Daily Bread
Daily Bread with Dr. Jerrell & Angela Stokley offers inspiring biblical content designed to educate, empower, and engage everyone to seek God's Word as daily bread for the soul and live a life of purpose in Jesus Christ.
Daily Bread
Daily Bread Podcast with Dr. Jerrell & Angela Stokely - Adjustments PT 4 Faith and Resilience in Uncertain Times
Join us for an inspiring conversation about faith, resilience, and navigating the uncertainties of modern life. We explore the story of Ruth, whose unwavering strength in challenging times serves as a powerful example of trust in divine sovereignty. Through this episode, listeners will find encouragement to embrace change as part of God's divine plan, using prayer, reflection, and scripture to stay grounded amidst global uncertainties. By drawing parallels with Proverbs 3:5-6, we emphasize the importance of leaning on faith over fear, even when the world seems overwhelming.
Amidst discussions of spiritual warfare and the end times, our conversation takes a critical look at the juxtaposition between our growing reliance on artificial intelligence and the omniscient power of God. The comforting promises found in the Gospel and Isaiah 41:10 remind us that we are never alone, as God promises strength, help, and support. Reaffirming faith by speaking God's promises back to Him provides solace, and we encourage a childlike posture of faith in a world that often demands adult-like certainty. Personal reflections and scriptural insights empower listeners with the strength to face life's trials head-on.
As we journey together through this episode, we also touch on the importance of genuine connections—both with people and God. The story of Ruth and Naomi illustrates the power of loyalty and love for who someone is, not just what they offer. This episode invites listeners to reflect on their own relationships and their faith journey, encouraging them to find strength in God's purpose and promises. Connect with us through the Daily Bread podcast and continue this journey of faith and resilience, as we navigate life's challenges with assurance and strength.
Please sponsor the Daily Bread Podcast by clicking the link above. You can also connect with Dr. Jerrell & Angela Stokely at www.JerrellStokley.com or www.CovenantGraceChurch.org. Visit our online apparel store at www.OfficialGloryGear.com for all of your faith-based outdoor, casual, and athletic gear with a message of faith and belief in Jesus Christ.
Welcome, welcome. Welcome once again to our another broadcast of our Daily Bread podcast with Dr Jarrell and Angela Stokely we are super excited to be here yet one more time.
Speaker 1:amen, to be able to share a word of wisdom, a word of encouragement, inspiration about a topic that we truly believe is so important for the body of Christ and even those that are not in Christ. You know, we believe that this is such a great topic that can be a source of encouragement and inspiration. So, my wonderful guest not only is he intelligent, but he's a cutie pie. I was going to say handsome, but I always call him cute. That's my word. My cutie pie husband, you want to greet the people today, hey?
Speaker 2:everybody. Thank you all for being here on today on the Daily Bread Podcast. We're so excited, I'm so excited to be here with you and with my lovely wife of 29 years this year 29 years February 17th that we have been married. But we've been knowing each other since seventh grade and we've been together 34 years altogether. We had some dating time. Yep, we had some dating time. So I pray God, we reared it all the way I liked it. I put a ring on it. So amen, hallelujah, so glory to God. I'm glad to be here, hey everybody, absolutely so.
Speaker 1:Um, yes, always a joy to sit across the table to discuss these topics and allow the Lord to use us in such a mighty and powerful way so that the body of believers is edified. That's always the goal that the body of believers are edified and that the enemy would be horrified. So we give glory, I give God glory for you and, again, for our audience. Thank you so very much for tuning in. You could have been doing anything else, and so we don't take it lightly that you take the time to listen in and, as always, we pray that you are blessed and encouraged. We want to also thank our give me the word.
Speaker 2:Our sponsor.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Our sponsor, official Glory Gear, and we are so excited. Website officialglorygearcom. Hallelujah, and so we're excited. We are repping in this room today. We're repping with some of the gear we're grateful for because we want to definitely send a message to those who see us as we're out and about, whose side we're on, my goodness. And if you want to show people in your community, in the world, whose side you're on, we want to invite you to go to officialglorygearcom and get your swag, because we got something for everybody. Amen.
Speaker 2:I got something on there for everybody.
Speaker 1:So we're excited about that and we give God glory. So if you have been tracking with this, then you know this is part four of our topic adjustments. Topic adjustments man, if there is a time that we need to be able to adjust, it is now. We have just entered 2025 and, man, we have some things to look forward to. And then there's a lot of things that we're not sure what's going to happen. But that's okay, because we're on God's side and we know that God is in control and he's got us covered. So we're excited about that. So we just want to talk here in part four, we're going to talk about our sister Ruth. Today we're going to talk a little bit about our sister Ruth and focusing on strength in adversity and uncertainty. Look at that Strength in adversity and uncertainty. Look at that Strength and adversity and uncertainty. So we're going to pray and then we'll get right into the topic today and pray. You're blessed, amen. You'll join me in prayer.
Speaker 1:Father, we bless you, we thank you. We give you glory and honor and praise. We thank you for every opportunity, god, that you afford us just to be alive. We thank you, god, that we're not here by accident. We thank you, god, that we're not here by accident. We thank you, god, that we're not here by mistake, that all of us are on a purposed hallelujah journey. And, god, we give you glory, no matter what life has thrown at us, no matter what we've gone through, no matter what is going on even in our right now. God, your plan for us is good and not evil, and we give you glory and honor and praise.
