Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: How do we trust God when our reality falls short of our expectations?
We long to let God write our story, but the disconnect between where we are and where we desire to be oftentimes leave us doubting God instead of trusting him. Today, f is for faith. We'll discuss the practical ways we stir up our faith when waiting on God and why it's so critical to wait well when our faith is being tested. Let's get started.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Hey, guys. Welcome to episode three. We are very happy to have you guys join us, and it's always something we look forward to.
[00:01:37] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: I'm excited about today's topic. Today we're going to talk about the layoff a little bit more, but we're going to give a little bit more behind the scenes. Last episode, we talked about how we thrived in the layoff financially, and we're able to give just kind of the key points that we did in order to thrive.
[00:01:55] Speaker B: To thrive.
[00:01:55] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: This week we want to talk about the waiting portion of the layoffs. So you didn't go just from losing the job to having another job, but there was a waiting portion of it. And so during that waiting portion, there were certain things that we did that I felt like really made the waiting worthwhile and also just helped us during that wait. And so kind of help remember it. We'll call it eight in the wait.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: I like that. Eight in the wait.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Kind of like. Or you can maybe think of it as like eight in the weight. Like Gen Z. Have you heard of that before?
[00:02:30] Speaker B: Eight in the weight.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Have you heard of that before?
[00:02:32] Speaker B: I have heard of that.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: I doubt it.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, I have not heard of it.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: Like leaving no crumbs. Meaning, there you go. That you do so well that there's nothing else that can be done. So waiting super well. So eight in the weight. So you can. Eight in the weight, as Gen Z would say.
[00:02:48] Speaker B: That's right. That's right.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: So we'll talk about eight ways that we stirred up our faith during the layoff, and then at the very end, we'll end off with just kind of our key takeaway that we got from this whole layoff period.
[00:03:01] Speaker D: Yes, yes.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: And what we learned during the waiting period.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: Period.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Absolutely. Absolutely. So I'll get into the behind the scenes of the layoff. And what was crazy about the layoff or when we started feeling as if, or not even feeling we were seeing signs of a layoff coming.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: It's even specific article saying this company will have layoffs. They have 5000 employees this year. Like, I wonder if you're gonna be included.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: And, of course, we're seeing all of this as you are in your second to third trimester of pregnancy. And it's like, we, of course, want to be super stable going into that.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Season, especially because I was going to take time off and all that, so. And you're the main breadwinner, so it's like, we want to make sure that we're as stable as possible and just kind of keeping status quo. Status quo, essentially.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: Status quo is something that you take advantage, that you take for granted.
[00:03:54] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Until some kind of weird, crazy thing like this transpires. And so that status quo was something that I was trying so hard to maintain, and I was like, let me go ahead and start applying to many jobs, first in the field of pharmacy. But even I was broadening it to just anything healthcare or medical related, even.
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Broader than that you were looking at during this whole waiting period. You were like, maybe home sales. People who know James, they know that he's into all things homes, so maybe it's time for a career transition into home sales or whatever. So you were being very proactive before we even heard anything, we just kind of could see the writing on the wall. And so you were very proactive with at least applying, and you had some things, like, down the pipeline. So you had at least two really good pharmacy opportunities, very solid opportunities at the very beginning.
[00:04:46] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: And what had happened was, is everything was going really smoothly with the first round of interviews.
[00:04:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: I was like, they loved you. They loved me.
[00:04:54] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: This guy leaves, like, the best first impression.
[00:04:57] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: I've always gotten that compliment.
[00:04:58] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: And so it was such a season of, like, everything looked good at the forefront, but then there was constant rejection moving into the second round of interviews. Or just follow up.
[00:05:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: It's like, random emails, like, because you applied to quite a few were, like, very promising.
[00:05:15] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: Like, you have the recruiter, and it looks really good.
[00:05:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: And then from there, it was just like, reject after rejection. And so we get to October, end of October, and, like, especially the two that we thought were really promising, we get to the point where we're like, looks like there's nothing, like, I know that it was going to all fall through.
[00:05:35] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Because they had said that there is no hard start date, but just know that you're an issue in an immediate shoe in and you look good on your resume. You did good on your webcam interview.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: And there was nothing, like, dressed up super well.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: I remember I did.
