Episode 13 - How to Know If God is With You (Psalm 124:7)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed impossible to escape?

In this episode, Val shares a personal testimony that became a powerful lesson about God's faithfulness. After her truck became stuck in an unexpected situation, God revealed a deeper truth: when all we can see is the problem, He has already prepared a way out.

Drawing from Psalm 124, you'll discover how God sends help, provides a way of escape, and invites us to partner with Him through prayer and faith.

If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or wondering how you'll make it through your current season, this episode is for you.

Key Scripture: Psalm 124:7
"The snare has been broken, and we have escaped."

Welcome to Valetha's Greatest Moments with God, a podcast for women who desire to hear God's voice, find healing, and grow closer to Him.

Each week, Val Mitchell shares personal stories, biblical insights, and powerful revelations from her own walk with God. Through real-life experiences and practical faith lessons, you'll discover how God speaks in everyday moments, guides us through difficult seasons, and invites us into a deeper relationship with Him.

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Until next time,

Hear God's Voice.
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Happy Saturday everyone. How are you doing? Welcome, welcome, welcome to another week session. I'm doing this for my car today, so I got a computer way over here, so I can't I can't put it in front of me. So, but we're gonna make this work. We are halfway through the year. Summer's here, kids are out of school, we're about to just break into a new season, and I'm just so excited. If you did not see the title, it is called The Great Escape. Now, I am a woman of faith, and I believe that no matter where I go, when I go there, my steps have already been ordered, which means the Lord had already made a way. So no matter what comes my way, He has already ordained for it to come to pass. Amen. So let me tell you about what happened to me last Sunday and how God later gave me the revelation as to what and why I experienced what I experienced. All right, so let me tell you. So last Sunday I was in Chicago and I was on my way to the church I love so much, New Life Covenant Southeast with Pastor Hanrick. Now I am in a pickup, and so it's not everywhere that you can just park this big old thing, right? So um they had a lot that was um not completely finished, but they opened it up to let people park in there. So I went in thinking, okay, I got this truck, you know, the roads is not completely paved smoothly, but I should be alright. I got flaps on, so I'm good. I just want to get in the house. So when I went to go park in this parking lot, I noticed that on the back wall they had empty spots. Now there were a couple cars already parked over there, right? So I figured I can get over there, back in my truck, and then get in the house of God and get the word for the day. Well, when I got and went to back in my truck, because I got this big old truck, my nose, the hood, was sticking out a little bit. Now, mind you, this is a uh unfinished parking lot, so there's no parking lines to dictate where you're supposed to park. So, but you want to still make it neat so you can easily get in and out and nobody hit your vehicle. So when I found the parking spot, I said I got in the spot, but my my nose was still sticking out. So I said, okay, let me back up so that way other cars can get by me and I don't have to worry about anything. So in my rear view mirror, I saw a fence and I saw the grass. So in my mind, I said, I'm gonna back up as close to the fence as possible so that way I have more space in the front of me. Do you know that when I backed up? Now I'm creeping. I'm not going too fast or anything like that. I'm creeping because I don't want to hit the fence. But what I did not know is that the road only went so far and then it dropped. It literally dropped, and then you have the space underneath with the grass and the fence. Now I didn't see that when I pulled up to it, and I didn't see it when I was backing up. And my car has parking sensors and all of that, right? Saw none of that, did nothing go off, and then I backed up, and then two seconds later, bam, the back of my truck fell. It literally dropped where the tire was hanging on the side of the road. I got out of the car and I I couldn't believe it. I was like, I didn't even see that. And there were other cars parked on the side where they backed up just fine. But I was the only one whose car fail and it really fell off the thing. So I'm sitting here like, I can't believe this. Oh my gosh. I got other things to do as soon as I get out of here. So how am I going to leave church? I'm from another state and get back home because I got to take this car on the road to get back home. So I was like, oh, I can't believe this. So I called AAA and they said they would send somebody over, but it's going to take like over an hour. And mind you, service was packed. It was carved everywhere. So luckily, they had a parking attendant. He said he'll watch my vehicle. Just go on in church, get your word. You know, ain't no sense of sitting out here now. You're here for the word. Go get your word. Went in. Powerful word was released. But all I, you know, you're in the service, but you're still thinking, oh, I gotta deal with this car, right? So I'm praying in service. Lord, let him get it out, let him get it out, let him get it out. I'm going somewhere with the story, so I know it's long. So after that, um, I got an alert from my phone saying that the tow truck guy was there. Ran out of service, mad because it was at the good part. Ran out of service, ran to get my truck, the tow truck guy, because it's a pickup, I