Wait Gain

The episode is about trusting God's process and gaining during difficult times. It references the story of Ruth and the fruits of the Spirit. Waiting is difficult but necessary to receive blessings and not forget about God. The waiting period prepares us to be humble and give back to the kingdom. The example of preparing oxtail illustrates the importance of preparation before being presented to others. We need to be digestible to lost souls so they can see God's glory. The table God prepares is not for gloating, but for others to see His work in us. Good night, and welcome back to Living Water Restoration Podcast. I am so happy you guys made it to another episode. Tonight's episode is called The Weight Gain. This is about literally trusting the process of God bringing you to your promises, God bringing you to your promised land, and the things that you gain in the midst of the weight period. So this episode is called The Weight Gain. I'm going to be referencing from the book of Ruth as far as what was gained in her process that ultimately led her to becoming David's grandmother, like the David in the Bible. What she went through that ultimately led her to be the grandmother of David just through waiting in a difficult time period. So y'all, I know it's difficult to be patient. Being patient is probably one of the most difficult things to do, especially when you're going through something, and it's just like you need an answer right now. You need something to change right now. You need a difference right now. And we can get so caught up in doubt and worrying, one doubting what God has promised us, worrying that it's not going to happen, feeling discouraged, and just wanting to go back to doing things a different way once you really start to get into your relationship with God. So it could be hard. I'm going to be real with y'all. The waiting process is difficult. You're going to cry in the weight. You're going to feel it in the weight. But it's worth waiting because there are things you gain within the waiting process. And one of the things that I wanted to talk about you gaining in the waiting process is the fruits of the Spirit. There's nine fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, 22 through 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, guidance, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. So let's first of all, let's talk about how all these things are not even easy to have on a regular basis. It's not easy to display love every day. It's not easy to display joy every day, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because if that was the case, this would be a very perfect world. And unfortunately, it is not a perfect world. It's not meant to be one. But when you get into your relationship with God, it becomes easier for you to display these fruits of the Spirit. So when people see you, they're like, that is definitely a child of the most high because you make it your objective to choose God daily and then to walk in the fruits of the Spirit daily. These are the things that people are paying attention to, the fruits of the Spirit. And just like there are fruits of the Spirit, there's fruits of the flesh too, which are let me tell y'all real quick, sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, decessions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and going forward. So yeah, the same way that there's fruits of the Spirit, there's also acts of the flesh too. So yeah, let's now talk about the importance of waiting, right? So the reason why God puts us in the process of us having to wait is because He knows that if He gives us something, first of all, let's talk about how God knows us better than we know ourselves. If God gave us all the promises that we wanted prematurely, we would mess it up on our own accord because we weren't ready for those blessings. For example, like let's say, all right, like music, the music industry is the best way kind of to show how some people get things prematurely and it leads them away from God. Like how many people are in the music industry that we know that because they had gained the money or whatever the case may be, and you know, they have the fame now, when the devil comes to them and offers them something, when he offers them more, when he offers them some form of stability that they're searching for, because it really be people who be coming from nothing. He gives them a promise and he's like, okay, well, if you give me your soul, I'm gonna give you this, that, and third. And because of the fact that they gained so quickly, there was not really a wait, they didn't gain those fruits of the spirit for them to be able to be like, no, I don't need those things. And some of them don't even have like an in-depth relationship with God. You get what I'm saying? But those of us who are chosen, God has a larger promise for us. He prepares us for those blessings so that when we get into a rough patch while we're in those blessings, we don't forget about God. The purpose of the wait period is to make sure that when you receive what God has for you, you do not forget about who he is. You don't forget about what he has done for you. You don't forget about what you gained with it just being you and him. That's the importance of the wait, is to make sure that you don't forget about your relationship with God. Also, God has to prepare you before he prepares the table in the presence of your enemy. Because the purpose of your table is not for you to gloat and be like, oh, look at what God gave me. That's not the purpose of your table. The purpose