Ep. 6 What Do We Do When God Seems Distant?

Send us a text

Support the show

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Are you ready to build a life,business and legacy that truly
lasts?
Welcome to Faithfully Investedwith Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne,
where Faith meets real talk.
Biblical wisdom meets everydaylife and leadership meets
laughter.
Together we will uncover God'sblueprint for leadership,
marriage, and mission, helpingfaith-driven leaders invest in

(00:21):
what matters most.
Each episode, we explorebiblical wisdom, have real
conversations, and of course,have some fun along the way
because let's be real.
Walking in faith is anadventure.
It sure is.
So pull up a seat, grab yourcoffee or your sweet tea, and
join us as we steward ourcallings with intention, because

(00:42):
when we invest in his kingdom,he brings the increase.
Hey friends.
Welcome back to FaithfullyInvested, the podcast where we
uncover God's blueprint forkingdom leadership, marriage,
and mission.
Yeah.
I'm Stacy Jo.
And I am Allen.

(01:04):
We're glad that y'all decided tojoin us today.
Regardless of where you are,this time and space is for you.
Yes, it is.
And today's episode is onethat's been heavy on our hearts.
It is one of the most common.
I would say challenges becausewe don't say problems.
Yep.
Among believers.

(01:25):
And the question is, what do Ido when God seems distant?
Hmm.
Man.
And that can be a tough one.
Yeah, that's a good question.
Uh, we're not talking about justa, a tough day, not a hard day.
We're we're talking about thosestretches when it.
When it feels like your prayersare bouncing off the ceiling

(01:46):
when your Bible gets maybe alittle confusing when, when you
don't even wanna read, uh, theword uh, or worship feels flat
and the spirit just seemssilent.
Right?
Yeah.
And it's more like a season,like we said, it's not a day.
Yeah.
It's not a tough day.
Yeah.
But sometimes it can be aseason.
It could be a season.
Yeah.
Yeah.

(02:06):
So, so let's begin here.
I wanna give you a foundationalbelief.
The foundational belief that weare standing on today is God is
near even when he doesn't feelnear.
Yeah.
And I'm gonna say it again andI'm gonna flip it a little bit
for a little differentperspective for someone who
needs to hear this, God is neareven when you don't feel him.

(02:30):
Yeah.
What's the word say about that?
Hebrews 13.
I know I'm gonna go there.
Recognizes God's promises to hispeople and all through scripture
that he will never leave us orforsake us.
All through scripture.
All through scripture.
That's his promise.
Never leave us.
Yeah.
Never forsake us.
Yeah, that's it.
So, but that truth can feelpretty hard to hold onto in

(02:53):
certain seasons or, orcircumstances.
Uh, but our faith walk isn't.
It's not always about, in fact,it's rarely about how we feel.
That's right.
But it's more so about what wetruly believe.
Uh, maybe you've been in theword, maybe you're praying,
maybe you're doing all thethings and you still feel empty.

(03:14):
But, uh, friend, you may be inthe word, but are you letting
the word get into you?
Ooh.
Is it more than just words onthe page?
Or do we believe those words?
Do we believe?
Because when it comes down toit, the question is what do we
really believe?
Oh, that's good.

(03:35):
Yeah.
You know, maybe you've gonethrough loss, maybe grief,
disappointment, transition.
Yeah.
Changes.
Fun changes, yeah.
Change.
Can be very challenging.
It can be.
And and maybe that closenesswith God that you used to feel,
and maybe it's just gone.

(03:57):
Yeah.
Could be.
And feels gone.
Feels gone.
Yeah.
Feel there's that word again.
Yeah.
You know, that's the, it's thelongest 18 inches between the
head and the heart.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and but, but whenyou're in that season, it can
hurt.
Yeah.
It can be lonely.