got hooks on the front. So he had a chain and he snapped it on, and we're thinking, okay, he can just pull it right out. But I'm looking at this dangling tire on the rope, off the rope. It's literally just dangling off the rope. And he went to pull it, and the car did not move. You know, it moved up, but it did not get back on the rope. So now I'm really worried and really like, okay, God, what are you doing here? What's going on? So the truck driver wanted to call as reinforcement. So he called back to the staff, took a bunch of pictures around the vehicle, and said, okay, let me let me get some experts because I really don't know how to get this up and get it out. So I went in the print. Told me it'd be another 20 minutes. So I ran back in service, and literally at this point, now I'm at the altar. God, you you see where I'm at, you see what situation I'm in. You know I gotta get home. I don't want to leave my truck in Chicago and figure out how to get home. So I'm in aggressive prayer. One thing I have always, I'm just a woman of God. I'm a woman of prayer and I'm a woman of faith. And when trouble comes my way, I run to God. That's just what I do. And I'm like, I'm in the house, I'm at the altar. What prime opportunity to be in the face of God and tell them I need some help. Long story short, they went back out after service. And by this time, I had some guys that were literally standing in the back of the truck, and we all trying to assess how to get it out. They sent another person over from the tow truck from Triple. She was a woman. I'm sitting there like, what is a woman gonna do? But it pulled up in a bed. So she didn't, I'm thinking she's gonna bring another truck, right? And by then I'm like, shut up, yeah, but I mean, I am going to war and prayer. I'm letting them figure out the truck. I'm over on the other corner praying like crazy in my heavenly language, like, God, come on now, what we gonna do here? So the the guys that were with me came back and said, Hey, you got a truck. Hey, you got all-wheel drive on this truck. And what I did not see is when we went over on the passenger side, the right the passenger rear driver was still gripping the roll. Now the driver's side was literally just dangling, but the passenger side had a little grip. And when I came back out of the church the second time, the the tire shifted even more. Where first it was hanging, where it was just barely hanging off, to when I came back out the second time, it was literally almost touching the grass. And that's all I saw. So I was like, oh my gosh, uh the the tow truck driver did something and now it's worse. So then that's I was in a panic mode. So when the uh other guys came over, they showed me, look, look on the passenger side. Look how that second tire did not fall as the first one. And the reason the tires shifted some more is because it was trying to get a better grip onto the road. So they were like, all you have to do because you have a four-wheel drive, that truck is used to driving in these kind of conditions. That's why the tire is doing that because the axle is on the spring, and all it needs is enough grip and it's gonna take off. I'm like, you sure? You think it's cool, we're they like, trust me. So we agreed for me to get in the vehicle. The tow truck guy can continue to connect the vehicle, and then from there, as he pulled, I pressed on the gas. As he pulled, I pressed on the gas, and two seconds later, the truck jumped up off of the back, back onto the road. And do you know, the only damage I had was the splash guards. If you know cars where they have guards, they have they call them splash guards or wheel guards that protect the, you know, as rocks and dirt and stuff getting debris inside of the tire, it blocks it. And it and that was the only damage. The reason it was damaged was because when the car went back, it sat on that splash guard. So if that truck didn't sit on that splash guard, I would have had so much more damage I need. Well, we were able to get back in the vehicle, and I, as if nothing happened, and I drove home. I went into prayer when I was on my way back to Michigan. I said, God, I know I'm a woman of faith, and I know my steps are ordered. I know I don't just end up in any circumstance by just happenstance. Lord, why did I go through that? And he instantly sh talked about um Jeremiah. No, no, no, no, no, not Jeremiah. The prophet, um, oh Lord, it's not coming to me. Um, oh Lord. The prophet that um acted out events that eventually came to pass. And Lord, I can't think of his name at the moment. I can see the big E, but I can't think of the name. But anyhow, that's what he brought to my mind. And he said, I needed you to go through that in the natural because this is what's about to happen. And what I called it was the great escape. God showed me that many of us go through life and we just casually go through. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, you get hit with calamity, you get hit with something that knocks you out. And when you're hit, you feel stuck. You try just like when my car first went off that cliff. The first thing I did was hit the gas, hit the gas, trying to think I can bring it up. And I could not move the truck. Many of us go through something that when it hits us by ourselves, no matter what we do, what we try, we are still stuck in that situation. So what do we do? We naturally call on somebody. Hey, can you help me out? Hey, do you have money to lend me? Hey, do you do this? We call on man to come and help us out. That was the example of the tow truck drop guy coming by himself, hooking up to my truck, and me thinking, man is gonna be able to help me out of that situation. And when he pulled and pulled and pulled, my progress didn't get better. Oh Lord, that was a beast. My progress didn't get better. My progress got