July 21, 2023 • 25 mins
In this captivating episode, we delve into the whirlwind of a busy life and explore the challenges of maintaining intimacy with God amid chaos. Join me and let’s discuss practical strategies for finding precious moments of connection with God, even in the most chaotic times. Whether it's through sneaking in prayers, listening to sermons, or embracing the Word in unconventional ways, you'll learn how to nurture a deep and meaningful relationship with God, even in the most bustling seasons of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is probably going to be themost chaotic podcast episode
that you've ever listened to.
(00:50):
Welcome back everyone.
Wow.
Today is July 20th.
It's currently exactly 8:00 PMEasting as I record and I
honestly cannot remember thelast time that I sat down to
record.
Okay.
Maybe that's a lie.
I think the last time was inMay.
(01:14):
Was it May?
No, it was June.
Yes, it was June, I think.
Juneteenth actually a couple ofdays before we officially
launched the podcast.
So the last time I sat down torecord was a couple of days
before, the first episode cameout.
And that was episode four, whichif you have not listened to, I
(01:36):
highly encourage you to go backto listen but wow.
Hi.
I keep saying wow, because it's,it's been a minute.
And if you've listened to thelast few episodes, then you've
probably heard me say that theplan was to pre-record these
podcast episodes just becauselife gets very busy very quickly
(02:00):
and I wanted to make sure that Iwas gonna stay as consistent as
possible.
And so here we are and I'mrecording on episode about seven
hours before it is set to bepublished.
So how did I get here?
Well, chaos.
Life lately has been verychaotic on my end.
(02:25):
The rest of the month of June.
I mean, the podcast launched andlet me just take a moment to say
thank you to you guys becausewow, what an interesting journey
it has been.
Thank you all for the feedback.
Thank you.
Just for the love, really.
I recently got an email, well,recent is two days ago, I
(02:51):
believe, and I'm just trying tograb my phone and find it.
Yes.
Oh, yesterday actually is when Ireceived this email from Apple
Podcast.
And in Ghana, we are currentlynumber three in the
self-improvement category,number seven in the education
(03:13):
category, and number 87 in thecategory all podcasts in Ghana.
And I don't know how manypodcasts there are in Ghana, and
I don't even want to know.
That is not my focus, but justthe fact that we could be number
(03:34):
three somewhere and be number 87somewhere shows me that what I'm
actually saying is hopefullymaking some sense.
And you are not just listeningjust because you love me,
because many people love me andI've shared the podcast with
them, but they haven't botheredto listen.
And you know, no offense taking,but to know that the rest of you
(03:56):
who are probably listening to meright now have taken the time
each week to dedicate howevermany minutes long that that
episode is to just making surethat you're attuning in and
giving me that support for myfather, and going to the extent
of coming back into my dms andgiving me good feedback.
(04:17):
Telling me what you picked fromit.
And even through that, with usgoing back and forth in
conversation, I end up pickingsomething myself and I end up
coming back to the episode andthe Lord even speaks to me
through what I have said to youguys, that week.
So I just wanna say thank youfor listening.
(04:38):
I pray that even as we go onthis journey that we are not
quite sure of what the end goalis that that you would pick
something from this place, thatyou would find something, and I
hope that there's something thatyou find here is God, I hope
that you encounter God in someway, in some form, in some
shape, and I hope that the Lordcontinues to keep me grounded so
(05:03):
that I can continue to deliveron that, which he's text me
with.
So with that being said, thelast few weeks have been very,
very crazy.
Post podcast launch work gotvery, very crazy.
If you know anyone who works inaudit, then you probably can't
(05:25):
understand how stressed I havebeen in the last few weeks.
We had an audit that wassupposed to end.
June 30th, and as I speak, weare still on it.
as you can imagine, there is alot of pressure in trying to
finish up everything before ourabsolute, absolute deadline that
we just got an extension fornext week.
(05:48):
there's been a couple of latenights here and there.
Yesterday I was working untilaround 11:00 PM I did catch like
a two.
I think almost a two hour nap inbetween, I think it was a one
hour nap and then I woke up toeat.
But anyways, I, I did get torest a bit in between, but we
(06:08):
are the finish line, soeveryone's putting there all in
to just get us across the finishline.
I finally saw my niece for thefirst time.
It was a joy to be around herfor a whole week.
Seeing family that I had notseen in the last four years and
just being able to embrace thesepeople, share a few laughs with
(06:32):
them, take pictures, and reallytake the time to relax.
I'm glad I got to have thattime.
But after that, coming back towork, it's been one thing after
the other.
I haven't even had time to catchup on my python.
Studies, and if you are notfamiliar with what Python is,
Python is a programminglanguage, that I've been trying
(06:52):
to get the hang of a bit morethis summer before the fourth
semester starts because I doplan to take some more data
science related courses, as Ipursue my graduate degree.
