TRANSCRIPTION 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.130 --> 00:00:03.250
Hi, you guys, welcome back to the Imani Talks podcast.
2
00:00:03.290 --> 00:00:06.570
You're here with your host, Imani, on the podcast where
3
00:00:06.589 --> 00:00:09.900
we discuss our Christian-based topics and deepening our relationship with
4
00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.919
the Lord. So if you are new here or you
5
00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.699
have not joined our family officially, don't know what you're
6
00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:18.000
waiting for, but go ahead and hit that subscribe button
7
00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:20.320
before we start. You don't wanna miss out on any
8
00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:24.539
of the episodes, content, joint episodes I have with my husband, guests,
9
00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:27.179
all the good stuff. You definitely wanna join our family
10
00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:30.250
and help the algorithm push the episodes and help the
11
00:00:30.289 --> 00:00:34.350
channel to grow. So also like, comment, share, all that
12
00:00:34.390 --> 00:00:37.170
good stuff. Yeah. So today we're going to be in
13
00:00:37.229 --> 00:00:39.909
one of my favorite chapters of Genesis, which happens to
14
00:00:39.950 --> 00:00:43.280
be Genesis 24. And if you all are not familiar,
15
00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:46.759
Genesis 24 is a chapter where Abraham sends out his
16
00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:50.119
servant to find his son, Isaac, a wife. He's saying,
17
00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:52.560
I don't want you to find my son, a wife
18
00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.219
in the land of Canaan, where they were worshiping other gods.
19
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.079
He's like, go back to my family's house, find him
20
00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.039
a wife and bring her back here. And so the
21
00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.719
servant goes out to find this young woman. But of course,
22
00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.359
it's like he doesn't know which young lady this is
23
00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:08.599
going to be. And he's praying and he's asking God, God,
24
00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:11.260
give me this sign. If the woman says this and
25
00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.769
if she gives me water and gives my camels water, yada, yada,
26
00:01:13.810 --> 00:01:15.769
that'll be the woman that I know you have had
27
00:01:16.390 --> 00:01:21.010
reserved for Isaac. And Genesis 24, 15 says, and it
28
00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:25.469
happened before he had finished speaking. that behold, Rebecca, who
29
00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:28.140
was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
30
00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:32.299
Abraham's brother, came out with her picture on her shoulder.
31
00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:34.579
So today I want to talk about the fact that
32
00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:39.700
we serve a God who just knows. Genesis 24, 15 says,
33
00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:46.609
and before he had finished speaking, before he finished speaking,
34
00:01:46.989 --> 00:01:49.090
Rebecca was coming out with a picture on her shoulder
35
00:01:49.109 --> 00:01:50.549
and she was going to do all the things that
36
00:01:50.609 --> 00:01:52.640
he had prayed to God to reveal to If she
37
00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:54.939
does this, this is going to be Abraham's wife, right?
38
00:01:55.109 --> 00:01:56.950
And not only do we serve a God who knows,
39
00:01:57.010 --> 00:01:59.209
we serve a God who has cleared the path for
40
00:01:59.310 --> 00:02:04.950
us already. Before he finished praying, Rebecca was already coming out.
41
00:02:05.670 --> 00:02:08.090
And we know that Rebecca ends up being Isaac's wife.
42
00:02:08.389 --> 00:02:10.430
So let's just go and read a little bit through
43
00:02:10.469 --> 00:02:13.110
Genesis 24. We're just going to like pick out some verses.
44
00:02:13.530 --> 00:02:15.360
We don't have to read the whole thing, but I
45
00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:19.000
just want to like lay out the fact that Man,
46
00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.439
not only does God know what we're going to pray
47
00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.379
for before we are even, before we even sit down
48
00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:28.310
to pray, he knows. Before we're finished speaking, he's answering prayer.