worse. My tire in the back went from this way to always automatically that way. But what God also allowed me to see in that circumstance is that sometimes when we go through, we only see the bad. What we don't see is what God is doing when we fell in that spot in the circumstance. What do I mean? Is on the passenger rear side, that tire was still gripping the ground. That tire was still there that with the right press, I could come out of it. So even though I thought I was stuck by looking at the driver's side, God had already put something in place with keeping that passenger side still on the road where it could pull up. So when we find ourselves in any stuck situation, you and man can't get you out. God can get you out. So what do you do? Is that you gotta go to God in prayer. And what does He do in return? He sends in the reinforcements, He sends in your angels, He may even send in backup from people you didn't even realize were in a position that can come and help you out of your situation. And then what is the other thing that happened with my vehicle? Is that I had to partner with God in order to get poured out. Many of us go to God and thinking, okay, I prayed about it. You know, God's gonna take care of it and I'm good. But sometimes when we get ourselves in some really, really tight situations, that it takes us to partner with God in order to bust through those situations. Do you know when my car came back up on that on that road? It was like a boom. It wasn't no creeping and crawling. I mean, it was us, it scared me because when I jumped up off that road in the car, I'm looking like, am I out? Am I out? It was like I couldn't even realize or recognize I was out myself. Amen. And that's what God does. When we partner with him on any situation that we are going through, he is sending reinforcements, he is sending help, and then he is going to strengthen you to do what is needed in order to bust out of that situation. Amen. That's why I titled this the Great Escape. Because sometimes when we get into things, it doesn't take a simple prayer, it doesn't take a simple man coming over to help us out. It takes the God and the divine connections that he put with us. And as we partner with him, not only did we escape, it's a great escape. And do you know why I called it a great escape? It's because once you get out of that situation, you never have to go back to that again. Why do I say that? Because you learn now. Oh my gosh, when you look at, I just drove by a road that just fell off. So now when I go back in my truck and I go into parking lots, I'm gonna be watching. My discernment's gonna be on 10. I'm gonna be like, I'm not doing that again. I'm not backing up against something that looks like it's just going next to the fence. No, I'm gonna look for something different, and because of that, I'm never gonna find myself back in that again. Do you know that when you get something and you partner with God and He frees you out of that situation, you have to always hold on to. Life still goes on, things still come up. That situation came out of nowhere. I didn't walk into something saying, Oh, I'm gonna get my car stuck today. I was literally backing up thinking that, oh, I'm good. And then bam, I got caught in a situation. I didn't know how I got there, I didn't know why I was in there, and no matter what I did on my own, I could not get out. But God still made a way of escape. He left that passenger driver's side, passenger wheel gripping on that thing. Don't you know the word tells us that there is always a way of escape, even when um temptation comes your way, God still opens up a window for a way of escape. But we don't see the way of escape, not until we pray about it, not until we partner with God with it, that He reveals the way, the exit way to get out. Amen. So I come to I'm going there and I'm trying to keep calm down, but I'm coming in to encourage you today, that no matter what you find yourself into, I don't care if you got yourself into it, I don't care if it's like my situation that I just ended up here. I don't know why I lost a job. I don't know why I don't have any money. I don't know where this bill came from. I don't know why my kids are all of a sudden acting crazy. I don't know why I was friends with a person today and now they're out to really just come and just kill me or whatever it is. I don't know how. I don't know why I got here, but your steps have been ordering into that space anyway. Why? Because maybe God is saying, now you'll look to me. You won't look to man anymore. Maybe now you'll look to me because I've already made a way of escape that you just don't see, but you won't see it and won't be able to experience it until you come to me. Don't take rely on someone else to pray for you. Don't rely on others to come to your situation. And you sometimes, when it gets that bad, when it gets that intense, when it gets that serious, you need to go to God. Don't you know God already hears your prayers? Don't you know God already knows what you just got yourself into? Don't let no shame stop you from going to God. I used to be like that. I used to be in situations I had no business being into. I used to do things that when I got myself in trouble, I said, I can't go to God on this. I'm too ashamed to admit I'm I'm in here by myself. I can't tell nobody what I just did and how I got here. I and I sure can't go to God. Do you know that is a line from the enemy? God still loves you anyway. God still cares about you anyway. And all he is saying is, just ask. Just ask. We'll deal with it. But just ask. Do you know he loves us that much? He cares about us that much. And all he says is, come to me. And you can be real with the Father. You ain't gotta have this big old great fancy prayer. You ain't gotta be like who you seen, Susie Q or John Smoke praying up