So I actually have not had timeto catch up on that, just
because everything has just beenso crazy, so chaotic, and.
(07:16):
Every little chance I get, Ijust wanna sleep cuz I'm tired.
So not much preparation was donefor this episode.
To be frank.
I did want to talk about choicesand free will.
I was watching a movie I thinkit was two weeks ago, if I'm not
mistaken.
(07:36):
And the Holy Spirit was justteaching me something through
that.
But I did want to talk to afriend of mine who I really
respect and honor.
He is such an excellent teacherof the word.
I don't wanna pick his brain onfree will, but we haven't had
the chance to touch base.
cause again, everyone's life isso, so busy.
(07:58):
So I didn't wanna jump the gunand talk about that until I had
done some full.
Or at least some adequatestudying on the topic beyond
what the Lord spoke to me aboutin those few minutes while I was
watching that movie.
So stay tuned.
That's probably going to be oneof the upcoming episodes.
at church is a month of the HolySpirit, and coincidentally also
(08:23):
happens to be the month of theHoly Spirit.
This little prayer group that Ihave with some of my friends.
And so we've been focused thismonth on learning a lot about
the Holy Spirit, and throughthat I wanted to do a podcast
episode on.
The glorification of JesusChrist and how the Holy Spirit
seems to always want to take thebackstage and just point
(08:47):
everything to Jesus.
But like I said, I haven't hadmuch time to prepare cuz work
has been so very busy and I didnot think that I would be
presenting my best self or thebest of what the Lord has
thought me in that area to youguys if I just rushed you.
so I just thought this episodewould be more of a catch up.
and I mean, it's episode five,so I think it's a good place for
(09:09):
us to reconcile and evaluate howthings have been going, how far
we've come, and kind of draw thepicture of what, where we are
planning to head to.
But anyways, that's a little biton upcoming episodes, and so
this episode has no outline, nonothing, and I'm literally just
(09:31):
speaking whatever is coming intomy mind, I'm targeting that is
gonna be probably a 15 to 20minutes.
Session just because I'm reallytired as I speak right now.
I'm half asleep and I just wannabe done and edit this quickly,
get it, scheduled forpublishing.
And so do forgive me if youdetect a few editing mishaps.
(09:54):
I'm still learning and I do ofcourse appreciate the feedback.
So share with me whatever youthink I need to improve on.
and once again, apologies, thisis gonna be all over the place,
okay?
Because I'm having a hard timefinding my bearings in this
particular moment.
(10:14):
but let's talk about chaos alittle bit.
said earlier, life lately hasbeen very chaotic for me.
And I wanted to talk just alittle bit, on that.
and I think the few things thatI've shared already has kind of
maybe painted.
Some picture of how chaotic ithas been for me, and I did wanna
(10:38):
mention, I know in the last fewepisodes we've emphasized a lot
on talking to God, making surethat we are spending time in the
word, making sure that we aremeditating on the word.
And, you know, prayer involve,God, talk to the Holy Spirit,
this and this and that.
Right?
But it's been very hard to doover the last few weeks, and I
(11:01):
have to be very honest with youguys, it's been, wow.
It's, it's just been, it's sortof like, you know, you have to
do something, but.
In the moments that you want todo it, you are not able to do
it.
And so when you get anotherchance to be able to do that,
because it does not feel likethe right moment for you to be
(11:22):
doing that thing you decide tojust not do it.
I hope that makes sense.
So it's basically what I justsaid.
It's, let's say you plan to doyour Bible studying every day at
5:00 AM but today at 5:00 AM youcannot do it because maybe, I
don't know if you work inauditing like me, maybe you were
called working late.
(11:43):
Okay.
or something.
Something happened, you weren'table to make that 5:00 AM but
then at 7:00 PM you do have anhour to spare before bed But
then because it's not the 5:00AM you kind of feel like you've
betrayed God by.
By not having been there at 5:00AM until you just completely
skip the 7:00 And then beforeyou know it, day one, day two,
(12:04):
day three, day four comes.
And then the guilt just keepsyou very far from God.
And then life gets very busy.
And sometimes you don't evenrealize that so many days have
gone without you studying theword.
And that's, and I think thatsocial media also does not help
us because if you're someonelike me, Instagram, probably
(12:25):
Twitter.
All these apps, their algorithmshave probably worked their way
around what kind of content youare liking, what kind of content
you are most interacting with,and so you explore pages, your
homepages are probably allfilled with Christian related
content.
And so in that sense, when youfind yourself aimlessly
(12:46):
scrolling, you come across a fewsermon, post a few prophet is
Leslie, this and this and that.