[00:05:51] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: You were like, I'm gonna, like, get this job.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: I had a suit up here, but then I wasn't wearing anything below.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: It was short below, nothing below. We don't want that image in everyone's mind. So you're wearing shorts. Yes, but yes. Anyway, so it became apparent pretty clearly, especially at the end of October, when everything that seemed like was going to happen, didn't happen, it became apparent that our faith was being tested. And so I kind of felt like, in my spirit, maybe, like, I don't know how to describe it. I just kept hearing the same thing over and over again, that we would go through the fire, but we would not burn. Yes.
It reminds you of the scripture. We'll be looking at our phones quite a bit. We have some scriptures kind of referred to.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: Heavy scripture.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Heavy, but let me find it. So it was in one Peter one seven, where it says, your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. And so I felt like God was kind of saying as a couple, we were going to go through a refining period and that we were going to be tested. And I know, like, when you're kind of going through something, sometimes you can go through things cause of your own, like, consequences of your own sin. So you spend too much money, and like, oh, lord, help me, I don't have money for my rent. It's like, well, did you spend all your money on your vacation? Like, that's kind of a consequence. But what I'm kind of more focusing on and what we're gonna be focusing on today is when you're walking with the Lord, you're serving him. You're like, you know, it's not like a consequence of sin, but as a believer, it's biblical to go through hard times. It's biblical to go through fire. It says in John 16 30 33 that in this world, we will have trouble. But Jesus has overcome the world, so we don't have to fear for that. But it does say, we will have trouble.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: We will have trouble.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: It's not a matter of when. Yes, it's not if, but when we have trouble, we will have trouble. So it's essentially, unfortunately, a guarantee. And so when we go through these times, what we wanted to talk about today is those times when you're walking with the lower weather, an unexpected job loss happens, or say you have unwanted singleness or infertility issues or an illness out of nowhere or a death in the family. And it's like when these things happen. How do we trust the Lord? How do we truly wait effectively when these things happen?
[00:08:25] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: And it's so important when these things happen that you have to learn to start actively stirring up your faith.
[00:08:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: Because if you don't, these things will just overwhelm you.
[00:08:36] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: And so what we'll talk about is now the eight in the waits.
[00:08:40] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Eight and the wait. So these are just gonna be eight things that we did.
[00:08:44] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Very practical things that you can do when you're in your waiting period. And so if you find yourself just like we did, you're following the Lord, and then you find yourself just in a period where you're waiting on God to come through in some way, whether it's to provide a job, to maybe potentially open your womb, to maybe introduce you to, like, your spouse, and you're waiting on the Lord. These are just eight things that we did during the wait that we felt like helped us wait.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: Well, yes, and we hope it helps you. So, the first one is take every thought captive.
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Again, take every thought captive. And two corinthians ten five says, we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: That's one of my favorite verses so.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Much, because I see a visual, like, whenever I'm going something and I see my thoughts beginning to fester, I will physically act like I'm grabbing the thought and then throwing it back. And so it's like taking every thought captive. And one thing I've heard someone say that really helped me is you can't help the thoughts that come, but you can help the thoughts that stay.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: That stay.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: And so when you're taking every thought captive, you're not allowing your mind to spiral into the what if. What if I never get pregnant? What if I never meet the guy I'm supposed to meet? What if James never gets a job because of the layoff? But whenever those thoughts come, don't allow them to stay. Reflect them back. Throw them out. They're not of the Lord.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: And so don't let your mind fester on those thoughts.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: Don't let those lies take root in your mind, in your heart, because that's when you start to spiral out of control and doubt and disbelief and negativity. So that's a really good one. The second one, guys, is declare truth when you begin to worry.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely.
