Embracing God's Timing and Preparation with Christopher Frazier

Have you ever wondered how faith can be used as a compass in navigating life's toughest challenges? Our guest, Christopher Frazier, a beacon of inspiration, shares his incredible journey of faith, resilience, and growth in this soul-stirring episode. Christopher opens up about his profound spiritual experiences that have served as guiding light through the darkest times. His unwavering determination, couched in deep faith, has been instrumental in his transformation into a stronger, more resilient version of himself. 

Christopher's insights into the power of like-minded communities, the importance of emotional control, and the pitfalls of self-righteousness are truly profound. We explore the value of being good stewards of the blessings we have received, underlining the significance of relationships and their ability to lead us to places money can't. Christopher's perspective on understanding God's word and forging a unique language between us and Him will give you a fresh perspective on your spiritual journey.

As we near the close of our discussion, we delve deeper into the importance of surrendering to God's preparation and timing. Christopher encourages us to be good stewards of our blessings and to trust God even in the most trying circumstances. The transformative power of faith, humility, and surrender pervades our conversation, inspiring us to renew and deepen our relationships through surrender to God. Don't miss out on this enlightening episode brimming with deep insights and wisdom that can significantly alter the course of your life.

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

Welcome back, dear listeners, to another electrifying chapter of Experiencing Amazing Transformation podcast. We're thrilled to have you join us as we embark on a brand new adventure through the realms of personal growth, extraordinary stories and profound insight. Get ready to be captivated by the extraordinary journeys of individuals who have undergone remarkable transformations, defying odds and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. So buckle up and prepare to be inspired as we delve into the exhilarating world of self-discovery and witness the power of change unfold before our very eyes. So welcome back to Experiencing Amazing Transformations, where the extraordinary becomes reality.

Speaker 1: 1:53

Today, we have the honor of welcoming a truly remarkable individual to our podcast. Joining us is the incredible Christopher Frazier. A beacon of inspiration in navigating life's challenges with unwavering faith, christopher has faith's adversity head on, emerging stronger and more resilient than ever. In this captivating episode, he will share his profound wisdom on how embracing spirituality and becoming a light for God has guided him through the darkest of times. Get ready to be enlightened and uplifted as we talk about the transformative power of faith with extraordinary Christopher Frazier. So let's dive into this enlightening conversation. Welcome, christopher, to Experiencing Amazing Transformation Podcast. I appreciate you coming all the way from Houston to Shreveport.

Speaker 1: 3:01

I'm glad to be here Just to be on EAT Podcast. We are so honored and blessed to have you on.

Speaker 2: 3:10

I'm definitely excited. It's my first time, so I'm honored. Honestly, when you text me the first time, I'm like you want to talk to me. What do I got to say? I'm truly honored by that. Awesome. I'm glad to be home, glad to see friends, glad to see family.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Yeah, Glad to be here. That's good. We're all glad that you're here, yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:35

When did it start? So much I know so much.

Speaker 1: 3:38

Well, when you told me you were coming out here, you were telling me that you were at a breaking point and all I could think of was standing on broken pieces. So we can talk about that.

Speaker 2: 3:56

So to you, what does standing on broken pieces look like?

Speaker 1: 3:59

For me that looks like someone that is learning how to love or fighting or struggling not even just love, but in life and learning the processes of life without any blueprint. So you were told what to do but never shown what to do, so people don't even realize. While you're telling me something to do, you don't have any clue of what I already know or I don't know. So you don't know if I was brought up in an abusive home or in a happy home or just in a neglectful home. And even if it was a happy home, if I went through life and it's torn me to shreds and I'm trying to gather all my pieces, I'm just standing. Yet you want me to do what.

Speaker 2: 5:02

That's good. Like you said, they really have no clue of the background or the circumstances of you becoming to where you are at that point in your life. And it's a not have a blueprint man. It is a difficult thing because when you come to a certain space in your life where you're trying to do something different and you look back at the lineage and the line in your family and no one's ever done it, it's like who do I talk to? Of course you have your support groups, you have your friends and that, but what if they are not going down that way? And it's not to say that the people or your circle are bad for you or anything like that. Everybody's moving and progressing in their own ways, but the way that I'm in, there's no one around me that's done it, has even attempted to drive in it. They don't know how bumpy the road is you know what I'm saying. They don't know how smooth it may be. So doing something without a blueprint it is scary at times.

Speaker 1: 6:05

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:06

It will scare you at times and sometimes you could possibly become weary. There's no lie about that, you know. But we know that God tells us to pray not that even in the times of weariness, we know he tells us. So it's just trying to bring those things back to your remembrance of what you're doing, because even the Bible tells us that when you do things, you do things in my strength. So when we get to those places where we see that we're weary and we're tired, you got to stop and kind of examine and say, okay, whose strength am I actually doing this in, even though I don't have a blueprint, even though I don't have a roadmap, even when there is no one that I can look to or lean to to talk to? Okay, god, I still got you. You're renewing my strength. I'm like you already told me don't do it under my own because I'm going to fail. But if you give me strength, it's going to ever last, it's going to keep going, especially for me, I could say.

Speaker 2: 7:10

I think a lot of young men around my age kind of deal with it, struggle with those kind of things, but it's like having a space to talk about. It. Have a safe space, a landing place where you can actually discuss hey, man, I'm used to my life going this type of way. I'm used to doing things this type of way and I'm trying to do it the right way. I'm trying to walk with God the right way. When I'm struggling, it's okay to say I'm struggling. I think society makes it frowned upon to say, hey, I'm struggling as a man and, like yo, this is what I'm dealing with. I don't know how to deal with this. I need some help trying to deal with this, and I think that's frowned upon sometimes and that's what sucks. That's why you catch a lot of young men double dutching.

Speaker 2: 8:00

And I say double dutching because at one point in time, yeah, I was trying to get myself right with God. I remember me and you had a conversation and you was like yo like yeah, you got back times, now you in the fight. So it was like at that time I was double dutching. It was like okay yeah, it's cool Y'all doing over there. Y'all saving and stuff, but I'm pretty gonna feel right.

Speaker 1: 8:20

Right, so I'm at that double dutching.

Speaker 2: 8:22

But thank you, my God man, One way or another it's gonna work out and he gonna get what he want out you.

Speaker 1: 8:29

He gonna pull you back.

Speaker 2: 8:31

He gonna pull you back he gonna get what you want out you for real, so yeah, I think that it's hard for young men your age.

Speaker 1: 8:41

I honestly believe that it's that way for all men. I believe that the world wants women too, a lot of single women or single mothers. It's almost like the world wants us to just suck it up and deal with it, and that's not what God wants. I made a post a couple weeks ago that said leave your footprint. I believe that a lot of people and I could be wrong, that's just my opinion, but I believe a lot of people because we do suck it up and just live life, we wind up dying of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes. We die from so much because we internalize the mistreatment or the misunderstanding of the lack of communication or the lack of coping skill to consume us and we just go on with life, not dealing with what has actually broke us in the first place.

Speaker 1: 9:42

The word happy derives based off of what's happening around you. So of course I can have a smell on my face because things are nice, you know, and I'm happy in the moment. But when I get quiet and I want to talk to someone and it's like, don't just throw the Bible at me. That's not what I need. I need a comforter. I need someone compassion, some understanding, some empathy, something. But I would say I used to believe that if you hadn't gone through it, then you couldn't have compassion. That's not true. If you really see God's face, you can have compassion for any situation, but you have to really really see God's face. Have I ever done drugs or been in jail? No, but I have compassion for those that have gone down that path, even if they chose it or continue to choose it. I know that maybe there's something behind that choice or maybe they got in the wrong situation at the wrong time. No-transcript so important whether you've gone through the situation or not. But it's just not here and I don't need the Bible thrown at me. I need someone to actually sit and listen to me and hear me. Hear me with their whole heart, even if you haven't gone through it.