And so you're hearing the worldhere and there, here and there
and it fools you and intofeeling like you've consumed a
bit of God that day.
sometimes you can come across afive minute, post from a person,
(13:07):
Michael Rupo you've listened toour puzzle before, you know how
deep he is in the wedding.
So in those five minutes, Imean, he shakes you to the core
and you are like, wow, I need toreally reevaluate my life and
chai.
We need to really do this, thisGod thing.
And so in that moment you are,you are reified to lies.
You are just enthusiastic.
Yeah, yes, yes, yes.
(13:28):
This is the word, this is thegospel.
I love this God.
And then you scroll past it, youlog out, you go to bed, you
continue on your day and youdon't even realize that.
You haven't had that personalNia with God.
And I think that has been thehardest thing for me in the last
few weeks, just because so muchhas been going on and I often
feel tired and I often feellike, oh, just do it tomorrow
(13:52):
and then tomorrow comes, I don'tget it done.
And you know, it's just, it'slike an endless cycle.
But I'm trying to get back.
Into that place of intimacy,into that place of fellowship.
so I wanted to take a moment toshare with you guys, just in
case you are feeling this way,that you are not alone, but in
(14:14):
as much as I'm sharing this withyou to let you know that you are
not alone also does not meanthat we have to then come to the
place where we are like, well,I'm not the only one who's busy.
other questions are goingthrough what I'm going through.
So, you know what?
Lemme just relax.
No, we have to be moreintentional about, uh, Honoring
the time commitments that wehave with God.
(14:36):
Just like I'm intentional aboutmaking sure that I'm early to
meetings at work.
When I say I'm gonna get thisthing completed tomorrow, I get
it completed.
We have to begin to take Godthat seriously.
I think that often than not, webecome too comfortable with a
certain dimension of God andit's often the dimension of God
(15:01):
that is lenient the dimension ofGod that is loving and so.
We, we feel like, oh, this is,you know, HS is my best friend.
Like he understands if I cannotmake the prayer time at two.
But then maybe with work youhave a more, if I don't get this
(15:21):
thing, then I'm gonna get fired.
And You are more aggressiveabout how you're approaching
your work there, ensuring thatyou're always on time.
But when it comes to the otherthing, which is often our
spiritualized, we feel like wehave more of, a wiggle room,
which we really do not havebecause that is actually the
thing that we are supposed to beprioritizing much more than
anything.
Because when our foundation withGod crumbles, Everything
(15:45):
crumbles.
I don't know about some of you.
Okay.
Maybe some of you, yourfoundation is not good until
when it crumbles, you still havesomething to stand up I can bet
you that that thing that youthink that you're standing on
that is not good.
It will collapse soon.
But the point is, If all we haveis God and every other thing
(16:06):
that we have has come out of ourrelationship with God, then why
are we now prioritizing thosethings more than we are
prioritizing the person who gaveus those things?
You get my point and, and I canunderstand.
The life gets busy.
I can understand.
The life gets crazy.
I can understand the life getschaotic.
I mean, if you live in theUnited States like I do, oh my
(16:30):
gosh, this country is full ofstress.
I always say that the country isdesigned to make you constantly
stressed, to make you constantlyworried, to make you constantly
anxious, but is because of Godthat some of us have been able
to find some peace, have beenable to find some sort of
stability to be able to take itone day at a time.
(16:54):
But regardless, that should notbe an excuse for us to neglect
our time of personal fellowshipwith God.
And so this is a call to myself,this is a call to you, and a
call for us to evaluateourselves, evaluate our lives,
and reassess, and really askourselves what things that we
(17:17):
are prioritizing in this seasonof our lives.
No matter how busy it looks, nomatter how chaotic it looks, we
still have to be intentionalabout making sure that God is at
the center of it.
Some of the things that I'vestarted to do in these seasons
when life seems to get very busyand I'm not able to do the
(17:37):
things that I want to do.
For instance, maybe I don't havean hour anymore every day to be
studying the Bible as much as Iwant to, The one I do is I use
an audio bible.
I love you, verse sharing.
I used yeah.
Bible plans.
I currently am on a bible in ayear, reading plan with them,
which I've sliced majorly overthe last few months.
(18:00):
So what I've been doing now isbefore bed, I just.
Play the scriptures for thosedays.
I listen to it while I go tosleep and as I'm doing that I'm
meditating a bit on it and thenI just drift off into sleep and
wherever I get to, I just pickup from there the next day.
And that has been helpingsomewhat to make sure that I'm
(18:23):
keeping the word alive, in me, Ithink.
One thing that was stripping mewas that because I did not have
the time anymore compared towhen the year started to study
the word in depth.
I began to not read it because Ifelt like I was just honoring my
commitment.
To God that I was gonna studythe Bible for the next year by
(18:46):
not actually studying it and byjust reading it.
