WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.139 Welcome to Pomoja Ministry. In our last conversation, 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:07.879 we talked about the people God uses in our process. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:13.000 Some encourage us. Some correct us. Some support 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.239 us. Some challenge us. Some teach us boundaries. 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:21.300 Some are part of our journey for a season. And 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:24.539 we discovered that although people can play important 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:27.820 roles in our lives, people are not our source. 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:31.829 God is our source. But today, I want us to go 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:35.189 one step further. Because sometimes God doesn't 00:00:35.189 --> 00:00:40.210 only use people. Sometimes He uses places. Sometimes 00:00:40.210 --> 00:00:44.530 He uses circumstances. Sometimes He uses discomfort. 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:48.170 There are places we would probably remain forever 00:00:48.170 --> 00:00:51.350 if they continued to feel comfortable. There 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:54.450 are seasons we would never leave if nothing disturbed 00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:58.170 us. There are environments we have outgrown. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.600 But because they are familiar, we keep trying 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:05.959 to remain there. And sometimes we pray, God, 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:09.340 make this comfortable again, while God may be 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:13.340 saying, I am trying to move you. Today, we are 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:16.760 talking about when God makes the place uncomfortable. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:22.040 Be careful, comfort can become a cage. Comfort 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:26.560 is not evil. Rest is biblical. Peace is a blessing. 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:30.989 Stability is valuable. But comfort becomes dangerous 00:01:30.989 --> 00:01:35.189 when it makes us resistant to movement. Sometimes 00:01:35.189 --> 00:01:39.010 we become so comfortable with what God did yesterday 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:43.069 that we stop asking what He is doing today. We 00:01:43.069 --> 00:01:46.269 know the people. We know the system. We know 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:50.150 the routine. We know what to expect. And even 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:54.010 when we sense that something is changing, familiarity 00:01:54.010 --> 00:01:58.489 tells us, stay here. Because moving requires 00:01:58.489 --> 00:02:02.969 faith, moving requires uncertainty, moving requires 00:02:02.969 --> 00:02:06.569 releasing what we know, and sometimes the place 00:02:06.569 --> 00:02:10.150 that no longer fits our purpose still feels safer 00:02:10.150 --> 00:02:14.490 than the place God is calling us toward. So God 00:02:14.490 --> 00:02:18.009 may allow circumstances that force us to confront 00:02:18.009 --> 00:02:22.050 a question we have been avoiding. Is my season 00:02:22.050 --> 00:02:27.460 here ending? Israel became comfortable in Egypt. 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:31.719 Israel's relationship with Egypt did not begin 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:35.800 with slavery. That is important. Joseph's family 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.740 came to Egypt during famine. Egypt was initially 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:42.960 a place of preservation. There was food there. 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:46.060 There was protection there. There was provision 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:49.560 there. There was survival there. Egypt was an 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.939 answer to a crisis. But generations passed. Joseph 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:58.280 died. A new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:02.000 and the place that once preserved Israel eventually 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.080 became the place that oppressed Israel. That 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:09.780 teaches us something important. A place can be 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:14.180 right for one season and wrong for another. Something 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:17.680 does not have to have been a mistake simply because 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.759 its season eventually ends. Egypt had served 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:25.620 a purpose. But Egypt was never the promise. And 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:28.740 sometimes we confuse the place where God preserved 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:32.139 us with the place where God intends us to remain 00:03:32.139 --> 00:03:37.639 permanently. Then the cry changed. Exodus tells 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.340 us that Israel groaned because of their slavery. 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:44.180 They cried out. And their cry went up to God. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:47.479 God heard them. God remembered His covenant. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.800 God saw them. And God knew. Notice what suffering 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:56.930 did. used to cry. The environment became so uncomfortable 00:03:56.930 --> 00:04:00.710 that Israel began crying for deliverance. And 00:04:00.710 --> 00:04:03.189 sometimes there are prayers that comfort never 00:04:03.189 --> 00:04:06.710 teaches us to pray. There are cries that only 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.889 come when remaining where we are becomes unbearable. 00:04:10.449 --> 00:04:13.250 This does not mean God delights in suffering, 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:16.970 but it means suffering does not have to be wasted. 00:04:17.790 --> 00:04:21.439 Sometimes pain awakens something. Sometimes pressure 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.920 exposes that we have settled. Sometimes discomfort 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:28.939 reminds us, this cannot be all God has for me. 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:32.839 Sometimes the place that saved you cannot take 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:36.240 you where you are going. Egypt preserved Israel 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:40.500 during famine, but Egypt could not fulfill Israel's 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:44.079 covenant destiny. There was a promised land ahead. