost. The shepherd 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.480 leaves the ninety -nine and goes after the one. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:01.840 And Jesus says he searches until he finds it, 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.139 not until he becomes tired, not until the terrain 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:08.320 becomes difficult, not until darkness falls, 00:13:08.580 --> 00:13:11.639 until he finds it. And when he finds the sheep, 00:13:11.940 --> 00:13:15.870 he places it upon his shoulders, rejoicing. There 00:13:15.870 --> 00:13:19.009 is something beautiful about that picture. The 00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:22.529 sheep is no longer navigating. The sheep is no 00:13:22.529 --> 00:13:25.970 longer finding its own road. The sheep is no 00:13:25.970 --> 00:13:28.889 longer trying to remember where it made the wrong 00:13:28.889 --> 00:13:32.450 turn. It is being carried by someone who knows 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:35.830 the way home. And maybe that is what somebody 00:13:35.830 --> 00:13:39.389 needs to hear. You do not always need to know 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:42.669 the road when you know the shepherd. There are 00:13:42.669 --> 00:13:46.090 seasons where God may not explain every turn, 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:50.070 but He knows where He is taking you. The sheep's 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:52.950 responsibility in that moment is not navigation. 00:13:53.629 --> 00:13:57.250 It is surrender. And surrender is difficult because 00:13:57.250 --> 00:14:01.929 we like control. We want maps, timelines, dates, 00:14:02.649 --> 00:14:05.830 explanations. We want to know when. We want to 00:14:05.830 --> 00:14:09.269 know how. We want to know who. We want to know 00:14:09.269 --> 00:14:14.029 what happens next. And sometimes God gives answers, 00:14:14.450 --> 00:14:18.730 but sometimes He gives something else, His shoulders. 00:14:19.210 --> 00:14:22.450 And perhaps faith at its deepest level is saying, 00:14:22.809 --> 00:14:26.029 I do not know where this road turns next, but 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:29.629 I know who is carrying me. Because the shepherd 00:14:29.629 --> 00:14:32.929 does not carry the sheep deeper into lostness, 00:14:33.429 --> 00:14:38.519 he carries it home. Let's bring all these truths 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:42.100 and stories together under this statement. If 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:45.279 God is sustaining you, there may still be an 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:50.259 assignment ahead. Israel. Joseph. Elijah. The 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.799 lost sheep. Different circumstances. Different 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:57.139 struggles. Different journeys. But there is a 00:14:57.139 --> 00:15:00.320 pattern. God's sustaining presence is moving 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:04.639 somewhere. Israel toward promise. Joseph toward 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.340 preservation. Elijah back toward assignment, 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:12.720 the sheep toward home. And perhaps this is the 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.899 prophetic word hidden inside this conversation. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:19.379 Do not build your identity around the place where 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:23.139 God found you. You may be in a wilderness, but 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:26.080 you are not the wilderness. You may have been 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.179 betrayed, but betrayal is not your name. You 00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:34.019 may have failed. Failure is not your identity. 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:38.080 You may be exhausted. Exhaustion is not your 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:42.500 destiny. You may be waiting. Waiting is not necessarily 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:46.779 your final address. You may be recovering. Recovery 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:50.159 is a season, not necessarily the conclusion. 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:53.519 And perhaps one of the enemy's strategies is 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.379 to convince you to build a permanent identity 00:15:56.379 --> 00:16:00.539 around a temporary chapter. Joseph could have 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:04.259 become the prisoner. David could have become 00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:08.620 the fugitive. Moses could have become the shepherd 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:12.120 in Midian. Peter could have become the disciple 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.139 who denied Jesus. Elijah could have become the 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:19.840 prophet under the broom tree. But God continued 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:24.139 writing. And if God is still writing, do not 00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:27.820 put a period where God has placed a comma. Maybe 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:31.779 this is why you survived. Not simply so you could 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:36.169 say, I survived. Maybe there is somebody you 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:40.049 will strengthen because you survived. Maybe there 00:16:40.049 --> 00:16:43.090 is somebody you will encourage because you understand 00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:46.610 the valley. Maybe there is someone whose prison 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:49.129 you will recognize