49
00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:30.330
And the answer to prayer comes from the fact that
50
00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:34.090
he already sends his angels before us. He already sends
51
00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:38.009
his spirit before us to clear the path. So going
52
00:02:38.069 --> 00:02:42.460
back to the first verse, Genesis 24, 1. Now, Abraham
53
00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:44.740
was old, well advanced in age, and the Lord had
54
00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:47.530
blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to his
55
00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:49.990
oldest servant who ruled over all that he had, please
56
00:02:50.030 --> 00:02:52.090
put your hand under my thigh and I will make
57
00:02:52.129 --> 00:02:54.409
you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and
58
00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:56.490
the God of earth, that you will not take a
59
00:02:56.530 --> 00:02:59.009
wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites
60
00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:01.330
among whom I dwell. But you shall go to my
61
00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:03.909
country and to my family and take a wife for
62
00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:06.719
my son Isaac. And the servant said to him, perhaps
63
00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:08.939
the woman will not be willing to follow me to
64
00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:11.189
this land. must I take your son back to the
65
00:03:11.229 --> 00:03:13.400
land from which you came? And Abraham pretty much tells
66
00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:15.879
him no, because we know that where Abraham was living
67
00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.300
at that moment in the land of Canaan was the
68
00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:21.039
land that the Lord had promised him. So he's like, no,
69
00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:22.560
the Lord told me to be here. So you have
70
00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:24.259
to bring this woman back here, right? He's not going
71
00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:26.639
Load full transcript
to go anywhere else. So he says no, but he
72
00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:30.150
also says he will send his angel before you and
73
00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:32.449
you should take a wife for my son from there.
74
00:03:32.710 --> 00:03:34.650
And then skipping down to verse nine, it says, so
75
00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:37.430
the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham,
76
00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:41.250
his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. Then
77
00:03:41.289 --> 00:03:43.340
we come down to verse 12, and the servant has
78
00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:45.159
already made his way out there. It says that he
79
00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.639
made it to Mesopotamia, and that's where Abraham was from.
80
00:03:49.379 --> 00:03:52.539
And it says, then he said, O Lord, God of
81
00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.360
my master Abraham, please give me success this day and
82
00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.879
show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand
83
00:03:58.939 --> 00:04:01.120
by the well of water, and the daughters of the
84
00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:03.090
men of the city are coming out to draw water.
85
00:04:03.150 --> 00:04:05.389
Now let it be that the young woman to whom
86
00:04:05.469 --> 00:04:08.469
I say, Please let down your pitcher that I may drink.
87
00:04:08.949 --> 00:04:12.129
And she says, drink. And I will also give your
88
00:04:12.189 --> 00:04:14.610
camels a drink. Let her be the one you have
89
00:04:14.669 --> 00:04:17.470
appointed for your servant Isaac. And by this, I will
90
00:04:17.509 --> 00:04:20.509
know that you have shown kindness to my master. Then
91
00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:23.709
the following verse 15. And it happened before he had
92
00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:28.029
finished speaking that behold, Rebecca came out with the pitcher
93
00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:30.470
on her shoulder. And we know how the story goes.
94
00:04:30.670 --> 00:04:33.269
She says to him, here, drink, and I will also
95
00:04:33.350 --> 00:04:36.589
water your camels. And Nahor is sitting there observing her
96
00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:39.730
water his camels. And he's thinking like, okay, this could
97
00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:41.740
be the woman. But then he also confirms it by
98
00:04:41.829 --> 00:04:44.339
asking her, who is your family? And she tells him
99
00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:47.459
that her family is Abraham's family. He's like, oh my gosh,
100
00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.920
like this is the woman. So one thing about this
101
00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:53.800
story that I never understood is, of course, Rebecca would
102
00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:56.959
be kind to this man who's obviously traveling. And he's like,
103
00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.560
I'm thirsty. Will you give me some water? She's already
104
00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:02.079
out there drawing water. Yeah, sure, have some water. I
105
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:06.199
understand that. But giving you water and watering your camels,
106
00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:09.689
and if y'all don't know, the way that camels store
107
00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:14.009
water is they literally gulp, like, I don't even know.
108
00:05:14.069 --> 00:05:16.689
Let's Google it. How much water do camels drink? Because
109
00:05:16.709 --> 00:05:19.029
they drink a lot of water. So Google says a
110
00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:22.250
camel can drink 30 to 53 gallons of water in
111
00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:28.040
just three to 15 minutes. In just 15 minutes. up
112
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.839
to 53 gallons of water. Do y'all know how heavy
113
00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:35.889
53 gallons of water is? And it wasn't just for
114
00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:37.790
one camel. You think that he just went on this
115
00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:40.930
journey by himself? No, Abraham was a super rich man.
116
00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:44.550
If his servant, if his head of service went on
117
00:05:44.589 --> 00:05:47.670
a trip, he took a whole bunch of people with him, right?