to the heavens. No, he doesn't ask for that. He wants to hear from you. He wants you to just come say, God, I don't know how I got here. I don't know why I'm here. But Lord, because you are a sovereign God and you see all and you know all, I'm asking God. Forgive me. I know I ain't supposed to be here. I know I ain't supposed to be doing what I'm doing, but I didn't know this was gonna happen. But if you find it in your will, Lord, I need your help. So I pray that over those who are listening today. And I ask that if you know someone who is in a situation, you know someone. Someone that is in a spot where they don't know how they got there. They don't know why they got there. Tell them the great escape can be theirs too. If they partner with God and He will get them out, and you won't have to see it again. Jesus. So I ask, because I always got to go to the word, and I ask God, okay, this is a this message, bless me. Do you know when I got the revelation to this? Oh my gosh. I got the revelation to this, and he said it is the great. You know, I I really try to look into why is it not just an escape guy, you know, but why is it considered the great escape? And it's because many of us have been stuck in situations that we couldn't find our way out of, and we've been battling with for a long, long time. And you've been stuck off the side of that road for so long, you just think there's no other way out. It is what it is. I got myself in it, so I'm I'm woman enough, I'm man enough to deal with what comes with it. That's not what God wants for you. That's not what God has for your life. Yeah, you may be in there for a season, and that season may have seemed to go on for a year after year after year, but heaven is knocking on your door. Heaven is knocking on your door. And he's saying, My daughter, my son, those that hear the knock and open the door and let Jesus come in. He will come in and sit at that table and dine with you. Now is the time for your great escape to get out of what you're going through, to get you back on the path to where you're supposed to be. It's never too late. It's never too late. So when I went to the word and I came up to Psalms 124, I looked up, and yeah, I did a chat GPT. I said, Chat, tell me in the whole Bible, where do you see the word escape? And it gave me a couple of them. And Psalms 124, um, verse 7 stood out like bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. But I'm gonna read the whole chapter. It's not long. If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say, if the Lord had not been on our side, when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us. The flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept us away, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to God, or praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the flower's snare. The snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is the name of the is in the name of the Lord, the Maker in heaven and earth. If the Lord had not been on my side when my truck fell off that road, I would not have been able to escape. The Lord is on your side. So we're gonna read that verse and we're gonna put our names in there. Amen. I want you to put your name in there. If the Lord had not been on our side, let Val say, if the Lord had not been on my side, when the people attacked me, they would have swallowed me alive. If the Lord had not been on Val's side, they would have the floods would have engulfed me. If the Lord had not been on my side, the raging waters would have swept me away. If the Lord had not been on my side, my children would have not been able to get through what they were going through. If the Lord had not been on my side, what is your testimony? What is what you are currently going through? And all you see is like I saw with that driver's rear tire just dangling from the ground. But if the Lord had not been on your side, you would not have seen what I didn't see, which is the passenger rear tire still gripping the land. Just say, pick me, pick me. God already had made a way for my escape. So I thank you today. I can go on and on, but because I feel this so strongly. But I'm gonna end it here because I promise I wouldn't keep you long. Go back and read Psalm 124 for yourself. Put your name in there and say, think about what you're going through. Think about how the situation that you may have been dealing with has got you stuck and you have not been able to get out of that. Think about how God has been there for you in the past. If the Lord had not been on my side, and you apply that today, and I decree and declare, who all is hearing me now, that it is time for your great escape. And the uh escape artist, the great escape artist is coming into your situation and gonna pull you out if you partner with him and you're gonna jump out of that, or you're gonna do like I did when I got out of the car. I'm like, am I out? Am I out? Oh my gosh, I am free. Matter of fact, I know this is gonna bless someone because we all go through things from time to time and we think we done tried it ourselves and couldn't get out. We then went to someone we thought, which is man, and they tried with me and they couldn't get out. But when I went to God and he sent in the angels and I partnered with him, ha ha, the great escape, I was set free. Share this with someone. I love you all. Thank you so much for watching. Hey, I had just also almost forgot, I started doing Thursday Lives at 7 o'clock. Total different subject. The focus on those Thursday lives is dealing with exhausted women. I wrote a book called I Quit, but we're going to talk about ways of exhausted women and how to get out and receive your restoration to be restored and be refreshed. So if you missed last Thursdays, go and check it out. It is still on my page. And share the word. Thanks for watching.