because you remember your 00:16:49.129 --> 00:16:53.009 own. Maybe there is someone who will hear your 00:16:53.009 --> 00:16:56.169 testimony and discover that their wilderness 00:16:56.169 --> 00:17:00.490 does not have to become their grave. We often 00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:04.569 ask God, Why did you allow me to survive this? 00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:08.029 And sometimes the answer does not become clear 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:11.049 until another person needs what God taught you 00:17:11.049 --> 00:17:16.710 there. Jesus said to Peter, Simon, Simon, Satan 00:17:16.710 --> 00:17:20.809 has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:23.289 have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:27.430 not fail. And then Jesus says, when you have 00:17:27.430 --> 00:17:32.150 turned back, strengthen your brothers. There 00:17:32.150 --> 00:17:36.230 it is again. Preservation followed by assignment. 00:17:37.470 --> 00:17:40.150 Jesus did not merely pray for Peter so Peter 00:17:40.150 --> 00:17:42.650 could survive Peter's worst night. There were 00:17:42.650 --> 00:17:45.250 people Peter would strengthen afterward. There 00:17:45.250 --> 00:17:48.089 was preaching ahead. There was Pentecost ahead. 00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:50.849 There was leadership ahead. There was ministry 00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:53.009 ahead. There were people who would encounter 00:17:53.009 --> 00:17:55.849 Christ through the testimony of a man who once 00:17:55.849 --> 00:18:00.009 denied knowing him. Peter's failure was real. 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:04.940 But it was not final and maybe yours isn't either 00:18:04.940 --> 00:18:08.599 Maybe the fact that God kept you is connected 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:11.319 to something you have not seen yet Maybe the 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.000 reason the fire did not consume you is because 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.460 there is still something your life must carry 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:19.180 Maybe the reason the waters did not sweep you 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:21.900 away is because there is still somewhere your 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.960 feet must go Maybe the reason God sustained you 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.559 in the wilderness is because the wilderness is 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:31.710 not where your story ends And there is something 00:18:31.710 --> 00:18:34.849 else I want you to see. Sometimes the fact that 00:18:34.849 --> 00:18:38.190 something survived is itself a prophecy that 00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:42.230 God still intends to use it. Look at Moses. Pharaoh 00:18:42.230 --> 00:18:45.750 had ordered Hebrew baby boys to die, yet Moses 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:49.210 survived. At the time, nobody looking at that 00:18:49.210 --> 00:18:52.269 baby floating in a basket along the Nile could 00:18:52.269 --> 00:18:55.289 have understood everything attached to his survival. 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:58.589 There was a burning bush ahead. There was Pharaoh 00:18:58.589 --> 00:19:01.750 ahead. There was Passover ahead. There was a 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:04.549 Red Sea ahead. There was a nation waiting to 00:19:04.549 --> 00:19:07.630 be delivered. The baby survived, because there 00:19:07.630 --> 00:19:10.250 was still an assignment attached to the man he 00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:13.910 would become. Look at David. Saul hunted him. 00:19:14.470 --> 00:19:17.569 He lived in caves. He moved from place to place. 00:19:18.130 --> 00:19:20.630 There were moments when David himself said that 00:19:20.630 --> 00:19:23.410 there was only a step between him and death. 00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:28.130 Yet David remained. Why? There was still a throne 00:19:28.130 --> 00:19:31.500 ahead. There were still Psalms ahead. There was 00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:34.339 still Covenant ahead. There was still something 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:37.240 God intended to accomplish through his life. 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:42.319 Look at Paul, beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:46.019 stoned and left for dead, threatened, rejected, 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:50.099 yet preserved again and again. And from some 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:52.579 of the very places that appeared to restrict 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:55.980 him, came words that would eventually travel 00:19:55.980 --> 00:20:00.059 farther than Paul himself ever could. The prison 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:03.319 restricted the apostle. It did not restrict the 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:06.140 gospel. And this is where preservation begins 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:10.299 to speak. Sometimes surviving yesterday is evidence 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:13.700 that God still has something connected to your 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:17.299 tomorrow. Not because every person will stand 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.839 before kings. Not because everyone will receive 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:24.839 a public platform. not because every story ends 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:28.940 in earthly prominence. Purpose is much bigger 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:32.519 than visibility. Sometimes the assignment is 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.259 a family. Sometimes the assignment is one child. 