Joy In Every Step

Introduction: 00:03

Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy in Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy in Every Step.

Sarita Bernadette: 00:49

Hi I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome back to another episode of Joy in Every Step. I'm glad you're here. As we lean into this new year, moving ahead with a fresh set of goals, let's continue what we started in the last episode where we talked about aligning our goals with God's plans. The main character last week was Solomon. He is known in religious texts as the wisest man who ever lived.

Sarita Bernadette: 01:22

First Kings four verses 32 through 34 read: He composed 3,000 proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He would speak of trees from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall. He would speak of animals and birds and reptiles and fish. People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. These verses highlight Solomon's wisdom.

Sarita Bernadette: 01:59

The number 3,000 signifies the vastness and depth of that wisdom, covering plants and animals and even human life. It's said that only a portion of his wise sayings are actually preserved in the book of Proverbs. So how did he get so wise? Well let's read first Kings three verses five through 14. It's kind of long but bear with me it tells a great story and it's a lesson for us.

Sarita Bernadette: 02:33

Here we go: At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I should give you. And Solomon said, You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. Although I am only a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in.

Sarita Bernadette: 03:19

And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Verse nine: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this great people of yours? It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for your self understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind.

Sarita Bernadette: 04:09

No one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life. No other king shall compare with you. Verse 14, if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life. God appears to Solomon in a dream and asks what he can do for him.

Sarita Bernadette: 04:41

And instead of coming from a selfish place, you know, selfish desires, Solomon asked for wisdom, specifically wisdom and knowledge to discern between good and evil so that he could govern all the people of Israel properly. The Lord is thrilled and responds by giving him more than what he asked for, more than what he asked for. He gives him wisdom along with wealth, riches, honor, and a long life. So he gives him the wisdom, but he also adds on wealth, riches, honor, and a long life. Solomon was smart before he was wise, right?

Sarita Bernadette: 05:26

He knew he would need the Lord's guidance to serve him in a way that would be pleasing to him. So Solomon consulted the designer before any decisions or plans were made. We know that he went on to build the first temple in Jerusalem. That temple was renowned for its opulence, built from the finest materials to the specifications dictated by Solomon as directed by the Lord. What a fine example, beloved.

Sarita Bernadette: 05:57

Two of Solomon's wise proverbs can be found in the sixteenth chapter of Proverbs. First, Proverbs 16 verses one through three. The plans of the mind belong to mortals, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All one's ways may be pure in one's own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established.

Sarita Bernadette: 06:29

Then Proverbs 16 verses seven through nine: When the ways of people please the Lord, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them. Verse eight: Better is a little with righteousness than large income with injustice. The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. The message version of verses seven through nine say, When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand. Far better to be right and poor than to be wrong and rich.

Sarita Bernadette: 07:11

We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. This scripture reminds us that when God's plans are our plans, he backs them up. He opposes what opposes us. If there's something in the way of accomplishing what God has planned, it has to move. When we work to do what is right and good in his eyes, we reap the reward of his presence.

Sarita Bernadette: 07:42

When we commit our ways to the Lord, he directs our steps, he blesses our lives, and enables us to live them abundantly. So how do we know if we are aligning our goals with God's plans? I believe we must be in constant communication with him. Aligning our goals with God's plans requires prayer, worship, and studying the scriptures. True alignment is trusting in God's plan and accepting his timing.

Sarita Bernadette: 08:17

Sometimes that means we have to hold on to our faith when it seems like things are delayed or when times are hard. Aligning our goals with God's plans requires us to surrender control. We have to yield our own will and our own ideas about what we think is right. It requires that we obey God's commandments. Aligning our goals with God's plans requires us to cultivate a deep and intimate connection with him, a connection so deep that it causes our human desires to shift and align with his plan, his divine plan.

Sarita Bernadette: 09:03

Remember in Psalm 30 seven:four, we read, Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. God is the one who knows what he has placed deep down in our hearts. He knows the purpose for which we have been created. God's will for our lives is clearly stated in his word. First Timothy two and four tells us he wants us to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth of his word.