Speaker 1: 11:09

There's deeper reasons why people do what they do on both ends of the spectrum, whether it's finances, relationships, whether it's work, no matter what it is. You could find someone that can't keep a job, but you don't know why they can't keep a job. Whether they saw that growing up, you know Something got ingrained Right and that happens in a good way and it happens in a negative way, but it's good to have a circle to communicate with. I am a big person that believes the word of God. I really do so when God says fret not the assembly that may not be going to church and just dealing with those people, but you have to be around like-minded people. You can go to church and be around church people, but those people could be church heard people. So that doesn't mean that that's the group. God needs you around. God needs you around like-minded people.

Speaker 1: 12:12

Business had many disciples but people only know about the 12. And then some of them don't even realize he had an inner circle, don't even realize he had three close ones. So you have to watch your circle. I'm sure when he was around the 12, and he said one of you will betray me, everybody looked at each other. But then he left and he still took his posse, his three, with him to the garden just to talk to God, talk to himself. Like you know, if this ain't for me, let this cup end. Who else could have handled him? Hearing you know what I'm saying, hearing that who else would trust or have compassion or faith enough that he would ask to pray? That's why I believe you can't ask everyone to pray. Sometimes you got to get that inner circle.

Speaker 2: 13:04

No, I've always said people pray for you and pray on you at the same time.

Speaker 1: 13:09

Amen.

Speaker 2: 13:10

So I know that's a slightly pessimistic way to look at stuff, but it's the truth.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:17

You know, the Bible teaches us about that. It teaches us about the enemy Right. It teaches us how he sends us out.

Speaker 1: 13:23

Right.

Speaker 2: 13:24

I seen you out his rules in sheep's clothing.

Speaker 1: 13:27

He teaches us about this.

Speaker 2: 13:28

So we definitely have to understand that there's an opposite of that too.

Speaker 1: 13:31

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 13:32

You can't believe one thing without believing the whole thing in our work.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Oh, how we wish yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:40

One thing that you touched on was the being in the moment, happy and like that, really stuck out to me, because I remember being in that place at one time. I'm smiling, we laughing, we having a ball, but you give me two seconds, my brain goes all off by itself and I'm there, but I'm not there. I'm present, but not present at all, because I'm concerned about whatever was going on in that timeframe. Honestly, I think I'll even to this point I don't even remember. I don't even remember what was happening then, but I do remember being in that place. I know how it can sneak up on you. It's like you're present but you ain't there. I'm thinking about these bills. I'm thinking about how I'm going to get this done. I'm thinking about man, I got this drama going on. You know what.

Speaker 1: 14:29

I'm saying yes.

Speaker 2: 14:31

I definitely remember those times and it sneaks up on you so quietly, it's so sly, like it really creeps up on you and you don't realize it. You don't realize that it happened. And I remember people hey man, chris, what's up? Man y'all, or my girlfriend, it's like you all right? Yeah, I'm cool.

Speaker 2: 14:56

And knowing I'm in my mind going a million miles a minute, like I'm talking about just going all over the place. Somebody I know they say squirrel Like squirrel, all over the place. It was so funny when they said I'm like, I get that Like you all over the place. Your mind can't focus on one thing at a time. You can't productively do anything without your mind getting to you, you know, and when you don't have the word to put on top of that, who would it tell you? We know that the Bible says that we must take these imaginations and cast them down.

Speaker 1: 15:32

That's true. Daily, hourly by the minute by the minute. Some of us squirrel by the second.

Speaker 2: 15:41

Yeah, I mean. But that's real though, because things sneak in so subtle and sly I don't think people really realize how that really happens. I think we all have a working knowledge of it.

Speaker 1: 15:53

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 15:54

But I don't think we really grasp how it actually happens, until you become a person that used to have to deal with it and God brought you to a place where he brought you out of it. Then you could see it and it's like oh no, I ain't, I ain't. I love you. Mama holds you accountable in that moment, but I can't play in that party with you.

Speaker 1: 16:16

That's right.

Speaker 2: 16:17

You know. So, like that stuff, it sneaks up on you, man, and I think God that he brought me out of that place, because now I was not productive at that time I was productive but I wasn't productive If that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 16:30

It makes sense, yeah, so somebody that's been there.

Speaker 2: 16:32

Yeah, you know what I'm saying. Like yeah, I can get up, go to work, yeah, I could go and work 12, 16, 17 hours a year. I could do it. I could hop in this truck and drive and all that kind of stuff. But it's like I think the best way I could paint that picture is everyone's head at that moment where they drove home from somewhere, drove home from work, and within that trip of driving home, you forget what you passed or you forget how you got there. You're like, how did I get here?

Speaker 1: 16:59

And it's like the same thing, like, yeah, I could go and not good.

Speaker 2: 17:02

I could jump in that truck and drive for 12, 14 hours a day and like how did this happen to me? Like it's time to clock out. I don't remember what happened because I've been trapped in my own mind. I've been trapped.

Speaker 2: 17:15

I put myself prison and a lot of times we put ourselves prisoner to the thoughts of what other people are gonna think oh, and that's horrible. I love everybody, but I cannot play prisoner to your thoughts. I can't. Some people might, oh man, that's man, you can't be like what it's not to say that I don't care how you view me or care about how you feel about me in any type of way, but to sit back and just be manic over what you think, whether it be good or bad, nah, we can't do that.

Speaker 2: 17:51

It goes back to understanding that you gotta put the word on it stuff. You have to put the word on it. This is not a physical fight. We see physically, but this is not a physical fight at all by any means. I remember a couple minutes back I just woke up kind of in the funk and I was like, ah, ah, ah, something ain't right, god. You told me you was gonna give me peace beyond all my understanding. Like what's up, bro? Like come on. You told me you was gonna get into me. Come on now. And I know you're not a man that you should lie. And even within that moment it just kind of rested on there and I was like I don't even remember what I was tripping about, but that's how it sneaks up on you, and if you're not in a place where you're strong enough spiritually and mentally to actually discern, like hey, this is what's going on with me yeah man, you gonna be on that roller coaster, but there is hope.

Speaker 1: 18:46

There is hope.

Speaker 2: 18:47

And I don't want it to sound like, oh, it's just a hopeless thing, Like no, you take the time and you really start straightening yourself out. You really take the time to think about what it is that you're doing and you really take the time to build that relationship with God. Overall, you build a relationship with God. Everything else will be added to you. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 19:08

This is so good and, of course, my listeners know that we're on here because we're transforming Y'all. I prayed for him for many years to get to this place and I am like a chow. I'm full of glee just to hear the words spew out of him like this. Okay, so, with that being said, I need you to explain to us, because a lot of us didn't start here. So how do you get to the point where you can put the word on it? Because what if I don't know the word? You know what if I just got baptized and all I hear is pray about it, but I don't even know how to pray? I heard the pastor pray in the pulpit. I watch him on TV. I want to change, I want to get better, but my process don't look like how you sounding right now. So tell us your story, like how did you Get to the place that you wanted to even be baptized?

Speaker 2: 20:18

That was a really dark place for me. They may not be as dark as someone else, cuz I know. Nothing that we go through is unique. You know I'm saying, but for me I was in a place where I Was engaged, planning on being married, and when I look back at it now I wouldn't write the okay.