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:39.859 Sometimes it is a person God places in your path. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:43.859 Sometimes it is a testimony. Sometimes it is 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:47.339 faithfulness nobody applauds. Sometimes it is 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:50.160 a seed you plant that another generation will 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:53.710 harvest. But if God has preserved you, do not 00:20:53.710 --> 00:20:57.170 assume preservation is meaningless. Ask him, 00:20:57.309 --> 00:21:01.109 Lord, what have you kept me for? Not with pressure, 00:21:01.490 --> 00:21:05.029 not with anxiety, not because you must manufacture 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:09.609 some enormous destiny, but with surrender. Lord, 00:21:09.950 --> 00:21:13.849 whatever remains for me to do, let my life belong 00:21:13.849 --> 00:21:17.789 to you. Because maybe preservation itself is 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:21.779 whispering, there is still more. And there is 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:24.880 another deception that happens in difficult seasons. 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:27.920 When the journey becomes long, we assume the 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:31.099 destination must still be far away. But scripture 00:21:31.099 --> 00:21:34.380 does not always work that way. Joseph went to 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:37.859 sleep one night as a prisoner. By the end of 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:41.000 the next chapter, he was standing before Pharaoh. 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:45.299 Israel wandered for years, but eventually there 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:49.000 came a day when God said, You have stayed long 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:52.500 enough at this mountain. There are seasons of 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:56.180 preparation that feel endless until suddenly 00:21:56.180 --> 00:22:00.559 they are over. There are doors that remain closed 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.960 for years and then open in a moment. There are 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.500 prayers that appear to be unanswered until the 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:12.380 answer arrives and changes everything. And this 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:15.619 does not mean we should manufacture expectations 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:20.240 or assign dates God has not given us. Faith is 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.619 not predicting what God has not promised. Faith 00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:26.619 is trusting the God who already sees what we 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:30.460 cannot. But it does mean we should be careful 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:33.700 about assuming that because nothing appears to 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:37.519 be changing, nothing is changing. Roots grow 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.960 underground before fruit appears above ground. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.140 Pregnancy develops invisibly before birth becomes 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:49.240 visible. Joseph's prison looked unchanged. the 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:53.319 night before Pharaoh dreamed. Israel's captivity 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:56.359 looked permanent before Moses returned to Egypt. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:00.180 The stone remained in front of Lazarus's tomb 00:23:00.180 --> 00:23:04.980 until Jesus said, take away the stone. There 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:08.019 are moments when years of waiting collide with 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:11.740 one moment of divine intervention. And suddenly 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:14.980 what looked permanent becomes history. So do 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:18.539 not measure God's movement only by visible movement. 00:23:18.809 --> 00:23:22.329 You may be closer to something than your circumstances 00:23:22.329 --> 00:23:25.930 are able to tell you. And even if the destination 00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:29.569 is still far away, the distance does not change 00:23:29.569 --> 00:23:33.549 the faithfulness of the one carrying you. But 00:23:33.549 --> 00:23:36.210 perhaps this is the most important part of this 00:23:36.210 --> 00:23:39.670 conversation. Because if we are not careful, 00:23:40.109 --> 00:23:43.569 even a message about destination can cause us 00:23:43.569 --> 00:23:47.289 to become obsessed with destination. We begin 00:23:47.289 --> 00:23:51.259 asking, Where am I going? When will I arrive? 00:23:51.779 --> 00:23:55.480 What is my assignment? What is the promise? What 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.920 will God give me? What will the next season look 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:02.559 like? And suddenly our eyes move from the carrier 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:06.599 to the destination. But the deepest gift of divine 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:10.740 intervention is not Canaan. It is not the palace. 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:14.859 It is not the open door. It is not the promotion. 