Speaker 1:Now I pray, god, that you will anoint the ear of the hearer Hallelujah. That you will allow us to hear deeper, god, in the name of Jesus, to receive revelation in some shape, form or fashion by your Holy Spirit. That, god, we will be better equipped to handle what we're facing, to be able to handle what we're going to face. That you get all glory, hallelujah, out of every situation, out of every challenging time and every challenging season of our life. That, god, you will be able to get the glory. We give you glory, we give you honor and, god, we give you praise. Have your way in this space, have your way over the airwaves. Have your way, oh God, in the name of Jesus, like only you can. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen amen and amen.
Speaker 2:So, hallelujah, god, my goodness, hallelujah, that's.
Speaker 1:So good God. My goodness, that was such a good prayer moment. Thank you so much. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. So of course, we started this journey talking about God's sovereignty and control when we first started out and we looked at Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, which of course, focuses on trusting in the Lord and then we moved on to embrace and change as part of God's plan Yep. And here we are. Here we are as strength in adversity and uncertainty. Can you talk to us a little bit about that real quick?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So facing adjustments in life require that we are anchored in our faith and our belief system in God. The Bible says trust in the Lord and lean not to your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. And one of the most uncertain times that we could face is when we are going through an adjustment, when there is a change, a modification, a shift, whatever you want to call it, a new season, when something is happening that throws our system and our cycle and pattern of doing things in a different direction.
Speaker 2:For example, when you relocate to another state, when your body gets, you get, an affliction, an ailment, a sickness, a disease, or when you find yourself in the unemployment line after 15 years of a successful career, when so much is happening on the political landscape and you find yourself feeling afraid of what's going to happen next. All of these are changes and adjustments that we face and that we are facing right now, and it is important to find strength. Where do we find that strength? One place I go to all the time is the Lord. The Bible says the Lord is my strength. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, what I mean. He is our shield and our buckler. The Lord is my strong tower, you know, and so I. Just that's where I like to go, you know, when it talks about having strength and adversity and uncertainty, because we're going to face uncertain times we're in uncertain times.
Speaker 2:We don't know what's going to happen not just from day to day, from hour to hour. If you're somebody who watches the news different times throughout the day, you know for a fact it's changing. So much is changing because there's spiritual warfare that is taking place. There's a battle between good and evil. We're fighting principalities and powers and wickedness in high places. We're coming to the end times.
Speaker 2:It's already been prophesied and written in the word of the Lord that the end time is coming and Christ is coming back and y'all we have to remember all things are moving toward the second coming of Jesus Christ. So all things are moving to this apocalyptic time when Christ is going to return to redeem his church and his people and then the new heaven and new earth is going to come down here and there'll be a thousand years of reign of peace in Jesus Christ before the final judgment of Satan and the fallen angels. So we have to understand that there's supposed to be turmoil, there's supposed to be chaos and fires and earthquakes. The Bible already talks about this. So as we move toward that end time, we understand that we're going to face an uncertainty and adversity and we've got to be strong, and I'm sorry about that long.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, you know, it was just. I just thought about that. Yeah, that was really good. You know, you got me thinking when you were talking about the different things that well, first of all, where we're headed, yeah, and how these things that we're seeing they're supposed to happen. It's in the word of God, yeah.
Speaker 1:And one of the things I thought about is oftentimes, you know, when we see those things happening, it creates, sometimes it creates paralysis. You know where we get kind of paralyzed like, oh my God, we're in so much shock and wow, and all of those different things. And I think I'm saying that to say I think it's so important that these types of topics are taught or talked about so that it will help those who may fall into that paralytic place where they just get paralyzed and do nothing, you know, because of that shock and that worry and that concern. But realize that you know, when we're on God's side, he's got us Like that's a guarantee. You know what I mean. That is a guarantee. So I just thought that was very interesting when you said that, because I thought about how the news can create that paralysis, because you know it's showing us the things that are happening and can create fear and can create all of these things, and I like the way you frame that, because you said we're headed towards the second coming.
Speaker 1:For those of us that are believers, that are Christians, we know that Jesus is coming back. So then we must understand the things that we see as a part of the process. However, then we have to say to ourselves we must govern ourselves accordingly, we must govern ourselves accordingly, and so what is the identifier in that? It has to be the word of God, and who is the author of that? It is God himself. So then it is important for us to get to the place that we understand, accept, trust in, rely on that. Any changes and adjustments that are necessary, like God has to be the foundation of it.
Speaker 2:He has to be the foundation of what we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and understanding like God's got me, god's got me. I see what's happening in the world, but God's got me. You know what things can I do. You know in the process, you know what I'm saying, what things can I do, and I think our topic on adjustments have been those types of tools to say these are things that you can do. First of all, we got to understand that God is sovereign. You know, we have to understand that he's sovereign. And then just look into our tool chest of spiritual things, our tool chest that's in the word of God, and where are we slacking and do that. You know what I'm saying. Grow in those particular areas.
Speaker 2:So are you going to say something. I feel a prophetic anointing on this teaching. There is a prophetic power on this teaching right now and it is flowing in this room and I know that means the Holy Spirit is a prophetic anointing going out into the airwaves and if you're listening, I want you to tune in and get this. Here's one of the things God placed on my heart the moment you started introducing this topic.