But then I thought to myself,Hey, what's important is that I
read the word and I'm meditatingon it throughout the day, and
I'm allowing the Holy Spirit toteach me things that he needs me
to know from those scripturesthroughout the day.
Just because I'm not able to sitdown for one hour at a time to
(19:08):
actually do whatever studyingthat I think I need to do does
not take away from the fact thatby reading it or by listening to
it, using some sort of audioBible and meditating on it
throughout the day does notequate my study in it.
And that is just one instance.
(19:30):
Another thing that I tend to doand this is especially when I'm
at the office, the days I'm notworking from home, I'll just put
my headphones in and.
I would just maybe be listeningto a sermon by some of these men
of God that I mentioned.
I pursue my clarus.
(19:50):
Yeah, sermons are usually quitelengthy and so when I wanna do
heads down, focus the work, Iusually pick those and say that,
okay, I'm gonna sit down for thenext two hours to get this thing
done for work.
But while I'm doing that, I'malso listening to the word.
That really helps.
Sometimes I pause to focus a bitmore on what I'm doing.
Then I go back to play.
(20:10):
But sometimes too, I find myselfwaiting for the next five
minutes just listening to thewisdom that, yeah, speaking and
that has really helped.
Sometimes I do the audio Biblelistening while I'm working, or
I just simply listen to worshipsongs or sometimes to, if I feel
like, Hmm, you know what?
I have not prayed in a minute.
I just put on some chants and Ijust pray in the spirit within
(20:34):
me.
You know, cause I, I can't bepraying out loud, but I'll just
be praying in the spirits withinme.
Just speaking in the language ofthe spirit.
Get up, take a few walks to thebathroom.
Just be speaking in tongue.
Just be speaking in tongues.
And even though life is busy inthat moment, you realize that
you still have some connectionwith the Lord.
You still have some intimacywith him, and you begin to look
(20:57):
forward to those little momentsthat you can create to have time
with God.
the Holy Spirit just droppedthis in my mind, but it's sort
of like, When you have aboyfriend or the guy is a
girlfriend, when you're datingsomeone as a younger person, and
perhaps you are no independentliving on your own, and so you
probably have to sneak around afew times.
(21:20):
And when your parents areprobably not home, that person
comes to visit you reallyquickly sometimes just for a few
minutes, right?
But just that excitement to seethat person for a few minutes to
talk to that person for a fewminutes.
You look forward to thosethings.
And so I think when life getsbusy, when life gets chaotic,
(21:40):
that is sort of what.
My relationship with God beginsto look like in those moments.
It's not a full on one hourpraying, two hours
fellowshipping, midnight prayerand things like that.
Sometimes it's these littlemoments.
I have five minutes here.
I quickly listen to a chapter ofthe book that I'm currently
(22:01):
reading.
I have a few minutes here.
I quickly speak in tonguesometimes just for seconds, And
as you do that, you begin totrain yourself to become
sensitive to the spirit in themoments that you are, quote
unquote, not directlyfellowshipping with him in the
quietness of your home, in themidst of whatever loudness is
(22:24):
going on around you.
Learning to steal those littlemoments and say something to God
or do something of God, yourealize that your spirit begins
to quickly pick up when the HolySpirit is speaking And that is
how I can still hear the HolySpirit speak to me when I'm
watching a movie that is notnecessarily a Christian movie.
(22:45):
personally, I love actionmovies.
I love thrillers.
Anything that has cia, F B Isort of vibe.
I love those movies, but even asI'm watching those things, just
imagine with all the shootingsand all the things going on, the
Holy Spirit always finds a wayto teach me something with
(23:06):
whatever I watch.
And then just because I havetrained myself, To be able to
hear his voice in the littlemoments.
I've trained myself to subjectmy spirit to him in little
moments that I can steal.
Whether I'm at work, whether I'mwith family, at an event,
(23:27):
whatever the situation is, I'vebrought myself to the place
where I'm able to pick here andthere.
You know, shield myself a bit,speak and tongues a little bit,
do this a little bit, do that alittle bit.
and these things have reallybeen helping me, but I already
see that this episode is gettingtoo long.
so I'm gonna stop here and justencourage you to learn to steal
(23:51):
little moments that you can get.
End the day and dedicate thosemoments to God.
Think of it as a season in yourlife where you're having to
sneak around a little bit in themidst of your busyness, in the
midst of the chaos, to talk tothe person that you love, to
talk to, the person who lovesyou more than anything in this
(24:11):
world.
And trust me, you are going tosee a difference in your life,
And I pray that the Lord willhelp you.
I pray that he will teach youthe specific ways that he wants
to spend those little momentswith you.
