Cast It Anyway – Trusting God in the Unknown

What does it look like to trust God when you can’t see the outcome?

In this episode, Bernie and Pastor Dee walk through Ecclesiastes 11:1–6, a passage that calls us to live with open hands—sowing, giving, and trusting God beyond what we understand.

Using the simple but powerful image of breadmaking, Pastor Dee reflects on what it means to release what we’ve prepared and trust the unseen work of God. Just like dough resting and rising out of sight, God is always working beneath the surface of our obedience.

Together, we explore:

• What it means to “cast your bread upon the waters”
• Why obedience requires letting go of control
• How to keep sowing—even in uncertainty
• Trusting God in seasons when nothing feels predictable

Whether you are in a season of waiting, stepping out, or starting over, this episode will remind you: nothing entrusted to God is ever wasted.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to From the Well to the World. We're so glad he joined us today. This is a place where we begin with scripture. Draw from the well of God's Word and carry it with us into the world.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Most mornings I grind wheat berries and begin making homemade bread. It is a long process and the grain first was planted and then grown and harvested, and then I grind it and knead it. And even then, it just takes a long time and I have to trust the process. I place the dough aside. I don't rush it. I don't force it. I just wait. There is a letting go in this bread making. I have to do my part and then I just have to trust what I cannot see.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Today's scriptures, Ecclesiastics 11, 1 through 6. Ship your grain across the sea. After many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight. You do not know what disaster may become upon the land. If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, and the place where it falls, that is where it will lie.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap, as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb. So you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Let's talk about verse 1. Cast your bread. At first that sounds like loss, like releasing something valuable with no guarantee of return. But this is not waste, it is trust. The bread we cast is the word of God. The waters are the movement of the Holy Spirit. And when we release what God has given us, our words, our obedience, our faith, God carries it where it needs to go. You may not see it today, but it will not be wasted.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight. This is a picture of abundance and open-handed living. Don't limit your obedience. Love more than feel safe. Serve in more places than feel comfortable. Speak truth. Even when you're unsure how it will be received, you do not know which seed will take root or how God will multiply it.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Now let's move on to verse 3. Release control. If clouds are full of water, they pour rain. You know, some things are simply out of our hands. Life does not always unfold the way we planned, and ministry doesn't always land where we hoped. People do not always respond like we prayed. And wherever things fall, God is still able to bring life.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

And the fourth verse, start anyway. Whoever watches the wind will not plant. If you wait until everything feels certain, you may never begin. There will always be another season to hesitate, but faith doesn't wait for perfect conditions. Faith plants anyway, faith sows anyway, faith trusts anyway.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Verse 5. As you do not know how a child is formed in the womb. There are sacred things that only God understands. The movement of the wind, the forming of life, the quiet work of God beneath your obedience. You may not see it growing, but something holy is happening. God is working deep, unseen, and sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Verse 6. Keep sowing. Sow your seed in the morning, and the evening let your hands not be idle. This is steady faith, not rushed, not anxious, just faithful. Morning sow, evening sow again. Pray, encourage, speak truth, show up, because you don't know which seed will succeed, or if God in his kindness allows both to flourish.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Shall we pray? Lord, we come with open hands. Teach us to trust you in the letting go. When we cast what you have given us, remind us it is never wasted. When we feel uncertain, steady us in your promises. Give us courage to act even when conditions are not perfect, and help us rest in the mystery of your work. Grow your purposes in ways that we cannot yet see. Keep us faithful morning and evening and guard our hearts from weariness. We trust you with the seed, we trust you with the outcome, and we trust you with the waiting. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Thank you for joining us today. Keep walking the path, and we'll meet you again at the well tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Shalom.