Transcription
[Music] You're listening to the Beyond Sunday's podcast, where we tell stories of God's faithfulness, because the God who did, still does.
In John 10:27, Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." If there has been one thing that has consistently moved me down the path of freedom, it is hearing God. The more I tune in to His tender voice, the more freedom I experience in every area of my life.
You know, throughout the Bible, there are so many scriptures and examples about hearing God. For example, in Psalm 32:8, the Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch over you." It's God's desire to speak to us and to guide us, and here's the most wonderful part: He desires to speak to all of His children. I'm nothing special. I simply believe that Christ is our High Priest, and that He has made a way for us to come boldly to God's throne of grace. So, if you are in Christ, you can hear God too.
Hearing God's voice is a privilege we all share as children of God, and it is essential for living in freedom. So, how do we learn to discern and hear God's voice? In today's conversation, I sit down with Jordan and Caitlyn Zemer to talk about how they learned to hear the voice of God in their individual lives, as well as how to discern God's voice for their family and for others. So, let's get to it. I've got Jordan and Caitlyn Zemer.
Hey, you guys. I'm so thankful that y'all came up here on a Saturday. Of course, thanks for having us. Yeah, I'm thankful to have you guys here. Um, we've known y'all for a long time. In fact, we met at a wedding. We sure did. So, you just never know where you actually end up meeting some of your best friends. Are we doing that story today? Because I didn't prepare for that particular one. Oh, gosh, the comms director is not prepared to tell a story. That's fine. Oh, I can tell the story. I'm just not prepared for it. I think that's a story for another time. A story for another time. But we, we have known each other for a long time, and, uh, we're going to talk about y'all's journey just in following the Lord and where he was, how he led you, um, and hearing his voice. And so, but before we dive into hearing God and what that looks like and how y'all have learned to hear the voice of the Lord, I would love for you to share with our listeners, just tell us a little bit about you. What do you do? Who are you? Just wherever you want to begin.
Cool. Well, we're, we're the people that are affectionally known as the Z team in certain parts. I'm Jordan Zemer. Um, my wife here is Caitlyn. We've been married for 13 years. We have two crazy kids. We have a six-year-old named Caleb, who is very excited to have graduated into first grade in the Beltway Kids Ministry, or Belt BK, have it your way, as we say. Um, and then Maddie is four, um, and she is the hot mess express of the family. We, we love them both. Uh, we both work for a, uh, ice tea. We're both educators in, in various roles. I'm in administration, Caitlyn is a teacher. And, um, we first came to Beltway in 2010, so right after we got married. We, we got married on July 31st, 2010, and, uh, came to Beltway shortly after that, with a little detour in there, which we'll talk about later. Yeah. And we started serving in youth on the worship team and leading D groups. Um, we were part of the camp band for many years, and now we're on South Campus worship team. So, yeah. Yeah. Lot of fun because there's, there's Zemer on the stage every week. Every week, one of you, one of us is there. Aren't you excited? The other is wrangling children. There we go. There we go. I understand that world. I do. I do.
Well, I'm so thankful that y'all decided to say yes for this conversation today because we're talking about hearing God. We know that that's a very important aspect of our walks with Jesus and needing to make sure that we know how He's speaking to us because there's lots of ways that God speaks to His kids. Um, but the truth is is that hearing God is a privilege that every child of God has. Like, every one of us has the ability to hear from God, and it truly is a key that we must have in order to live the, the life that God has called us to, and that Jesus honestly has offered us because He's offered us freedom. And that's what we've been talking about. So, I would love to know, um, at the top of this conversation, before we dive into your story, um, how did you learn to hear God personally?
Well, um, I actually don't hear a voice in my head, and I think that's important to talk about because a lot of people don't, and that's okay. Mhm. Um, I feel most connected to His voice in worship. So, He speaks to me artistically through song and pictures. Uh, there have been seasons of my life where He will place the title of a song in my head, and I have to learn, and I have learned to obey that call and listen to that song, and it always ministers to my heart perfectly. Um, I also hear the Lord through my closest friends who have deep relationships with Jesus, too. Yeah.
So, I hear you saying you really connect to the Lord and hear His voice through worship, and, um, which is lots of fun because that's the way that you express love and devotion back to Him, is through worship, and the way that you serve our body here is through worship as well. Um, but that people in your life also hold, and, and that's to mention that there are certain people, right? Not everybody gets that space to be able to speak those things in your connection that I have with those people who know me specifically and the struggles and the, um, you know, um, celebrations that I have, not just struggles, celebrations too, but those people who are close to me. Yeah. Community is so important. Yes. And those are who I go to, I run to, and I need help or I want to praise about something that's good. Yeah. What about you, Jordan?