118
00:05:47.709 --> 00:05:49.870
They go on a journey in groups. Do you know
119
00:05:49.910 --> 00:05:54.120
how many camels that is? Let's just say modestly, they
120
00:05:54.160 --> 00:06:01.939
took five camels. Let me get my calculator out. 53
121
00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:09.519
gallons for five camels is 265 gallons of water. And
122
00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:11.879
you got to put the thing down the well and
123
00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:15.639
bring it up. And how many times does she have
124
00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.649
to do that to water his camels? Plural camels. And
125
00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.040
I always thought, I understand her being kind to give
126
00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:26.720
him a drink, but what would convince her, what would
127
00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:30.860
possess her to also water his camels? I'm like, that's
128
00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:33.399
above and beyond. I don't think that that's something that
129
00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:37.329
the average young lady would just do by herself. So
130
00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:40.430
I always wondered, why does she feel compelled to do that?
131
00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:43.470
She didn't know who this man was. She had already
132
00:06:43.529 --> 00:06:45.870
given him kindness by giving him water in the first place.
133
00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:49.189
But she says, he didn't even ask her. She says,
134
00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:52.560
I will also water your camels. I'm thinking this girl,
135
00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:56.139
Rebecca's a hardworking lady. You hear me? Like if that
136
00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:58.220
was me, I wouldn't have done that. I would have
137
00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.420
been like, here's some water for you. Okay. My dad
138
00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:03.300
calling me. I got to go. My dad need me.
139
00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.399
I don't, I don't want to water the camels. 265
140
00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:11.259
gallons of water. And my husband was preaching on this
141
00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:14.079
this Sunday and he gave me
clarity on this because
142
00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:17.060
Abraham told him the angel of the Lord will go
143
00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:20.259
before you. So if we can have assurance that when
144
00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:23.600
we pray that the Lord will send his angels before us,
145
00:07:23.629 --> 00:07:26.750
that the Lord will send his spirit before us to
146
00:07:26.930 --> 00:07:32.110
clear our path, right? Psalm 138 says, the Lord will
147
00:07:32.149 --> 00:07:35.360
perfect that which concerns you. The Lord will go ahead
148
00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:39.339
of us. If we know these things, then we have
149
00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:42.689
to believe that man, and it says even in verse 15,
150
00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.579
before he was done speaking, before he was done praying,
151
00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:49.730
Rebecca was already on her way out. We serve a
152
00:07:49.790 --> 00:07:54.230
God that knows. We serve a God that goes before us.
153
00:07:54.529 --> 00:07:56.730
So it wasn't Rebecca herself that just got it in
154
00:07:56.769 --> 00:08:01.069
her mind, oh, I'm going to water this man's camels too. No,
155
00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:04.060
it was the angel of the Lord. It was the
156
00:08:04.100 --> 00:08:08.060
spirit of the Lord that told Rebecca, water his camels too.
157
00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:12.459
Because only the spirit of the Lord would tell me
158
00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:16.899
to lug 265 gallons of water for a stranger's camels.
159
00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:19.459
Only God could have convinced me to do that. We
160
00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:22.480
know that only through his spirit we do good, right?
161
00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:24.910
Only God can go before me and tell me to
162
00:08:24.949 --> 00:08:27.430
do this. If it's up to me, oh, like I said,
163
00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:29.209
my dad called my name. I got to bounce. I
164
00:08:29.250 --> 00:08:33.350
can't water your camels. And that's why prayer is so important.
165
00:08:34.049 --> 00:08:36.950
While this man was praying, before he was done praying,
166
00:08:37.250 --> 00:08:40.019
the Lord already answered his prayer. And that just reminds
167
00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:43.399
me of Proverbs 16, 7. It says, when a man's
168
00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.279
ways pleases the Lord, he will make even his enemies
169
00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:48.419
to be at peace with him. You don't have to
170
00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:51.179
worry about, well, what if they don't like me? What
171
00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:52.820
if I don't have the money? What if they don't
172
00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.679
hire me? Baby, the Lord will make them like you.
173
00:08:56.820 --> 00:08:58.759
The angel of the Lord will go before you. He
174
00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:00.600
will make your enemies to be at peace with you.
175
00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.000
Once you pray, the Lord gives you favor that even
176
00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:05.629
they help you. People that don't even want to help
177
00:09:05.649 --> 00:09:08.049
you on your journey, once God gets through with them,
178
00:09:08.149 --> 00:09:10.830
they'll be helping you. Your enemies will be at peace
179
00:09:10.850 --> 00:09:13.220
with you. People who don't want to help you will
180
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.279
help you. People who have never even heard your name.
181
00:09:17.049 --> 00:09:19.570
Once you step into the interview room, they will hire you.