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.779 That means Israel eventually had to leave the 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:51.079 very place that once saved them from starvation. 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:54.860 Think about that. Sometimes we become emotionally 00:04:54.860 --> 00:04:57.620 attached to something because we remember what 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:01.439 it did for us. A job helped you through a difficult 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:05.459 season. A relationship carried you through loneliness. 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:10.699 A church helped you heal. A city gave you opportunity. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.589 A position gave you stability. A particular environment 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:18.689 protected you when you needed protection, and 00:05:18.689 --> 00:05:22.009 all of that may have been real, but gratitude 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:25.910 for what something was should not prevent discernment 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:29.569 about what its season is now. You can thank God 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:34.649 for Egypt and still leave Egypt. Then Pharaoh 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:39.129 became part of the pressure. When God sent Moses 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:43.649 to Pharaoh, Pharaoh resisted. Again, and again. 00:05:44.509 --> 00:05:48.129 Then Israel finally left, but Pharaoh changed 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:51.910 his mind and pursued them. Now Israel had Pharaoh 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:54.449 behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:58.610 There was no comfortable option. They could not 00:05:58.610 --> 00:06:02.750 simply return to yesterday. They could not manufacture 00:06:02.750 --> 00:06:08.189 tomorrow. They had to depend upon God, and God 00:06:08.189 --> 00:06:11.949 opened the sea. Sometimes the pressure behind 00:06:11.949 --> 00:06:14.910 you becomes part of what prevents you from returning 00:06:14.910 --> 00:06:18.769 to a place God is bringing you out of. There 00:06:18.769 --> 00:06:21.850 are moments when God allows yesterday to become 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:25.189 so uncomfortable that going backward no longer 00:06:25.189 --> 00:06:28.589 feels like safety. And perhaps some of us have 00:06:28.589 --> 00:06:32.709 been praying, God, remove the pressure. While 00:06:32.709 --> 00:06:36.629 God is using the pressure to teach us, stop looking 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:41.589 backward. But not every uncomfortable situation 00:06:41.589 --> 00:06:45.829 means leave. We need wisdom here. This is extremely 00:06:45.829 --> 00:06:48.870 important. We cannot teach that every difficult 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:52.589 job means God wants you to resign. Every difficult 00:06:52.589 --> 00:06:55.779 marriage means God wants you to leave. Every 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:58.920 church disagreement means God wants you somewhere 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:02.480 else. Every conflict means a season has ended. 00:07:02.779 --> 00:07:05.699 Every uncomfortable relationship means somebody 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:09.360 needs to disappear. Sometimes discomfort means 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:13.579 stay and grow. Sometimes it means stay and confront. 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:17.540 Sometimes stay and forgive. Sometimes stay and 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:20.399 develop discipline. Sometimes stay and learn 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:24.160 patience. And sometimes move. The question is 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:28.040 not simply Am I uncomfortable? The question is, 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:31.100 God, what are you saying through the season? 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:36.980 That requires discernment. Jonah was uncomfortable 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:40.579 too. This distinction matters because sometimes 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:44.439 discomfort is not God moving us forward. Sometimes 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.300 discomfort is the consequence of moving in the 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.579 wrong direction. Jonah received instruction, 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:54.339 go to Nineveh. Jonah went toward Tarshish. Then 00:07:54.339 --> 00:07:57.779 came the storm. That storm was not confirmation 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:01.240 that Tarshish was difficult. It was interruption. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.120 So we must never interpret circumstances without 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.839 prayer and scripture. Not every closed door means 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:13.019 no. Not every open door means yes. Not every 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:16.699 storm means attack. Not every easy road means 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:20.319 God's will. Not every difficult road means you 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.120 missed God. We need discernment. Sometimes God 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:27.459 uses discomfort to move us forward. Sometimes 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:31.060 he uses discomfort to turn us around. The important 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:35.779 thing is learning to hear him. God may disturb 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:39.220 what you have settled into. There are moments 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.440 when we stop moving because something has become 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:46.340 good enough. Not God's best, just familiar enough. 