of your table is for people to look at you and be like, wow, God is definitely the one who did that for him or her. God doesn't want you to get caught up in a place where you're not being humble, where you're just like, you know, like the purpose of you gaining is for you to be able to give back to the kingdom, give souls back to the kingdom, get souls back for the kingdom. Like it's deeper than just you getting blessed. It's a bigger picture. For example, as to why you need to be prepared before the table is prepared for you, I'm gonna give y'all a pretty cool example. You know, like how you gotta make oxtail, right? I don't know if y'all know how to make oxtail, but y'all talking to somebody who do. When you're making oxtail, right, you don't prepare oxtail the day that you make it. Get what I'm saying? Like you don't prepare oxtail the same day you're gonna eat it. Like it requires it being prepared a couple of days in advance. For the seasoning to really marinate in the oxtail, you get what I'm saying? Like it's steps. There's a process that needs to happen before you can put the plate of oxtail at the table. You get what I'm saying? One, you gotta clean the meat. After you're done cleaning the meat, you gotta season the meat. You gotta make sure you got all the right seasonings too. You can't just be putting anything in there. You can't stop at adobo and think, yeah, this is it, you know? Sometimes you gotta get real extra special and get specific oxtail seasoning. You get what I'm saying? And then after you got all the seasoning, you wanna chop all your vegetables. You wanna put the peppers, the onions, the tomatoes, the garlic, everything. The browning, like all types of, the pepper, like everything. The scotch bonnet pepper, like it takes, it's a process. And then after that, after you're done seasoning it, it doesn't even stop there. Now it has to marinate. It has to go in the refrigerator and needs to sit for, I mean, some people let it sit overnight. Some people get real fancy and let it sit for two days in advance. Some people, you know, like they get real crazy with the oxtail. I'm saying that to say this though, the reason why the oxtail has to be prepared in that manner is so that when it reaches the table, people want to digest it, okay? The purpose of God preparing you the way that he prepares you is so that when you speak to people, that you are easy to digest, okay? So that the word that you give to people is easy to digest for you to be going out there and for you to plant the seed in people. So when people watch your process and they're like, wow, this girl, like we could speak about me. Like I was in the club Thursday through Sunday and then I was promoting clubs. So technically my whole life was clubbing. So from Monday to Sunday, I'm literally promoting clubs. Then on top of me promoting clubs from Monday to Sunday, it was deeper than just throwing up a fire. You got to entertain people and make them want to come. So now I'm entertaining conversations with men to make them want to come outside and can spend their money. And even if they wasn't coming outside to spend money, they were still outside and they made the club look active, but it required me having to put in work for the club. You get what I'm saying? I had to make myself digestible for people to want to come spend time with me in the club. You know what I'm saying? I got to put up twerk videos. I got to be, I had to, I had to be like such a provocative person to make people want to come spend time with me in the club, but not to come spend time with me because I still played the corner the majority of the time, but just to make the club look like an enjoyable place. So for that, I had to put myself out there for it to look like a cool place to be at. You get what I'm saying? Like I had to engage in all types of conversations. I got to engage in conversations with women, all types of stuff, just for people to come outside so that I can get a, what, like a couple hundred dollars, a few hundred dollars by the end of the week. And even that wasn't enough. You get what I'm saying? So I had to do other things. There was a point in time where I was selling drugs. I was scamming. I was really doing anything to make ends meet because I was not working. You get what I'm saying? But that was still a process. You get what I'm saying? I had to make myself digestible for people to come into that environment in the same way God has to make us now digestible to people, to lost souls. We have to be digestible to lost souls for them to want to come and see the glory of God, to come and see what God will do for them as well. So the table that God prepares for us, although yes, it's presented in the presence of our enemies, the reasons why it's presented in the presence of our enemies is because there is a bigger picture for the table. It is supposed to also encourage the enemies to come give their souls to the right kingdom. You get what I'm saying? So it's deeper than just you gaining for your own self. So the same way that we have to prepare oxtail to put at the table is the same way that God has to prepare us to put us in front of the world to make people want to be like, I want to give God a try. I saw what he did for her and now I want to see what he can do for me. So now I went from being a provocative, seductive club promoter where people are literally, I mean, IDDs are literally speaking on my body on a microphone. You get what I'm saying? I had to be moved from that. And in order for you to see who I am now, God had to prepare me. And that's just me using me as an