Whether it is through prayer,whether it is through listening
to sermons, whether it isthrough listening to a book and
(24:33):
the Bible, whatever that way is,I pray that he will reveal it to
you, and I pray that your spiritwill be quick to pick up that
which he has revealed to you,and you begin to walk in the
reality of that revelation.
As always, until next time, keepthriving.
This is probably going to be themost chaotic podcast episode
that you've ever listened to.
(00:50):
Welcome back everyone.
Wow.
Today is July 20th.
It's currently exactly 8:00 PMEasting as I record and I
honestly cannot remember thelast time that I sat down to
record.
Okay.
Maybe that's a lie.
I think the last time was inMay.
(01:14):
Was it May?
No, it was June.
Yes, it was June, I think.
Juneteenth actually a couple ofdays before we officially
launched the podcast.
So the last time I sat down torecord was a couple of days
before, the first episode cameout.
And that was episode four, whichif you have not listened to, I
(01:36):
highly encourage you to go backto listen but wow.
Hi.
I keep saying wow, because it's,it's been a minute.
And if you've listened to thelast few episodes, then you've
probably heard me say that theplan was to pre-record these
podcast episodes just becauselife gets very busy very quickly
(02:00):
and I wanted to make sure that Iwas gonna stay as consistent as
possible.
And so here we are and I'mrecording on episode about seven
hours before it is set to bepublished.
So how did I get here?
Well, chaos.
Life lately has been verychaotic on my end.
(02:25):
The rest of the month of June.
I mean, the podcast launched andlet me just take a moment to say
thank you to you guys becausewow, what an interesting journey
it has been.
Thank you all for the feedback.
Thank you.
Just for the love, really.
I recently got an email, well,recent is two days ago, I
(02:51):
believe, and I'm just trying tograb my phone and find it.
Yes.
Oh, yesterday actually is when Ireceived this email from Apple
Podcast.
And in Ghana, we are currentlynumber three in the
self-improvement category,number seven in the education
(03:13):
category, and number 87 in thecategory all podcasts in Ghana.
And I don't know how manypodcasts there are in Ghana, and
I don't even want to know.
That is not my focus, but justthe fact that we could be number
(03:34):
three somewhere and be number 87somewhere shows me that what I'm
actually saying is hopefullymaking some sense.
And you are not just listeningjust because you love me,
because many people love me andI've shared the podcast with
them, but they haven't botheredto listen.
And you know, no offense taking,but to know that the rest of you
(03:56):
who are probably listening to meright now have taken the time
each week to dedicate howevermany minutes long that that
episode is to just making surethat you're attuning in and
giving me that support for myfather, and going to the extent
of coming back into my dms andgiving me good feedback.
(04:17):
Telling me what you picked fromit.
And even through that, with usgoing back and forth in
conversation, I end up pickingsomething myself and I end up
coming back to the episode andthe Lord even speaks to me
through what I have said to youguys, that week.
So I just wanna say thank youfor listening.
(04:38):
I pray that even as we go onthis journey that we are not
quite sure of what the end goalis that that you would pick
something from this place, thatyou would find something, and I
hope that there's something thatyou find here is God, I hope
that you encounter God in someway, in some form, in some
shape, and I hope that the Lordcontinues to keep me grounded so
(05:03):
that I can continue to deliveron that, which he's text me
with.
So with that being said, thelast few weeks have been very,
very crazy.
Post podcast launch work gotvery, very crazy.
If you know anyone who works inaudit, then you probably can't
(05:25):
understand how stressed I havebeen in the last few weeks.
We had an audit that wassupposed to end.
June 30th, and as I speak, weare still on it.
as you can imagine, there is alot of pressure in trying to
finish up everything before ourabsolute, absolute deadline that
we just got an extension fornext week.
(05:48):
there's been a couple of latenights here and there.
Yesterday I was working untilaround 11:00 PM I did catch like
a two.
I think almost a two hour nap inbetween, I think it was a one
hour nap and then I woke up toeat.
But anyways, I, I did get torest a bit in between, but we
(06:08):
are the finish line, soeveryone's putting there all in
to just get us across the finishline.
I finally saw my niece for thefirst time.
It was a joy to be around herfor a whole week.
Seeing family that I had notseen in the last four years and
just being able to embrace thesepeople, share a few laughs with
(06:32):
them, take pictures, and reallytake the time to relax.
I'm glad I got to have thattime.
But after that, coming back towork, it's been one thing after
the other.
I haven't even had time to catchup on my python.
Studies, and if you are notfamiliar with what Python is,
Python is a programminglanguage, that I've been trying
(06:52):
to get the hang of a bit morethis summer before the fourth
semester starts because I doplan to take some more data
science related courses, as Ipursue my graduate degree.
So I actually have not had timeto catch up on that, just
because everything has just beenso crazy, so chaotic, and.