So, if you know me, you know I'm a person who loves words. Somewhere out there, my life group leader and associates are saying, "That's an understatement." But, you know, God knows that about me too. And, um, so I do often hear from Him through words of the spirit that are spoken in my ears. Um, but, but I know I'm hearing those words from Him when those words are rooted in, in scripture, in the promises of scripture. So, very often, also, I will read a scripture first and then hear words from the Lord confirming or calling me to live out what I just read. So, scripture becomes this kind of powerful access point that unlocks my ability to know He's speaking to me. And then also, like Caitlyn, I've been blessed with friendships, um, and through those friendships that are rooted in Christ, I receive words given to those friends who are obedient to Jesus when He calls them to be confident enough to speak those words out over me. So, I think hearing from Him is, um, it can be a unique and, and solo experience, and it's also intended, I think, to be a very communal experience where we, we hear His voice because we, we speak that life over others and hear life spoken over us. Yeah.
That's good. Did y'all find it, I'm just curious, is, is a, a little bit different than the question I had on our little paper, but it's along the same lines, like learning to hear His voice. Did you find it difficult? Did you find it difficult to figure out and to learn how to hear the Lord?
Yeah. I, I, um, so when I was thinking about this question about how did I learn to hear Him, the first, I thought of a person. The first person I thought of was, was my dad. So, I'm, I'm blessed to be able to say that my first and best teacher of the word is, is my dad. Um, my dad never missed an opportunity to connect me with scripture. He still doesn't. So, on the way to school, sitting at the dinner table, working in the garage, at the grocery store, wherever I was with my dad, he was teaching me that God had something truthful to say about me and, and my life. And so, I think one of the challenges as I got older and my faith became my own was separating my earthly father's voice from my heavenly Father's voice, which is a good problem to have, right? Um, but so, I think, I think that was part of a challenge, just coming to own it and to understand that what my dad was teaching me wasn't meant to be his that I then borrowed, but he was, he was helping me understand how to step into my own ability to hear, to hear from God. So, um, like any son, there were moments for my dad and I didn't get along. And, and I think the important thing through that is my dad also demonstrated God's faithfulness by never stopping teaching me, even when he and I weren't on the same page. Um, and so as an adult now, that relationship with my earthly father is one of my most precious gifts because it modeled for me what it looks like to be in continuous conversation with my heavenly Father. So, now, you know, now I've grown into a space where I, I can, I can have that ongoing conversation with the Lord when I'm in my car, or when I'm driving somewhere with my kids, or when I'm at the grocery store, or, you know, wherever I am, because I was, I was living that out with my dad in, in an earthly way as well. And so, so then it translated spiritually much easier. Exactly.
So, so I think what I would, I don't think this is an easy subject. I don't think it's supposed to necessarily come naturally, if you, if you will, to people. But I would encourage somebody who, um, is wanting to learn to hear God's voice to find a teacher. Um, and we'll, we will talk about that today about about being willing to be taught and practicing. It doesn't have to be your dad. But most importantly, um, humble yourself to be willing to learn. That's good. That, um, that if, if I, if I want to learn to hear God's voice and, and I'm not, there is someone out there who loves me enough to teach me what that looks like. And so, sometimes it's intentional, like I'm, I'm directly teaching you how to listen for God. And sometimes it's just someone like my dad being that model in your life of an ongoing conversation rooted in scripture and seeking through that model to learn that you can translate that, like you said, Sarah, into, and you put yourself in a position too. That's what you did. It's you put yourself in a position to receive and to learn and grow. And so, I find it very, like, we have to remember that there's no formula here to hearing God's voice. Like, He, the reality is, and the truth is, is that you can hear Him because the word says that His sheep hear His voice. How He speaks to us and how He connects to us is going to be different because I connect differently to my oldest daughter, differently than I connect to my youngest. And the way I speak to them and talk to them and relate to them is definitely different because they're different. God made them so unique. And so, you know, I, I find it so fun that the two ways, I mean, at the top of our conversation, the way you hear God connects with something that He placed inside of each one of you individually. Like, Jordan, you love words. Caitlyn, you love, you connect with worship. Like, and that is how you connect with your heavenly Father, and that's how you hear His voice. And so, I just find that incredibly encouraging. Like, maybe if you're struggling right now to hear God's voice, maybe ask, "Okay, Lord, how would You like to connect with me?" And then see what pops up. You know, is it creation? Because God can speak to you through creation. You know, is it music? Is it art? Is it other people? Is it the word of God? Is it dreams and visions? You know, we don't, I mean, you just kind of have to start asking the question, "Lord, how did You make me, and how would You like to connect with me?" And then go from there. And I also would just add, the, the last thing I would add on this particular note is, you know, when I think about my relationship with my dad, there were moments where I was a captive audience, and my dad didn't give me the option to not hear what he felt like God needed to say. And I, and I think there's something about God's character in that too, because He's not passive or detached. You know, He didn't just set the world spinning like a top and then step away and, and wait to see what's going to happen with each of us. So, He is talking to you. He is communicating with you. And, and, and our opportunities, our privilege as believers, is to get to try to discover those areas in which He's saying something unique and precious to you because He's not passive. He is active. He is talking. It's there. And then our, our opportunity is to find ways to access and to hear.