(04:18):
And if I'm really gonna betruthful and honest, it can
sometimes feel like rejection.
Well, I would hope that youwould always be truthful and
honest.
Well, of course.
But raw, let me say that.
I'm gonna be raw here.
Right?
There it is.
It could feel like rejection,but what's the key Sometimes?
What's the key here, babe?
But, okay.
Well, the key is that ourfeelings are real, but they're

(04:40):
not always the truth.
Not always true, right?
All right.
They're always true.
You know, we may feel like Godhas stepped away, but again, it
comes back to his word and itassures us that he is as close
as breath.
He is, he is.
And, uh, always, but we want youto know this, uh, these moments.

(05:03):
If they don't make us a badChristian mm-hmm.
Uh, these times they let us seehow finite we really are
friends.
We are finite creations.
Yeah.
That were built to serve aninfinitely limitless God who
desires a relationship with us.
You know, he doesn't need us.

(05:24):
He wants us, he wants us to cometo him as children and learn how
to live the life that he createdus to live.
It's vital to remember that, butit's absolutely crucial to
authentically believe thatthat's the God that we serve.
Yeah.
Believing it.
But there's sometimes there's anissue behind that.

(05:47):
Yeah.
Yeah.
There.
Uh, so what the issue is.
Uh, could it be that the issueis right?
Um, an internal conflict.
And, and and us, uh, between ourhead knowledge or, or what we
know, what we think we knowabout our triune godhead,
father, son, and spirit, uh, orwhat we truly believe in the

(06:09):
core of our hearts.
So a conflict between headknowledge and an actual belief
that that could be the issuethat most often is the issue.
Friends, what we authenticallybelieve, uh, determines how we
experience.
I love that word, experience.
How so?

(06:29):
What we believe determines howwe experience God in our daily
lives.
Yeah.
And quite frankly, and this maysting, uh, just a little bit to
somebody out there, uh, but ourknowledge about God, Jesus, and
the Holy Spirit, it, it doesn'tgo far if our belief structure's
been skewed by the world that welive in.

(06:50):
Right.
And.
When our experience feels dry orpainful, that's when the enemy
loves to jump in.
Yeah, that's correct.
He loves to jump in when we arefeeling that way, that guy and
so lies, you know, because he'sthe father of lies, obviously,
but he'll come in with, uh oh,you've messed up.

(07:13):
Yeah.
Or God's just so disappointed inyou.
Yeah.
Or maybe the silence.
You real.
You know, the silence means thatyou're being punished.
Yeah.
You're getting the silenttreatment.
Yeah.
God's given you the silenttreatment.
Or how about this one?
You're not spiritual enough tohear from God.
Yeah, man.

(07:34):
If we're stuck in our headknowledge, right?
All, all lies, by the way, ifso, if we're stuck in our head
knowledge.
Uh, about God instead of mm-hmm.
In a faith filled relationshipwith him, then the enemy will
run rough shot over us with hislies.
Y'all know that fool is thefather of lies, right?
Uh, we gotta remember that theenemy, Satan can only operate as

(07:59):
much as we allow him to.
So we don't, we don't have tobelieve his lives.
That's right.
You know, if we allow him, he'sgonna wrap us up in a shame
spiral, and he's gonna keep us.
From going to the father.
And in all reality, as as Christfollowers, that's where we need
to go.
That's exactly what we need todo.

(08:20):
Exactly.
And if we're, if we're wallowingin shame, if we're believing a
lie, then the enemy's got usright where he wants us not
going to the father, um, man,when, but when we allow.
When we allow the enemy toisolate us as the creation from
the creator, then he wins.
But friends in Christ, we'vealready won.