(07:16):
Every little chance I get, Ijust wanna sleep cuz I'm tired.
So not much preparation was donefor this episode.
To be frank.
I did want to talk about choicesand free will.
I was watching a movie I thinkit was two weeks ago, if I'm not
mistaken.
(07:36):
And the Holy Spirit was justteaching me something through
that.
But I did want to talk to afriend of mine who I really
respect and honor.
He is such an excellent teacherof the word.
I don't wanna pick his brain onfree will, but we haven't had
the chance to touch base.
cause again, everyone's life isso, so busy.
(07:58):
So I didn't wanna jump the gunand talk about that until I had
done some full.
Or at least some adequatestudying on the topic beyond
what the Lord spoke to me aboutin those few minutes while I was
watching that movie.
So stay tuned.
That's probably going to be oneof the upcoming episodes.
at church is a month of the HolySpirit, and coincidentally also
(08:23):
happens to be the month of theHoly Spirit.
This little prayer group that Ihave with some of my friends.
And so we've been focused thismonth on learning a lot about
the Holy Spirit, and throughthat I wanted to do a podcast
episode on.
The glorification of JesusChrist and how the Holy Spirit
seems to always want to take thebackstage and just point
(08:47):
everything to Jesus.
But like I said, I haven't hadmuch time to prepare cuz work
has been so very busy and I didnot think that I would be
presenting my best self or thebest of what the Lord has
thought me in that area to youguys if I just rushed you.
so I just thought this episodewould be more of a catch up.
and I mean, it's episode five,so I think it's a good place for
(09:09):
us to reconcile and evaluate howthings have been going, how far
we've come, and kind of draw thepicture of what, where we are
planning to head to.
But anyways, that's a little biton upcoming episodes, and so
this episode has no outline, nonothing, and I'm literally just
(09:31):
speaking whatever is coming intomy mind, I'm targeting that is
gonna be probably a 15 to 20minutes.
Session just because I'm reallytired as I speak right now.
I'm half asleep and I just wannabe done and edit this quickly,
get it, scheduled forpublishing.
And so do forgive me if youdetect a few editing mishaps.
(09:54):
I'm still learning and I do ofcourse appreciate the feedback.
So share with me whatever youthink I need to improve on.
and once again, apologies, thisis gonna be all over the place,
okay?
Because I'm having a hard timefinding my bearings in this
particular moment.
(10:14):
but let's talk about chaos alittle bit.
said earlier, life lately hasbeen very chaotic for me.
And I wanted to talk just alittle bit, on that.
and I think the few things thatI've shared already has kind of
maybe painted.
Some picture of how chaotic ithas been for me, and I did wanna
(10:38):
mention, I know in the last fewepisodes we've emphasized a lot
on talking to God, making surethat we are spending time in the
word, making sure that we aremeditating on the word.
And, you know, prayer involve,God, talk to the Holy Spirit,
this and this and that.
Right?
But it's been very hard to doover the last few weeks, and I
(11:01):
have to be very honest with youguys, it's been, wow.
It's, it's just been, it's sortof like, you know, you have to
do something, but.
In the moments that you want todo it, you are not able to do
it.
And so when you get anotherchance to be able to do that,
because it does not feel likethe right moment for you to be
(11:22):
doing that thing you decide tojust not do it.
I hope that makes sense.
So it's basically what I justsaid.
It's, let's say you plan to doyour Bible studying every day at
5:00 AM but today at 5:00 AM youcannot do it because maybe, I
don't know if you work inauditing like me, maybe you were
called working late.
(11:43):
Okay.
or something.
Something happened, you weren'table to make that 5:00 AM but
then at 7:00 PM you do have anhour to spare before bed But
then because it's not the 5:00AM you kind of feel like you've
betrayed God by.
By not having been there at 5:00AM until you just completely
skip the 7:00 And then beforeyou know it, day one, day two,
(12:04):
day three, day four comes.
And then the guilt just keepsyou very far from God.
And then life gets very busy.
And sometimes you don't evenrealize that so many days have
gone without you studying theword.
And that's, and I think thatsocial media also does not help
us because if you're someonelike me, Instagram, probably
(12:25):
Twitter.
All these apps, their algorithmshave probably worked their way
around what kind of content youare liking, what kind of content
you are most interacting with,and so you explore pages, your
homepages are probably allfilled with Christian related
content.
And so in that sense, when youfind yourself aimlessly
(12:46):
scrolling, you come across a fewsermon, post a few prophet is
Leslie, this and this and that.
And so you're hearing the worldhere and there, here and there
and it fools you and intofeeling like you've consumed a
bit of God that day.
sometimes you can come across afive minute, post from a person,
(13:07):
Michael Rupo you've listened toour puzzle before, you know how
deep he is in the wedding.