So, Caitlyn, what did you have? Uh, this area is where I want to preach the importance of life groups. Um, my first teachers in hearing God were Britt and Kouy, um, and they were also my first Beltway life leaders, life group leaders. And first, I learned from them that I can hear, that I can hear from, from God. And a very important step for me was practicing hearing from Him because it did not come naturally to me. Um, I, I remember being so frustrated, and there were so many, like, awkward prayers asking for blessings of His words or pictures of His character, and I couldn't hear Him. I couldn't. There. And that was frustrating to me. But it was, um, a part of the journey that He had for me was that realizing being with Him and waiting for Him to speak is a blessing on its own. So, that's good. I love that. Yeah.
Well, I know, um, that there's a part of y'all's story that we were going to dive into, because sometimes we hear a word from the Lord, and then our circumstances don't seem to line up with that word, and we can find ourselves moving into a season of waiting for that word to be fulfilled, or, um, even doubting, "Okay, God, did we actually hear You say this? Because right now, we're not feeling it." You know? So, I would love, before, you know, I say too much more, I would love for y'all to share what y'all heard, like, your journey of leaving Abilene and having a word, and then just the process in that journey of what it looked like to remain faithful in hearing God and believing what He said was true as you waited.
So, the, the story here is really pretty simple. Um, it's, and what it's about is longing for people and a place where, where you belong. Um, in, in our early marriage, Abilene became a place where we met God together, drew near Him together in a totally new way, through a community of people who became family in that time. Caitlyn was, you know, I had the opportunity to re-baptize Caitlyn and, and just really strengthen our marriage. I mean, there were lots of, in that initial season where we were here in Abilene together as a married couple at Beltway, there were many ways in which we felt like we were, we were just growing deep roots into, into what the Lord had for us. Um, and, and then, you know, our intention was to stay and raise a family here. And then, like you said, um, He, in this whole season of blessing us where we felt like finally, we found this place we belong, um, with other people who were all pointed toward Jesus together, He called us to something different, somewhere else. Mhm. And we decided to step into obedience. And that, because we know, we know no other way. I mean, we, we believe firmly as a married couple that you're, you're never safer than when you are walking in obedience with the Lord. And so, He places this call in our life. And so, so without getting into all of the details, we went, and we, we left Abilene. And what we thought would be a short season of being away, um, and returning, turned into a decade, almost, of living elsewhere. And, um, you know, throughout that time, our prayer was for an open door back to Abilene, and specifically Abilene. And we, we kept praying that over and over. You know, "God, would You, would You, would You give us a way back to Abilene?" And God repeatedly said, "No." Uh, we tried to forge so many different paths, and all of these plans we were building on our own, and every single one of them ended in failure, and we were disappointed and and angry. And over the years, we spent more than one night together praying at God, um, for not honoring what, to be honest, we were trying to accomplish. That's good. Yeah. Yeah.