Speaker 2:The end is coming. The end is coming is a reality, yeah, that we must digest and live with and rejoice about, because the end for the kingdom is amazing amen but the end for the wicked is not. And it is our job as the end, knowing that the end is coming, to walk in that revelation with joy and to speed up our process of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation and to every tongue. End times were coming and there would be wars, rumors of wars, famine, earthquake in diverse places, fires, floods. All of that is happening right now and we have all the indicators and all the manifestations that we are moving rapidly toward the second coming of Jesus Christ and moving toward the end times of Jesus Christ and moving toward the end times. And what is starting to happen is we're so paralyzed by the news that we're starting to look, pay, give more credence and attention to AI instead of the. I am. That's good, yeah, everybody's about AI.
Speaker 2:This AI that AI is not more powerful than I am. I love that AI stands for artificial intelligence, but the all knowing AI is not more powerful than I am. I love that AI stands for artificial intelligence, but the all-knowing God is omniscient. He has all knowledge, my God, all of it. See, ai is not faster than God. God moves faster than the speed of sound. Come on, somebody. That's right. Ai need a command. God gives them. Come on. That was good. Ai need a command. God gives them Come on.
Speaker 1:That was good.
Speaker 2:Look, I'm not going to preach in here but I'm trying to tell somebody something.
Speaker 2:Why should you be afraid of AI when you have the I in? The robot's going to get it, the robot's going to get me. Listen, that's going to be a rapture before there is the three and a half years of tribulation that comes. So the tribulation is coming first. Now some people believe that we're in a post-tribulation period and the tribulation has already happened, with all this evil and stuff that's going on in the world. No, I don't believe that, because if the tribulation has already happened, then the rapture has already happened. Some people think the tribulation will be first, then the rapture. No, we're going to be raptured out of here, the believers, the righteous in Christ going to be raptured out. Then the three and a half years, the first three and a half years of the seven year, tribulation is going to start happening. So don't worry about AI you have. I am Amen. The end is coming, but we got to be strong, we got to be ready, amen.
Speaker 1:Good stuff. I love all of that. So much to think about, and I love that. So, again, today we're going to talk about strength and adversity and uncertainty, and one of you know we'll start with this comment, and that is this God equips his people with strength and peace to handle adjustments and trials. You know, one of the first questions we have to ask ourselves is if we believe that. I 100 percent believe it, even when I feel faint. I believe that this, that this is true because when I feel faint more often than not is because I'm looking more at my issue, I'm looking more at my situation than I am at my God. But the reality is is that I 100 percent believe that God equips his people with both strength and peace to handle adjustments and trials. And, first of all, I can't help but to start with the reality that we have the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:Right, let's just start there. You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean we have the Holy Spirit, but we also have his word. You know what I mean, and so I 100 percent believe this is true. And one of the things that I have learned is that whether or not we believe a thing does not, does not devalue the truth, and you know what I mean. It does not devalue the truth of it, and so we can, we.
Speaker 1:I think it's okay for us to accept, in those times when I do, when we may go through something and say, well, I just don't know right now, that's okay, because in a few minutes you will know. You know that's, that's the process. In a few minutes you will know, because why we have this experiential knowledge that we can't rid of Now. That's the truth, that we might hit a spot, and it's so hard and it's so challenging that it makes us question. But right after those few moments, we remember the goodness of God, we remember where he brought us from, we remember, because why the Holy Spirit brings it back to our remembrance the things that God has already done. You know, the stuff that we thought was hard and we weren't going to make it out of before. But yet here we are. We're still here. Glory be to God. Why?
Speaker 2:Because God equipped us with both strength and peace, you're reminding me of the story in the Gospels, when Jesus was preparing his disciples for his death and he was telling them that he was going to be going away and going to be with the father. He was going to be crucified and he said let not your heart be troubled. If you believe in God, also believe in me. He started giving them comfort. In my father's house there are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. If it were not so, I wouldn't have told you, but I'm going to prepare this place. Where I am, you may be also. He was giving them that strength, that confidence that he wasn't leaving them as orphans. That's what he said. He said I will not leave you comfortless. In a different passage he said I will not leave you comfortless. In a different passage, he says I will not leave you comfortless. He said but the comforter is coming. I will send a comforter to you and he will lead you and guide you into all truth. Truth is strength.
Speaker 1:That's beautiful, that's the truth, right the Holy Ghost is giving me truth about something I'm going through.
Speaker 2:He's giving me revelry, he's speaking to me, he's giving me peace by letting me know I can sense his presence with me. He gave me confirmation by sending somebody, or I read a word and I can hear that small still voice of God whispering in my soul saying this is my promise to you right now, soul saying this is my promise to you right now. See, we have to remember that we are in a profound relationship with the all loving, almighty, all powerful God, and so, while we're going through what we're going through, he is being provider, he is being healer, he is being deliverer, he is being revealer, he is being sustainer in everything that we're facing, absolutely as we go through these uncertain times toward the end times and Christ's return.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Well, one of our scriptures today is Isaiah 41 and 10. And that you want to read that. You want to read that? Sure, this is a beautiful scripture I love this.
Speaker 2:Isaiah 41 and 10 says this fear not. I kind of want to shout it, I want to preach it, but I'm just trying to read it Right Fear not, ladies and gentlemen, if you're listening, you tune in. Fear not. He says Watch this. But why not? Why not Right?