Speaker 2: 20:38

But I was in such a broken state, doing with brokenness and stuff, I was really looking for an answer in life at that time. I didn't grow up with a father, so I had uncles, and at that point I think I was 25 and you know it been baptized before as a kid. But I didn't understand what it meant and I started to get more of an understanding and I literally remember sitting on the church pew and the pastor wasn't even there that day. He was actually on a sabbatical. He was gone. But I remember one of the reverence he was there and he had assignment for the day.

Speaker 2: 21:14

But I remember he did an altar call and I wanted to get up. The spirit and me wanted to get up, but the flesh was like no, I felt segmented to the floor, my feet would move nothing, nothing at all. But after the altar call was closed I got up and Of course I felt bad, like I was like man, I should have got up. But I got up and I left out there. But I remember being in a car on the way home, you know, like I said, just kind of dealing with relationship going south and all that stuff. In that moment I was like, uh, I know today ain't promised to me the rest of the today and promise to me and I know next week ain't. But if you let me make it to Next week, I felt like Daniel in there, mom, who gonna praise you like me, if you let me make it to next week, I don't care what's gonna come, I'm gonna get up and go down that aisle and I'm gonna actually be baptized.

Speaker 2: 22:11

And man, look, the week went by and it was just at that time. I didn't understand what it was. I didn't understand the whole spirit was working on me then. And the next Sunday, road trail and man, I'm just sitting down, I'm sitting in the back, I ain't sitting in the front, we're from the south side of the king but I'm sitting in the back and the same thing happened. I couldn't move and I'm like god give me strength. And, man, I stood up. I was nervous as I'll get out, because in that place, like you said about Not necessarily people pleasing, but so self-conscious about what other people would think like look at this man. He, 25 years old, he never been baptized, and this thing, the third, but come to find out is I grow, man, it's a lot of us.

Speaker 2: 22:55

Yeah it's a lot of us.

Speaker 1: 22:57

Yes.

Speaker 2: 22:58

And I got down there and got baptized man and my pastor, like I said, he was on sabbatical so he wasn't even there to do the out call that week. But I went down there next to be baptized and, you know, turn around. I just started driving troops and he told me he was like man. When you make it back to town, you know, that's gonna be the first thing we're gonna do.

Speaker 1: 23:17

We're gonna we're gonna baptize you.

Speaker 2: 23:21

But he almost gave me an extra dude. That's the first I love you, but I remember that and I remember having a phone call with you and you saying to me like this is gonna be probably one of the toughest things that you did, and not even understanding at that time and not to say in a way like, oh, it's hard coming to God, it's tough trying to walk right.

Speaker 2: 23:45

Yes, it is people Try to sell that fairy tale. Oh, you came to God and now, oh, everything, everything is great, but the truth is all that temptation is still there.

Speaker 1: 23:58

You better say it.

Speaker 2: 23:59

Everything that you were doing that kept you away from God and kept you astray from it's still there. It doesn't go anywhere. It's just waiting on you. You know what I'm saying? It's just waiting on you, and that's why I say like at that time I was doubled that you like yeah, I got baptized, you know. I'm like, okay, I'm going to God now but I'm like, oh, this, this on him, this looks high.

Speaker 2: 24:20

I was in a new place at that time, just started my career in driving trucks, so it was man. I started seeing money I've never seen before. Okay, you know, I mean like Real money, yeah, money. To wear an immature mind Can either sink theirself or they can set theyself up. Thankfully I didn't sink myself, but I was still immature to an extent because I didn't set myself up. You know, I didn't set myself up perfectly.

Speaker 1: 24:52

You was somewhere in the yeah, I was in the middle. You were still double Dutch Financially and everywhere.

Speaker 2: 25:00

And then, once I turned Maybe 29, so like four years later.

Speaker 1: 25:06

Wow.

Speaker 2: 25:06

I really started going through the what's my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing? Why am I having to deal with this? I moved to Houston. At that time I was grateful, great, and later I was talking to. At that time I was favorite to be able to come and stay with them until I got on my feet and she was like these, my spirits were parents. She's always been a part of the church and stuff and she was like these are my, you know this, my spirits from one of them is I'm like man, that's, that's awesome. Like I wish I had something like that in my life. And man guys favor again, like I don't even think we were together at that time. And she introduced me to the pastor, them, and he's become my spiritual father. I've grown so much just from being around him. But it was rough at first.

Speaker 1: 25:54

Yeah, because it comes with accountability.

Speaker 2: 25:56

Oh it was rough.

Speaker 1: 25:57

I know.

Speaker 2: 25:58

I remember every now and then we didn't talk about it, but I remember the first conversation I had with him and he was like, son, you need to get out your emotions. I was like, okay, I got off the phone with him. Man, what he talking about, get out my emotions. Man, he don't know what he talking about, he ain't listening. And then, like I, I was like the whole spirit been riding with me for a hot minute. I just wouldn't listen at the time. It was like a thump on my head.

Speaker 2: 26:23

Why aren't you in your emotions about it? I was like, hmm, hmm, it's like you know it, he might be on something. I said I need to stay close. He, he got an answer for me and Just being close to him and you know a possible Eric L Brown, awesome guy, like I mean, he's awesome, he's phenomenal, a teacher, a mentor, oh, and he, he hold your feet to the fire and Even through that it's made me grow so much, not even just in my physical life, just in my spiritual life all together. Because one thing that you said is how do you get here? I don't know the bible, I don't God, god, funny, I don't care what nobody say God made us.

Speaker 2: 27:06

He got a sense of humor, that's for sure. I was not the person that would open the bible and read. Now I'm part of the production scene at my church, so I get to read the messages, I get to see the bible versus I get to read it all guys Like okay you don't want to open the book?

Speaker 2: 27:23

All right, I got you Watch this. God put me in position to sit me down in front of the computer where I'm looking up these scriptures every week. I'm reading the messages before they go out. I get the proof read. I have to edit. You know I'm saying.

Speaker 2: 27:37

Like it's a lot that goes into it, but it was all apart as God's plan. We know rome is eight and 28. All things work together. All things work together for those who believe. I am a witness to that Like. It's to the point. Now it's hard to talk to me without God flowing out of me. I'm like, but even through all of that, I can honestly say, had I been more wiser, of course you would make a different decision. Yeah, but with that decision, have got me to this place and I don't think it would have. There was some stuff that I needed to learn, you know, and it don't stop.

Speaker 2: 28:13

I think some people think that, oh, you come to God and oh, that's it. Come on in the print. No, he stretches you, he pulls you, he, he presses you, he crushes you. And it's not, it's not out of anger, it's not out of frustration, it's out of love. Is I have to stretch you, I gotta get this, I gotta get you to see that just giving a little more effort in this place can bless you and somebody else.

Speaker 2: 28:42

I gotta crush you, I gotta press you, I have to put this pressing on you because it's still something in there that's not really gonna allow people to see the God operating in you so they can come to me. It's gonna keep them astray. I gotta press you some more. I gotta throw you. I gotta, I gotta mold you with this clay. I gotta throw you back down. I don't think a lot of people understand, like with the clay throwing you back down. When you throw the clay down, it gets the impurities out of it, pushes the stuff that ain't supposed to be in it out. So when I throw you down, when I press you, when I crush you, when I put you on a crushing floor, like when I do these things, see you, it's because I love you. I'm trying to get this stuff out of you. I'm number one. I'm trying to get it out of you so you can be a blessing to someone else and so I can bless you as well.

Speaker 1: 29:29

That's the true. You know what you said. And not to make light of my listeners, but we are a tiktok generation. Y'all I watched a video today that gave me Such a revelation and y'all know me Everything that I see. I let God talk.