Um, and so after one kind of final failure of a plan we thought would be the one, collapsing into, into dust, we came to Abilene for a weekend visit. We did many of those over those almost 10 years. And we stayed, uh, at, uh, Gary and Vicky House's house, where the Turners, or, yeah, or you and Jeffrey's house. But, but we stayed with friends who always welcomed us and fed us and loved on us. And coming back to Abilene throughout those years was always one of those refresher moments where your heart kind of broke when, when we, when you left, because we wanted that refreshment all the time. And God had something else in mind for us. And so, um, so again, after this one kind of final failure moment, we come back to Abilene for a weekend visit. We were at North Campus on a Sunday morning, and I was hanging out in the Beltway coffee shop and cross paths with an old friend of mine, Daniel Reinhardt. Uh, Daniel, if you're listening, shout out. You know, this Daniel, that you totally changed the course of our life with one word from God that you heard and spoke to me. So, I lament to Daniel this entire, you know, decade-long story, which I'm sure he did not have time for. And then he said, "Hey, I just heard a word from the Lord for you." And he looked me straight in the eye, eyes, and he said, "I will never forget this." He said, "You are not called to where you live. You are called to where you'll grow." And that moment, when I heard the voice of God through my community, brought breakthrough. That was breakthrough. It was being willing to step into a moment of lament with a friend who loved me enough and was hearing from God and, and say something true to me. It was that moment where I knew I just heard God on this for the most concrete time in this whole long season. And so, um, in the car on the way out of Abilene that day, we cried, I think, for four solid hours in the car on the way back to San Antonio. But here's what we did together: we repented from trying to create a plan without God. Oh, that's good. Yeah. And we laid down our effort. And I think the most important thing we did is we accepted the waiting as a blessing. And that moment of accepting this season of waiting, it felt forever long. And of course, you know, in the grand scheme of history, it's not that long of a time, but it did feel like that to us. It felt like an eternity, right? But we just stopped together. Yeah. And we stopped striving for our own plan and accepted the waiting as a blessing. And our prayer shifted from, "Give us what we want" to, "Give us more of You." And then less than a year later, He provided the perfect work and living arrangement right back here in Abilene. Isn't that amazing how that works? Yeah.
Sometimes it's crazy. He is such a good God, and He's so kind. But it's, you know, that you, there's something to be said about a timely word, you know? And I, I like to consider those, you know, things you got to write down. Y'all, if you get a timely word, write it down because they are those moments where you'll look back and remember, "Yep, God, that was God. I see it now." Maybe in the moment, I wasn't sure, because we do want to test and approve, right? We do want to test and approve the words we receive from others. But at the same time, like, that was a trustworthy word, and it breathed life into you guys, and it changed the dynamic and the trajectory of where your heart was, but also your mind and your prayers. Mhm. You know, it made a big difference. And so, again, community, God, community, like-minded community, people who are in the word and are who are hearing from God, it's great to have in your life. Makes a big difference. And, and practical tip on that, I mean, keeping these things in front of you does not have to be complicated. And so, when I got that word from Daniel, you know what I did? I opened up my iPhone and I opened up my notes app, and I started a new note, and I wrote that, and I pinned it to the top of my notes, and I just read it over and over again. "You're not called to where you live. You are called to where you'll grow." And that little practical step of something I know I'm going to look at, and then putting the Lord's voice in the midst of that, became something that helped me remember as we continued to wait a little bit longer, not too much longer, but as we continued to wait to to come back to Abilene, then I had this thing in front of me, this, this, this truth that God had put in my life through the, the words of a friend. Yeah. Something you grab hold of and hold on to, right, until you saw the, the breakthrough. But I didn't have to, I didn't have to, you know, rent a plane and draw it in the sky above my house or something to remember it, right? I mean, it was just a simple little step of, you know what, pause, take the, take the short time to make sure I'm going to put those words in a place where they'll be in front of me regularly and consistently. That's good.
Well, I'm curious, um, in that season of the 10 years of waiting and the 10 years of praying, and then of course, that moment where that word was, was brought to your family at the right time. I'm curious what you learned about God in that season, overall.
So, for me, um, I learned that waiting on the Lord is hard, but it's worth it. Um, so fast forward to probably a year, maybe a half a year later, um, from Jordan's story, was when I went to Release for the first time. Mhm. Um, and I didn't want to go. But you and y'all pushed me because I was really angry with the Lord because this last push, which we thought was like, in the bag to come back to Abilene, we were like, "This is it." Yeah. Failed. And I was so angry. I was like, "I, I don't know what else You want us to do." I was like, "We, we are praying, we are being constant with our friends there, like, what, what do You need from us?" And, um, so it was then I put up a wall and I went, and I was like, "Fine, I'll go. You leave me alone. I'll go." So, I went, and, um, I talked to my friends there. I cried a lot. And then one night during worship, a song that I love to lead, and the one that I love to sing, and I did it a lot at Youth Camp, was "Closer." And that was led that night, and I just, it just broke me. I mean, that was, I think it was the last night in Release. So, I had heard a bunch of teaching, which is great, it was wonderful, and like Jordan and I would write it down, but I still was hard, like my heart was still hard. And that is when the Lord broke me, and I fell to my knees, and I felt like He was saying, "I have a plan. Trust Me. Come close to Me, and I will take care of you." And this is probably the most audible that I have ever heard Him, but it was, "I will take care of you. I will take care of Jordan, Caleb, and Maddie Kate," who I was pregnant with at the time. And, um, I wept. It was then that I stopped trying to control the situation. It's kind of like I just put my hands up in the air and said, "All right." Surrendered. Yeah. Absolutely.