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:18.720 It is not the restoration. It is not even the 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:22.440 answer. It is God Himself. Because you can reach 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:26.099 a destination and still be empty if you arrive 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:30.119 without Him. Moses understood this. When God 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:33.859 spoke about sending Israel forward, Moses essentially 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:37.859 said, If your presence does not go with us, do 00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:41.640 not send us up from here. Think about that. Moses 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:45.180 preferred wilderness with God, over promise without 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:49.170 His presence. That is maturity. The goal is not 00:24:49.170 --> 00:24:52.769 merely to get somewhere. The goal is to remain 00:24:52.769 --> 00:24:57.150 with God wherever he takes you. So yes, believe 00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:00.069 there is more. Believe the wilderness is not 00:25:00.069 --> 00:25:03.630 necessarily the destination. Believe God can 00:25:03.630 --> 00:25:07.369 redeem the pit. Believe he can restore the exhausted. 00:25:07.849 --> 00:25:10.950 Believe he can carry the sheep home. Believe 00:25:10.950 --> 00:25:13.609 preservation may still have purpose attached 00:25:13.609 --> 00:25:18.259 to it. But above everything else, want Him. If 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:22.059 He opens the door, walk with Him. If He closes 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:26.880 the door, stay with Him. If He says move, move 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:31.380 with Him. If He says wait, wait with Him. If 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:34.859 He gives you Canaan, worship Him there. If He 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:38.000 gives you manna in the wilderness, worship Him 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.390 there. because the destination is never more 00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:44.309 valuable than the presence that carried you to 00:25:44.309 --> 00:25:47.789 it. And perhaps that is the safest prayer we 00:25:47.789 --> 00:25:51.589 can pray. Lord, I trust where you are taking 00:25:51.589 --> 00:25:55.450 me, but more than where you are taking me, I 00:25:55.450 --> 00:26:00.109 want you. So maybe today you do not need to understand 00:26:00.109 --> 00:26:03.369 the entire destination. Maybe you simply need 00:26:03.369 --> 00:26:06.849 enough faith to say, Father, if you are carrying 00:26:06.849 --> 00:26:10.549 me, I trust where you are taking me. I trust 00:26:10.549 --> 00:26:13.710 you when I understand. I trust you when I do 00:26:13.710 --> 00:26:17.390 not. I trust you when the road is visible. I 00:26:17.390 --> 00:26:20.690 trust you when the next turn disappears into 00:26:20.690 --> 00:26:23.730 darkness. I trust you when you open the door 00:26:23.730 --> 00:26:27.769 and I trust you when you close one. I trust you 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:31.569 when you tell me why and I trust you when all 00:26:31.569 --> 00:26:34.630 you give me is enough grace for another day. 00:26:35.300 --> 00:26:38.759 Because if your arms have carried me this far, 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:41.859 I can trust your heart with where you are taking 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:45.799 me. And perhaps one day, you will arrive somewhere 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:48.759 you could not have imagined while you were crying 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.559 in the wilderness. You will look backward. You 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:56.420 will see the pit. You will see the prison. You 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:59.819 will see the broom tree. You will see the waters. 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:04.079 You will see the fire. You will remember the 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:08.299 nights. You will remember the waiting. You will 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:12.079 remember the unanswered questions. And perhaps 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:14.779 things that made no sense while you were living 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:17.740 them will look different from the other side. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.900 You will realize God was not carrying me aimlessly. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.059 There was purpose in the preservation. There 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:30.579 was destination in the sustaining. There was 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:33.119 tomorrow hidden inside the grace that kept me 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:36.900 alive today. And maybe you will finally understand 00:27:36.900 --> 00:27:39.460 why God kept whispering through every chapter. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:45.940 Keep going. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:50.099 walking. And when you cannot walk, let me carry 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:53.720 you. Not because the road is easy. Not because 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:56.680 everything that happened was good. Not because 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:59.579 every painful chapter came directly from my hand. 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:02.619 But because none of those chapters possesses 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:05.299 enough authority to cancel what I have purposed. 00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:08.279 The pit does not get the final word. The prison 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:11.259 does not get the final word. The wilderness does 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:14.240 not get the final word. Failure does not get 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:17.839 the final word. Exhaustion does not get the final 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:21.140 word. And the enemy does not get the final word. 