(08:43):
Do we believe that, though?
Mm.
You know, Satan was de toth anddelott at the cross.
Yes.
He's, he's already lost.
And in Christ, we've alreadywon.
So why would we allow him afoothold in our lives?
God's design, his divine designfor his believing followers is

(09:06):
to come back to him like aprodigal.
Shame is a lie.
Yes, shame is a lie, and amen.
No one is too far gone toreturn.
Repent and receive unlimitedforgiveness so that we may be
made whole.
May be made whole by the power,the authority, and the truth of

(09:28):
Jesus Christ and the HolySpirit.
Yeah.
So good, babe.
But you know, I've, I've beenthrough periods where I've felt
spiritually numb.
You know, maybe you're goingthrough that right now.
Maybe you're feeling spirituallynumb or unmotivated to pray, or
like worship doesn't move yourspirit, but I wanna encourage

(09:51):
you, don't run from God.
Yeah.
And, and don't check out, don'tcheck out.
But lemme back up.
You know why it's so good?
Why?
Because of It's more than justwords on a page.
Yeah.
Of, of, of experience.
Experience.
His goodness experience.
Yeah.
It's all about our experiencewith them.
Yeah.
So, but uh, so she but insteadof checking out, yeah, you don't

(10:12):
wanna, don't check out anddon't, don't run from the Lord.
Instead ask yourself.
A question.
It's important to ask aquestion.
What am I believing?
Am I believing a lie or a truth?
Yeah.
Uh, how deep is my faith?
And honestly, over time, um,I've found that that sometimes
silence and waiting.
It's, it's either a proximitything where, where I'm always

(10:35):
the one who moved, right.
Or, uh, or it's an opportunityto come closer and believe
deeper.
Mm-hmm.
What if in the silence, I.
He wants to move you past yourfeelings.
Ooh, what if he wants to moveyou past your feelings and build
on your trust for him?

(10:57):
Build on your trust in him.
What if he wants to move youpast your feelings and build
your trust?
Deepen your faith.
Distinct possibility.
He is God.
He is God.
And that's a good question.
But you know, I've walkedthrough seasons personally where

(11:18):
I was leading Bible studies, Iwas hosting events.
Yeah.
Encouraging others and, and yetinside I felt completely
disconnected from the one that Iwas supposed to be pointing
people to.
Right.
And that's a hard place to be.
It is.
It's a very hard place to be.
And.
I don't like that feeling verywell.

(11:40):
All in line.
Me neither Stacy, Jo.
Um, and I, I remember times likethat, you know, I think we
alluded to that all of us havebeen through this.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but uh, we were, I rememberwe were doing, uh, a lot of all
the things right, uh, for theLord.

(12:00):
You know?
Yeah.
And if we're, if we're get, ifwe're caught up in the busyness,
if we're caught up in the, uh,the minutia of doing all the
things for the Lord, then, then,uh, then time with him, uh, it's
gonna slip by and our spiritsare gonna feel, feel, uh, dry

(12:21):
and empty.
Just like we talked about on thelast, the last episode about
being so busy and doing all thethings and we were doing, we
were doing a lot too much.
Yeah.
And you know, if you haven'tlistened to that episode, go
back and listen to it becauseyou know, God still doesn't, uh,
doesn't care about how busy yourschedule is.

(12:43):
He's, he's not concerned withhow busy you are.
Right.
But, you know, in that season wehad.
If, if we really wanna get tothe brass tacks of it, we had
mistaken ministry for intimacy.
Yeah.
And I personally was in motion,but I wasn't in communion.

(13:03):
Right.
I mean, God wasn't mad at me,obviously, but he was waiting
for me just to slow down andrecognize that again, he isn't
impressed with my busyness.
Right.
He was quiet.
And we had to simmer down and bestill again.
And we had to pause, sit, rest,and listen.

(13:26):
Right, right.
And I recall the, uh, thisreminds me of the beginning of
my recovery journey, uh, when hewas deconstructing me.
Uh, talk about change, but I hadto be, uh, the old me had had to
die.
The old me had to bedeconstructive so he could
rebuild me for the life that hehad for me.