Speaker 1:Fear not, but why?
Speaker 2:not, for I am with God. You right now, help me not to preach this, angela. Don't preach it, okay, for not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God, my God, I will strengthen you. Uh-huh, I will help you.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh will help you.
Speaker 2:I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Speaker 1:My God, isn't that beautiful, that is so beautiful.
Speaker 2:How many I wills do we have in this? How many times does God say what he will do? If he hadn't done it yet, he will do it. He says three times. He says I will strengthen you. God's going to strengthen us. Every time in what we deal with, he says I will. I'm not just going to strengthen you, get you back up on your feet and help you exhale again and get a clear mind. I'm not only going to strengthen you, but now I'm going to help you. Yep.
Speaker 1:My God, whatever that help is.
Speaker 2:Exactly Believe me for financial help, believe me for healing of sickness and disease, believe on my help for wisdom, believe on my help for God. Then he says I will uphold you and I love this with my righteous right hand. And I think the writer here was led to put in righteous because it shows that God is no respect of person, because righteous mean he's just Come on, he's fair, he's no respect of person. He is the God of morality, of character, of truth. He's going to do what is right when you're in his hands. So, whether you're wrong, he's still loving and righteous. He's going to give you a second chance. Whether you messed up, he's upholding you in his righteous right hand. Right hand, biblically, is the hand of power. So he said I got this power, but I'm going to yield it fairly and justly and good in your life, because this power comes from a righteous place. Yeah, my judgment is righteous. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, as I think about this, you know, this is one of those. For me, this is one of those scriptures that you say back to God, because this is a promise. These are promises, you know, and it's like sometimes it's good for us to say God's promise. God, you promised that you would help me. God, you promised that you were with me. You promised that you would strengthen me.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying when we find ourselves in those depleted places or those places of lack and all those things. Is, you know, it's it's. You said. You told me not to fear God, but I'm feeling a little fearful. But, god, I'm trying not to fear because you told me you were going to be with me. God, I'm not going to be dismayed, god, I'm trying not to be dismayed. Why? Because you told me that you are my God. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:And we make it so personal and say it back to him, my goodness. And we make it so personal and say it back to him, and I think that there's something so powerful and so transformational that happens when we say back to our God the very thing that he said he would do for us. I think it's something so transformational, my God. I'm always stuck at what I want to call you. Do I want to call you doctor? Do I want to call you apostle? I like apostle because that's what's in my soul, so I'm going to say apostle. It is something so transformational when we say back to God what God has said to us.
Speaker 2:Jesus every time you say that, Jesus Every time you say it, Jesus. I see a little child talking to his father. Absolutely, I see this saying Daddy, remember you said you were going to bake cookies with me.
Speaker 1:You said you were going to.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, like you're telling them what he said. Absolutely, daddy. You said you were going to be here for my recital Watch this.
Speaker 1:And in the natural parent, in the human, what happens? There is an action that takes place, there's an action, there's a movement that happens.
Speaker 2:Because integrity clicks in.
Speaker 1:Yes, Love is already on the table.
Speaker 2:But integrity kicks in, absolutely. Character kicks in oh, this is good. Morality kicks in. Character kicks in. Morality kicks in. My daughter is holding me to her word. So I have to exemplify before her, I have to model who I want her to be. So if I want her to have morals and character, she must see it first in me that I kept my word to teach her to keep her. And that's how God deals with us. So I keep sensing this prophetically.
Speaker 2:I don't know who this is for, but get back to being a child before your Abba, father. I love that, if you can take off the title, the power, the money, the mask, the responsibility, take your cape off, take off your Wonder Woman wristbands, take off your Spider-Man mask, yeah, and get back to Abba. The Bible says that he is our father. Therefore we cry out to him Abba, yeah, daddy, come on somebody. Yeah out to him. Abba, daddy, come on somebody. Get back to having that posture, the heart posture of a child before God, so he can instruct you and I hear that so he can instruct you in your ways, so that you can have strength in adversity and uncertainty.
Speaker 1:And how much more powerful Apost, know, apostle, is it when you're doing this and you know that you're talking to the God who does not lie, whose word does not return to him, void.
Speaker 2:God. All he wants to know is that you believe in him, my God that is so powerful.
Speaker 1:Without faith it's impossible to please God Absolutely. He that cometh, must you believe in him. My God, that is so powerful, Without faith it's impossible to please God.
Speaker 2:That's what the word says. Absolutely, he that cometh must first believe. The Bible scripture says he that comes to God must first, must first. It's not about getting on your knees first. Getting on our knees is not the first act of belief. It is what we say in our heart is the first act of belief. So before I get on my knees, I've already said in my heart I believe in God for this. So the scripture says he that comes to God must first believe that he is my father, he's my daddy, he's my provider, he has a righteous right hand, that he is and that he is a rewarder unto them who diligently seek after him, and diligent don't mean repeating your prayer over and over and over.
Speaker 2:Diligent means obeying God and walking up right before him. That's diligently seeking. People think diligently seeking is that I keep on talking to God about the same thing and praying about the same thing and I even fast for the same thing. That's even fast for the same thing. That's not what he's talking about. That's not me seeking after God. That's me seeking after what God can do. Diligently seeking after him is Matthew 6 and 33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all things will be added unto you. Powerful.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I'm sorry, don't be sorry, the Holy Ghost prophets, prophetic movements, on this.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you this is so prophetic.