So in those five minutes, Imean, he shakes you to the core
and you are like, wow, I need toreally reevaluate my life and
chai.
We need to really do this, thisGod thing.
And so in that moment you are,you are reified to lies.
You are just enthusiastic.
Yeah, yes, yes, yes.
(13:28):
This is the word, this is thegospel.
I love this God.
And then you scroll past it, youlog out, you go to bed, you
continue on your day and youdon't even realize that.
You haven't had that personalNia with God.
And I think that has been thehardest thing for me in the last
few weeks, just because so muchhas been going on and I often
feel tired and I often feellike, oh, just do it tomorrow
(13:52):
and then tomorrow comes, I don'tget it done.
And you know, it's just, it'slike an endless cycle.
But I'm trying to get back.
Into that place of intimacy,into that place of fellowship.
so I wanted to take a moment toshare with you guys, just in
case you are feeling this way,that you are not alone, but in
(14:14):
as much as I'm sharing this withyou to let you know that you are
not alone also does not meanthat we have to then come to the
place where we are like, well,I'm not the only one who's busy.
other questions are goingthrough what I'm going through.
So, you know what?
Lemme just relax.
No, we have to be moreintentional about, uh, Honoring
the time commitments that wehave with God.
(14:36):
Just like I'm intentional aboutmaking sure that I'm early to
meetings at work.
When I say I'm gonna get thisthing completed tomorrow, I get
it completed.
We have to begin to take Godthat seriously.
I think that often than not, webecome too comfortable with a
certain dimension of God andit's often the dimension of God
(15:01):
that is lenient the dimension ofGod that is loving and so.
We, we feel like, oh, this is,you know, HS is my best friend.
Like he understands if I cannotmake the prayer time at two.
But then maybe with work youhave a more, if I don't get this
(15:21):
thing, then I'm gonna get fired.
And You are more aggressiveabout how you're approaching
your work there, ensuring thatyou're always on time.
But when it comes to the otherthing, which is often our
spiritualized, we feel like wehave more of, a wiggle room,
which we really do not havebecause that is actually the
thing that we are supposed to beprioritizing much more than
anything.
Because when our foundation withGod crumbles, Everything
(15:45):
crumbles.
I don't know about some of you.
Okay.
Maybe some of you, yourfoundation is not good until
when it crumbles, you still havesomething to stand up I can bet
you that that thing that youthink that you're standing on
that is not good.
It will collapse soon.
But the point is, If all we haveis God and every other thing
(16:06):
that we have has come out of ourrelationship with God, then why
are we now prioritizing thosethings more than we are
prioritizing the person who gaveus those things?
You get my point and, and I canunderstand.
The life gets busy.
I can understand.
The life gets crazy.
I can understand the life getschaotic.
I mean, if you live in theUnited States like I do, oh my
(16:30):
gosh, this country is full ofstress.
I always say that the country isdesigned to make you constantly
stressed, to make you constantlyworried, to make you constantly
anxious, but is because of Godthat some of us have been able
to find some peace, have beenable to find some sort of
stability to be able to take itone day at a time.
(16:54):
But regardless, that should notbe an excuse for us to neglect
our time of personal fellowshipwith God.
And so this is a call to myself,this is a call to you, and a
call for us to evaluateourselves, evaluate our lives,
and reassess, and really askourselves what things that we
(17:17):
are prioritizing in this seasonof our lives.
No matter how busy it looks, nomatter how chaotic it looks, we
still have to be intentionalabout making sure that God is at
the center of it.
Some of the things that I'vestarted to do in these seasons
when life seems to get very busyand I'm not able to do the
(17:37):
things that I want to do.
For instance, maybe I don't havean hour anymore every day to be
studying the Bible as much as Iwant to, The one I do is I use
an audio bible.
I love you, verse sharing.
I used yeah.
Bible plans.
I currently am on a bible in ayear, reading plan with them,
which I've sliced majorly overthe last few months.
(18:00):
So what I've been doing now isbefore bed, I just.
Play the scriptures for thosedays.
I listen to it while I go tosleep and as I'm doing that I'm
meditating a bit on it and thenI just drift off into sleep and
wherever I get to, I just pickup from there the next day.
And that has been helpingsomewhat to make sure that I'm
(18:23):
keeping the word alive, in me, Ithink.
One thing that was stripping mewas that because I did not have
the time anymore compared towhen the year started to study
the word in depth.
I began to not read it because Ifelt like I was just honoring my
commitment.
To God that I was gonna studythe Bible for the next year by
(18:46):
not actually studying it and byjust reading it.
But then I thought to myself,Hey, what's important is that I
read the word and I'm meditatingon it throughout the day, and
I'm allowing the Holy Spirit toteach me things that he needs me
to know from those scripturesthroughout the day.