Speaker 1: 29:50

So I watched this guy take this rug out of the garbage. Y'all, don't hear me. The Holy Spirit, finna, hit this room in a minute. He took this rug from an abandoned home that was wrecked and he cleaned it. But there were so many steps in cleaning this rug, am I right? He cleaned it, he buffed it, then he reclaimed it. What I'm saying is not doing justice, but he took this dirty rug that you wouldn't have thought had any value. You wouldn't have thought it even had a color. It was black, dirty. If you and I looked at it, we would have just thrown it out and went and bought a new rug. Thank God he don't do that to us. But he took his time and I know it must have took him probably three to four, maybe five hours to clean this rug. Y'all the his process of cleaning this rug. He rolled it up and stepped on it to press Out the extra water, then he unrolled it and he began to clean it some more.

Speaker 1: 31:06

What chris is saying is there is a process, there is preparation To get you to where God wants you. Yeah, people may have thrown you away. Yeah, you may have been tossed to the curve, but when God gets you out of that seat, or out of that mindset Of what another person thinks, that's when the process starts. When you get up and you confess, even though you can double, does your teeter totter?

Speaker 2: 31:40

a lot of times, what we do is we quit the process. Yes, yes of the process.

Speaker 2: 31:46

Yes and then when we try to start the process again, we think we go back to where we stopped. No, sometimes, not all the time but the truth is, when you quit the process, you stop everything that you were doing, and most of the time, when you stop everything that you were doing, you go back to a reprobate mindset. You start doing things back the way that you were doing at first, or Something starts to lack. So then you have to go through that process of starting all over. If we just hold on and press through To the other side, the rest is on the other side. The greatest pushes and fights come right when you at the edge of it.

Speaker 2: 32:30

God, you trust me enough to give me this, no matter what it is like. You gave me this big enough task because I can handle it. God, I thank you. Let me be grateful for this process. Yeah, it's up. Yeah, sometimes it hurt, but god, god, I thank you. I'm gonna push, I ain't gonna quit. I'm gonna keep going through this because I know On the other side of this test there's rest for me. Yeah, you know I walk through the valley. It don't say I get stuck in the valley.

Speaker 2: 33:01

No it don't say I sit down in the valley? No, I don't it don't say I took a break in the valley. It says I walk through the valley of dark.

Speaker 2: 33:10

So, that means that there's only darkness in the valley. So if I just keep walking, if I just keep going, I don't don't see the light and I'm gonna see it in a better place. I'm gonna see it in a way that I can be a better steward over what it is. I'll be more grateful for it. Sometimes that's what it is. You know, we're just having a conversation the other day about being a steward or something.

Speaker 1: 33:36

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 33:36

I want this grand this, I want this grand that, but, man, you won't take care to find those. I'll put it in your pocket, but you want a million Right now. You want to have this big business, but you ain't never on time. It starts with the small stuff. I want to be this great business owner with X amount employees, but you have a people bed Right. How can I ask God to bless me with something so big and so grand, something that will blow my mind? But I'm not a good steward over what you already gave me, god.

Speaker 1: 34:07

I want to be a billionaire.

Speaker 2: 34:08

But you still messing up with the $10 I gave you. Ain't doing right with it. It never said that the word won't come to pass, but this is about what you do. Faith without work is dead. Yeah, I got faith that I'll become this. But what you doing with your work? Right what you doing with it.

Speaker 1: 34:24

And Jesus gave a couple examples, but my favorite one is when he talks about the master giving the three servants the money For one to bury it. One spent it and the other one invested. He will take the talent he gives you If you bury it to someone else, and then you'll walk around and see your talent in someone else and it will flourish. And then you got to sit and watch your dream or your vision come to pass because you buried yours. You can be the cashier at McDonald's and want the manager's position, but you aren't even a good steward over the teal, your cash register. You won't even talk to the customers in the drive-thru, you can't even handle confrontation, you can't defuse the situation. Why would God allow you a higher position? That's not the God we serve. Yeah, he gives us favor, but he's a God of order and before anything you have to get in order before I bless you with anything right you have to be in order, and that in itself I think people struggle with.

Speaker 2: 35:45

I want to come to God, but I still want to do the album and that's not how they work. I was watching a video on YouTube and it was about an entrepreneur. It was talking about investing. God's principles are infallible, no matter who uses you better speak. So even people that don't believe understand the concept of reaping and selling. That is one of God's biggest principles in selling.

Speaker 2: 36:11

And it's like even people that are of the world understand this principle and knows that if I invest here, my return on my investment, my ROI, will be this Our charity.

Speaker 1: 36:26

Because even the IRS understands the principles of God Absolutely, I go oh, you can give, yeah, hmm.

Speaker 2: 36:37

Yeah, absolutely, god, his principles are true. Yeah, yeah, his words don't retire, boy. I think even in this season, for me it's like OK, god, whatever you bless me with, whatever you bring to me, whatever you bring back to me, help me be a better manager of it, because I can't ask you for more, or I can't ask you to bless this thing. Ok, yeah, god, I got my own business. Ok, you bless me with it, but how are you managing it? I can't scale it up because you're not managing it will. So, god, help me be a better manager, teach me how to do it, this thing, right, so that when you do come to give me my increase because I trust that you go, come and bring my increase, that I don't mess it up. And sometimes, man, your heart posture ain't right and you can't handle it, oh, you get all this money and you turn into the snob of the South. It's a reason why money only shows who you actually are.

Speaker 1: 37:34

Exactly, I was just about to say that.

Speaker 2: 37:36

It don't matter how nice you are on the outside, if you deep down inside and got that ugly missing you, when I put money in your hand, all it's going to do is highlight it, and that's the part that God is trying to get out of you before he gives you the blessing. I got to get this out of you so you can manage it better. I got to get it out of you or bring it to the surface for you to see it, so you know that it's there so you can manage that. You need to be aware of this so that when I do give you something else, when I do, you give you something big. You ain't nasty to people. Right, you're in position to bless somebody like favorites.

Speaker 2: 38:15

The currency of relationships, amen. The currency of the world. It'll get you in places that money can't. Amen, everybody. Hold the power of the almighty dollar. Yeah, that's cool, but I've been in places and in positions that only word of mouth got me in Been around to bump elbows with certain people. That only word of mouth got me in. Oh, this, my boy, this Chris. You know I'm like whoa.

Speaker 1: 38:37

You heard about me, you know what I'm saying, like that kind of stuff, man.

Speaker 2: 38:42

It's so deep on so many different levels, and it's not just surface, and we just have to take the time to really dive into it and really see what the word of God is actually, man, because it's different, it's different. I was not the person that you would catch speaking about. I was a Jesus wept. It's time to pray over the Jesus wept.

Speaker 1: 39:04

That is not a prayer.

Speaker 2: 39:06

You know what I'm saying. I'm thankful for the journey, I'm thankful for the growth because, you know, just being able to see certain things and understand. Like yo, I was in that place and that goes back to like all of it is encompassed within understanding, empathy, compassion, understanding. You know, above all things, the word of God tells us to get understanding.

Speaker 1: 39:32

Get an understanding.

Speaker 2: 39:34

Our lives are not for us, it's for somebody else. It's for that person that you walk by at work every day that looks like they may be sad, waiting and needing someone to ask them. Hey, what's up? You alright today. Man, I see you a little down around her for the past couple of weeks. What's up? You know it's about that.

Speaker 1: 39:53

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 39:54

When people interact with me, I want them to be able to see the God working in me. You ain't got to see, chris. Just understand, man. God got you because I was one of those people. I, man, look, I'll pray about it, man don't tell me that I don't want to hear that man pray about what Right I'm not going to pray about it. I don't know what to pray about. I don't even know how to talk to God, so how do you do it now?