example. But there are many people, there are many people in the Bible, like for example, Paul. Before Paul was Paul, Paul was Saul. And no one even refers to Paul as Saul anymore. But before Paul was writing the majority of the New Testament, Paul was outside killing Christians. Like he was really like, like it was, it was, he was like executing them. He was, it was, it was heavy Christians K for Paul at one point in time. You get what I'm saying? But then God did something in Paul. You get what I'm saying? God did something in him. It changed him. So now we don't even look at him as the Christian executor anymore. We look at Paul as a wise man who was sending out letters to churches for them to know how to operate in Christ Jesus. You get what I'm saying? But that's just an example of how God will turn somebody around for it to give the glory back to God. So yes, you're still doing the work for the kingdom. On earth, you get what I'm saying? But in heaven and what it looks like to those outsiders, you get what I'm saying? It's like, wow, God is actually really compassionate. Society has turned God to make it, to make him seem like all God does is punish you for not serving him. And it's so much deeper than that. Like, first of all, let's talk about how the majority of the punishment that humans experience sins have their own natural consequences. You get what I'm saying? Like there's, for example, like, um, fornication or fornication, you get what I'm saying? Fornication has its own consequences. So if you have sex outside of marriage and you decide to have sex with the wrong person, then, you know, you end up with chlamydia. That was the consequence of that own sin. That wasn't God punishing you for what you did. That was the consequence of what happened based off of that sin. In the same way, let's take it deeper. Let's take it deeper than that. If you're somebody, I can only speak from the stuff that I've dealt with, really. But if you're somebody who's jumping from one person to the next person to the next person, and now people are calling you out your name, that's not God punishing you for you not paying attention to him. That's the consequence of your own sin. Like there's consequences for your own actions. So God is not looking for you. He's not looking to punish you. You get what I'm saying? Like he wants you to go to him with a problem so he can solve it. God is the problem solver. But the problem is, our problem is, as humans, is that we like to solve our own problems because we were led to believe we're supposed to solve our own problems. In all actuality, the problems of the world are a little bit too difficult for us to solve, which is why it's important for you to serve God. You get what I'm saying? Because he works everything out for the good of those who love him. Now, as far as the process goes, right, it also says in the Bible to lean not on your own understanding, but to trust in God with all of your heart, right? And this is why the waiting process is so interesting because while we're waiting, we're trying to figure out what is God doing? We are never going to understand what God is doing until we get to the other side. And I'm not talking about death. I'm talking about to the other side of the problem. Once the problem is solved, we're not really going to understand it until we actually reach the solution. And the reason why is because God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. We are never going to understand, which is why it's important for you to lean not on your own understanding because we are never going to understand because his thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. And I'm going to bring that back to the story of Ruth, the book of Ruth, because that was the perfect example of why you should lean not on your own understanding. So I don't know about y'all, but on TikTok, it is a lot of kingdom spouse videos. A lot of people know who their kingdom spouse is right now. A lot of people have, yeah, like a lot of, God has brought to a lot of people who they're supposed to be marrying. And in him bringing that to people, he has also let them know that it's not time. There are things that they're supposed to be doing in the process of them waiting for their kingdom spouse. God has taught a lot of people to just be in a space of just praying for your kingdom spouse until he makes it happen, you know, until it goes together in his way. So now people are like really on TikTok and on something like they don't really understand the process of why did God tell me who my person is if it's not meant for me to be with my person right now in this moment. And that's because we are not supposed to be leaning on our own understanding. We are just supposed to be being obedient. We are supposed to just be submitting to what God has told us to do. Because once we submit to the Lord, then you know how to submit to your partner. So it's about what you're gaining in the process. So now in the book of Ruth, right, she was a Moabite woman. And she was married to an Israelite family, basically. And Naomi was her mother-in-law or is her mother-in-law. And before Naomi and her family came to Moab because of the famine in Bethlehem, Ruth married one of her sons. And in the midst of them being married, they died. Do you get what I'm saying? Ruth's husband died. Naomi's husband died. And there's one more woman whose name begins with an O that literally just slipped my mind. What is her name? Is it Orphan? Orphan? Oprah? Orphan? Y'all forgive me. I'm not a Bible scholar. Neither am I a preacher. But I am