Speaker 1:Amen, yeah. So let's look at Philippians 4, 12 and 13. I think you know there's a lot of believers that probably know that one right off Philippians 4, 12, 13. I'm going to read it from the NIV Jesus, where'd it go? All right, here we go. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. That's so powerful. Being content in any and every situation that's so powerful, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him, who gives me strength. What you think about that.
Speaker 2:When I listen to that and I read that, the first thing I hear is that quote is that the end justifies the means, because the end in this is contentment. That's the end game. Therefore, in order for God to make me a person to be content, he has to take me through some low times. Absolutely, I have to go through times of need and lack and difficulty in order to even understand contentment, because if I'm always high on the mountaintop, everything always perfect, it's not contentment, because the minute something breaks or falls or crumbles or collapse around me and I've never gone through anything hard I will not have no contentment in the low place If I go from being a millionaire to being broke or average, or average.
Speaker 2:If I've been a millionaire 20 years and before I became a millionaire I wasn't broke, I didn't go through that Right, right, and then, after the 20 years I've been a millionaire, I lose it all.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I haven't gone through anything hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a potential. I jump off a roof and kill myself, commit suicide, mm-hmm, yep, because I'm not going to have contentment. Yeah, I'm not how to be stable in need and I've learned how to be stable when I have success and I have abundance. So I've learned to be content with whatever state. That's the first thing that hit me when you're going through hard times. Just know it's a part of the process. God has to let us go. Everybody goes to a season of lack. Everybody goes through a season of lack. Everybody goes through a season of brokenness. Everybody goes through times of lows and valleys, but that is a part of the process of spiritual maturity Come on somebody and maturity in general, absolutely. And he says here's the end game again, that that you can do all things through christ who strengthens me.
Speaker 2:Yes, the end game is to learn christ's strength amen that's very good, to learn that he's in you, strong in you, yeah, and that he can bring you through anything, yeah. The end game is to know the power of god absolutely, and to know the power of his suffering, of Christ's suffering.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Oh Jesus, that's so good, that's really good, and I think Ruth is a really good person for us to talk about today. Concerning this, you know, we know in the book of Ruth, beginning in chapter one, if we can go there. First of all, what we know happened in her life is that her husband died, yeah, and she experienced a new beginning yeah, but in order to experience that new beginning, she had to leave where she was.
Speaker 2:She did.
Speaker 1:She had to leave her hometown. She had to leave everything she had had known. But what's so beautiful is that she made a decision. She made the decision to leave because, actually, naomi didn't even ask her to go. Right, yeah, she made a decision. Oh, my goodness, I don't know. That feels like I could go somewhere with that, you know. But OK, so, and so we see her in this season of adjustment. After the death of her husband, ruth left her homeland of Moab to journey with her mother-in-law, naomi, to Bethlehem.
Speaker 1:And the scripture we're going to talk about a little bit Ruth, chapter 1, verse 16, when she says where you go, I will go right, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. That is such a powerful, powerful statement. I want to, I want to shout out the Naomi's in our day and time. That's good, because the only way that, in my opinion, the only way Ruth was able to say what she said, is because she saw something in Naomi. Yeah, and so, for every woman and even man that has shown the love of God, who has, who has expressed it outwardly, the character of God, who has expressed it outwardly, the character of God, where it is so attractive that people want to be so much like you in the sense of serving the God that you serve, doing what you do for God, they want to. I'm going to say copycat that because they believe so much in the God that you serve, I want to shout you out because that's a beautiful statement she just made In 16, where you go, I will go.
Speaker 1:What, why, why, why do you want to go? Where I go? I'm convinced it's because she saw. She saw something that Naomi represented, something that Naomi represented, and so for those who are doing that that's helping to draw people into their right places I want to shout you out. She said where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Wow, that is so powerful. What does that say? What does that say about number one? I want to say naomi, but also what did root see? What, what, what godly attributes were there that she saw in this difficult time? Because she didn't. I mean, sometimes it's it's hard for people to leave where they've been their whole life. Right, it's hard to leave family behind. Right, to aspire to what you don't even know you're aspiring to Right, to grab a hold of what you may have just gotten a glimpse of through the life of somebody else. Oh Jesus, yeah, that is powerful, powerful. What are your thoughts? Well, I'm powerful, powerful. What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm sitting over here. One thought for me, angela, is how, at different times, we have split personalities. God can be calling us into another season. He could be drawing us into another phase of our assignment and purpose in life. Yeah, and we could be both Ruth and Orpah at the same time, yep. A part of us says yes, god, wherever you, you take me and show me, yeah. But then when God give us some of the more difficult details, we become Orpah and we say no, I can't do that. We turn back Yep. And so for me, you know, the lesson to me in this is to get the Orpah out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2:That's good, that's so prophetic. Get the Orpah out of you. What Orpah didn't have was trust in Naomi. She didn't have trust in Naomi's God. She couldn't see past Naomi's brokenness and past Naomi's failure. She compared who Naomi was in her situation and judged her future. She looked at her in her now because of her difficulties and judge their future, and she, she complied with Naomi's bitterness.