182
00:09:19.909 --> 00:09:21.990
Your name will be on the minds of people in
183
00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:24.580
the boardroom. They will bring up your name in conversations
184
00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:27.120
to people who will go before you and help you.
185
00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:31.120
You need money for that project? There are kingdom people
186
00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:33.759
who have money, okay? They won't be able to sleep
187
00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:37.159
until they help you. In the book of Esther, when
188
00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:41.779
the king could not sleep, he said, bring me the
189
00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:43.470
book of the Chronicles and just read them to me
190
00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:46.720
while I go to sleep. His servant was reading him chronicles.
191
00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:50.840
It came up that nothing was ever done for, what's
192
00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:58.610
his name? Mordecai. Mordecai was Esther's uncle. Mordecai had intercepted
193
00:09:58.629 --> 00:10:02.340
a plan to kill the king. and told his servants like, hey,
194
00:10:02.669 --> 00:10:04.559
I heard these two guys, they're trying to kill the king.
195
00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.720
And that ended up saving the king's life. He didn't
196
00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:10.600
do it for recognition, though. He just did it because
197
00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:12.259
it was the right thing to do. Mordecai was a
198
00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:16.470
God fearing man. The king could not sleep. He's like,
199
00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:19.769
read Chronicles to me. They're reading him the Chronicles. They're
200
00:10:19.809 --> 00:10:22.669
talking about Mordecai. He's like, what was done for that man?
201
00:10:23.389 --> 00:10:27.279
They're like, nothing. Nothing that we know of. He gets rewarded.
202
00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:30.379
The next day, the king parades him around the city.
203
00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:36.299
He gets rewarded. But the king could not sleep until
204
00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.899
he rewarded Mordecai. The Lord will make people not be
205
00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:43.490
able to sleep until they reward you. People who have money...
206
00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:46.029
Your name will come into their minds. They will say,
207
00:10:46.289 --> 00:10:48.830
you know what? I know so-and-so got an event. I
208
00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:51.690
saw them post it on Instagram. I got extra money
209
00:10:51.750 --> 00:10:54.509
for Q4. My business got to spend some marketing money.
210
00:10:54.529 --> 00:10:58.429
We got to spend some sponsorship money. I remember this
person.
211
00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:01.210
The Lord will bring you into the minds of people
212
00:11:01.250 --> 00:11:03.610
who will help you. Even people who don't want to
213
00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:06.700
help you will help you because the Lord is going
214
00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.419
to go before you in these plans. We don't have
215
00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:12.080
to have any anxiety when the Lord tells us to go.
216
00:11:12.419 --> 00:11:14.860
We just need to go. Because he has the people
217
00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:17.519
with the money. He has the people in the boardrooms.
218
00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:19.840
He has the people that are hiring. He has people
219
00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:22.970
in HR. He has people on that marketing board. He
220
00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:26.889
has people. The Lord has people. Even people who are
221
00:11:26.929 --> 00:11:29.769
not submitted to God will help you. In the book
222
00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:34.809
of Nehemiah, That was Nehemiah, right? Yes. The book of Nehemiah.
223
00:11:34.870 --> 00:11:38.100
Nehemiah was the king's cup bearer. Okay. A very important job.
224
00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.799
But Nehemiah had just heard about the Jerusalem being burnt
225
00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.320
down and he was asking people, how was the city?
226
00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:48.360
And they were like, oh, it's in ruins. And that
227
00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.779
grieved him deeply. He was weeping and fasting. He goes
228
00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:53.600
before the king to do his job and he's sad.
229
00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:55.580
And the king's like, why are you sad? He tells
230
00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:58.590
him why he's sad. The king literally gives him a
231
00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:01.509
note that he can go and go and rebuild his city.
232
00:12:01.789 --> 00:12:03.409
He gives him money. He gives him a favor. He
233
00:12:03.429 --> 00:12:06.049
gives him provision. The king didn't have to do that.
234
00:12:06.389 --> 00:12:09.230
Why would the king? He's not an Israelite. He's not Hebrew.
235
00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:13.980
This is a king that's probably worshiping other gods, right? Artaxerxes, okay?
236
00:12:14.139 --> 00:12:18.570
Go research him. He's not submitted to God. But God
237
00:12:18.610 --> 00:12:21.509
made it so that Nehemiah got favor with the king
238
00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:23.759
so that he could go back to his hometown and
239
00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:28.259
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The Lord will put you
240
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.759
on the minds of people who don't even serve him.