[00:10:38] Speaker B: And speaking of lies, you don't want lies to start taking root in your heart, you have to combat those lies with something. You can't just say, you can't just take those thoughts captive and throw them out, but then not replace them with something, because then it's like there's still a void there. So you have to fill it with God's truth because that's the one thing that is strong enough and, like, powerful enough to combat actively the negativity and the doubt.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: In proverbs 1821, it tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. And then in the New Testament as well, in James, in James three, it talks about the tongue and how it can steer the direction. And so it also talks about in the New Testament how faith comes from hearing the word of God. And so when we go through these trials, not only do we need to take these thoughts captive, but we also need to speak truth in our situation. We need to know scripture, or at least read scripture so that we can say those truths to us whenever we're going through these hard times.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. It's funny because my wife has this goal for me to start memorizing specific scriptures far more than I currently do. But the one thing that I know that I do well is I can turn to the Bible and immediately just know, like, which book is, like, appropriate for the area that I'm struggling in or whatever. She's good at, like, memorizing explicit verses. But no matter where you're at in your journey of Bible exploration, like, just always return to the God, to the word, to the word of God, because God's word never comes back. Void. It's so full of truth, it's so full of life, and you just have to depend on it.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:12:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:12:19] Speaker B: The next one is shut out noise. So shut out all noise.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Or at least social media, especially when you go through these times. What we mean by this is when you go through these trials, a lot of times, you are very sensitive. You are.
It's very easy for you to start essentially spiraling just from hearing the wrong thing or seeing the wrong thing. And so when you go through a waiting period, sometimes it's best just to maybe take a break from social media, maybe. And don't make a big deal out of it. Don't say you don't have to post, like, I will now be taking a 30 day fast or whatever.
[00:12:55] Speaker B: I'm deactivating.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: Yes, I'm deactivating my account. I'm deleting those. Don't build me up or something dramatic.
[00:13:01] Speaker B: Like that add me on WhatsApp. It's the only way to communicate with me.
[00:13:04] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Yes, I'll read.
Okay. You are a little dramatic sometimes, but I still love you.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: I love you, my sister.
[00:13:15] Speaker A: But, yes, shutting out noise. So just sometimes you just need to maybe unfollow some accounts that are making you maybe jealous. Like, I remember when there was a time where I was waiting on the Lord. I felt so strongly that he was saying that I have someone for you, like, for marriage. But there was, like, I think maybe a year before I met you, there was just, like, person after person was getting married, engaged in a relationship.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Oh, that's the worst. That was the worst.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Like, living here. I think I had six roommates, obviously all female, no guys talking to me at all. And I'm like, okay, I need to get off of social media because it's making me doubt, and it's making me not believe what God. I felt like God was saying to my heart. And so if you're. If anyone you're following or anything is making you doubt what you know is true about the Lord, then shut out the noise and just focus on him.
[00:14:05] Speaker B: It literally is self preservation. You're trying to guard your heart and guide your mind from outside influences, and those outside influences might be very positive.
[00:14:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Everyone's getting in the right season.
[00:14:17] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:14:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: So it's like the famous breakup line. It's not you, it's me.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: It's me.
[00:14:23] Speaker A: But it really is. It's not you. It's not everyone else around me. It's really me. I need to guard my heart. I cannot be truly happy for you. I want to, yes, but I can't be. And so I need to take care of myself. I need to take care of myself. And so that I can eventually be truly happy for you, I need to take a step back in order to take a step forward.
[00:14:43] Speaker D: Oh, wow.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: I know. Insightful.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: All right, guys, so the fourth one is fill yourself up with God's word.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah, that goes right with that.
[00:14:52] Speaker D: Declare truth. It does.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: It's so obvious when you begin to worry. And how are you able to declare truth? By filling yourself up with God's word.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Daily refreshing, daily renewing of your mind with God's word and his truths and his promises.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: It's a non negotiable during those times of trials because it says, I think in one Peter five that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. And so when you wake up, you are in a vulnerable state, and Satan can already start attacking you. In your mind, with your thoughts. And in order to do what we said, number two, declare victory or declare truth. When you begin to worry, you have to fill yourself up with God's word. And it says in Matthew six, when Jesus tells the disciples how to pray, it says, give us this day our daily bread. And so every day when you're going through a trial, you should be asking the Lord, Lord, fill me up with what I need for today. And if today is too long, I remember I was going through one trial where even just the day felt like too much. I would pray, God, just get me through this hour.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: Get me through this hour.
[00:15:59] Speaker A: Yeah, get me through this hour. And he's so faithful to do that.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Because in the deepest of waters and the darkest part of the storm, it is sometimes unbearable to even get through the day. Like, you need to just break it down by the hour. Like, God, help me. Just give me enough energy to get through these next few hours. Because sometimes, like, when you get hit with bad news or you're in that area of suspense where you're not sure what's gonna happen, and no matter the situation, those hours can feel like eternity.