Speaker 2:See, sometimes you have to be the one to motivate your leader. You got to be the one to motivate the people that's motivating you, rather than to succumb to their demotivation. She's hurting, yeah. So where the Ruth comes in, it becomes the motivator. Now, where you go, I'm going, where your God is, I'm going to what you're doing, I'm doing, and she becomes the motivator that Naomi needs. Come on, somebody. And so we have to remember that we have a service. This has got to be prophetic. God still wants to use you. Just because somebody is at a higher level than you Doesn't mean you don't have the value to speak up that's right and tell them you can make it, you've got this, you can do this. Come on. Oh, just because she thought her assignment was over doesn't mean yours wasn't just beginning.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, because look see, one of the things that I see in the dynamic, and I think it's because, for one, I feel like I I can relate to Naomi in in a lot of different ways when you're, when you've been in a position where you are able to pour into the lives of other as a female, for me, other women, I've poured into young men, men like whatever, but specifically I'm talking about women, young women, where that's like daughters, right, because this is her. Ruth is Naomi's daughter, daughter-in-law. However, naomi in this whole, in this whole scenario, lost the most. She lost the most and I am convinced that, before the loss that Naomi became the mother figure, which is a nurturer, which is one who poured. See, I see Naomi as a poorer I just made up a word.
Speaker 1:She was a poorer, right, because you know, think about, these are in-laws, these are in-laws. These are not girls that she birthed from her own loins, but these are in-laws, and I am convinced that she poured into them in such a mighty and powerful way that became extremely attractive, because this is in Moab. So they were, they were dealing with some different gods than the god of Naomi, right? I believe that Naomi poured before all of the stuff that happened to her happened. She poured into these girls in a powerful way that made Naomi's God attractive, and I like what you said, because there is this split personality happening within these two people and Ruth, whereby Ruth is, I believe, holds on to the poor. I feel like I just wanted to run around the room.
Speaker 1:Do you understand? Ruth held on to the poor, but Orpah did not. And when you don't hold on to the poor P-O-U-R, and this person who is in this leadership role experiences calamity, you no longer see them in the right light. Oh, that's so good, and choose then to go back. I love the way you said that, because again, there's a strong for me, there's a strong nurturing thing, and I think you even see it once they got to Bethlehem and she began to tell you know, ruth, this is what you do, that is what you do. And then think you even see it once they got to Bethlehem and she began to tell you know, ruth, this is what you do, that is what you do. And then, when she had the baby, naomi took the baby herself, you know, to help raise the baby again, nurture that. I believe that was instinctively who she was and what she did.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying and I think it is so powerful that in a time of difficulty and bitterness, as you said, that Ruth was able to hold on to the poor. Yeah, p-o-u-r, yeah, and say to Naomi uh-uh. I know you telling me to stay here, but if you're not here, I'm not, but I'm going where you go, you know, oh my God, oh my God. And watch this, because we're talking about, we're talking about adjustments and we're talking about to having that strength and adversity and uncertainty. Because, although you know, ruth makes this confession of where you go, I go, where you live, I live the you know where the God you serve I serve, while she makes that proclamation, there still is the reality of adversity because she's leaving everybody she's ever known. Right, she still, she still has to. She's making a decision. That's not an easy one.
Speaker 1:We read this and it sounds easy and it is very commendable, but that could not have been an easy choice. But yet she drew, I believe she drew strength from the god that naomi I'm about to follow right now, the God that I believe Naomi taught her about, and I believe she drew strength in that God. Naomi, if he could do all that you told me he did for you, then I'm convinced, even if I leave here, he can do the same for me. Isn't that beautiful? It really is. That is beautiful. You got some thoughts I can tell you, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Oh, I got a lot of thoughts. Are they all in here? You know, I think it's important for us to practice wisdom, to know who is with us for who we are versus who is with us for what we're pouring. Yeah, because Ruth was with Naomi for who Naomi was.
Speaker 1:Yes, it don't matter if you ain't gotten it, I'm here, I'm here. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:It's you, I mean. Oh my God.
Speaker 1:But Orpah, I love that. I just feel like that's a Selah, moment. Come on, jesus, that's so good. Yeah, blah, blah, blah Shut up.
Speaker 2:Don't start me, I'm trying to hold.
Speaker 1:The fire will burn in here. The fire will burn, this is a prophetic teaser. The fire will burn. Holy Ghost Hold on one second. Because I'm messed up over here, because you don't find that often, when people are with you, for you and not for what you can do for them.
Speaker 2:But for who you are, I'm here for you. It's you, I need it's you. And so we have to know when people are with us for us or for what we can do for them. The moment that Naomi concluded her cup was dry, her flask of oil had run out Orpah looked and said there's nothing else she can do for me. So for whatever, for the rest of what I want for my life, orpah is saying for me to get rest of what I want for my life, for me to get with everything else that I want in my life. I got to leave Naomi because she was there for what she was pouring, but Ruth said you ain't got.
Speaker 2:Listen, I know who you are. I know who you are and I've seen your strength, I've seen your tenacity. I've seen your bounce back when your husband died. I've seen your bounce back when your first son died. I've seen your bounce back when your second son died. I know the only reason you're saying this now is because you've been through so much and you're just waiting right now. But I'm going to stay with you because what I know is you are just a jewel, you are God's chosen vessel and I'm supposed to be with you. I've learned God through learning God through you. I've learned God through you. Let me come back down after just a moment. This translates to our relationship with God, absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's exactly how it's going. We've got to be with God because he's God, not because he's a giver. That's it Not for what he can.
