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Dealing With Uncertainty
17 Plays1 year ago
Some people are assembling against Moses. They are confronting him and aren't happy with how things are going. It is a hard time, and some people wonder- am I doomed to perish? We aren't in the land of milk and honey, and we are struggling. They are living in fear of what is going to happen. Even when we are surrounded by uncertainty, we have the gift of being able to turn to God. We never have to live in uncetainty because we have God no matter what. He is our certainty.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Filling You Up with Hope'
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fillingyouupwithhope
Hi, it's Abby from Filling You Up with Hope. I'm so thankful that you're here today.
Podcast Themes: Faith, Mental Health, and Mom Life
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fillingyouupwithhope
Every week we go through God's Word and we we talk about it, we talk about the gospel, we talk about mental health things and mom life things and just life and God's Word. And we always find so much hope. So I'm so thankful.
Bible Journey: From Genesis to Numbers
00:00:25
fillingyouupwithhope
we If it's your first time, we started in Genesis, now we're in Numbers, and we're going through every three or four pages or so, ah we we go through some verses and are just following God's word. And I started doing this during COVID, which was such a time of uncertainty, which is what we're talking about today, uncertainty.
Creating a Podcast Amidst Uncertainty
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fillingyouupwithhope
And and I got this idea, like I'm gonna read the Bible.
00:00:56
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hey And every three or four pages, I'm going to write a paragraph about what I feel like God is, is telling me. And I, you know, I typed that up and that's what I follow for this podcast is that devotional that I made. And so, and it's weird this week. Like I said, it's uncertainty. It's dealing with uncertainty, which in life, that's something we all need to deal with, right? Because life is uncertain. Often, we don't know what's going to happen.
Personal Story of Loss and Finding Faith
00:01:34
fillingyouupwithhope
And and this week is was it a hard week for me. People who know me know that I had an amazing, well, I had a ah miscarriage, I had a stillbirth, and then I lost an amazing baby, Lex, when he was two months old.
00:01:56
fillingyouupwithhope
And it would have been his 14th birthday this week. And so I was just thinking about him a lot. and And I was thinking about he was in the NICU for his whole life. And the NICU is,
00:02:12
fillingyouupwithhope
um I and just think about uncertainty when I think about our time at the NICU. It was such a roller coaster. We didn't know what was going to happen.
00:02:25
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and So, which led to a lot of fear and anxiety. It was definitely like we were in the desert. and We didn't have strong faith back then.
Parallels Between Personal Struggles and the Israelites
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And um we definitely believed in God and I prayed constantly, but I didn't have like the secure faith that, you know, when I prayed for something, like putting it in God's hands, right? I didn't have that. And I and i didn't have Jesus. And through all of of this, I found him and so did my husband, but it it was such a time of uncertainty. And so it was interesting that that was, you know, that that's the topic this week, because, you know, it's something that in mental health too, right, leads to a lot of anxiety.
00:03:22
fillingyouupwithhope
the uncertainty that we face in this world when we're going through all sorts of things and we just, we don't know what's going to happen. And the Israelites are facing lots of uncertainty because yeah they are in the desert and they are hungry, they are looking Like we've talked about the past couple of weeks, they're looking at the past and missing the past, even though they were enslaved and being horribly treated. And they just don't know what's going to happen too. And even though God has shown them, right, God has performed miracles. He's parted the Red Sea. He's given them manna.
00:04:19
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He's he done all these miracles, but they aren't certain that he that God is gonna do what He says He's gonna do. he's They're not certain that God is gonna show them the Promised Land and and that that they're gonna get to live there. And they don't fully trust Moses as their leader, and they're questioning They're scared, they're complaining because of the uncertainty that's going on. So maybe if we're doing those things in our lives, if we're questioning like why, what if, what if, what if, if we're feeling scared, and maybe we need to think about like, are we remembering what we are certain of, right? Our brains can focus on the uncertainty in life because there is a lot of that.
00:05:18
fillingyouupwithhope
But there is certainty. That's what we're going to talk about today. There is deep, deep certainty that we know we can face the things that happen to us be through our lives because we have Jesus and we know the plans that God has for us. We know that they are good plans. So we don't need to live in that uncertainty no matter what we're facing.
Certainty in God's Promises
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fillingyouupwithhope
So A lot of where, so we're starting in Numbers 16 today, and yeah we went through last week, right, the Israelites complaining, and Moses asks God to forgive them, and God says, yes, but these people, the people who saw these amazing things that I did, right, the parting of the Red Sea, these amazing things, and they still tested me and didn't believe
00:06:17
fillingyouupwithhope
they won't see the promised land. oh um and And God is telling the people, like obey ah obey these commands and in the land, in this land that you're gonna be in, and he's reminding them of certainty, just like he reminds us of it. And this is Numbers 16, 41.
00:06:46
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I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God. So no matter what we're facing, he we can be still and know that he is God. right um He also took took a took us out of the land of Egypt, right took us out of living like slaves to this world.
00:07:14
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right And now we're free with him. And he died for us.
Focusing on Blessings Over Uncertainty
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fillingyouupwithhope
And so that is the certainty, right? and Because we do face all of these unknown things, like what the Israelites, this is unknown territory. They were used to being in Egypt and now they're um and now they're wandering
00:07:45
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in the desert, and they get to see the promised land, right? Some of the people, the leaders, and there are big people who live there, and they're like, how are we gonna take this land? How is this gonna be our land? And there they're scared, right? And what, and so often, like what we've talked about, we are like the Israelites, and when we face these things,
00:08:15
fillingyouupwithhope
We complain. I know I do. And it's such a reminder that when we face these struggles, cause we will like spending time in prayer, spending time with God and giving it, giving it to him. Um, we talk a lot about in this podcast about making like prayer prayer lists, right? And once we have like,
00:08:44
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deeply prayed about something, given it to God, we have certainty that he he's got those things, right? And that gives us confidence, not not in our flesh, but in God who lives us, right? So we have this certainty, and then we can live out ex iss Exodus 14, the Lord will fight for you, you need only be silent, right?