Speaker 2: 40:20

How do I talk to God now? Yeah, I talk to God like he, my homeboy. I can't even laugh Just with all respect, though, because even though I had my uncles and I had those figures I still never had a father. So I understand that God is my father like hey dad, but you're my friend too.

Speaker 1: 40:40

That's right.

Speaker 2: 40:41

And I'm really comfortable with you being my friend and that's why I said I had that moment. I'm like God. You said you was going to give me peace. What's?

Speaker 1: 40:48

up my boy.

Speaker 2: 40:50

What's up now? But I'm just being honest. I started reading the Bible in a way where I started putting my name in.

Speaker 1: 40:59

Okay.

Speaker 2: 41:00

And that helped me start looking at stuff differently. Even just with my story. I remember I had a moment. I've never forget it. It was Memorial Day 2020. This is me in a place really trying to build my relationship with God and really trying to stick close to my pastor and my spiritual father, like really trying to stick close to him and trying to get it right. And how the enemy comes to get you. Oh, how it comes. I was on having a conversation talking about stuff and someone had called me a certain name. They called me narcissistic at that time and, like, instead of going to the Word of God and reading what he said about me, I only looked at the Word of Narcissistic. Oh man, look, the internet is powerful and it's a tool that can be for good or it can mess you up.

Speaker 1: 41:54

You're right.

Speaker 2: 41:55

And you start reading that kind of stuff and without having just that truly strong word base in you, that Bible base in you, you apply that stuff to yourself. I'm like man, I'm narcissistic, I can't get it right. And I remember I sat there and I read John 14, 15, 16 and 17. I read those chapters and I put my name in everywhere and I remember I went to sleep with tears in my eyes and I woke up like early that morning because I had to be the work and I was light as a feather. It was like God was like I'll catch you, I could work with you now you listening to me and I remember it tried to sneak back up on me. You know, just going through that emotion place.

Speaker 1: 42:47

Right.

Speaker 2: 42:48

Not really having the word in you rooted the way it's supposed to be, and I remember I was driving and it's like it's like three o'clock in the morning. I'm driving and I'm at work and I'm running low to stuff and I heard the Holy Spirit loudest day. This is your time to work on you. It scared me so much. I'm on a dark road, like I'm on a dark road. I'm driving this big truck and I heard that and I was like oh Lord, like what was that? But I heard it clear as day you need to work on Chris. I was like whoa, and that was it. I was like okay, that was like the first time, like I just heard it distinctly, like I know, that was not me, that was not something I was thinking about, and I'm like, okay, I understand what it is. It was a balancing act from them Just starting to go and dive deeper and just really search out what God is saying. And, like understanding man, the enemy is a liar.

Speaker 1: 43:48

Right.

Speaker 2: 43:49

God had to show me, like if the enemy came to my son, who are you? You, my child. But if he came to me on the mountain top?

Speaker 1: 44:02

Who are you?

Speaker 2: 44:04

He knows exactly who I am.

Speaker 1: 44:06

Right, right, exactly.

Speaker 2: 44:09

You know exactly what I'm capable of, but you still came to me and tried me. Who are you? And we got to understand to the enemy know who. You is too Right. We know for sure. He goes before God two times a day, day and night. You know he needs to be there at least three or four times.

Speaker 2: 44:28

You right, we know, he know the word, we know all of these things. It's like you can't take some pieces and not take it all. You got to take it all. He goes before him day and night. That's at least two times. My parents would be saying it all the time and I'd just be sitting there like woo, like some people don't go before God until Sunday.

Speaker 1: 44:49

Right, so I was studying.

Speaker 2: 44:52

Tuesday, tuesday, tuesday.

Speaker 1: 44:53

Tuesday Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: 45:00

Some people don't even do that, though. That's true, that's true, and that's like such a dangerous place to be, not to say like church.

Speaker 1: 45:09

But you're not going to your word. That's it. That's it, y'all. You have to go to the word. You have to know how God speaks, and the way to learn how God speaks is to read this word. You'll never know that you're more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. You'll never know that because if you don't read it, you'll believe your narcissist. Yeah, absolutely. You'll never know that you have a purpose. You'll never know.

Speaker 2: 45:38

You'll never know.

Speaker 1: 45:39

If you don't read it. I remember being 23 years old and I remember sleeping on my parents' couch and the Holy Spirit woke me up and said read Jeremiah. And I was like, read Jeremiah. And he had me read the entire book three times. Wow, I did not sleep. I read it and when I got out of that not to lie, one thing Kim ain't gonna go to hell behind is lying. I'm trying to walk this thing out for real. So I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie to you. When God speaks to me for someone else, god chooses me to say what he says and not try to sugarcoat it, not try to add my dramatics in it. I had to learn a lot in that season. And then he said my purpose for you. I was like God, I got a purpose too. Okay, so not only do you want me to speak to people, but you also got something for me. And ever since that day, god has always just blessed me. But ever since that moment of obedience, strangers blessed me Without me even asking.

Speaker 2: 47:00

I'm telling you, I'm trying to have a look, I'm trying to have them kind of blessings over. Take me One thing that I could say, the reason that I double-ditched. I can give you the answer is because I thought I was losing who I was. I thought I was losing the Chris, or the inside, or the imagination of who Chris was supposed to be. And the truth is, the more that I came to God, he started revealing to me this is who you are. So it was like yeah, I'm Chris, I'm cool, I'm the you know. Yeah, I'm fresh, I'm just in the third. He's like, yeah, that's cool, but let me show you who you really are. Let's get it ready.

Speaker 2: 47:42

You thinking about what someone else will think about you in those types of ways, just looking at you from the outside. Come to me and let me show you who you really are. Let me put the mirror on you and show you who you are. You're who I called. You're who I've chosen. I need you to go talk to people. Your life is not yours. There's somebody that needs the information that you got. Somebody needs that, and it is not to say, oh, you'll be standing up in front of people and not you know what I'm saying. It's not to say that. It's just to say someone needs your help, somebody needs your help. It's always someone that needs your help and it's like, okay, god, what you got for me to do.

Speaker 2: 48:25

And the truth is that the more I came to him, I found out I'm pretty dope, like you know what I'm saying and not being considered or anything like that. But I think everyone kind of has this idea of what you're supposed to look like in church and all that kind of stuff and you're holier than thou. No, I said it at the beginning of this. I'm from the South Side of the Kingdom. Yeah, I love God. I do love God all day. But you will catch me in some trades. You will catch me in my forces. You'll catch me like that. You know what I'm saying. I ain't gonna hit you across the head with God. I'm gonna talk to you and see where you're at and then, as I talk to you, I'll start giving you some stuff and then, if I see that, you can handle, it.

Speaker 2: 49:08

I give you a little bit more, and that's part of understanding where you're at and where the person is that you're dealing with, having compassion, because I remember when I was in that place man, don't come to me talking about pray for this, I don't want to hear it. If you say a prayer about it, all right, I'm gonna talk to you later. I'll just be honest. But I don't think a lot of people will be honest about it Like nah, man, look, don't tell me, no, I'll pray about it.

Speaker 2: 49:38

Nah man, I'm good, I'll talk to you later. You know when everything turns around, but the truth is you were looking for someone to try to give you an answer, to help you in a space that you didn't know how to get out of. That's really all it is. You know. And what happens? We know that faith comes by hearing. We know it comes by hearing.

Speaker 2: 50:01

So, if I can ignite your faith by giving you something to understand, if I could just say a couple of things, see you to ignite your faith, or you to say okay, you know what, let me try to walk this thing out right, or let me at least look and see, cause most of the time, if you look and see, you genuinely look and see God.