(13:47):
I was, I, so I was, I was in it,man.
I was, I was journaling, I waspraying, I was, I was getting
into the word, but I, I wasdoing all the things.
Mm-hmm.
But.
I was getting into the word, butI wasn't letting the word get
into me.
I was, uh, and I still felt likesomething was missing.
I was, I was hungry and I was, Iwas thirsty for his guidance,

(14:08):
but all I got was silence.
Mm.
So, so what got you throughthat?
Can you tell everyone what gotyou through that?
I'm so glad you asked.
Right.
I knew you would be.
Yeah.
Remembering, uh, what got methrough it is remembering what
he had already done.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Remembering his promises.
I, I'd record moments where,where God had it clearly made

(14:31):
his mark and I'd, and I'd rereadthose entries.
As reminders, uh, that he showedup then, and, and this is what
he said then.
So I know, I know that he isalways with me.
I know what he said.
I know what I read, but did Ibelieve that I.
Remember, it all comes back towhat we believe it was an

(14:54):
opportunity to, to, like yousaid earlier, to slow down and
listen.
Yeah.
Gotta slow down, gotta calmdown, all that, doing stuff and
get down to the simplicity oflistening and, and my, in those
times, my faith got deeper and,and my relationship with my
creator grew as well.

(15:15):
Yeah, that's, that's reallypowerful.
And you know what's wild islooking back.
Um, at those times, some of ourdeepest growth as individuals
and as a couple Yeah.
Happened during those quiet,those nothing is happening
seasons, you know?
Right.
I mean, it really does.
When we look at it, those arethe seasons that we were

(15:36):
stretched, that we had to getout of our comfort zone.
That, you know, we had to getout of some of all those things
because he knew what was upahead for us.
He knew he knew.
Right.
He knew the plan, but, uh, so wehad to, we had to grow in, in,
in the, uh, in the silence.
There's definite opportunity forgrowth for sure.

(15:58):
You know?
So what about the word, so, youknow, well, right.
Let's turn to the word.
So Psalm 30 13.
Psalm 13 Yeah.
Is one of my favoritescriptures.
Uh, for moments like this.
And David, he still, he juststarts with raw honesty.
You know, how long, Lord?
How long will you forget me?

(16:19):
Forever.
Yeah.
How long will you hide your facefrom me?
I mean, yeah, David.
Oh, mm-hmm.
I, I, I loved da, I mean, afterall, he was a, a man after God's
own heart.
Yeah.
But David was a bit all over theplace at times.
Yeah.
Because by the end of that, uh,that verse, he was, he was chill

(16:40):
and he was realigned again.
Yeah.
And he said, but mm-hmm.
I trust in your unfailing love.
My heart rejoices in yoursalvation.
Amen.
Same birth.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just, but you know, David modelsomething really beautiful and
that is bringing your pain toGod.
Yeah.
Without walking away from him.

(17:00):
Without walking away, going,facing the challenges.
Yeah.
With God.
Yeah.
Man, laying it down.
Yeah.
Surrendering it to him.
Yeah, absolutely.
Uh, another solid anchor is, isJames four eight.
Now James.
Mm-hmm.
James is some, some might thinkif you don't know how to take

(17:22):
James.
Yeah.
James might be a little brutalman.
But you gotta remember who Jameswas talking to or, or writing
to, as it would be he waswriting to the, uh, the 12
scattered tribes of Israel.
So he was writing to, uh.
Right into the, the Jewishnation.
Right.
Uh, so James four eight says,uh, draw near to God, and he
will, uh, draw near to you.

(17:43):
Yes.
All right.
Notice that he, he doesn't sayfeel near.
Mm.
He, James.
James said he didn't say, Hey,how do you feel?
Right.
James didn't say, they didn'tsay feel there.
He said Draw near.
Uh, that was an action.
He said he called for action.
It's an action based move.