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:49.470 predictable enough, safe enough, and purpose 00:08:49.470 --> 00:08:52.610 becomes secondary to security. Then something 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:56.070 changes. The environment changes. The leadership 00:08:56.070 --> 00:08:59.710 changes. The opportunity changes. The relationship 00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:03.129 changes. The resources change. The door that 00:09:03.129 --> 00:09:06.690 used to open easily becomes difficult. And immediately 00:09:06.690 --> 00:09:11.990 we assume something is wrong. Maybe. But sometimes 00:09:11.990 --> 00:09:14.769 something is changing because your season is 00:09:14.769 --> 00:09:18.100 changing. What if God is allowing you to become 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:21.259 uncomfortable because comfort has become stronger 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:27.279 than calling? Abraham had to leave. God told 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:31.080 Abram, go from your country, your people and 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.259 your father's household to the land I will show 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:38.840 you. Notice, God did not initially give Abraham 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:43.399 the entire map. He gave him direction. Go. There 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:47.080 are seasons when purpose requires leaving familiarity 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:50.159 before you possess complete information about 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.500 the destination. That requires faith. We want, 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:56.580 God, show me everything, show me where, show 00:09:56.580 --> 00:09:59.740 me how, show me when, show me who will help me, 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:03.019 show me how it will end, then I will move. But 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:07.179 sometimes God says, move, and I will show you. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:10.580 That is uncomfortable, but faith often begins 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:15.639 where certainty ends. Joseph's places kept changing. 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.840 Think again about Joseph, his father's house, 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:22.919 the pit, Potiphar's house, prison, the palace. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.639 Every place was different, and every place developed 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.600 something. At home, Joseph had the dream. In 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.279 Potiphar's house, he learned responsibility. 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:37.659 In prison, he exercised leadership without status. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:41.340 In the palace, those earlier lessons suddenly 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:44.659 mattered. What looked like disconnected places 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:48.399 were actually forming one person. Joseph did 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.100 not know while managing Potiphar's household 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:54.440 that one day he would manage Egypt's resources. 00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:58.720 But God knew. This is why you must be careful 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:02.700 about despising temporary places. Temporary does 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.700 not mean meaningless. Maybe you are not where 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:08.860 you ultimately belong. But there may still be 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:11.740 something where you are that you need for where 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:16.519 you are going. Don't leave before you learn. 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:20.639 This is another danger. Sometimes we become so 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.399 focused on leaving an uncomfortable season that 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.960 we fail to receive what the season came to teach. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:31.919 We say, God, get me out. And perhaps God is saying, 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:35.200 before I get you out, I need to get something 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:39.840 out of you. Maybe impatience. Maybe pride. Maybe 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:43.480 fear. Maybe dependency upon people's approval. 00:11:44.179 --> 00:11:47.379 Maybe lack of discipline. Maybe inability to 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:50.860 work with difficult people. Maybe an uncontrolled 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:55.419 tongue. Maybe poor boundaries. Maybe insecurity. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:59.379 Because if God changes the location without changing 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:02.919 the person, sometimes we simply recreate the 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:06.799 same problem in a new place. You can leave Egypt 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:10.440 geographically while Egypt remains inside you. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.299 And Israel demonstrated this repeatedly in the 00:12:14.299 --> 00:12:17.940 wilderness. Their bodies had left Egypt. But 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:21.000 when pressure came, their minds kept saying, 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:25.299 let's go back. God was not only taking Israel 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:28.639 out of Egypt. He had to take Egypt out of Israel, 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:32.539 that is, refinement. The wilderness was not the 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:35.690 destination. But neither was the wilderness the 00:12:35.690 --> 00:12:40.429 promise. This matters, too. Some Christians become 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:43.970 so accustomed to suffering that they almost develop 00:12:43.970 --> 00:12:49.169 a theology of permanent wilderness. No. There 00:12:49.169 --> 00:12:52.529 was purpose in the wilderness. There was manna. 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:56.669 There was revelation. There was dependence. There 00:12:56.669 --> 00:13:00.570 was discipline. There was preparation. But there 00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:04.960 was also a promised land ahead. Do not make a 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.519 permanent home in a place God intended as preparation. 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.779 The wilderness teaches you how to depend upon 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:15.759 God, but eventually dependence must accompany 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:20.960 you into promise. Sometimes the old place no 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:25.059 longer fits. Sometimes you recognize that a season 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:28.559 is ending because what once fit no longer fits. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.210 The grace for it feels different. The assignment 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:35.750 feels complete. Your priorities have changed. 