Speaker 2:God Not because he's a giver, not for what he can do. So in those times when God's not doing what we want him to be doing, when he's not pouring the stuff that he's been pouring that made life happy and joyfulness and giggling, when God stops pouring the all of abundance for a moment to pour the all of suffering, we have to stand under that all of suffering and say things may not be the way I want them or the way they used to be, but I'm holding on to God, I'm holding on to my faith, walking in him. I'm holding on to my testimony. I'm going to keep praising. I'm going to keep telling everybody how good he is, every day, even in my suffering. It takes me to that passage of Scripture that says the joy of the Lord is my strength, Meaning I have joy in being one with Him.
Speaker 2:So my joy that I have being one with Him is why I have strength in this. It didn't say the joy of what the Lord can do for me.
Speaker 1:My God, that's so good.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you.
Speaker 1:it routes us right back to Philippians 4. It routes us right back. You know learning. I like this other version that I have. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound In any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need, and then the close out. I can do all things through him who strengthens, so at the end he reveals the secret.
Speaker 2:That's it. It's doing it all in Christ. Come on now. Suffering in Christ, yes, suffer in Christ yes, abound in Christ yes, greatness in Christ yes, low place in Christ, yes, palace in Christ, prison in Christ, yep, you know Yep. Moab in Christ Bethlehem in Christ?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, because, even think about it, ruth and Orpah had to have a relationship as well. Come on. So Ruth even walked away from that. No, I'm saying when she left Moab, oh, okay. I'm sorry, that's okay, no, no, no, it's okay, thank you. When she left Moab, she was also leaving her sister-in-law. Yes, she wasab. She was also leaving her sister-in-law. Yes, she was. What if she would have been influenced by Orpah's decision?
Speaker 2:Don't let people who lead a post influence you to leave yours. Oh my God, that happens when people leave church.
Speaker 1:Mob mentality. I'm leaving, you leaving, I'm leaving.
Speaker 2:God didn't tell you to move.
Speaker 1:Sit down, exactly Sit down, sit down.
Speaker 2:God didn't tell you to move?
Speaker 1:Sit down, exactly, sit down, sit down. God didn't tell you to move. You know that's powerful.
Speaker 2:That's so good, that is so powerful. Don't let sisterhood influence you the step out of the glory, oh my God. Oh my God, okay, I'm sorry. Don't let brotherhood influence you the step away from somebody. Go ahead, angela, but I love this thing here in this final sentence in Philippians 4, 13. Paul says I can do all things. He understands the reality that God leaves certain things for you to face, that fire is intended for you to walk through. I'm in it with you, but you got to come into this fire believing, sit in this fire, believing so you can walk out of this fire, Yep absolutely.
Speaker 2:You got to come into this lion's den believing, so that means you got to pray like Daniel three times to the east every day.
Speaker 1:We're going to some statue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's put up, yeah, yeah. And so if they throw you in here, you got to come into this lion's den belief, and sometimes it's so hard, it's so challenging, because we're human. But shake off your fears, yeah, pray, sit with God, build up your spiritual fervor and come at that thing with everything you got, roar at it, rebuke it, holler at it, scream at it, praise and cry. But hang on in there because after this, oh, this adjustment is temporary, this adjustment is temporary. And so, getting back to the lesson, we see Ruth hanging on to Naomi. Her adjustment was temporary, absolutely. She lost one husband, ah, yes, but staying with the one she loved, yeah, staying in position in her assignment, yeah, fighting strength in that relationship led her to her boy ass.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Oh, come on in here. Yeah her to her boy ass oh come on in here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and I always, every time I think about the story about Ruth and Naomi, I always think about how Ruth never gave birth in Moab. It wasn't until she was in the place of planning. She was in this healthy place which was the place of Bethlehem. You know what I'm saying, that she was even able to birth a child, and we know the story there. So you know, sometimes these changes and the adversity, god is moving us from one place to another place, sometimes Because the place that he wants us to birth he needs to get us there, or the thing he wants us to birth, he has to get us in a place where he wants it birth at. Does that make sense? Yeah, because some things can't be birthed where we are Right. Sometimes he has to move us. Yeah, that it can be birthed in this new place. Yes, you know. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:That's so good and I think that that's powerful. That's all I'm going to say about that. That is powerful. That is powerful. I can't birth it here. If I birth it here, it'll die. Come on, jesus, come on. So it is necessary.
Speaker 2:That environment and atmosphere can't support this big thing that I'm getting ready to birth. Come on, come on, it's not conducive, oh my God.
Speaker 1:The environment is not conducive with the thing God wants to birth out of me. So it is necessary for him to move me into an environment that can help me to bring the thing forward, my God. So sometimes, again going back, it's all going to work for our good. We don't understand it now I think we talked about that in the last episode. We don't understand it now, but it's all going to work together for our good. We have to trust that God knows what he's doing In the last episode we talked about.
Speaker 1:He knows the plan we were in Jeremiah. He knows the plans that he has for us. They are good and I need somebody to park it that they are good and not evil. They are good and not evil, and so when these adjustments come, we have to remember not to call them evil, because God knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing and after this, oh my God, we're going to walk into something greater, better. We're going to be wiser, stronger. We're going to see God in ways we've never seen him before and we'll be able to praise God in ways we've not praised him before.