really just trying to give y'all biblical facts as well. Like this is not just worldly advice. You get what I'm saying? Like these are things that we can really get something from the Bible for us to be able to know the importance of us being patient and all other kinds of things. But yeah, so it was two of them. It was Ruth and another woman. Oprah. Orphan. I hope I'm saying her name correctly. And Naomi was trying to convince them after the passing of everyone's husband, go back to your families and, you know, remarry again. You get what I'm saying? But I don't got nothing to offer y'all. Everybody is gone. Like all the husbands are gone. And at that point, she felt like God was punishing her as well. Like she was even in the Bible. She was like, you know, God has taken things from me. Like she thought that she was just in a, she felt like she was just in a period of just sadness. Like she said that she went away from Bethlehem full and came back empty. But little did Naomi even know what God had in store for her. Because Naomi also became the great grandmother of King David. You get what I'm saying? Like little did, little did she even know. But yeah, Orpah is how you say her name. But yeah, and I'm saying all this to say that. So Orpah decides that she's going to go back to her family. But Ruth decides that she's going to stay. Like she wants to stay with Naomi. She's not going back. She has already been accustomed to the Israelite life. You get what I'm saying? Like already accustomed to serving the Israelite God. So she's not ready to, she's not, she doesn't want to leave. She's not trying to give that away. So she decides to go back with Naomi. So now as she goes back with Naomi, she ends up working in a field. And she's working in this field. And long story short, the field that she ends up working in ends up becoming her husband. You get what I'm saying? But in this moment, in that moment, she's literally living in poverty and like deciding that she's just going to go pick up brains behind other people just for them to be able, for her and Naomi to be able to survive. And Naomi is giving Ruth instruction in this time. And this also, this is why obedience is important. When God calls us to be obedient, right? There's going to be times when it's God just speaking to you. And then there's going to be most times God is going to give you instruction through another person. If you're not taking the proper instruction from another person, then you lose your obedience. You get what I'm saying? Like now you just, you're making decisions on your own. For example, like even with our parents and even with children, you get what I'm saying? Both with children and parents, God will speak through either one. God will either speak through the parent to give you instruction or he will speak through a child to give you instruction. It's up to you to be obedient to the instruction that's being given. It's also up to you to have a spirit of discernment also to understand where instruction is coming from. So I'm saying that to say this, Ruth really spent time being obedient to the instruction that Naomi was giving her to the point now that Naomi's like, I need to find you a home. So I'm going to need you. Let me tell you exactly what the instruction was, right? In Ruth chapter three, she's based. All right. Yeah, we'll start at verse one. One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, my daughter, I must find you a home. I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz with whose woman you have worked for is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. But do not let him know that you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do. And I, and at that point he says, I will do whatever you say. Ruth answers. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. Now when Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. All right, pause right there. That instruction sounds crazy. So you want me to wait? You want me to wait until the man is done eating and drinking and then you want me to go uncover his feet and lay down next to it? So you kind of want me to sneak over there and do it? That sounds wild. But it is the obedience and the faithfulness that Ruth had to the instruction because she didn't know what was going to happen after that. You know what I'm saying? Like she had no clue what was going to happen after that. But she chose to be obedient and said, I'm going to do whatever you tell me to do. And in that Ruth found favor in that moment because now let's fast forward. So in the middle of the night, something startled the man and he turned and there was a woman lying at his feet and he said, who are you? He asked and she goes, I am your servant, Ruth. She said, spread the corner of your garment over me since you are the guardian redeemer of our family. So basically, y'all, like what's happening right now is that Ruth is basically, this time it's like I need to be married again. You know what I'm saying? You're the family, you're the guardian redeemer basically. So because of the fact that Boaz was related to their family, he was in the position to be able to redeem Naomi's husband's assets. And at that time, a part of that asset also included Ruth because she was a part of their family, like she belonged to their family. So she also was a part of that dealings of giving away. However, there was someone else who was the redeemer before Boaz. There was someone else that was first in line and if he declined, then Boaz would be able to take her. So anyway, Boaz then says to her, oh, he says, the Lord bless you, my