00:13:36.129 --> 00:13:40.149 God has developed new capacity. New responsibility 00:13:40.149 --> 00:13:43.909 is emerging. The old environment cannot accommodate 00:13:43.909 --> 00:13:47.169 what is growing. And this is where fear becomes 00:13:47.169 --> 00:13:50.909 loud. Because even an uncomfortable familiar 00:13:50.909 --> 00:13:54.549 place can feel safer than an unfamiliar promise. 00:13:55.549 --> 00:13:58.750 Israel literally said, let's go back to Egypt. 00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:03.500 Why? Because slavery was familiar, promise was 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:06.600 uncertain. That is one of the strangest tendencies 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:10.320 of human nature. We can prefer familiar bondage 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.899 to unfamiliar freedom. Refinement teaches us 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:19.679 to trust God beyond familiarity. Sometimes God 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:23.850 uses opposition to keep you moving. There were 00:14:23.850 --> 00:14:27.090 moments throughout Israel's history when opposition 00:14:27.090 --> 00:14:31.190 drove them back toward dependence upon God. The 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:34.690 book of Judges repeatedly shows Israel wandering, 00:14:35.409 --> 00:14:38.750 experiencing oppression, crying to God, and being 00:14:38.750 --> 00:14:42.850 delivered. Again, we must not turn every enemy 00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:46.070 into somebody God personally assigned to our 00:14:46.070 --> 00:14:50.169 lives. But scripture clearly shows that God can 00:14:50.169 --> 00:14:53.799 use even opposition within his disciplinary and 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:57.399 redemptive purposes. Sometimes the very thing 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:00.460 you wish would disappear is exposing how far 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:04.379 you have drifted from prayer. Sometimes pressure 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:08.820 restores priorities. Sometimes opposition reveals 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:11.519 where you place too much confidence in yourself. 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.539 Sometimes the situation you hate has you praying 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:20.360 again, reading scripture again, seeking God again. 00:15:20.590 --> 00:15:24.149 reconsidering your decisions, reordering your 00:15:24.149 --> 00:15:28.950 life. And then years later, you realize the situation 00:15:28.950 --> 00:15:32.929 was painful, but God refused to waste the pain. 00:15:33.809 --> 00:15:52.610 Psalm 100, 1967 says, I obeyed. Then verse 71 00:15:52.610 --> 00:15:56.149 says, It was good for me to be afflicted so that 00:15:56.149 --> 00:16:00.149 I might learn your decrees. The psalmist is not 00:16:00.149 --> 00:16:04.049 saying pain itself is wonderful. He is recognizing 00:16:04.049 --> 00:16:07.610 what God produced through it. Something changed. 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:12.289 Direction changed. Priorities changed. Obedience 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:15.750 changed. And maybe that is somebody's testimony. 00:16:16.370 --> 00:16:20.139 Before this happened, I barely prayed. Before 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:23.840 this happened, I ignored warning signs. Before 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:27.000 this happened, I was too comfortable. Before 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:31.120 this happened, my priorities were confused. Before 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:34.440 this happened, I thought I could handle everything 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:38.779 myself. Then the fire came, and I began seeking 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:43.259 God differently. I love this statement from Pastor 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:46.039 Lawson Whitson from New Life Church of Jesus 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.419 Christ in Concord, North Carolina. If it made 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:53.320 you pray, it wasn't bad at all. So perhaps we 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.340 can say it this way. If what was meant to break 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.480 you drove you back to prayer, evil did not get 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.759 the final word. If the difficult season restored 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.559 your priorities, pain did not get the final word. 00:17:06.859 --> 00:17:09.980 If losing something taught you what truly mattered, 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:13.819 loss did not get the final word. If rejection 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:16.640 pushed you toward the identity God had already 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.150 given you, Rejection did not get the final word. 00:17:20.690 --> 00:17:23.390 If discomfort moved you from a place where you 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:26.509 had settled, discomfort did not get the final 00:17:26.509 --> 00:17:32.950 word. God is still writing. Remember this principle. 00:17:33.430 --> 00:17:37.170 Don't curse the place that prepared you. One 00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:40.750 day Joseph could look backward differently. The 00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:44.950 pit was terrible. Slavery was terrible. False 00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:48.099 accusation was terrible. Prison was terrible. 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:51.720 But none of those places became wasted places. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.880 Each chapter contributed something. And perhaps 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:58.880 there are places in your story you currently 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:03.680 hate. Don't romanticize them. Don't call evil 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.559 good. But don't conclude too quickly that nothing 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.859 valuable can come from them. You may one day 00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:13.880 discover that you learned something there you 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:17.680 needed somewhere else. the patience, the discipline, 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:21.660 the leadership, the discernment, the prayer life, 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.380 the boundaries, the humility, the resilience, 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:29.480 the dependence upon God. The place may have been 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.720 temporary, but the lesson may become permanent. 