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:25.099 God does. And if God is still writing, do not 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:28.539 put a period where God has placed a comma. Because 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:34.680 God is not finished. But before we close, there 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:38.140 is another mystery beginning to emerge. Everything 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:40.859 we have explored today involves things we can 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:44.559 recognize when we look backward. Israel could 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.740 remember the wilderness. Joseph could remember 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:51.579 the prison. Elijah could remember the broom tree. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.680 Peter could remember his failure. We can look 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.250 backward. and identify moments when God sustained 00:28:59.250 --> 00:29:03.369 us. But what about the moments we cannot remember? 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:08.069 Because we never knew they happened. What about 00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:12.410 the danger you never saw? What about the conversation 00:29:12.410 --> 00:29:15.250 happening somewhere else while God was already 00:29:15.250 --> 00:29:19.069 defending you? What about the door God refused 00:29:19.069 --> 00:29:23.490 to open because he knew what was behind it? What 00:29:23.490 --> 00:29:26.309 about the road you wanted to travel but something 00:29:26.309 --> 00:29:30.450 delayed you? What about the plan formed against 00:29:30.450 --> 00:29:32.970 you that collapsed before it ever reached you? 00:29:34.049 --> 00:29:37.009 What about the battle heaven fought on your behalf 00:29:37.009 --> 00:29:41.609 that you never knew existed? Because scripture 00:29:41.609 --> 00:29:45.809 reveals something extraordinary. There were moments 00:29:45.809 --> 00:29:48.430 when God's people were living their lives on 00:29:48.430 --> 00:29:51.990 one side of the story. While something concerning 00:29:51.990 --> 00:29:56.329 them was happening somewhere they could not see 00:29:56.329 --> 00:29:59.869 Israel was below a mountain while Balaam was 00:29:59.869 --> 00:30:02.430 above it attempting to pronounce a curse over 00:30:02.430 --> 00:30:06.069 them They apparently knew nothing about it, but 00:30:06.069 --> 00:30:10.049 God knew Elisha's servant looked around and saw 00:30:10.049 --> 00:30:13.390 an enemy army. He thought they were surrounded 00:30:13.390 --> 00:30:18.650 then God opened his eyes and he discovered that 00:30:18.650 --> 00:30:22.349 an army of heaven had already been there. Peter 00:30:22.349 --> 00:30:24.910 was walking toward the most difficult night of 00:30:24.910 --> 00:30:28.470 his discipleship, without understanding everything 00:30:28.470 --> 00:30:30.970 happening in the spiritual battle surrounding 00:30:30.970 --> 00:30:36.190 him. And Jesus told him, Simon, Simon, Satan 00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:40.210 has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But then 00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:43.109 came the intervention, but I have prayed for 00:30:43.109 --> 00:30:47.619 you. Before Peter understood the battle, Jesus 00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:51.839 had already prayed. Before Israel knew somebody 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:55.079 wanted to curse them, God had already entered 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:58.359 the situation. Before Elisha's servant could 00:30:58.359 --> 00:31:01.799 see the heavenly army, the army was already there. 00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:05.680 And that raises one of the most mysterious questions 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:10.839 of this entire season. How many times has God 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:14.039 intervened in your life without you ever knowing 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:17.960 you needed intervention? Maybe some of the greatest 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:21.339 miracles of your life are miracles you will never 00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:24.680 be able to testify about because you never knew 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:27.940 they happened. And that is exactly where we will 00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:33.180 continue. In conversation six of the mystery 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:36.519 of divine intervention, the interventions you 00:31:36.519 --> 00:31:39.779 never saw when God fights battles you didn't 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:43.920 know existed. So until next time, stay encouraged, 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:48.009 stay in faith. Keep walking when God gives you 00:31:48.009 --> 00:31:50.789 strength to walk, and when you no longer have 00:31:50.789 --> 00:31:54.250 the strength, let Him carry you. You may not 00:31:54.250 --> 00:31:57.750 know where He is taking you. You may not understand 00:31:57.750 --> 00:32:01.589 why He chose this road. You may not see everything 00:32:01.589 --> 00:32:05.150 happening around you, but you know the One carrying 00:32:05.150 --> 00:32:10.029 you. And sometimes, that is enough. Stay tuned 00:32:10.029 --> 00:32:13.009 as we continue our conversation in the mystery 00:32:13.009 --> 00:32:16.690 of divine intervention. This is Pomoja Ministry. 00:32:17.309 --> 00:32:21.569 One conversation, one story, one revelation at 00:32:21.569 --> 00:32:25.490 a time. Until next time, God bless you.