And, uh, what we didn't know was that Maddie Kate was coming early. So, by staying where we were, rather than coming back to Abilene at that time, she was delivered by my doctor in San Antonio, who loves Jesus, and openly declared during my delivery that God is in charge of life. That's right. Um, and that experience is a key part of my testimony now. That wouldn't have happened if we returned to Abilene on our own terms, because, yeah, you're saying she was born early, but she was born really early. Yeah. She was born, um, six weeks early. So, it was teeny tiny. I was 34 weeks. Um, and there were some other, yeah, it's just, she was ready to come. I started to labor. They didn't have to force it. They didn't have to induce me or anything. She was coming, no matter what. And for, it's a good thing that that happened. But, yeah, um, I, I was an hour away that day from Caitlyn. She was at the hospital. She calls me and tells me, "I'm at the hospital." And I was an hour away. And the thing I remember the most is that it was an absolute monsoon rainstorm, just a gully washer. So, I drove an hour in the rain, could barely see through the windshield, just like, totally terrified that I wasn't going to make it. But, God was faithful. And, and, and, and, and the most important thing is what Caitlyn just said, too. Is both Caitlyn and Maddie and me were all in exactly the place we needed to be at that moment, with exactly the doctor who knew exactly what to say to declare life and peace over the moment. And if we had rushed out of that place on our own terms, that would not have happened. Yeah. Because there would have been no relationship yet. Yep. Here with the doctor, you know? And I've specifically remember during this time, and I'm pretty sure I told Jordan, was that the Lord was saying, "This is a huge reason why you needed to stay." Yeah. And it just, we really want to rush the time. Yeah. Because we want it to be for us. We're selfish. And the Lord was so sweet and kind, even though I was mad, He still loved on me with sending me to Release, sending me the friends that I needed right then and there. So, it's that going back to community. You have to have those people around you to continue your walk with the Lord. Like, you have to have those people.
I think you asked, um, you asked what did we learn about God in this season? And so, I want to kind of continue. I want to add a little epilogue to the story. So, I, I mentioned driving home to Abilene in tears, and that drive in the car being a moment where we really laid our pursuit of our own plan down. Um, when we, when we got back to, we again, we were living in San Antonio at the time. We got back there after that final trip out of Abilene. God had another word waiting for me. Oh, wow. And I think that's important to say is that I had this really, I had this breakthrough moment with Daniel in the coffee shop at Beltway, and then I got back to where I was, and God still kept talking to me. It wasn't like I had to come to this other place and get a word from Him and then leave and then wait to go back. I got back home, and He had another important word. And so, and so we get back home, and another friend stopped me during a church service, and he said, "Hey, I got this word. I felt like God is telling me to tell you that the Lord is calling you to repentance and rest." And it turns out that is straight out of Isaiah chapter 30. And that became a scriptural touchstone for us as we waited on the Lord in that last kind of season, in this season of surrender we finally arrived at. So, in that chapter, we hear the, the heart of this Father who wants a better way for His children. He, He calls the people of Israel, I love this, He calls them stubborn children who carry out a plan, but not mine, who set out to go without asking for my direction. That is exactly where we had been in that waiting season. We had set out to go without His direction over and over and over. And He wasn't going to let it happen because it wasn't His best for us. And then He says, "Here comes my friend's voice, right? In repentance, or returning to Me, right? That's what repentance is. It's a returning to God. In repentance and rest, you will be saved. In quietness and in trust shall be your strength." And then later in that chapter, after He kind of, uh, yells at him, just a little bit, He lays out the promise in the waiting. And this is what's so important as we talk about hearing and waiting today. He says, "Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you." So, He lifts His plan up above yours because He knows that's better. He knows there's mercy in that. He knows you'll receive more when He lifts His plan above yours. And then the, the final piece here is, "For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him." So, that, that chapter, Isaiah 30, I think I'm just going to print the whole thing on my gravestone someday because it's become so crucial to our story to understand that when you're waiting on God, you're blessed, and He's still talking to you. Because that's what He was doing with the people of Israel. And that, that moment, He wasn't letting them wait alone. He was waiting with them.