00:09:14
fillingyouupwithhope
we can trust that and have that faith, even even when we're facing really hard things. So, but people are still like rebelling and complaining. There's Cora, and I'm really sorry if I'm mispronouncing. um There's Cora, Dacen, and Abraham.
00:09:41
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and there And they're questioning Like, why does moses why does Moses have this power, right? Why is he above the priests? Why? And in number 1614, they say, moreover, you haven't brought us into a land of milk and honey, the promised land, nor given us the inheritance of field and vineyard. would Would you also gouge out the eyes of these men?
00:10:13
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we won't go up. Moses had told them when they started questioning, okay, go up to this mountain and God is gonna show us, like God is gonna show us who he talks to. um He's gonna make known, God is gonna make known the things that you are questioning, but they won't follow what Moses is telling them to do and they perish. God performs another miracle miracle after miracle um and he makes the earth open and they um and and they perish and um And all of these things are happening I'm going through a lot today so um So that but all these things are happening and they're and then in there, but they still are complaining
00:11:10
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the Israelites, right? And they're scared. Number 1713, are we doomed to perish? people There's plagues going on. There's all these things happening. And and they're scared, right? They don't know what's going to happen. And we all go through moments where we feel that way.
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And that is when we need to lean into what we do know, right?
Roles and Inheritance of Priests in Numbers
00:11:47
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Cause it's like what we talked about the past few weeks that we need to focus on what the, our blessings instead of what we're lacking in life. And we need to focus on what we are certain of instead of what we, what we aren't certain of, right? It's, um,
00:12:10
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It's positive thinking, right? And God has given us so much, and there is so much that we can be certain of in his word. So if you're feeling that way, like reading his word, and oh,
00:12:29
fillingyouupwithhope
but when we're when we're facing these scary uncertain times, like focusing our brain on God, and focus on, like, the things that he is doing that he has done, right? And so, but then skipping skipping down to Numbers 18,
00:12:54
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um God is talking about the roles of the priests and things they're supposed to do and their inheritance. And this is certainty. It's the Lord said to Aaron,
00:13:09
fillingyouupwithhope
you will have no inheritance in their land. Which what? No inheritance? Nor will you have
Walking in God's Light
00:13:17
fillingyouupwithhope
a share among them. But here's the certainty. um I am your share and your inherit and your inheritance among the Israelites. Like he is our inheritance. He is what fills us up and what can help us when when we face these things.
00:13:38
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Like he is our inheritance. So that's so such a good reminder to take in deep, right? um and And then I and found this verse that to me helps with uncertainty. It's in John 12. So we're skipping ahead to the New Testament for a minute.
00:14:08
fillingyouupwithhope
And Jesus replied, the light is with you only a little while. well you what Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn't overtake you. Those who walk in darkness don't know what's going on. As long as you have light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light. Those who walk in darkness don't know where they're going.
00:14:39
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And that leads to uncertainty and anxiety, right? They don't know where they're going. And that and this world can be a very, very scary place, but the light, the certainty, the hope is is Jesus, right? And believing in that light so that you become people whose lives are determined by the light. So, like,
00:15:09
fillingyouupwithhope
That's what we need to be taking in, no matter no matter what we are facing,
Surrendering to God and Spreading the Gospel
00:15:16
fillingyouupwithhope
right? um Because God has has shown the Israelites this light, right? And that he's with them. He's traveling with them um in the cloud, right? He's there. He's with them. And he's with us. We just need to connect to him and not rely on our own understanding when we face these things, right? Because we freak ourselves out and scare ourselves, but we need to take a deep breath and remind ourselves of what is certain. And I i didn't have that when one Lex was sick, right? My husband didn't have that.
00:16:07
fillingyouupwithhope
And it was growing um through Lex's life. yeah it It really was. And i did we did feel like when he passed away, this certainty that he was with God. But i but we learned, and now we have this deep certainty that God had ah god has got this.
00:16:37
fillingyouupwithhope
and that he died for us and that he's the one in control. Cause like what we've talked about before in these times of uncertainty, a lot of times things are happening that are out of our control, which is, is very scary. But in reality, a lot of life, all of life is out of our control. It's in,
00:17:07
fillingyouupwithhope
God's hands, He gave us free will. And there are things that we can control, right? Like if we choose to pray, if we choose to surrender what we're going through to Him, if we choose to read His word and take it into our heart, because it is so good and it gives us that certainty.
Finding Certainty in Jesus
00:17:35
fillingyouupwithhope
So This, all of this is just a reminder to surrender to God, surrender our hearts to him and to focus on him and his spirit and spreading the gospel, spreading the good news. And that that's, that that's our certainty. And that's our purpose in life, not to be focusing on these, um,
00:18:05
fillingyouupwithhope
uncertain things that are happening, right? um And knowing that we have a mighty, loving God that is providing for us and taking care of us. So there's so much hope in that. So I pray that you feel that hope, no matter what you are going through, that there is certainty in Jesus. Like that's the one thing I tried so many things my whole life and felt so uneasy and um ah not confident and uncertain and just scared and that leads to fear. and But when I developed this relationship with God, I got certainty.
00:19:03
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that I have never had before in in my life. So I just, I pray you have that certainty and that you know how loved you are and you know that Jesus died for you and loves you. And I can't wait to go through more of his word with you next week. So I'll talk to you soon. Bye.