[00:16:31] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: So, yeah, you have to just.
You just have to ask, God, give me what I need for this moment. And then eventually you get through that, and it's like, okay, what do I need for this week and this month, etcetera?
[00:16:43] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:16:43] Speaker A: And so that kind of leads us to number five, which is being vulnerable in prayer. And so when you go through these hard times, sometimes you don't even know what to pray. I think it says in romans eight, when we don't know what to pray, the spirit can pray on our behalf. And so. Or if you do know what you want to pray, but you kind of feel embarrassed, nothing is too big. Nothing is too small for God. And so don't be embarrassed to be like, God. This just really sucks right now. Yeah, this is really, really hard. I don't know what you're doing.
I trust you. At least I think I trust you. I think if it says in one of the parables or one of the stories of Jesus, when someone said, lord, help my unbelief. So even if it's like, God, I want to trust you. I want to believe what I see in your word. But it's difficult right now because what I see doesn't match what I know to be true. And. And so, God, just help me through this. And so during that time, don't be afraid to be vulnerable in prayer. It tells us also in, I think, one Peter, five. To cast our anxieties onto God because he cares for us. And so during this time, it's important to not hold those anxieties in ourselves, but instead give them to the Lord in your daily time as you're receiving from his word and daily getting filled. Also in that time of filling up with scripture, let your request be known before God. He desires to help us in these dark times. I love it.
[00:18:16] Speaker D: I love it.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: We need to be able to know that we can tell him anything and trust him with anything and everything.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: I think sometimes we think our situation is so messy. We think that it's so complex or convoluted or backwards that it's too much for God to handle. But you always tell me that you are not bigger than God's ability to solve something or reverse something.
[00:18:40] Speaker A: You're not too big. Yes, exactly. It's like there's nothing you can do or you're not too big to, like, totally throw off God's plans. Or sometimes you're like, oh, did I make a mistake? Did I do this? Did I do that? It's like, just be faithful.
[00:18:53] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: Just follow the Lord. Take it day by day, step by step, and be vulnerable in prayer.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: You have to remember that God, like healing. God wants to keep your burden light. He wants to keep your yoke easy. We sometimes keep our yoke hard and keep our burden heavy because we hold it and we think we're too messy. But no, say those messy prayers. Say those ugly prayers. Groan, cry, yell at God if you don't know what.
[00:19:19] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Like, be vulnerable. And prayer. The next one, number six, is to confide in community. And so this one's really important, because when you're going through something, we're not meant to go through it alone. Christianity is a community religion. It's a time where it's a religion that focuses, obviously, love God, love others, our two greatest commandments. And so you're not meant to go through this alone. So whether it's with your spouse or even outside of your spouse. So when we were going through your job loss, one of the first things we did, especially when we started getting, like, bad news after bad news, is we were just honest with our moms. Like, hey, we have a group text, which is us and our moms, because they babysit our kids. And so in that group text, we were just like, hey, we just got, you know, another thing of bad news. You don't want to share it with, like, the whole family yet.
[00:20:11] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: But, hey, can y'all just keep us in prayer. Can you pray for us during this time? Because we need the faith of you guys to add on to our faith or to trust God during this really tough time.
[00:20:24] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Having community is so important. And during that time, we also had a little home church that really supported us.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: They were amazing. If you guys ever watched this, we were. You guys have no idea how much you guys blessed us during this time, because during the time, we weren't able to really be physically in church. It's a whole thing, me being very pregnant, I couldn't really walk that much. Our son was very rambunctious and. But wouldn't go to the nursery, so it was a whole bunch of things. And so this little home church really adopted us during that time.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: Y'all know who you are?
[00:20:54] Speaker A: Yes. And so if you guys ever watch this episode, so know that we so appreciate it. And you guys were such an answered prayer for us, and we are just so grateful that you were here. Absolutely. Number seven is to bloom where you're planting. And so during this time, there's going to be doors that are obviously closed. So the thing that we're waiting for, we want God to open a job for you, but he wasn't opening it. But there's going to be areas where God is opening doors just wide open. So in those areas, which was, like, for us, it was God providing me with a lot of different opportunities to make money. Sure was.
He also provided us just with time. And so we were able to go to parks together and spend time with our boys. And even we came up with this whole, like, podcast idea, the name of.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: The podcast, because we finally had time to conceptualize it in time.