(18:05):
It's a call to action.
Uh, and it's about our proximitywith God regardless of how we
feel.
Mm-hmm.
Regardless of how today's going,I'm gonna trust God.
Right.
Yeah.
I'm gonna stick with him becausehe sticks with me.
But, and that's, that's a,that's a good part.
That's a nice verse.
You know, but if we just left itthere, then, then that would be

(18:26):
called proof texting just forthe feels.
There you go.
But, uh, but we, and we, and Iknow you won't let us stay there
and we won't do that, uh,because that's not, that's not
how we roll.
But the second part of that,let's not forget the second part
of that verse, when James.
Mm-hmm.
He issues a call to action, andthis one's a stinger.
And he says, cleanse your,cleanse your hands, you sinners.

(18:50):
Mm.
And, and purify your hearts.
You double-minded.
And I'm like, zing.
All right, zing.
Thanks James.
Yeah.
James is real.
Talk about raw.
Right.
Definitely Rob.
Right?
Yeah.
But it's, it's important tounderstand one, who he was
talking to.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and this is a call ofrepentance and a commitment to
Jesus and he's, he's writingand, and perhaps speaking to

(19:14):
people who had one foot in theworld and the other in religion.
Mm.
Uh and if you don't know.
Uh, don't get all freaked outabout the whole repentance
thing.
Right.
You know, it, it's justrepentance is simply changing
our mind and going the otherdirection.
In this case following Jesus.
Yeah.
You, you know, the other nightand at Unbound you did like a, a

(19:38):
physical representation of thegoing one way and turning around
and going the other way.
And then you talked about notlooking behind you.
Yeah, not looking back.
No looking back.
No looking back.
Keeping your eyes focusedstraight ahead and, and,
because, you know, you can turninto a pill of salt if you turn
around, but Yeah.
It's, it's, it's a, it's a, itwas a simple demonstration, you

(19:59):
know, just to, because peopleget freaked out by repentance.
They're like, Ooh, repentance.
And, uh, but it's, can you dothat one more time?
Ooh.
Repentance.
But, uh, but it's just changingour mind and, and, and it's,
it's more than mm-hmm.
Uh, kind of getting in the weedson repentance, but it's
important to understand what itis.
It's, it's changing our mind,and it's, and it's, but it's

(20:21):
more than just, I'm sorry, Lord.
I won't do it again.
Sorry, dad.
It's more than that.
It's, it's, Lord, I, I, I am, I,I, I repent.
Mm-hmm.
I, I am, I, I am genuinelyremorseful.
Uh, for this, and, and I decideit's more than a choice, it's a
decision.
Mm-hmm.
To make that 180, make that weturn 180 degrees and we walk in

(20:43):
the opposite direction.
And like I said, in this case,we follow Jesus.
Right.
You know, we, Lord, I want tofollow your ways.
I wanna, I want to grow, uh, inyour word.
I want to, I want to, I just, Iwant to live my life for, as.
I, I wanna learn how to live howyou created me.
Yeah.
And I'm not gonna be able to dothat walking that way.

(21:03):
So I'm gonna turn around, I'mgonna walk that way.
Right.
I hope that makes sense.
So real.
Oh yeah.
It makes total sense.
But reeling it back into.
To the subject at hand.
Um, here's another verse that,that will sustain us, and that's
Deuteronomy 31 6.
Yeah.
And I love this because he says,be strong and courageous for the

(21:24):
Lord.
Your God goes with you.
He will never leave you.
Yeah.
Nor forsake you.
Right.
And again, it's not based on howspiritual you feel, right.
It's based on his faithfulness.
Right.
Again, I'm gonna say that again.
It's not based on how spiritualyou feel, right?
It's based on his faithfulness.
It always comes back to hisfaithfulness and that's, that's

(21:47):
at the beginning of the OldTestament.
Mm-hmm.
And it's also like you mentionedearlier in Hebrews, near the
tail end of the.
Of the New Testament, it ringsall through and it's in between.
Yeah.
Uh, it's, uh, yeah.
Never leave.
You never forsake you.
No.
He is always with us.
So now here we're gonna, we'regonna get practical now.