Speaker 2: 50:22

Like I got you now, like I got you now, kid, ain't no running away, I got you now. But that only comes once you get to a certain place where you're truly searching for an answer, when you don't have the blueprint, when you don't have it, when there's no one you could look to to say hey, man, I'm dealing with this issue, I'm struggling with this, who like what you got for me? And the truth is they ain't got nothing for you, cause they don't know, only God knows. Sit down with me, talk to me, but it goes back to you. Know, like we were saying, having that word and you, you praying to God, but you ain't talking to him about nothing, cause you ain't you don't know his word.

Speaker 2: 51:01

You ain't talking his language. He hear you, but it's like you not talking to me, right? You know what? I'm saying, like you not talking to me, right you not? You not being intimate with me. You don't just come in and get in the bed with your wife and just go to go to town. No, that's not. No, you have to be intimate. You have to, we have to build this relationship, and when you don't know his word, you ain't being intimate with God but you can you can learn.

Speaker 2: 51:31

You can sit down, just takes you to open and start reading. Be open, understand that anybody can teach you something anyone. Now, whether it's wisdom or it's teaching you not to pay attention to that, anybody can teach you something. So it's just being open and being receptive to whatever God's trying to put in your path. To look, I'm trying to get you over here. I just need you to just just follow me. My budges Trust me.

Speaker 2: 52:01

I got it, I'm at a place now I'm sitting in the past to see my feet kick back. God, you got it, I'm good. You want to try it? Nope, nope, you said vintage was yours. Nope, I don't want no points. You got it, my boy. It's just at a different place and it's just how God grows you. We all didn't start off like this, but a lot of times people that came up and grew up in the church and maybe more messed up than the people that never stepped foot in the church.

Speaker 1: 52:30

Amen.

Speaker 2: 52:33

I mean, but it's not knock on them, but what happens is you become self-righteous. You become self-righteous and you know, just like in Romans, chapter one, once you get closer down to the middle of the end of the chapter. It talks about the people that claim themselves to be wise. The Pharisees did the same thing they claimed themselves to be wise, and it was foolish and God didn't like it.

Speaker 1: 52:57

Right.

Speaker 2: 52:58

So that's just the truth. A lot of people that came up, that's all they've known. Oh, they claim their selves to be wise, and this ain't an attack on nobody, because a lot of people think they wise, even people that ain't been in church. But the thing is you're fooling yourself. God's already told you that You're fooling yourself. You're self-righteous.

Speaker 1: 53:19

Oh, but that pertains to other people.

Speaker 2: 53:21

Oh, you just fooled yourself again.

Speaker 1: 53:24

And I can say that because I was one of them. People, yeah, yeah, god had to take me all the way down in order to kind of like the man with the carpet. I had so much makeup on where I truly had two faces. You put so much makeup on you look absolutely nothing like the person you truly are. So I had so much makeup on. I knew the word so well. I'm talking, I'm speaking, I'm encouraging, I was giving and people were being saved, delivered and set free, but at the same time, I would beat people up with the word a lot and I remember my pastor would say oh Kim, you're so heavenly bound, you're no earthly good, and that was her gentle way of singing.

Speaker 1: 54:17

Right now you're being a little self-righteous. God had to take me through the mud. I had to get dirty, I had to get clean, I had to be pressed, I had to be reconstructed. I chose, by listening to the Holy Spirit, to sit down and I had to ask God. Ok, once he revealed to me and that's another thing you guys, you have to sit back and, openly to yourself, admit you jacked up. You may not, in that moment, realize that you've been self-righteous. You just have to sit back and admit that you got some bad tendencies.

Speaker 2: 55:00

Message.

Speaker 1: 55:02

You got some bad tendencies Because we've been in a church so long and we know the word. But at the same time, those people, life still happens, life still beats you down. I was going through in every and I'm not lying every relationship I would go to word edit rather than embracing or taking it in and accepting hey, bad things are happening. No, I would dive into the word and anybody that was dealing with something or something similar oh babe, you better read the word. You didn't know that in Hebrews and didn't you know that? You know, I just was constantly giving people the word and Romans 12 and one says present, ye, bodies the whole living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.

Speaker 1: 55:55

Ok, you saying that, kim, but here you are, almost 400 pounds. You talking about my tattoo, but here you are, not even eating healthy. You can barely stand. It took God to literally strip me. I'm to be honest. I was wanting to get the beam out of your eye before you get it out of mind or get the mold out of your eye. I know the word, so I'm with you when you say we become self-righteous. Yeah, some people may be offended. That's on you, that's between you and God, because God knows our hearts. We do not mean to offend anyone.

Speaker 2: 56:36

Then you have to find out why you offended.

Speaker 1: 56:39

That's true.

Speaker 2: 56:39

What about it? Offends you.

Speaker 1: 56:41

That's true.

Speaker 2: 56:42

What about? It offends you A lot of the time. God put us in a situation where he allows the frustration to happen, so you can take a look at yourself and say OK why is this? Frustrating. What part of me is still frustrated by that? It's not what you're doing, it's something that still in me that gets frustrated by that.

Speaker 1: 57:02

That's right.

Speaker 2: 57:03

It could be a number of things you get to do and I don't.

Speaker 1: 57:07

Right, that's true I still do this Right.

Speaker 2: 57:11

It could be a number of things, so you have to look. Why is this frustrating? One of the things that we were having a conversation and one of the things that was said was your capacity of compassion has to grow.

Speaker 1: 57:25

It has to.

Speaker 2: 57:25

And I was like, oh, it made me look at myself. Ok, I can handle it differently, because me I know how I couldn't drive, I know I am and I'm very aware of it. So I try to be very mindful when I have conversations, where number one if I have a conversation, I don't waste there, because every breath is precious.

Speaker 1: 57:46

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 57:46

But if I do take the time to have a conversation, I'm very mindful about how I'm dealing with what we're talking about, or if it's something I know is going to possibly run me hot, ok, let's put a pen in and let's come back when Kula here is prevail. That way I can still analyze what was said to me or whatever the case is, and then be able to come back and let's have a discussion about it. But sometimes people aren't able to do that. Some people are led by their emotions and they can't control them.

Speaker 1: 58:24

Peter.

Speaker 2: 58:25

Yeah, sometimes I have a Peter moment. You're not a bad person for them, but what happens is they go from being Peter and to turning into a John.

Speaker 1: 58:37

Right.

Speaker 2: 58:37

You let your emotions take you to a place where you've run away from the situation. You've run away from the adversity and that's why I was saying part of the process, you've run away from it. So then when you come back, it's still sitting there waiting on you. You still got to deal with it. And what happens is you turn into Peter again and you turn into another John and you run away again. And until you say, ok, you know what? I'm going to stand flat foot, firm, in front of this and we're going to deal with this.

Speaker 2: 59:07

That's when you get through it. That's when you get to the other side and the light bulb comes on and be like man, that really wouldn't that big of a deal. I've been tripping this whole time and that wasn't that big of a deal. But when you're unable to get a hold of your emotions and really reign them things in and understand, like, ok, god, a revelation hit me so good. God says I give you power, but I have control. I give you the power to choose, but I have control of the outcome.

Speaker 2: 59:42

So you can either choose to respond to this the right way or you can respond in a negative way. I give you free choice, but you have the power to make a decision. Even the power to not make a decision. That's still a choice, but I have control over it all. So when I'm giving those moments where I know I'm high at this place, off of my emotions, or I really can't maintain or whatever the case is, I can't rationalize it, it's like, ok, I choose to say you know what, I'm going to step back and I'm going to chill out because I can't make a rational thought or decision when I'm in a place where I'm irrational.

Speaker 1: 1:00:27

Right.