daughter, he replied. This kindness is greater than what you showed earlier. You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor, and now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Okay? Like this is, she gained a character, like a noble character, like her deciding to stay with Naomi and help her even after the passing of her husband has given her a title, a choice that she made. You get what I'm saying? A choice that she made to continue to follow the lifestyle that she was already living, gave her the character of her being considered a noble woman. These are the type of things that we gain in our waiting period. So now, he goes, although it is true, this is verse 12, although it is true that I am a guardian redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning, if he wants to do his duty as your guardian redeemer, that's good. Let him redeem you, but if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. Lie here until the morning time. All right, boom. We're going to fast forward. So now, they go meet the other redeemer, and he's like, listen, Naomi's husband passed, they have land, do you want to redeem it? He's like, but also, there's a woman that comes with it, too. The first redeemer was like, he said, the dead man's widow also, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property. At this time, the guardian redeemer said, then I cannot redeem it, because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it. What? So now, like, it all works out in Ruth's favor, because now, because this man is already married, he has a wife, he has his own estate. If he was to take on Naomi's husband's estate, it would put his as risk and jeopardy, because he can't take another woman, because he's married to his wife. And they've got their own thing going on right now. So now, Boaz is able to redeem her. So, they get married. And after they get married, they have a son named Jesse. And then, after, and then, yeah, then after that, I'm sorry, not, I'm so sorry, not Jesse, they didn't, the name of the son wasn't Jesse. And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse. And Jesse was the father of David. So, in Ruth's faithfulness, she ended up creating the bloodline for David. Like, that's a big deal. You get what I'm saying? Like, that was, that was good to have you. All that she went through, and in her faithfulness, which is a fruit, which is a fruit of the spirit, all right? Let me, let's, let's get the definition of faithfulness in the first place. Or what is faithfulness? Faithfulness is being dependable, us, being dependable in our relationship with God and others, being true to your word, following through our promises, consistency, devotedness, fidelity, and steadfastness in all its interactions. It's being reliable in the world that isn't. Faithful people are not disloyal, nor are they flippant with their commitment. So, basically, all that, all that Naomi did, all that Ruth did in her painful waiting process, because she went from being a wife to now basically almost being like a servant. You get what I'm saying? Like, she went from the position of being a wife and was in a, in decent standing to then being a widow in poverty, gleaning in fields. You get what I'm saying? And in her patience, she was able to become more than that. Like, her name holds weight in the Bible. You get what I'm saying? Like, she basically kicks off the line for, for David to be born. And then Jesus also came from that same bloodline. You get what I'm saying? Like, that's, that holds weight in the Bible. Like, so what I'm saying is, us now, we should also practice that same obedience and that same faithfulness to God. And just knowing that, you know what? He is going to work everything out for the good of me because I serve him. You get what I'm saying? And God will bless us in a way that powerful as well, because now we still talk about Ruth. You get what I'm saying? We still reference Ruth when we reference David and when we reference the birth of Jesus. You get what I'm saying? Like, it's still, Ruth was at the beginning of that. Before there was the Jesus and before there was David, there was Ruth and her faithfulness, and there was Boaz. You get what I'm saying? And their loyalness to each other. And that's another thing that I really liked about the, that's the, that's the other thing that I really like about the, the, basically the story of Ruth and Boaz, because their loyalness was to each other. You get what I'm saying? Because Boaz also said, I will do whatever you ask me to do as well. Submission wasn't only for the woman. Submission was also for the man. The man yielded himself to him, to the woman before it was, before she was even, before she even became his wife. You get what I'm saying? There was already a loyalness there. Like, it's so much, it's so much deeper. Like, if you really, really, and now just to bring it back to the whole kingdom spouse thing, that's like literally taken over TikTok. That's taken over Christian TikTok, because I definitely do understand the, the reason why we are so, I'm also there, like, I also cannot wait to be married. You get what I'm saying? I also cannot wait to be a part of that category in the kingdom. You get what I'm saying? I also cannot wait to be a kingdom wife. However, what I'm trying to say is, in the waiting process of you waiting to become the kingdom wife, we have to learn how to submit to God first and be okay in our relationship with God first. I mean, maybe Ruth didn't know that Boaz was going to become her husband. You get what I'm saying? But she was