(22:10):
No practical.
I love practical.
You love practicality.
You know that.
Yeah.
I am Mr.
Pragmatic.
But, uh, so here are, here areseven moves that we'd like to
leave you with today.
Yeah.
What's number one, babe?
Well, we always like to leaveyou with something, something
that you can put into action.
And number one is acknowledge.

(22:32):
Don't suppress.
Don't suppress God.
Believe it or not, God canhandle your honesty.
You can tell him how you feel.
You can write it out.
You can speak it out.
Absolutely.
You know, I've even yelled itout.
She has, I have.
I've seen it.
But think back to David Job and,and come on, let's be real.

(22:53):
Even Jesus cried out and paid.
Yeah.
He cried out in pain.
Yeah.
And that doesn't scare God.
It doesn't scare God.
He's not, he's not freaked out.
He's not freaked out.
No.
He's got a plan.
That's right.
Yeah.
Uh, number two is, is anchorourselves in scripture.
Mm.
And you know, if that soundscliche, then, then anchor
yourself in scripture.

(23:15):
All right?
We need to anchor ourselves inscripture, even if it's just one
verse a day.
Uh, it's important to stay inthe word.
It's important to learn theword.
Uh, I remember, uh, my grandma,uh, said, read the psalms.
Oh, so she gave me this little,this little pocket.
By the way, it was just thePsalms and the proverbs, and,

(23:36):
uh, but read the Psalms.
It's a good place to start.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, but, and we declare,declare his promises out loud
over ourselves.
Uh, and when we get into thattruth, the truth, uh, the
capital that God's word, Ttruth, the capital T, that's,
that's Jesus.
But you know, that's right.
That's what the word, you know,right.

(23:56):
The, the truth of the word.
That's what the word's allabout.
Mm-hmm.
The word's all about Jesus.
Yeah.
But that truth kills the lies.
Yeah.
It kills the lives.
But, and if you're just gettingstarted, uh, in your faith walk,
I would encourage you, if youwant to, if you want to get into
it, Jesus 1 0 1, dig into John'sgospel and his epistles, man.
Oh, yeah.
I, while I love the entirety ofGod's word, uh, and all of the,

(24:20):
all of the gospels, uh, Matthew,mark, Luke, John, I love John.
John would be my favorite afAfter all, he is the disciple
that Jesus loved.
Well that was self-proclaimed.
Yes.
Self-proclaimed.
Right, right.
But number three is, is one thatI do anytime I'm in feeling like

(24:41):
this and it's worshiping when Idon't want to.
Yeah.
And you know, just sitting andworship music can soften your
heart.
Yeah.
I.
Sitting in loud worship musiccan soften it even quicker, I
think.
But I like to flare the worshipmusic when I am in a dry season,

(25:04):
you know, whispering his name.
Um, worship music and, andcalling out his name.
I mean, praise is a weapon.
It's especially when you're insilence.
It is, it is.
I remember, uh, on that subject,I, I was, I just, the other day,
earlier this week, I was, I wasin a tough spot, you know, had

(25:24):
to do some things I didn't wantto do, but, you know, it's my
job, so, so I, uh, so I'm wakingup, I'm in brushing my teeth,
it's time to hit the road, andI'm just like.
And, uh, and I, and, and I havea song that, uh, there's a story
behind the song.
Mm-hmm.
We won't get into that now, butI, but I, I stopped and I just

(25:46):
said, Alexis, play Goodness ofGod by Stacy Weyand.
And, and she did.
And that, yeah, that songchanged, uh, changed my
perspective.
It always does.
That's my go-to.
Uh, and it's just'cause he's sogood.
Yeah.
And, uh, he's, he's so good.

(26:07):
Uh, well, I know anytime I hearyou playing that song, I know
that something's going on.
Like, yeah, there's, you, you,you use that song as your
weapon.
That that's, it's a good openerAnd mm-hmm.
One day, one, one day, we willshare about that.
Yeah.
That story.
It's, it's a, it's a powerfulstory and I can see it like it
was yesterday.
Yeah.
But number four, reeling it in.