Speaker 2: 1:00:27

A lot of us, we take that out of the question, we don't even think about it. It's like, oh, I feel this, talking about it, we just going to roll with it. I have it turned out, you have it turned out, and that's not good. When you can say, ok, you know what, I'm going to step back, I understand I may feel a type of way. You may be valid in how you feel, but you still feel a type of way we know that the emotions are fleeting, a definition of fleeting that it's ever changing, it is constantly moving, it never sits still. It's fleeting. So if I know that, if I'm in an emotional place and it's always moving, it's safe to say you know what, let me step back, let me give that a second, let it breathe, so I can come at this in a more rational and a functional way, that we can come to the decision, or I can make a decision about this. That will be you know, it'd be great for everybody versus me just saying, ok, I feel the way I feel about it, god knows, like that, he ain't happy with it, he not happy with it. Like you, just make a decision based off of how you feel about some stuff.

Speaker 2: 1:01:36

We know that the heart and the mind are forever fighting against God. Right, I was eight and six. We're going to be calling the mind of this devil to be speaking of his life and peace. We know this but we forget it. That's how fast the flesh can hijack you. It don't matter if you're the calmest person in the world. If something in you has not been dealt with, that flesh will take over quick. I'm talking in the blink of an eye. Got you, now you over the same as some stuff. You had to be the same. Now you over the. Going off on somebody. Now you making the decision, the life changing decision, because of how you felt in the moment, because you didn't get your flesh in check, make kind of crazy decisions in irrational states. The crazy thing is you see people laugh about it sometimes because it worked out.

Speaker 1: 1:02:25

Yeah, oh, I made it through that one. I dodged the bullet, but the truth is you got hit with the bullet. You just think you ain't feel it.

Speaker 2: 1:02:33

Yeah, you ain't figured out, you bleeding.

Speaker 1: 1:02:35

That's right, you had to get it out.

Speaker 2: 1:02:38

You ran away from it. It hit you.

Speaker 1: 1:02:40

It hit you.

Speaker 2: 1:02:40

You just don't know. You bleeding.

Speaker 1: 1:02:42

That's right. Drilling is too high. You're stealing your flesh, yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:02:47

Yeah, and then when you come out of it and you really step back and take a look at it, that's infected. Yeah, I could have did better with that. I had those house moments. I'm definitely not sitting there just saying something I ain't had to live through. I had to dotted that myself.

Speaker 1: 1:03:07

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:03:08

I definitely had to dotted it Like it snowed I mean it'd be tough. No, no, I had to dotted it because I used to do that. I used to be irrational, feeling the type of way and you know, making decisions and getting in all kinds of trouble. If you don't keep yourself in check, your flesh will get you in trouble in a lot of different ways. We know that James, chapter one, tells me when we fall into dire temptation, and allow that to strengthen your patience. But the Holy Spirit taught me about that word temptation the moment it came out of my mouth one day. And temptation, we think of physical, we think of sexual things. That ain't it. That is the tip of that iceberg, because that's how our corner minds think.

Speaker 1: 1:03:57

That's how we're taught, that's how society makes us. Even in the church I'm being real Even in the church, that's the first thing we say. Now, don't go out there and see they all partying on Saturday night. Come up in here with a no, that ain't all.

Speaker 2: 1:04:11

We talking about that temptation where you driving down a road, somebody cuts you off and you want to cut some out from here to Kansas. We talking about when you at work and somebody say something crazy and you just look at them like say one more word, I ain't gonna lie, it happens.

Speaker 1: 1:04:27

It happens.

Speaker 2: 1:04:28

But we know that when we fall into temptation, that we know that God he gives us a way out. We know that he gives us a way out, but it doesn't mean that that stuff don't come.

Speaker 1: 1:04:38

Right, he never said it wouldn't come, yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:04:41

He said that they won't prosper.

Speaker 1: 1:04:42

That's right. It don't mean that they ain't come and they supposed to come.

Speaker 2: 1:04:46

Yeah, how else can I show you how great I am if I don't let anything happen?

Speaker 1: 1:04:51

Right.

Speaker 2: 1:04:53

How else can I show you how great I?

Speaker 1: 1:04:55

am.

Speaker 2: 1:04:56

How else can I show you that? I told you that the weapons are going to form, but because I am who I said I am, let me show you it ain't nothing going to happen to you. You got that. That's why I say I'm in the passenger seat. God, you got it. I don't want to drive, no more.

Speaker 1: 1:05:13

You're right.

Speaker 2: 1:05:15

You got it.

Speaker 1: 1:05:16

I'm reminded of when the Romans were waiting on Paul, when they were going to arrest him, and they got the soldiers they were on that ship and he got stranded on that island and he got bit by the snake and the islanders they were just like, oh, he'll die. And then they got to looking at him like, hey, this man ain't dead yet. Hey, it just shows you how, when you operate under the will of God and you truly trust him, your will not my will, because that was a weapon.

Speaker 1: 1:05:52

that weapon obviously them islanders knew, oh, he's supposed to be dead, but it didn't kill him, because of God's grace.

Speaker 2: 1:06:01

His will, not my own and his will. It's a contract we sign when we say, yes, his will, not my own, not your will. Sometimes, and I go over here and do this to tomorrow, no, your will, no matter how it goes. Just like a conversation we were having about the wheat and the tear you know that they grow together and it has to be sifted. One doesn't turn into the other, tear does not turn into wheat.

Speaker 1: 1:06:32

Absolutely not.

Speaker 2: 1:06:32

It's tear, it's tear and it has to be sifted, and even then, if you're a part of the tear, to God be the glory.

Speaker 1: 1:06:42

Right.

Speaker 2: 1:06:43

If you're not, god be the glory. We thank you either way, but like, even if you are a part of the tear, like still let God use you Right.

Speaker 2: 1:06:52

Because, it's something for him to teach you. In that moment I got to get you out of this, because now you, you're not ready for that, you can't handle that yet. Or if I give this to you too soon, it's what's for you, but if I give it to you too soon, you'll mismanage it. You won't be a good manager over it, that's it. You'll hurt it, you'll destroy it. So now let me pull you back a little bit more.

Speaker 1: 1:07:18

Understand I'm not doing this to punish you.

Speaker 2: 1:07:20

I'm doing this because I love you. I'm doing this to you because I love you and I don't want you to sabotage it. I don't want you to do that. I love you. You got a little too excited. It's like when you see the kids in the toy store and they get super excited when they see the toy they really want oh, I want it, I want it and they go crazy. And then when they get in the hand, you not knowing it's just, you know, a little cheap toy and it's fragile you break it because you are over excited. Maybe it's the wrong thing with it.

Speaker 1: 1:07:52

You didn't know how to manage it. You didn't know how to manage it.

Speaker 2: 1:07:55

I've had my kid in the toy store moments with God and he's like, uh-uh, calm down. I'm like oh God, I just want to love it without my heart.

Speaker 1: 1:08:06

Squeeze it, man. I just want to squeeze it with all my heart.

Speaker 2: 1:08:10

I just love it. Like if I give it to you and you squeeze it, you're gonna suffocate it and kill it. I know how much you love it, I know how much you want to hold on to it, but you, holding on to it so tight, you're gonna squeeze it and kill it. God, don't let it go. Give it to me. And it's better to give God something than allow him to take it. My God, it is better to give it freely than him to take it from you. And even then, when he takes it from you, it hurts, but it's not meant to hurt you.

Speaker 1: 1:08:44

It is meant for your good.

Speaker 2: 1:08:46

I'm doing it because I love you. I love y'all so much. I have to take this from you. I know it don't feel good, but I told you a couple of times to give it to me. You didn't want to do it. So now, before it destroys you, I have to take it and it's like, oh God, goodbye man Like.