[00:21:45] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: And really talk about kind of what direction we wanted to go and plan it out. And so during this time, there's obviously gonna be an obvious closed door.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:21:56] Speaker A: Which is like the job in the situation, but there's gonna be open doors.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: For those other open doors.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: And in those areas, make sure you are investing your time, investing your energy, and just trusting that God's gonna come through in that other area where you're waiting on while you are investing in the area that he's opening, and while.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: You'Re investing in the current time, just soak in the beauty of, like, the growth that's happening with you, your spouse, your family, your friends.
[00:22:27] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: I always tell you it was such a beautiful period.
[00:22:29] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: She always knows this about me. I've always been a man of, like, destination. I'm so destination driven. The end result. But from this whole thing, it's like, I really do enjoy now just blossoming where God has you.
[00:22:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: And taking advantage of that current soil.
[00:22:46] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And then the last one, number eight, is in that thing you're waiting for. So the job, the baby, the husband, the healing, be led by the spirit. And I mean that in whatever next steps you're supposed to take, pray about it and be led by the spirit. So many times in this waiting area, this area we're waiting on, we want to force open doors. We see a little tiny crack and we're like, that's my open door from God. I know we're trying to force the little tiny crap open, but it's like just when you're getting your daily bread and you're asking God, like, hey, just give me guidance in this. Ask him for guidance in this area, too. I remember one time when I was in my own season of waiting for a job, there were some times where God was like, just rest, just wait, be still, and know that I'm God and don't do anything in this area. And it's very hard. You feel like you're getting that kind of confirmation just to be still. And then there were some times where I felt very much that God was saying, like, be active, apply, do this. And so I know people hear from God differently. That's a whole different conversation, even very lengthy conversation.
[00:23:59] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: So people are like, do you even hear from God? Blah, blah, blah. I believe that you do. If you disagree, that's totally fine, but I still believe that you can be led by the spirit. And if you see an open door, my whole life thing that I would always do is just tiptoe towards it. So if you think something might be an open door, tiptoe towards it, knock on it, go through it. If you realize that it's not open or it's not opening, or if you're to open it, you have to pry it open. It's probably not the direction you should be going, and so just be love. I can't tell you when to go, when to stay, but I do know that in my own experiences, I felt very much led in the areas I was supposed to go in and the areas that supposed to kind of, like, stay back in.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it's specific to the person. You can't ever tell a friend, like, when to act or when to sit back, but that's up to you to come to God and just ask him. Can you just reveal some clarity? Can you just kind of make known what is the next step, like, just the next tiptoe of a step in the right direction you want me to go?
[00:25:04] Speaker A: And even if you're just asking for wisdom in that area, it tells us in James one that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: He will give it to you.
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Not just keep it?
[00:25:15] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:25:15] Speaker A: And so it tells us, like, to ask for some, like, yeah, ask for wisdom in this area. So when you're wondering what to do in this specific area that you're waiting for, ask God, like, should I be applying or is there a certain area? Am I going the wrong direction? Lord, give me wisdom on what to do if you're going through infertility, should I be doing treatment? Should I be talking to someone? Should I go to a doctor? Should I change my diet or health issues or whatever, just be led by the spirit in it? I wanted to kind of, I guess, conclude kind of our eight in the wait discussion with this whole thing. I wrote it down. I want to kind of say it how I wrote it, so I'll read it off. So our great hope is that God is so incredibly active during our waiting period. So during this waiting period, gosh, is not sitting on the sidelines like, oh, hope he figures it out. Hope she figures it out.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: It feels like that.
[00:26:10] Speaker A: It could feel like that. Yes, absolutely. But he's so incredibly active during this. And in God's perfect timing and his perfect way, he'll do what only he can do in the way only he can.
[00:26:22] Speaker D: Oh.
[00:26:22] Speaker A: And so sometimes it comes together just like we think it will and sometimes it doesn't. But we can trust in romans 828 that all things were together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And so if it's not good, it's not done. And so we can trust God that he will bring good in the situations that we're trusting him with.
[00:26:45] Speaker B: I have something to add to that. So I love how the final solution, like, when God presents it to you, it either is going to be like a big bam, this is the open door that you've been wanting, or it can be something you like slowly but surely realize. But the one thing that's common with any of those is that you feel so much peace about it, and that peace is something that you can't like. It's so unexplainable.