241
00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:34.799
He will use even these people to accomplish good for you.
242
00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:37.639
We serve a God that knows and a God that
243
00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:42.360
clears the paths for us. There is no, there can't
244
00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:45.120
be any anxiety in your relationship with him. I heard
245
00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:48.929
someone say once that Anxiety is literally just rehearsing a
246
00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:52.210
situation in your mind where God is not in control
247
00:12:52.250 --> 00:12:56.750
and where he does not make you victorious. It's rehearsing
248
00:12:56.950 --> 00:13:00.950
failure in your mind. That's what anxiety is. But if
249
00:13:01.090 --> 00:13:04.129
we know we serve a God who sees, he is Elroy.
250
00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:08.120
We know we serve a God who answers prayer before
251
00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:10.320
we even finished praying, which means that he knows what
252
00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:11.840
we were going to sit down and pray about before
253
00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:14.240
we even started praying. If we know this, then how
254
00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:16.929
can we truly have anxiety with the Lord? This does
255
00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:19.779
not mean that you won't struggle. This does not mean
256
00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:23.279
that maybe you come into a situation with very limited
257
00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:25.139
faith and your faith gets built up and you start
258
00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.440
with small trust and the trust gets built up. I've
259
00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:30.299
talked about that a lot. We come into our relationship
260
00:13:30.350 --> 00:13:33.570
with anybody with a little bit of trust, and then
261
00:13:33.590 --> 00:13:35.730
they build the trust with you. You understand what I'm saying?
262
00:13:35.769 --> 00:13:39.269
So that's not to say that these things are not true,
263
00:13:39.649 --> 00:13:42.379
but the more you know about how God operates, the
264
00:13:42.419 --> 00:13:47.029
less anxiety you are capable of holding. Even when he
265
00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:49.029
says these words like, Lord, let it be that the
266
00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:52.840
woman that waters my camels, the Lord didn't have to
267
00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:55.639
make it so that that was the way that the
268
00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.759
prayer was answered. You know what I mean? So even that,
269
00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:05.919
I'm like, wow, God really listens to us. When we say, God,
270
00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:08.039
give me a sign and let me see a red
271
00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.220
car passing by, or I don't know, it's like, He
272
00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.440
doesn't have to honor what we say, but he does.
273
00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:17.179
The servant acts, let it be that when she waters
274
00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:20.519
my camels, that's the woman for Isaac. And God told
275
00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:22.970
Rebecca to water those camels. Isaiah 65, 24 says, And
276
00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.029
this just really spoke to me this week because I've
277
00:14:25.070 --> 00:14:28.230
just come to realize that when I don't get things accomplished,
278
00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:43.419
Most of the time it's stagnation from the fact that
279
00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.419
I can't even start. It's hard for me to even
280
00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:53.980
start because I'm fearful
of the ending. I'm fearful of
281
00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:59.590
what if this doesn't. She's trying to leave now. She
282
00:14:59.629 --> 00:15:03.450
can't leave. Just stay. You wanted to come in here
283
00:15:03.490 --> 00:15:08.129
so bad. Just stay. It's okay. It's okay. And messages
284
00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:11.419
like this really encourage me because I understand that I
285
00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:13.200
serve a God who knows what I'm going to pray
286
00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:15.919
about before I sit down and pray. So the prayer
287
00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.080
is just carving the way for it to be done.
288
00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:21.840
What I speak is just reassurance for me. It's not
289
00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:25.149
that God is up there, you know, turning knobs and
290
00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:28.210
opening doors and while I'm praying. No, the doors have
291
00:15:28.250 --> 00:15:31.929
already been opened. It's literally already been done. By the
292
00:15:31.970 --> 00:15:33.929
time I sit down to pray, it's already been done.
293
00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:37.110
So then how can I have anxiety? How can I
294
00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.139
you know, fall into stagnation of fear of, well, I
295
00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:42.840
don't want to start this because how is it going
296
00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:45.120
to end? How's it going to feel in the midst
297
00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:46.779
of it? I don't know where the provision is going
298
00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.830
to come from. The Lord has already made the way.
299
00:15:50.789 --> 00:15:54.190
It's literally already happened. And when we know that the
300
00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:58.750
Lord is not confined to space and time like we are,
301
00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:02.080
we're thinking about our future, but the future has already
302
00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:06.600
been created by God, right? He's not anxious. He's not wondering, well,
303
00:16:06.909 --> 00:16:08.950
How am I going to make this work for Imani?