That's so true, because that's the God we serve. He doesn't leave us. He doesn't forsake us. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death and on the mountaintops. You know, just like you said earlier, Caitlyn, how friends want to share in the celebrations and the hard times, that's our God too. He wants us to draw near to Him. He's not going to force it, but He's always there, never leaving, never forsaking.
Well, thank you all for sharing that part of your journey and your story. But you guys have been here for several years, and obviously, you've grown, just in your own faith journey. I mean, this was a while ago, and you've got new things that you're praying and new things that you're hearing God speak into. So, I mean, and it doesn't all, you know, it's not all big stuff. Sometimes it's small things that we are, you know, waiting to hear of the Lord for, or just even just seeking Him for His counsel, right? Because He is the most wise counsel, the Holy Spirit is. And so, I'm, I'm interested, as you have, um, learned to hear God's voice, voice, and learning to discern the voice of the Lord and follow and obey, because like you said earlier, that's the greatest blessing is when we are, I mean, it is, it's truly, we get a blessing when we're, we're obedient to the Lord. Um, what is it that, like, when you hear God's voice, how does it build up and encourage you when you know, "Hey, we heard the voice of the Lord. Like, yeah, we heard the Lord on that one."
Um, so I first had to learn what was really from Him and what was not. Mhm. Um, the first question is, is what I'm hearing and receiving, is it life-giving and edifying to me, or is it someone else? If it is, we can be sure it's from the Lord. If it's life-giving and it's edifying, uh, I learned to ask that question through community and being willing to let more mature believers speak into my life and to help me. Um, this is when I learned that He speaks to me through the gift of worship and lyrics that build us up by glorifying Him. Um, and so being able to hear God's voice, it helps me navigate difficult situations by relying on God first. Yeah. That's good. That's a good, really. So, listening, yeah. So, listening to songs that I know the Lord has placed on my heart, talking to friends who I know and trust want the best for me, and they will tell me the right things to do and will pray for me and my family. Yeah. Yeah.
I think that's a really interesting point that you just brought up, and it's really, it is really easy to lean on other voices before we've pressed into the voice of God. Yeah. Especially when it comes to maybe something we're wrestling with, or something we're praying into, maybe it's a problem, or something that we're that's, that we're suffering through, you know, I don't know what the, the situation may be. But you bring up a really valid point there, is to not run straight into community first, but to first go to the Lord and ask, ask what He has to say. Yeah. You know, and wait on Him. And then say, "I have someone in my life that I know that has lots of friends, many, many friends." And she'll often ask, "Okay, God, who, if I'm to bring this to my community, who do I need to bring it to?" Because there's even wisdom in asking the Lord who should I bring in when I've got this going on in my life.
A big part of the encouragement for me now, as a, as a more mature believer than we were when we started this whole journey, because you're right, I mean, we, we, we've now been back in Abilene, it's been almost four years now, which is, it's crazy that that went that fast already. But as a, as a more mature believer, one of the things that this season has taught me is that I don't have to figure out everything myself. That's good. And I, I put that pressure on. I'm a, I view myself as a high achiever, and, and I, I put way too much pressure on myself to know everything right away. You know, like, I have to know the answer to the question before God even asks me, or before I even ask Him, "Lord, what do You have for me?" Well, I don't have to ask Him that question and then think I know what He's going to say. I can ask Him that question, and it really can be open, and I can trust Him that He's going to answer it as a faithful Father who loves me and has a plan that's that's better and higher than than my own. It also means, I think, that we can be real with the way we feel about God. It really, one of the pieces of that story that I kind of glossed through was how angry we got at God when we were waiting to come back. We had many nights where we were together in the dark in our living room, just frustrated as, as we could be, and telling God, "We are mad at You right now." And never did God run from that. Yeah. Not once did we feel He'd abandon us or turn His back on us. And so, you know, just going back to Isaiah 30, you know, I mean, He, He says, "When you depend on Him first, your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.'" And also, "He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry." So, difficult waiting seasons, if you're in a season of waiting, if you're listening to this and you're in a season of waiting, that is an invitation to draw near to Him. He's not holding you at arm's length until He decides to give you what you want. He's inviting you to get even closer to Him than you've ever been. That's good. He isn't saying also, "Don't be a crybaby," like, like an ungracious Father would, right? He is, He is listening to your cry and is going to respond to your cry with graciousness. Um, and so that's what, that's what's been an encouragement to me, and what I would encourage others with, is bring your cries to Him, um, especially when you're waiting, like Israel was in Isaiah chapter 30, and He's going to answer you with a better way forward. It's good.