content in her relationship with God. She was content in her relationships with people around her before she made marriage her main focus. And I mean, she just lost her husband. Many of us who know who our kingdom spouses are probably haven't even been married before. So what I'm saying is, if God calls you for you to just pray for your partner until he works it out for y'all, for y'all to be together, do that. And stay encouraged to do so. Because Ruth had no idea that she was going to marry Boaz. Ruth had no idea that she would be a part of the line that started the bloodline for Jesus. She had no idea. You get what I'm saying? But she continued to be obedient. Be obedient in your process because you are gaining things in your wait period. You just are not going to know fully what you gained until you continue to go down the road. It is important for you to continue to trust in God with all of your heart and lead not on your own understanding. Also to remember to walk by faith and not to walk by sight. We need to be prepared for what God has for us. And in the waiting period, everything is not going to sound like it makes sense. And it's not meant to. Because God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. I'm pretty sure at no point in time was Ruth thinking that now that she lost her husband that she would be able to gain another. You get what I'm saying? I'm sure at no point in time she was pretty content with saying she was content with just being a widow. You get what I'm saying? She didn't follow Naomi with the hopes of getting married again. She just wanted to continue to live the lifestyle that she was already living. You get what I'm saying? She came from a whole different place. She was a Moab woman. You get what I'm saying? They believed in different things. She was introduced to the Israelite life and introduced to the God that they served and she was content with just staying there. In the same way, let us be content in our relationship with God too and be obedient to him because we are gaining things. We are gaining what's going to make us an acquired taste for people. You get what I'm saying? We are gaining things that's going to make people want to digest us. We are gaining things that's going to make people want to be loyal to us. We are gaining things that's going to make people see us and call us of noble character, but we have to remain patient. And also patience is another thing that you get. That's another fruit of the spirit. You get what I'm saying? Exhibiting calmness during the midst of stressful situations, showing empathy towards others. That is what patience is. Let's continue to stay there because God has something greater, but we have to be okay with waiting. It's the same thing when it comes to, like I mentioned earlier, the whole oxtail thing. That day, the day when your mom takes the oxtail out of the fridge and she gets ready to cook it, it's still not done in 30 minutes. You're waiting the whole day to be able to eat that oxtail. The whole day you're waiting, right? And it's like, oh my God, I cannot wait for this food to be done because I cannot wait to eat it because you're not only getting oxtail, you don't only get those Sunday dinners when the oxtail is being made. It's not only oxtail you're eating. You're getting rice and peas. There are sides. And if your mom really spruced it up, she made some carrot juice. There are salads. Who knows? Maybe a little baked macaroni and cheese. It's like it's a full course meal. It is more than you just waiting for the oxtail. For example, if you're waiting on your spouse or if you're waiting on your home, if you're waiting on your car, it is so much more than just the car, the husband, and the house or the better job. It comes with so much more than the one thing that we're expecting. You know what I'm saying? It has sides. There's benefits that come with it. So if you're waiting for a house and you're waiting on, if you're waiting for your living situation to change and you want God to be the one to change it for you, be patient and wait on the Lord because what he has for you might surpass what you even thought you were going to get. You know what I'm saying? Ruth was looking at, she wants to continue her relationship in her lifetime. She didn't know that she was going to gain a husband and a son. She didn't know that she would gain a book in the Bible. You know what I'm saying? She wasn't expecting that. So she just continues to be obedient. Let's be obedient in our weight gain because when we're done waiting and God is like, surprise, this is what you were waiting for. It feels so much better than just harboring on what it is that you don't have in the moment. Harbor on the relationship that you have with God because that's what's going to carry you through. Even in the Bible, when Peter, when they were on the boat and the storm got to storming and they saw Jesus on the water and they thought Jesus was a ghost. But as far as the analogy of it, although yes, physically, that was what was happening. However, in the real world right now, we're not going to be on the boat and the boat's going to be storming and we're going to see Jesus. That's not, we're not going to see that. However, our boat is our world. You get what I'm saying? It's our relationships. It's our jobs. It's our children. I don't have any children. It's yeah, our jobs, our relationships with people. That's our boat. You get what I'm saying? And there are things that come to rock the boat. There's a storm that rocks our boat. It's storms that come that rock our world. There are