(26:29):
Reeling it in.
Okay.
All right.
Um.
Uh, those were some good weedsto be in though, just for a
moment.
Yes.
Uh, number four is practicestillness.
Oh, you know what, in first stepto, I know what you're gonna
say.
The first step to practicestillness Yeah.
Is turn off the phone.
Yeah.
Silence your cell phones,please.

(26:49):
Yes.
And, uh, we gotta get out of thenoise and we gotta create room
to hear the Lord.
Mm-hmm.
To, to commune with the spirit.
We gotta, we gotta get quiet inthat secret space and, and he
often whispers.
Yeah.
Uh, I've never heard him shout,uh, but he often whispers, so we

(27:10):
gotta get quiet so we can catchit.
Yeah.
Every text, we don't want tomiss what he is got to say to
us.
No.
So we certainly don't.
Yeah.
And number five is one that youalready mentioned.
Um, but to reiterate,remembering what he's already
done.
Yeah.
You know, revisit the oldjournal entries, keep a prayer

(27:33):
journal and, and record theanswered prayers.
Yeah.
Testimonies.
Go back to your testimonies.
Yeah.
It's exciting to go back throughthat stuff.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It is.
And see.
And see what he's done.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Because God's past faithfulnessis fuel for our future faith.

(27:54):
Absolutely.
I mean, absolutely.
It will get us through when itseems like nothing else will.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And if we've forgotten mm-hmm.
You know, he'll, he'll quicklyremind us.
Yeah.
Of of.
Of who he is.
That's right.
And then, and then we better, wecome to better understand
ourselves and find our identitywhen we, when we understand

(28:17):
ourselves as children of the oneTrue and living God.
You know, we discover who we arewhen we discover who we are.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
So, moving on to number six.
Yeah.
Tell us what number six is.
Number six is.
Pick up that phone.
Mm.
Ask for prayer andaccountability.

(28:38):
Wait, you just told us to putthe phone down?
Well, different situation.
Okay.
All right.
So we're we gotta, we gottareach out sometimes we gotta
pick up that.
Yeah.
Sometimes text or call someoneif you're in a tight spot.
And let'em know, Hey man, I'm ina tight spot.
Or, or lady, Hey lady, I'm in atight spot.
But, uh, but we have a Heyfriend.

(29:01):
Yeah, hey friend.
We got a, we got a great groupof guys at our church and, uh,
it's, it's cool to be able toreach out to them, Hey, I'm in a
tight spot, you know, and it's,it's important to reach out and,
uh, solutions are found withinthe team.
Right.
You know, and, uh, just say, Heyman, I'm in a tight spot.
Need some prayer.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, hey, can, hey, have you everbeen through this?

(29:23):
You know, because we're notalone.
We, we're not the only onesgoing through those, you know,
we're not the only oneschallenged.
Uh, from time to time.
It's important to engage ourcommunity and let'em remind us
that we're not alone.
Right.
Because we were, we were madefor community.
Mm-hmm.
We were created for Unity in thecommunity.

(29:45):
Well, I'm even gonna go one stepfurther and, and find a prayer
partner.
Find a prayer partner that youcan rely on?
Yeah.
That you can rely on oneanother.
I have a couple prayer partnersand I'm, I'm very blessed to be
surrounded by a group ofincredible, incredible women,
but I know that I can reach outto them Absolutely.
And ask for prayer.

(30:05):
Yeah.
I can ask for accountability,so.
Don't isolate because it's inthe isolation that we can hear
the enemy, the loudest.
Yep.
And that's not where he wantsbe.
That's where the enemy wants us.
He wants us isolated.
That's right.
Yeah.
And then, and then he will runrhon over you.
Right.
But, uh oh, but so number seven,this is our final ones.

(30:27):
Stay faithful in the smallthings.
Yeah.
Keep showing up.
Keep praying.
Yeah.
Keep seeking him.
Yeah.
Even if it may, even if it mightseem mechanical person even.
Even if it's mechanical, it'snot meaningless.
Yeah.
He knows your heart.
He knows you better than youknow yourself.
He knows your heart.