Well, before we wrap up, I've got one final question for you guys. So, thinking about the listener who's wanting to just, you know, be more attuned to the voice of God, is wanting to learn, wanting to grow in this place, what encouragement would you give to them, regardless of the season that they might be in right now?
Sure. I would say that His timing is sweet and perfect. Um, releasing the control of trying to make it happen was hard. It was very hard. But as soon as we said, "All right, Lord, we're letting You have this. We are releasing the control. I'm raising my arms to You." He put a better path in front of us. It was like we released, and then boom. Mhm. So, it's just sweet. And I also would encourage y'all to, it's okay to be frustrated with the Lord. It's okay for that, um, because He welcomes that. It's just like, like us with any of our closest friends, we get frustrated with each other every now and then, but then we go and we talk to them and we resolve it. That's right. So, the Lord is the same way. He welcomes that. He wants you to bring all of your emotions, all of your words to Him. Yeah. And He will always tell you in some way, "I'm here." Yeah.
That's good. Because He put those emotions there. They're indicators. But they don't always tell us the truth, but they do tell us that something's going on. And so, in what better way to, to bring that up and out is, you know, to Him first. And I, I'm thinking about my children, like when they're upset with me, I would really much prefer them tell me, "Hey, Mom, I'm upset," you know, "and this is why," then hide it from me or not tell me. Said, I, because then there's tension in the relationship, and, and there is distance. And maybe, you know, my child's feeling it, but I can for sure feel it as a parent, right? I can feel my kids mad at me, or frustrated with me, or disappointed in something I did, or said. And, and hopefully, the Holy Spirit would have tapped me on the shoulder long before a child would have had to say something to me. But I'm just saying, I'm relating here as a parent, like, I want my kids to come to me. And that is exactly how our heavenly Father is. He wants us to come to Him, regardless of what we're thinking or believing or feeling in the moment, to bring it to Him is the best place. Yep. Right.
I mean, when you're, when you're feeling anger about something, usually that anger is coming out of a place of fear or uncertainty, right? The, there's a fear or uncertainty underlying this expression of anger that you're feeling. So, for us, that fear or uncertainty might have been, "Does God really want what we want? Does God really know how we feel? Does God really know who we are?" And so, we were expressing this frustration of, you know, "God, are you, when I, when I say to God, 'Why won't You give me what I want?' really what I'm asking Him is, 'Show me how You're good.' You say You're good, and I want You to give me what I want because I think that's going to mean, that's going to prove to me that You really like me, that You're good." But the reality is, no one, nobody has a better answer for your fear and uncertainty than the Lord. That's good. That's why you can take your anger to Him because if your anger is coming from that place of fear, uncertainty, He will answer at the root. He's not worried about the anger. He's worried about addressing what you're afraid of and what you're uncertain about with truth that will remove those feelings and let you live in a place of joy. Yeah. Like the woman at the well, I mean, she asked the questions, and what did Jesus do? He went to the root issue. Mhm. You know, "You don't really want water. You really need Me." You know? "You don't really need this answer." Y'all, you really need, yep, the Lord. That's what's sweet about Him. That's what's sweet about Him. Absolutely.