situations that we're in that rock our world. It changes things. You get what I'm saying? Like I lost my, I had to leave my apartment. I lost my car and lost my relationship literally within months. You get what I'm saying? Like there are things that come that rock our boat, that change our financial situation. And it's our choice. We have the choice to make. We can focus on Jesus in the storm and keep our calmness and allow God to work it out for us. Or we can focus on everything physical. We can walk by sight and only pay attention to everything stressful in our situation and gain nothing but stress, gain nothing but confusion, gain nothing but feeling lost and feeling disappointed and feeling discouraged if we only pay attention to physically what's going on. Or we can choose to make the decision to lean and fixate our vision on Jesus and be able to overcome the storm and be able to stand on the water, to be able to not drown in the ocean of our problems if we focus on Jesus. So sometimes we have to ask God to fill up our faith cups in our weight process because we are gaining more than what we are expecting because his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And Ruth is just a perfect example of what it looks like when you're waiting, what it feels like when you're waiting, and still trusting the fact that God has something, even without you not even knowing whatever it is. Maybe to Ruth, what her something was was her being able to keep the peace that she received when she had a relationship with God. You get what I'm saying? Or when she's seen how God operates for the Israelites. You get what I'm saying? Maybe that's what her main focus was. And in her main focus being her lifestyle not wanting to change, God blessed her with so much more because she was patient, she was faithful, and she was obedient. So I'm encouraging y'all to stay faithful, stay obedient, and stay patient. And don't be discouraged. Remember to give God your highest praise all the time. Give him your best praise all the time. Because let me tell you something, Ruth didn't know what she was walking into. You know what I'm saying? But God knew from the beginning what Ruth was walking into. God knew from the beginning that she was going to lose her husband. God knew from the beginning that she was going to choose to stay with Naomi. God knew from the beginning what he was getting ready to give her. So praise him because God already knows and because God already did. But it's about our action in the waiting period because we gain in the wait. And how we gain is by God paying attention to our reaction. So react in praise and be rejoiceful. And remember that God gave you the authority to trample over serpents and scorpions. That's Luke 10, 19, right? And Luke 10, 18, Jesus said that he watched the devil fall like lightning. He watched Lucifer fall like lightning. And he gave us the authority to do so as well. Remember to go into your word and what defeats Satan is the truth. We watch Jesus defeat Satan with the truth. Although we're not going to be dealing with Satan firsthand, we're going to deal with the demons that he assigned to us. However, they still get defeated with the truth. So remember to be in your word, like meditate on the word because that is what's going to carry you through. It looks easy when financial burden comes or when burden in relationships comes. It looks easy for you to be like, okay, well, if he's not doing what he's supposed to do, I'm going to find somebody else to do it. Get somebody else to do it. The pressure is getting worse off. The pressure is getting worse off. When the pressure is getting worse off, it looks easy to just be like, I'm going to do it another way. Diamonds are created from pressure. Don't run away from the pressure. Get somebody else to do that. Get somebody else to run away from the pressure. You don't run away from the pressure because diamonds come from the pressure. So with that being said, wait it out. Wait out the storm in faith. Wait out the storm in your word. Wait out the storm in your relationship with God because he made the way. You don't know what's on the other side, but he does. All we have to do is hold on to him until we get there. But it's a guaranteed fact that we are going to get there. But it's all about our response and our reaction until we get there. So don't forget to keep on praising God, y'all. I think that's it for today. I think that's all I'm getting into for tonight. I am so, so, so, so, so happy that you guys stayed and really like, like I'm really messing with y'all. Like I'm messing with y'all. Are y'all messing with me? Like I really love y'all for free and I really love y'all on purpose. And I am also so excited to see what you're going to gain in your way process in your relationship with God. Like I cannot wait to see all that he's going to give you. I'm so excited for y'all. I'm also excited for me too. But I'm more excited for y'all. I'm so happy to see where God is going to lead you guys just by you deciding to choose him every day and to be faithful and to just give him your highest praise because the way is already made. So I hope y'all have, I have faith that you guys will have the most amazing, most beautiful, most prosperous week. I am positive that you guys are going to see God in ways that you have never seen him before going forward. And I cannot wait to see. I cannot wait to hear of all the good things that God has been doing for you guys since you've decided to say yes to him and to choose him every day. So I will catch y'all on the next episode. And good night.