(30:47):
So, you know, faithfulness isoften formed in the silence.
Yeah.
And, and that perseverance.
Right.
You know what, what, uh, theword says is that that
perseverance creates characterand, and then character creates
hope.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
I think that's the way it goes.
I often mess that one up, butit's perseverance, character and

(31:10):
hope.
Yeah.
That's good.
Well, babe, I would really, Iwould real, I know there's some
people who are listening tothis, who are going through a
season of this right now.
Yeah.
And maybe this is the firstepisode they've listened.
But I would, I real, reallywould love for you to pray over
them over this community.

(31:32):
Absolutely.
Over anyone who might befeeling, um, like a dry God is
distant.
A little dry.
Yeah.
A little.
Like they're struggling.
Yeah.
They're challenged.
We all struggle and you're notalone.
Right.
So, father, we, uh, father, wejust thank you.
Uh, we just thank you.
We start.

(31:52):
We, we just thank you and we,and Lord, we say that, that we
love you.
We love you Yahweh.
We love you Yeshua.
And we love you Holy Spirit.
And, uh, for every person who'sfeeling distant from you, Lord,
we ask that you make yourselfknown again, that you, uh, that

(32:15):
you draw near to them as theydraw back near to you.
Uh, that you replace silence,Lord, with your, with your
blessed assurance Lord, that youreplace distance with your
divine presence, uh, yourunmistakable divine presence.
Thank you.
Uh, that you never, that yourword says that, uh, you never

(32:39):
leave us and you never forsakeus.
And thank you for, uh, thebelief.
Thank you for new and renewedbeliefs that you never leave us
and you never forsake us, Lord,even when we don't feel you.
Even when we don't feel you,Lord.

(33:01):
Even when our brothers andsisters are challenged and, and
we don't feel you, we trust thatyou are always working behind
the scenes.
Lord, all this we pray in theprecious, holy, and powerful
name of Jesus.
Amen.
Amen.

(33:22):
Well, if this we're to the end,we're to the end of this episode
and if gonna wrap it up, we'regonna wrap it up now.
Yeah.
But if this episode encouragedyou, we wanna thank you in
advance for sharing it withsomeone who might be walking
through a dry season.
You know, it's so important thatwe share the, these things with
others.
Yeah.
Who to encourage them to equipthem, to empower them, to be

(33:45):
able to walk out what God hascalled them to do.
So share it.
Share it with someone else.
We'd be grateful.
We thank as well.
We thank you for sharing it and,and be sure to tell us what you
think.
Mm-hmm.
And, and leave us a.
Five star review.
Review.
Uh, when you leave us five starreview and download our

(34:07):
episodes, it, it helps us reachmore kingdom leaders who need
this kind of encouragement.
Yes, next time, right here onFaithfully Invested with Allen
and Stacy.
Jo, we're going to be exploringhow intimacy and marriage begins
with intimacy with God.

(34:27):
That's it.
So we've been there.
And we've got some encouragementfor you on this subject.
It does.
So we're excited about bringingthat one one to you.
It starts from the, it startsfrom the top down.
That's right.
It sure does.
So until then, remember thatjust because it's silent doesn't
mean that God isn't speaking.
That's right.
So stay faithfully investedbecause when we invest in the

(34:48):
kingdom, he brings the increase.
Amen.
Have a great day.
God bless y'all.
God bless.
Thanks for joining us onFaithfully Invested with Allen
and Stacy Jo, if today'sconversation encouraged you,
challenged you, or helped yousee your calling more clearly,
don't keep it to yourself.
That's right.
Share it with a friend.

(35:09):
Leave a five star review andkeep leaning into God's
blueprint for your life, yourleadership, and your legacy.
So until next time, remember,when you invest in his kingdom,
he brings the increase.