[00:27:15] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:27:15] Speaker A: And it's a piece that surpasses all understanding.
[00:27:18] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:27:18] Speaker B: And it indicates that this is what God has been waiting for or working behind the scenes. So that you are ready for it.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Or I feel like I have a little analogy with that. Sometimes God will just give you the plant and you're like, oh, wow. Thank you, God, for the plant. Sometimes God will give you the seeds, the soil, the water, and it's like, showing you, like, this is the direction you're supposed to go. Sometimes it's not exactly clear, but you know that you're in the right direction. And so don't doubt yourself if you feel like God's given you the and the soil and the watering can and he didn't just provide you the plant. Take that next step and trust that God is continuously working this all out for your good and his glory.
[00:28:02] Speaker B: I love that. I love that. I love that. The final thing I will say to.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Start closing our big takeaway.
[00:28:07] Speaker B: Our big takeaway is just remember that fulfillment doesn't come from reaching the destination. Fulfillment doesn't come from finally getting what you had been praying for. It makes sense that that would be fulfillment.
[00:28:21] Speaker A: And it's not saying that that's not a blessing because it is a huge blessing to get that. And we rejoice when, like, oh, the answered prayer is here. Like, I rejoice when God fell open the door for me to meet my James Depoot.
[00:28:33] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: The sexiest man alive.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Absolutely.
Or God opened the door for your job and like, oh, my gosh, thank you, Lord. Like, we rejoice. But the big thing we saw was that although we loved the destination, the big thing was what happened to us in this journey. Who we became in this journey was like, the biggest takeaway because we got to know God in a way that we would not have known him otherwise without going through this journey 100%. We didn't just see God as a provider because scripture says it, but we got to see our own personal account of, wow, God provided. He opened so many doors, now we have a testimony of God's provision. Or when we were going through hard times, wasn't just like, oh, God's our comforter. It's like, no. In the darkest of nights when you're crying out to him and you feel those holy spirit groans where you're like, I don't know what to praise. The spirit prays on your behalf. Like, I know God is a comforter because I felt the comfort.
[00:29:34] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: And so when you go through these, the destination is amazing, and we're excited, and we praise God for it. But don't neglect who you become in the journey.
[00:29:45] Speaker B: I agree.
[00:29:46] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:29:46] Speaker A: It's like we have to embrace the wait and embrace who become during this waiting period.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: I agree. The big takeaway is embrace the weight and allow fulfillment to be for you, the journey of who you become.
[00:30:03] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: Who you become during this journey, the biggest thing. And when you wait well, you're able to become the person God wants you to be when you do. When you don't wait well, you get to the journey, and sometimes it can feel empty.
[00:30:17] Speaker B: It could feel empty.
[00:30:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: And that'll be another future episode.
[00:30:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:21] Speaker A: You had a time where you got to, like, the destination part and you felt incredibly empty versus this time where together we were able to wait well, not perfectly. Not perfectly, but we were able to wait well. And I see just such a fulfillment in you. I'm just being in the job, but it's not because the job is fulfilling, even though it is fulfilling. But you did the eight things. You did what we talked about during the wait, and you're. We are a better couple because of it. You're a better person because of it.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: I love you.
I was gonna say, like, I would never go through this again. Like, I would never go through the negative parts of this again, but I would so go through just us growing together and loving on each other super hard during this time. And that is the paradox of it, is it's fire, but you come out such a refined gold, and that's exactly what God means for it. And you just have to allow yourself to be vulnerable and open to that process.
Yeah, I think that's it, guys.
[00:31:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:31:27] Speaker A: I have nothing else to add. I think we're good with this episode.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: Well, if you are enjoying these podcast episodes, if you're liking the content of each of them, and you just like catching up with us through these episodes, but also on social media, please give us a like, please subscribe, leave some comments show some comments for the algorithm.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: As they always say, that's the only.
[00:31:51] Speaker B: Way we're gonna be able to grow, grow our channel. So keep showing us some support and love, and we're always so grateful for everything you've shown us since episode one. We love you guys so much. But until next month, until May, jeez, you guys be blessed, and we'll see you then.
[00:32:07] Speaker D: Bye, guys. Bye.