So, I have a couple of encouragements. First, I just want to encourage anybody who is not sure they're hearing God's voice or not sure how to speak words that He, you feel like He may be offering to you for someone else, not to be afraid to practice. There's nothing wrong with finding people who are safe for you to practice this with, whether that's in your life group, or it's a spiritual advisor in your life, or someone just that you know who loves you and loves Jesus. Ask those people if it's okay for you to say yes to those nudging of the spirit with them. And, and, and so that is something we did early on when we were in the D-group life group, as Caitlyn mentioned earlier in the conversation. And we just want to encourage others, practice saying yes. That can mean practice saying yes when, when you feel that nudging to receive prayer, or practice saying yes and being obedient when, when God gives you a word and it feels like it's something that would be edifying and life-giving to someone, and you're, you're just not sure. Practice finding someone who you know is going to have no frustration with you if it doesn't come out exactly perfectly in that moment, but practice that step of obedience with someone. So, that is, that is not just receiving edification from God, that's also a confidence builder that the Lord is speaking to you. That's good. So, so don't be afraid to practice those listening and speaking in His voice skills. And then the last encouragement I have, if, is for, is for those of you who may specifically be in a season of waiting. Um, as we talked about this today, our encouragement to those of you who feel like you're waiting and not receiving is to try less and trust Jesus more. Um, busyness in a waiting season is not a sign of fruitfulness. And busyness can look like praying and asking and praying and asking over and over and over again for something that you want. You can get whatever it is you're waiting for and still wind up unsatisfied, and missing the one thing that really matters, which is Jesus. So, slow down. If you're waiting right now, slow down and ask yourself, "How can my life be fruitful right now, no matter what I'm waiting on? How can I still glorify God and give life to others, no matter where I am or what I have?" That's another way of hearing from God, because bearing the right fruit means we're connected to Him, right? And so, fruit in this season can look like, "I may not have what I want, or be where I want, but I can still glorify Him and edify others around me, no matter what my context is." So, I, I want to bring a quote from John Stikko, who is one of my favorites, from a sermon that he actually preached at Beltway many years ago. He said, "Nothing has the authority to steal fruit from your life when Jesus is your one thing. Nothing has the authority to steal fruit from your life when Jesus is your one thing." So, that again goes back one more time to those promises in Isaiah 30. If we'll make Jesus our one thing by returning to Him and resting in Him, pressing into those promises of God more than we pursue different circumstances for ourselves, we will bear fruit in every season, waiting or otherwise. Amen. Amen.
Man, that was really good. Thank you guys so much for coming in today. I've been asking, yeah, it was really fun to be in here with friends today. But I have, uh, just one thing I was going to ask you. I've been asking our guests to close us in prayer. So, if you don't mind, would you mind closing us out in prayer today?
Of course. Holy Father, we come to You. Um, we love You. We're thankful for what You do for us and how You communicate with us, no matter what that looks like. Um, like Jordan and I talked about today, it's different for everyone, and that's okay. And I just give that, um, I pray that peace over those who are listening who are struggling with that, Lord. I pray that, uh, You will bring community to these people, um, that You will give them, highlight a person in their life who they can go and just release all of this, um, because the way that You can journey through your walk, Lord, is, it's always better with people around you. And I pray that, uh, You will give them people. And that You will always give them what exactly what they need, Father. For those who are in a season of wanting to hear from You, I pray that You would speak with comfort and graciousness to them. Would they right now feel a sense of peace directly from Your Spirit? I pray that it would be unmistakable that there is a moment right now happening in their life where they know the Lord is covering me up with graciousness and with mercy. God, I ask that You would help those who want to hear from You to know that Your voice doesn't come one way, but that You speak to us in many different ways. Would You open their eyes to see many different things, messages from You? And God, would they, would they know and hear in those messages edification from You? That as You glorify Yourself, You are also lifting them up as well. So, that's, that's my prayer for those who want to hear from You. God, that You would one, give them graciousness for themselves as they learn to practice the skill of hearing from You and also speaking with Your voice. And God, would You give them the right words to say in the right situation? Would You make it unmistakable again, Father, that You are speaking to them and through them? And Father, for those who are waiting, Father, would You comfort their hearts as well? Would You remind them of that promise that in quietness and trust is our strength, that we don't have to do more to push through a season of waiting, because that season of waiting is an invitation to be near to You. So, for those who are waiting, would You feel God closer to You than ever before? Father, would You build up their hearts? Would You remind them that in the waiting, You're there, Your presence is near, no matter what season of life we're in. And so, God, give us the courage to continue to bear fruit, to glorify You, and to edify others, no matter our circumstance. We trust You. We love You, Lord. We know You're with us. Strength and honor and glory be to Your name, and Your name alone. It's in Your name we pray, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen.
You know, it's so important to remember that hearing God's voice is a privilege we all share as children of God. But before we end this podcast today, I wanted to talk about one of the primary ways we hear God's voice, and that is through His word. So, I'd love to resource you with a few links in our show notes that may help you dig a little deeper into God's word and get to know Him even better. Remember, He wants a relationship with you. He wants a relationship with me, and He wants to talk to us. But relationships aren't just on Sundays. God desires connection with us and relationship with us beyond just Sundays. So, here's one more encouraging scripture I wanted to leave you with today from James 1:15, and it says this: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." You know, in every area of our life, we need wisdom from God. Wisdom is what gives us God-directed strategies, and it is really truly essential if we want to find freedom and live in the freedom that Jesus has already accessed for us on the cross. And James just simply encourages us to ask for it. So, I hope you will ask for it today. Thanks so much for listening to the Beyond Sunday's podcast. We hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember, God is always moving, and He's moving in your life too. Beyond Sundays.