Speaker 2:Jesus and we're going to come into the DNA of God. We're going to get tied into the lineage of something God started long before us when we get into obedience and we're allowed to play a role in something profound and something lasting, and something that is of the covenant and of the kingdom. Right here in our lesson it says Ruth's faithfulness during a life altering loss brought her into God's plan, leading to her becoming part of the Jesus lineage. Amen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think last episode didn't we talk about elevation. We talked about all of it is elevation, all of it, all of it is elevation.
Speaker 2:Now, now, now, boaz and Ruth's child. I'll go out on this limb because I don't quite remember Boaz and Ruth's child. Was that Jesse that they birthed, or it was one?
Speaker 1:before Jesse, yeah, it was one before.
Speaker 2:I can't remember the name of their seed. It seemed like it started with an O. That genealogy, was it Obed? No, anyway, it leads to Jesse, then to David, and then David then becomes the king of Israel.
Speaker 1:No, it is Obed. Okay, so it's Obed. It's Obed then, jesse, then David, okay, obed.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So when Ruth stayed faithful with God, followed Naomi even when she didn't feel like she had anything to offer, because she was in it for the right reason Got to Bethlehem and even though Naomi didn't have a son to introduce her to, she had a sibling to introduce her to, and Boaz is Ruth's cousin. It's Naomi's cousin, and so Naomi makes sure that Ruth and Boaz connect. They get married. Their first offspring is Obed. Out of Obed, then comes Jesse. Jesse is the father of David. Come on somebody. So God brings Ruth, a Moabitess, into the Hebrew lineage and we're talking about her story right now. Because she was faithful. Because she was faithful, oh, my God, god's trying to work on somebody's story. My God, in this adjustment, this is a story adjustment. Yeah, this is an adjustment that you're facing right now. Listen to me. You're facing this because God is writing out your story, yep, oh, and it's going to be greater. The end of a thing is greater than its beginning, says the word of the Lord. That's all we got time to give you on this.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah, what a time. What impactful information about a real topic Concerning adjustments. Man, I'm convinced that somebody was blessed by this. I believe I was blessed by this. You know this is this.
Speaker 2:This was a great, great opportunity to share encouragement, and thank you for leading the way in this story about strength and adversity and uncertainty and helping us to look into the life of Ruth and how she displayed that. That we could do that today, that was really good, thank you for that.
Speaker 1:Amen, you're welcome, because the reality is is just because we're facing adversity doesn't mean we have to be powerless, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. God's on our side. Amen. You know we got this.
Speaker 2:We got this, Come on somebody.
Speaker 1:I need you to say that we got this.
Speaker 2:We got this.
Speaker 1:Amen, Glory to God. Well, once again, this has been an amazing time, amazing opportunity, and we're so grateful again for all of our listeners. I want to thank you, sir, for all of the man who was hitting us real good, Right, left, right, right, left, right. I was there like whoa whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, that was good. So many amazing nuggets. We're so grateful for you. You want to close us out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just want to say you're not crazy, you're not on the wrong track. You're not on the wrong track, you're not on the wrong path. God hasn't forgotten about you. God hasn't left you. He hasn't cut you off. You need to know that. But this transition that you're going through, this adjustment, is for your greatness. It's for your story. God's not nearly done with you. I love that. He has so much more for you. Just make it through this season with a praise on your store. God's not nearly done with you. He has so much more for you. Just make it through this season with a praise on your lips and you're going to see everything new, everything new. God has nothing but new things in store for you. I want to leave you with that in Jesus name. Now, shameless plug. Be on the lookout for my next book that is coming out.
Speaker 2:Born to Overcome is based on a true story of a young man by the name of Overcomer who went through some of the worst situations in life and came out and walked into his greatness, and in all those places he was asking God all along why'd you let this happen? Where were you in this time? Where were you in that time? If you were God, why would this happen to me? And once he got at the end of it he looked back and realized God was with him all the time, by grace. You've got to get. It is a true story. It is a dramatic true story. You've got to get my next book, born to Overcome. When it comes out it'll be TBN, amazon, born to Noble and JarrellStokelycom. So shameless plug. Be on the lookout for it in the next couple of months.
Speaker 2:And to our sponsor, officialglorygearcom, I have on my God is able hat, my God is able sweater. It is quality material, amazing print job. I mean crystal clear on your apparel. They have hoodies, sweaters. We have hoodies, sweaters, hats. So if you can't make a donation into what we're doing to keep us on the air, if that's not your thing making donations, you know, at Covenantgracechurchorg or jarellstokelycom then go to Glory Gear officialglorygearcom and buy some of the gear that give God glory and spread the message of Jesus Christ. We got all kinds of ways for you to sow into keeping us on the air, even those that will bless you, by buying your apparel t-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, hat, athletic attire luggage bags from Glory Gear. So go check us out, officialglorygearcom.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, I think that wraps us up, right. Wraps us up, all right. Well, we look forward to seeing you. I'm sorry hearing you. I mean you hearing from us, that's right, we want to hear from you. We got a lot of information about the Daily Bread.
Speaker 2:You can even go to dailybreadpodcastcom and it'll take you directly to our podcast site. You can give there, leave information. Come on, connect with us, absolutely, please connect.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Don't leave us out here. Don't leave us out here, all right. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you, bye-bye.
