Making Room for the Holy Spirit

The hardest part of a faith walk isn’t believing God exists—it’s trusting Him in the space between prayer and outcome. Today we open that in‑between and get honest about control, exhaustion, and the daily practice of choosing belief before evidence. If you’ve ever felt the pull to manage every variable while waiting on an answer, you’ll hear language and stories that ground your next step.

We talk through how Scripture flips the order the world expects: culture says “prove it,” but Jesus calls us to believe first and then move. From Hebrews 11 to Paul’s “walk by faith, not by sight,” we unpack why assurance without sight is not poetic fluff but a muscle built through repetition. That muscle looks  poplike obedience before clarity, prayer before answers, forgiveness before apology, and showing up before confidence. We also tackle the difference between surrender and passivity, reframing action as faithful presence rather than frantic control so we can carry our load without trying to be God.

Exhaustion gets real too. Elijah saw fire fall and still collapsed, reminding us that even bold faith can burn out. God met him with food, rest, and a gentler call back—proof that receiving may look like strength to endure instead of instant resolution. Paul’s thorn teaches the same paradox: grace can be sufficient even when the situation doesn’t change. If you’ve been shouldering weights God never asked you to lift, consider this your invitation to release the outcome and take the next faithful step.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who’s waiting in the gap, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. What is God asking you to believe before you see it?

This is the Buddy For Junior Show — where faith, truth, and courage come together. Join us as we explore life’s deeper purpose and carry the torch of conviction. The show begins now.

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Chapters

• 0:23 Welcome And Quick Ask
• 0:49 Naming The In-Between
• 1:42 Trust Over Control
• 3:07 Faith Before Evidence
• 4:51 Faith Moves Your Feet
• 5:30 When Faith Is Exhausted
• 6:34 Receive Strength, Not Just Outcomes
• 6:56 Closing And Verification Invite
• 7:02 Daily Decisions And Final Challenge

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:12

Welcome. Welcome to the Buddy Foy Jr. Show. Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. Quick favor before we dive in, if you haven't already, hit the follow up subscribe button wherever you're listening. And if this podcast resonates, please share it with one person. Two if you're feeling generous. That's a huge blessing to me, and I'm grateful. All right, folks, I'm pumped up today. This is a quick one. You ready? I want to talk about the space in between. The space where we're tempted to control outcomes instead of praying. The space between faith and action, between belief and receiving. And I'll be honest, I'm getting better at this one. Slowly and perfectly, but I'm seeing growth in real time. I'm learning to leave space for the Holy Spirit to move in places that I don't fully understand. Relationships, scripture, character, decisions, situations, political and otherwise. I still want to be part of the solution. I still want to show up for my kids. I still want to strengthen my community. I'm a worker, folks. I want to carry my load. But here's the real question: where do we leave room for God? Where does my responsibility to carry the cross end? And where does God's work begin? As Christians, I'm learning it's not just about action, it's also about receiving. Beef, or sorry, beef, belief before evidence. Let me ask you this. Have you ever known what scripture says, but your life just doesn't line up yet? You know God is good, but things feel heavy. You know he provides, but you're anxious. You know he restores, but the relationship is still struggling. You know he's with you, but you feel a little alone. I've been there. I've gone back through my journals. I've looked at early sessions in my Jesus gym on my journey, and I realized something. I was lifting weights God never asked me to carry. I once asked my parents, my pastor, how do I know I'm not just giving up? How do I know I'm not just being lazy or depressed when I'm being told to leave space for the Holy Spirit? I'm practicing it, but how do I know I'm actually giving space? Because I'm wired to push, to grind, to control. And here's what I've learned through prayer, mentors, and some hard sessions. Giving space to the Holy Spirit isn't quitting, it's trusting. So maybe the real question isn't control issues, maybe it's trust issues. Faith lives in the gap. Hebrews 11 says it plainly. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Faith doesn't wait for evidence. Faith moves before evidence even shows up. That challenges me because culture says, prove it. Show me, give me the data. Scripture says, trust me, walk with me. Paul says it like this we walk by faith, not by sight. Second Corinthians. That's not poetic language. That's a daily discipline. Add that to the list. Jesus says in Mark 11, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it. That's backwards to how the world works. We want to receive it, confirm it, then believe it. Jesus flips the order. Belief doesn't mean pretending pain doesn't exist or it's not real. It means trusting God's character when circumstances just don't cooperate. So, think about this, folks. Most of our life happens in the gap. We're living in the in-between, between promise and fulfillment, between prayer and answer, between obedience and outcome. And that's where faith is formed. Abraham believed against all odds, without evidence, timelines, or reassurance. And Scripture says his belief was credited as righteousness. Faith often comes before peace, before clarity, before resolution. Proverbs says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. That means trusting before understanding. Faith moves your feet. This is what I love. This is where we do our part. And this matters. Believing before you see it doesn't mean sitting still. Faith isn't passive. James tells us faith without works is dead. Belief should move your feet. That looks like this: obedience before clarity, prayer before answers, forgiveness before apology, showing up before confidence. I'm learning to do my part and to leave the results to God. When faith is exhausted, look at Elijah. 1 Kings 19, he watched God send fire down from heaven, do this incredible act, and then he collapsed. He ran into the wilderness and said, God, I had enough. Take it. God didn't shame him. God fed him, let him rest, then gently called him back. Maybe you're not quitting faith. Maybe you're just exhausted. Sometimes receiving doesn't look like the outcome we asked for. Sometimes it looks like strength to endure, peace in the middle, growth instead of escape. Paul begged God, remove the thorn. God said, My grace is significant. That's receiving. Here's what I'm learning. Belief isn't a feeling, it's a decision. Pray before I'm confident. Obey before I'm ready. Trust before progress. And keep showing up. Repeat. Because conditional faith is too shaky for me. Let me leave you with this question. What is God asking you to believe before you see it? Not force it, not fake it. Just trust it. I'm going to keep showing up. I'm in my Jesus gym. I am not a pastor, folks. I do not hold a biblical degree. No master's here. I'm just a dude in the Jesus gym working out and figuring this out every day and sharing it here with you. Have a great week. Please read the show notes below. Verify everything I say. God bless and don't take the bait.