Speaker 2: 1:09:09

I just man, I was doing good at this job. Man, like you thought you were doing good, but think about how much time you ain't spent with your wife for us. Think about how much time you haven't spent with your kids or your family. Yeah, you thought you were doing good, but over here they're struggling. I gotta slow you down. But the beautiful part, the caveat is, if I slow you down, I have something better for you. There's provision already there for you.

Speaker 1: 1:09:36

That part.

Speaker 2: 1:09:38

I've already put provision in place because I knew that this was gonna happen. I knew that you were gonna get to the place where you were gonna start to mismanage this. So before I let you go all the way down that land slide, I'm gonna stop you and I'm gonna slow you down. But when I slow you down I'm gonna give you everything you need. You ain't gonna lack from nothing. There's gonna be provision. You know, just like we were talking about with the story of Nehemiah. It was a crime to be in front of the king, sad. That was a crime. You would be punished, and it ain't. No, oh, you go sit in the cell, you would be killed.

Speaker 1: 1:10:12

Yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 1:10:14

But God had provided so much provision in that situation he had already gave Nehemiah. He gave him the dream, he gave him the purpose he had already turned the king's heart to be. When that moment happens, he's gonna ask him what's wrong. Then he's gonna tell him and he's gonna say you know what, go ahead. I know that your God has spoke to you about it, that you have an assignment, go ahead. But even more so, let me give you some more of God's like, let me give you sprinkle a little more provision on this.

Speaker 1: 1:10:47

Let me show you it's really me.

Speaker 2: 1:10:48

Yeah, I'm gonna give you all the wood, the all the, the Bible says, the timber that you need.

Speaker 1: 1:10:54

That's right.

Speaker 2: 1:10:55

To repair the wall. That's right.

Speaker 1: 1:10:57

And build you a house and you know, some people would think and I'm gonna let you finish telling this story because this is so good to me Some people think in just today's world oh, is this a setup? Oh, is this a setup? But then go ahead and tell him, tell him, tell him the good part, what else he did it?

Speaker 2: 1:11:17

ain't a setup. I'm gonna give you everything you need to fix the wall. I'm gonna give you wood to build your house while you fix the wall, because I know you're gonna be far away, so I'm gonna give you enough to live, sustain yourself. And then also, as you go, I'm gonna send people with you. Matter of fact, before I send the people with, I'm gonna give you the letter to go forth so they let you pass safely.

Speaker 2: 1:11:45

But let me give you a little more provision. Even if they don't want to respect my word that's on this paper Let me send my, my guards with you. So if they don't respect the word, I got somebody that will still defend you as you go. The weapons are formed, but they still won't prosper. Like, let me give you the provision all the way. Yes, so if God got to slow you down, man, he already provided. I've been slowed down before, but it's all about your perspective. It's all about being open and understanding that God has a purpose and a plan for you and when you can start looking at it that way, it don't feel bad to be slowed down when it's when we do it under our own strength.

Speaker 1: 1:12:27

That's it, that's it.

Speaker 2: 1:12:30

When we slow down under our own strength, yeah, it sucks, that hurts. But when we know that we go with God's strength, like, okay, all right, you slowing me down for a reason, all right, I'm just chill here, let me keep my feet back, let me know when we get there, but I'm gonna ride with you, I ain't gonna stop. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 1:12:50

Yeah, that was good. That was good. That was good. It is truly all about the preparation and just being honest and knowing that God has already provided. Yeah, what an amazing conversation.

Speaker 1: 1:13:08

As we journey through life, it's important to remember that we are not alone. God, we're not alone. I thank you. We have a loving, caring creator who desires to guide and prepare us for every step along the way. When we surrender our plans and ambition to God, we open ourselves up to his divine strength and wisdom. I pray someone was truly blessed with this conversation, and this is just part one.

Speaker 1: 1:13:40

We are so honored to have Christopher on to tell his truth, his story, and how God is preparing him and has prepared him, and how slowing down is actually one of God's steps in the process. Allowing God to prepare us means relinquishing our need for control and trusting in his perfect timing. It means seeking his guidance in all decisions, big, small. It doesn't matter if you lost your job, if you lost a child, if you gained a home, if you gained a spouse, if you lost a spouse. It's God's timing. In his timing, I believe, everything is made perfect. Is it your time to slow down? Is it your time to allow God to have his way. Is it your time to just surrender everything that you have and just say here, god, this belongs to you anyway? So now I'm going to say a prayer and just trust that this blesses someone.

Speaker 1: 1:14:48

Heavenly Father, we thank you, we praise your holy name, we magnify your name because you are worthy. We honor you. We ask that you come in to our hearts and our minds, give us the ability to surrender everything our doubts, our fears, our worries, our frustrations over to you, because you are the creator. You are the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. All in all, you know all, you see all. So, god, give us the direction and the guidance to surrender to you as we allow you to prepare us for what's coming and making us anew. Will we give our all to you? We thank you, we love you, we honor you. We ask that you touch our hearts and touch our minds and renew our right spirit within us. Help us to surrender to you. Help us to sit and wait on you. Help us to trust you while we're waiting and listening for you to speak and give us the wisdom and the guidance that we need to get us to the next level. Help us to trust you when we can't trace you. Help us to trust you when we don't know who to trust, where to turn.

Speaker 1: 1:16:16

Even when we're unsure, god, you are still there and we thank you for being a keeper. We thank you for being our guiding light. We thank you for holding us up when we are weak. You said in your word that in our weakness yours is made strong. So we surrender.

Speaker 1: 1:16:36

We're tired of carrying the burden. We're tired of carrying the weight, so we're giving it over to you, god. We know that we can't hold this anymore. The pain, the heartache, the grief, the disappointment, even the overwhelming joy that comes, that seems like it's joy, but it becomes a burden. Those things that become a burden to us.

Speaker 1: 1:17:01

God, we surrender over to you and we count it all. Joy, true joy, your joy that comes with peace, and we thank you for it. We thank you for being the God that loves us. We thank you for loving us in spite of us. We thank you for keeping us in spite of us. We thank you for going to the cross and dying for us before we even knew who we were, before we were formed in our mother's womb.

Speaker 1: 1:17:28

We thank you for counting us in, lord, we thank you for Christopher's life. We thank you for his strength. We thank you for his, for his wisdom. We thank you for his boldness to share. We ask that you cover him and we ask that you embrace him with your peace, your love and kindness and favor. We thank you and we honor and adore you, lord, because you are worthy of the praise, the glory and honor. God bless your people like never before and keep us until the next time.

Speaker 1: 1:18:01

In Jesus name, we pray amen. We ask that that if you surrender today, truly surrendered over to God, keep your life to Christ, please reach out to us. And if you surrender today just to renew your relationship with Christ, please reach out to us. Reach out to eat-podcastorg or you can inbox us on facebook at eat podcast, our instagram at eat podcast, eat podcast. We want to pray with you, we want to share with you, we want to celebrate with you and we want you to know that we understand that this is a journey and this is a process, and being transformed by God doesn't happen overnight. We want to keep you encouraged, so we want you to please continue to follow us. Reach out to us so we can help keep you encouraged. The bible says fret not the assembly of one another. So we want to keep you encouraged as we continue to stay encouraged.

Speaker 1: 1:19:15

I hope this blessed someone. I hope this blessed you. If you have any prayer request at all, please, please, please, reach out to us and send them to us. Reach out to us and send them to us. We will definitely pray with you for you will keep you in prayer. So with that, I hope you guys enjoyed the show and look forward to listening to part two with christopher frazier. And thank you for coming back and eating, god bless.