Just because I'm not able to sitdown for one hour at a time to
(19:08):
actually do whatever studyingthat I think I need to do does
not take away from the fact thatby reading it or by listening to
it, using some sort of audioBible and meditating on it
throughout the day does notequate my study in it.
And that is just one instance.
(19:30):
Another thing that I tend to doand this is especially when I'm
at the office, the days I'm notworking from home, I'll just put
my headphones in and.
I would just maybe be listeningto a sermon by some of these men
of God that I mentioned.
I pursue my clarus.
(19:50):
Yeah, sermons are usually quitelengthy and so when I wanna do
heads down, focus the work, Iusually pick those and say that,
okay, I'm gonna sit down for thenext two hours to get this thing
done for work.
But while I'm doing that, I'malso listening to the word.
That really helps.
Sometimes I pause to focus a bitmore on what I'm doing.
Then I go back to play.
(20:10):
But sometimes too, I find myselfwaiting for the next five
minutes just listening to thewisdom that, yeah, speaking and
that has really helped.
Sometimes I do the audio Biblelistening while I'm working, or
I just simply listen to worshipsongs or sometimes to, if I feel
like, Hmm, you know what?
I have not prayed in a minute.
I just put on some chants and Ijust pray in the spirit within
(20:34):
me.
You know, cause I, I can't bepraying out loud, but I'll just
be praying in the spirits withinme.
Just speaking in the language ofthe spirit.
Get up, take a few walks to thebathroom.
Just be speaking in tongue.
Just be speaking in tongues.
And even though life is busy inthat moment, you realize that
you still have some connectionwith the Lord.
You still have some intimacywith him, and you begin to look
(20:57):
forward to those little momentsthat you can create to have time
with God.
the Holy Spirit just droppedthis in my mind, but it's sort
of like, When you have aboyfriend or the guy is a
girlfriend, when you're datingsomeone as a younger person, and
perhaps you are no independentliving on your own, and so you
probably have to sneak around afew times.
(21:20):
And when your parents areprobably not home, that person
comes to visit you reallyquickly sometimes just for a few
minutes, right?
But just that excitement to seethat person for a few minutes to
talk to that person for a fewminutes.
You look forward to thosethings.
And so I think when life getsbusy, when life gets chaotic,
(21:40):
that is sort of what.
My relationship with God beginsto look like in those moments.
It's not a full on one hourpraying, two hours
fellowshipping, midnight prayerand things like that.
Sometimes it's these littlemoments.
I have five minutes here.
I quickly listen to a chapter ofthe book that I'm currently
(22:01):
reading.
I have a few minutes here.
I quickly speak in tonguesometimes just for seconds, And
as you do that, you begin totrain yourself to become
sensitive to the spirit in themoments that you are, quote
unquote, not directlyfellowshipping with him in the
quietness of your home, in themidst of whatever loudness is
(22:24):
going on around you.
Learning to steal those littlemoments and say something to God
or do something of God, yourealize that your spirit begins
to quickly pick up when the HolySpirit is speaking And that is
how I can still hear the HolySpirit speak to me when I'm
watching a movie that is notnecessarily a Christian movie.
(22:45):
personally, I love actionmovies.
I love thrillers.
Anything that has cia, F B Isort of vibe.
I love those movies, but even asI'm watching those things, just
imagine with all the shootingsand all the things going on, the
Holy Spirit always finds a wayto teach me something with
(23:06):
whatever I watch.
And then just because I havetrained myself, To be able to
hear his voice in the littlemoments.
I've trained myself to subjectmy spirit to him in little
moments that I can steal.
Whether I'm at work, whether I'mwith family, at an event,
(23:27):
whatever the situation is, I'vebrought myself to the place
where I'm able to pick here andthere.
You know, shield myself a bit,speak and tongues a little bit,
do this a little bit, do that alittle bit.
and these things have reallybeen helping me, but I already
see that this episode is gettingtoo long.
so I'm gonna stop here and justencourage you to learn to steal
(23:51):
little moments that you can get.
End the day and dedicate thosemoments to God.
Think of it as a season in yourlife where you're having to
sneak around a little bit in themidst of your busyness, in the
midst of the chaos, to talk tothe person that you love, to
talk to, the person who lovesyou more than anything in this
(24:11):
world.
And trust me, you are going tosee a difference in your life,
And I pray that the Lord willhelp you.
I pray that he will teach youthe specific ways that he wants
to spend those little momentswith you.
Whether it is through prayer,whether it is through listening
to sermons, whether it isthrough listening to a book and
(24:33):
the Bible, whatever that way is,I pray that he will reveal it to
you, and I pray that your spiritwill be quick to pick up that
which he has revealed to you,and you begin to walk in the
reality of that revelation.
As always, until next time, keepthriving.
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