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:38.519 Maybe, only maybe, God is moving you. So ask 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:42.039 yourself, am I fighting to remain somewhere because 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:45.700 God is telling me to stay? or because I am afraid 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:49.460 to move? Am I calling something spiritual warfare 00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:52.779 when perhaps a season is ending? Am I trying 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:57.019 to reopen a door God allowed to close? Am I asking 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.859 God to restore comfort when He is developing 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:03.859 movement, but also ask, am I trying to leave 00:19:03.859 --> 00:19:07.500 simply because staying requires maturity? Am 00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:10.900 I interpreting correction as rejection? Am I 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:13.559 running from a place God is using to develop 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:17.400 me? Those questions require prayer. They require 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:20.700 scripture. They require the Holy Spirit. They 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:24.000 require wisdom. Because the goal is not simply 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.200 to escape discomfort. The goal is to remain aligned 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:33.119 with purpose. Maybe the place is not the purpose. 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:37.079 Egypt was not Israel's purpose. The wilderness 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:41.160 was not Israel's purpose. The pit was not Joseph's 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:45.000 purpose. Potiphar's house was not Joseph's final 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.599 purpose. Prison was not Joseph's final purpose. 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.279 Those were places within the process. Do not 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:55.640 confuse your current location with the conclusion 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:59.019 of your story. Maybe you are in a place of preparation. 00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:02.640 Maybe a place of correction. Maybe a place of 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.779 healing. Maybe a place of waiting. Maybe a place 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:08.319 where God is teaching you what you will need 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:11.240 later. Maybe a place you are being prepared to 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:15.680 leave. But wherever you are, ask, God, what is 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.960 this season producing in me? Because if God is 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.119 refining you there, the place is not wasted. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.980 Sometimes, God makes the place uncomfortable. 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:29.079 Maybe you have been asking God, Why did this 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:32.240 change? Why did something that once felt peaceful 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.660 become difficult? Why did something that once 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:39.480 fit suddenly feel too small? Why did circumstances 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:42.960 shift? Why did the old place stop feeling like 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:46.660 home? Sometimes there is no simple answer, but 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:51.039 sometimes God is moving you. Not because the 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.940 previous season was necessarily bad, but because 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:58.880 its assignment may be complete. The place that 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.859 preserved you may not be the place that fulfills 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:05.960 you. The place that healed you may not be the 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:09.720 place where you build. The place where you learned 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:13.339 may not be the place where you lead. The place 00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:16.079 where you were hidden may not be the place where 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:20.640 you remain. And sometimes, God must disturb what 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:24.380 we have settled into, because purpose is calling 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:28.779 us forward. So don't worship comfort. Don't worship 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:32.000 familiarity. Don't worship stability. Worship 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.900 God. If he says stay, stay faithfully. If he 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:41.059 says grow, grow patiently. If he says wait, wait 00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:44.599 faithfully. If he says return, return humbly. 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:49.180 And if he says move, move courageously. Because 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:51.720 sometimes the discomfort is not evidence that 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:54.950 God has abandoned you. Sometimes it is evidence 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:57.910 that the season is changing. You are not being 00:21:57.910 --> 00:22:01.329 destroyed. You are being repositioned. You are 00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:04.230 not being forgotten. You are being prepared. 00:22:04.670 --> 00:22:08.369 You are not wandering without purpose. God is 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:11.869 teaching you to discern His movement. And even 00:22:11.869 --> 00:22:15.890 in uncomfortable places, you are being refined 00:22:15.890 --> 00:22:21.289 for a purpose. This is Pomoja Ministry. And in 00:22:21.289 --> 00:22:23.990 our next conversation, we will go even deeper 00:22:23.990 --> 00:22:27.690 into Joseph's revelation. Because eventually 00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:29.970 Joseph looked at the people who betrayed him 00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:32.930 and understood something extraordinary. They 00:22:32.930 --> 00:22:38.049 had an intention, but God had a purpose. Conversation 00:22:38.049 --> 00:22:42.630 9. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for 00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:42.970 good.