304
00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:10.929
How is this going to work out for her? He
305
00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:12.669
already knows how it's going to work out for me.
306
00:16:13.389 --> 00:16:15.029
I don't know how it's going to work out for me.
307
00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:18.509
But if I know that God has already made all
308
00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:21.529
these things come together for my good, for the purpose
309
00:16:21.549 --> 00:16:23.629
that he has called me to, then I have to
310
00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:26.269
really believe that as long as I'm walking in my purpose,
311
00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:28.720
it's already been done. And there are so many situations
312
00:16:28.769 --> 00:16:31.080
where the Lord will go before us, right? If I
313
00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:32.740
had a fight with my sister, yeah, I can be
314
00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:34.440
mad at her for what she said in the moment,
315
00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:35.980
but I don't have to be mad the next day.
316
00:16:36.490 -->
00:16:38.389
Because if I trust that the Lord has already paved
317
00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:40.490
the way for this to be reconciled, if he's a
318
00:16:40.549 --> 00:16:42.830
good God, if he's a good father, he's going to
319
00:16:42.870 --> 00:16:44.990
want me to reconcile with my sister. It'll be reconciled.
320
00:16:45.169 --> 00:16:46.389
I don't have to worry about that. I don't have
321
00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.370
to be mad anymore. If I am low on money
322
00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:51.389
at the moment, I don't have to come to God
323
00:16:51.549 --> 00:16:53.629
with anxiety about how he's going to take care of
324
00:16:53.690 --> 00:16:56.090
me because the word tells me he will take care
325
00:16:56.129 --> 00:16:58.330
of me. So all I got to do is tell him, hey,
326
00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:00.850
this is what I need. You got to foot the bill.
327
00:17:01.850 --> 00:17:03.649
You know, this is what I need for the ministry
328
00:17:03.690 --> 00:17:06.740
that you called me to start. This is what I need.
329
00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:12.049
You got to provide it, God. He will perfect that
330
00:17:12.109 --> 00:17:15.569
which concerns me. It shall come to pass that before
331
00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:20.490
they call, I will answer. Before they call, I will answer.
332
00:17:21.089 --> 00:17:23.269
What a flex that is. What a flex it is
333
00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:26.759
to have a relationship with someone who knows what you
334
00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.640
need before you say anything, who knows what you desire
335
00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:32.079
before you even lay it out for them, who knows
336
00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:35.220
who you are better than you know who you are,
337
00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.740
who is answering your requests before the request is even
338
00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:42.900
finished being made. Like what a flex that is. And
339
00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.690
that's the relationship that we have with God. So let
340
00:17:46.710 --> 00:17:48.829
this just be reassurance to you. You don't have to
341
00:17:48.890 --> 00:17:52.049
be concerned about perfecting what the Lord has called you
342
00:17:52.069 --> 00:17:55.769
to do. He perfects it. If he's called you to
343
00:17:55.829 --> 00:17:57.509
do it, you can go ahead and do it. You
344
00:17:57.529 --> 00:18:01.309
can start. There is no fear in starting what the
345
00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.359
Lord has called you to do. Because if you're praying
346
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:08.119
about it, he already knows what you need. Before you
347
00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:11.430
finish praying, he will send you the answer. He perfects
348
00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:14.190
that which concerns you. And it's just amazing to me.
349
00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:16.549
Like it never fails to amaze me how we can
350
00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:20.210
be so specific with God and that he honors our words.
351
00:18:20.410 --> 00:18:22.829
When I tell God, I want to be confirmed that
352
00:18:22.890 --> 00:18:25.930
I'm on the right path with me making content because
353
00:18:26.029 --> 00:18:28.210
I want this to happen. And then it happens. Like
354
00:18:28.230 --> 00:18:30.450
there's no way that you can doubt him ever again.
355
00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:32.589
There's no way that you'd be scared to start the
356
00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:35.289
next project when he confirmed the first one. There's no
357
00:18:35.349 --> 00:18:40.089
way that you'd be going to prayer thinking, being double-minded, thinking, well,
358
00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:42.150
I'm going to pray, but what if it doesn't work out?
359
00:18:42.269 --> 00:18:44.529
It's going to work out because it worked out last time.
360
00:18:44.910 --> 00:18:47.049
It's going to work out because his word tells us
361
00:18:47.289 --> 00:18:49.980
he will send his angel before you. So I love
362
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.079
you guys. I will talk to you very soon, and
363
00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:55.099
I will see you later. Bye.