Sarita Bernadette: 09:36

Matthew twenty two and thirty seven commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind. First Chronicles sixteen and eleven reminds us to seek the Lord and his fellowship regularly. Philippians three and ten says we should want to know him and become more like him. Ephesians five and twenty reminds us to give thanks at all times for everything. Mark sixteen fifteen encourages us to share that good news with others.

Sarita Bernadette: 10:13

First Peter four verses ten and eleven tell us to use whatever gifts we have to serve others so that God may be glorified. God wants us to accept him, beloved, to seek him, to know him, to love him, to thank him, and to share him and serve him. God gives us specific directions for our lives as we commune with him. Cultivating a close relationship with the Lord means committing to an ongoing process of listening, learning, and leaning into his spirit. Emphasis on the word ongoing.

Sarita Bernadette: 10:59

Yes, it is a process. The Bible says in John ten twenty seven, My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. God speaks. He speaks to us through his word.

Sarita Bernadette: 11:16

Second Timothy three sixteen and seventeen tells us that all scripture is God breathed. And Hebrews four and twelve says, the word of God is alive and active and sharp. Isaiah fifty five and eleven declares that his word will accomplish whatever he sends it to do, while Psalm 19 verses seven through nine and John seventeen seventeen remind us that his word is trustworthy and it's pure and it's true. God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. John 16 verses 13 through 15 let us know that he is the spirit of truth and is sent to guide us in that way.

Sarita Bernadette: 12:02

God speaks to us in prayer, worship, fasting, and meditation on his word. And he speaks to us through confirmation from others. I can't count how many times I've had someone confirm what the Lord has said to me, making it clear that it was indeed his voice that I heard. Someone asked, How do I know it's God's voice I'm hearing? Let's look at first Kings 19 verses eleven and twelve.

Sarita Bernadette: 12:38

This recounts Elijah's experience with God at Mount Horeb, And it was after Elijah had become discouraged and depressed. God seeks him out and helps him get himself together, if you will. That's an entire episode all by itself. Even though Elijah's in rough shape, he's able to discern the voice of the Lord and listen to this: Then he said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind, And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

Sarita Bernadette: 13:29

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still small voice. Still small voice. Another translation says, the sound of a gentle whisper. And yet another says sheer silence.

Sarita Bernadette: 13:57

Those descriptions help us understand that we probably won't hear the Lord's voice come through like a loud shout or thunder. Most of us experience his voice as still and small or a whisper or maybe even sheer silence. Nurturing intimacy with the Lord is absolutely necessary as we seek to discern his voice. And friends, I suggest that you keep a journal or utilize the notes app on your phone as you listen and lean in to his spirit because the more you listen for his voice, the more you'll hear it. As we move forward into this new year, Proverbs three:five-six Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight.

Sarita Bernadette: 14:52

In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. The New Living Translation says, he will show you which path to take. Then the message version reads, trust God from the bottom of your heart. Don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.

Sarita Bernadette: 15:18

He's the one who will keep you on track. I love that. God sees ahead, and he knows which path to take. He makes the path straight for us, and he keeps us on track. We can indeed save ourselves a lot of time, beloved, by praying, worshiping, and studying God's word before launching our own plans.

Sarita Bernadette: 15:43

I'm a witness that listening and following instructions is important. Quick story here: it's that time of year when we find ourselves sending off packages, perhaps even returning something, right? So during the past week, I've had a couple of items to send off, and each time, instead of listening to that still small voice telling me to go to a certain location, I have decided to look for a more convenient option. Then I follow the navigation directions and she leads me right to a distribution center and not the actual shipping store. Beloved, this happened twice in the past week, and I got so frustrated.

Sarita Bernadette: 16:30

I was short on time, of course, so I had to backtrack and go to the original location. Has that ever happened to anybody? I mean, it happened on two separate occasions. And I have to believe it happened just so that you could hear this little nugget, and this will save you some time, beloved. Listen and follow instructions so you don't have to do it all over again.

Sarita Bernadette: 16:59

Finally, remember my friends, we plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. You've been listening to Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy in Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there.

Sarita Bernadette: 17:27

Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.