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ep 20 - God is in the Waiting - Knowing the Difference Between Obedience and Distraction

8/21/202610 min read

EPISODE OVERVIEW

We are pausing the Hebrews series for a beat because there is something that happened in my own life that I could not come back to this microphone without talking about first. I closed my flower business. After a year of grinding and trying and pouring everything I had into something I was convinced I had all figured out, I closed it. And what came out of that season was not a lesson in failure. It was a lesson in obedience, distraction, and what it actually looks like when God clears a path back to what He actually called you to do.

This episode is for any woman who is navigating a big decision right now. Starting a business, closing one, changing careers, putting your kids in school or pulling them out, saying yes to something or walking away from something. If you are trying to figure out whether what you are doing is God's direction or a distraction from it, this one was made for you.

🌸 THE 7 LETTERS CLUB

If you are running on empty and looking for a breath of fresh air outside of the holy work you have been called to as a woman, wife, and mom, I want to invite you into something a little bit deeper, something a little bit more heartfelt.

The 7 Letters Club is your village. A pen pal club where we put you in a group of two other women, so you would make the third, and you get prompts, all of your stationery, a fun little surprise, envelopes, stamps, the whole thing. Everything is provided for you. My heart is for you to cultivate a relationship and communication that goes so much deeper than what you would find in a comment section or on social media.

My hope and prayer is that this would help offload some of the mental load and close some of those tabs you have had open in your brain for far too long. Through this you would find a way to be more intentional with other sisters who are seeking the same. Walk away knowing you have a sister for life who will pray for you, who will continue to intercede for you, and that you will do the same for them.

theologyandtestimony.com/the-7-letters-club All the details, the start date, and everything that is included.

THE BACKSTORY

About two years ago, we moved our family from Florida to Virginia. It was a faith and obedience move. we felt like God was calling us, and so we picked up our family, took a huge pay cut, and came here. Since then there have been so many transitions packed into a short amount of time:

A new state. Leaving family and friends. A new job as a development director at the Salvation Army. Getting pregnant. Putting the kids in school for the first time in six years. Working for the first time in six years. Quitting the job after giving birth because it just did not work out to stay. Changing churches.

And then the moment that started this podcast.

I was reading through Exodus, and I got to the part where the Israelites were telling Moses they should have just stayed in Egypt. And I remember thinking, how could they forget? God sent ten plagues for their freedom. He walked them through two walls of ocean on dry ground. He gave them manna from heaven. And they had the audacity to tell Moses he should have left them in Egypt.

Then the Holy Spirit checked me.

"Miki, you are literally doing the same thing."

I started crying. I was so repentant. God, I'm so sorry. I know that I have taken all the pressures on myself. I know that everything in front of me feels so much bigger and more pressing than trusting You — the same You who brought us to Virginia and wove that whole story together and put your hands so clearly all over it.

For me to say we should have never left Florida? That was me being the Israelites in the desert.

That is why this podcast is called in case i forget. Because a lot of times the things we are carrying cause us to fall into spiritual amnesia. It feels like the burden in front of us is so heavy that we genuinely forget what God has already done.

THE BUSINESS

A few months after “starting the podcast” I started my flower business. I worked incredibly hard for a year and then on August 8th I closed it.

I am not going to get into every detail of why — maybe that is another episode. But I want to talk about the decision-making side of it because I think there is something here for a lot of women.

I had created this entire fantasy in my mind about who I was going to be and what I was going to do and all of it revolved around the success of this business. I convinced myself I was doing it for my kids while I was tucked away on my phone most of the day, looking up ideas, creating ads, posting reels, reaching out to clients. I told myself I was grinding for them while I was missing them.

I was not a bad mom. But I was not the best mom I could be while trying to build this business.

And here is the thing I have had to sit with: I know God was in it even though He did not call me to it. I know that is an interesting way to put it. But God was disciplining me, pruning me, teaching me, stretching me all the way through. The fruit I was looking for from that year was not the fruit I got, but the fruit I got far exceeded what I was hoping for. If you want to hear a specific example of that, go back to episode nine where I talk about sharing the gospel with a golf pro from ten thousand feet in the air.

What I am starting to realize is that the business was a huge distraction from what God has actually called me to do. And that is to serve you, my listeners. I have literally had to learn to let God define success for me.

PSALM 37 AND THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

In Psalm 37 David writes:

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers. Be not envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will act." Psalm 37:1-5 ESV

A lot of times when we read that passage we read it as though whatever little whim is on our hearts God will just grant it because it is a desire. But I think this is saying something deeper.

God changes our desires in order for them to become something He would want to grant us.

And when it comes to how we define success, it really comes down to one word: obedience.

Success is not about how much money you are making or how many followers you have or whether your business worked out. Obedience is our measurement for success when it comes to Christian living. God will give you the desires of your heart when you let Him transform those desires first.

HOW TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND DISTRACTION

After closing the business, I had a sister ask me how she could know if a career change was right. And I had to pray through that for a couple of days because I wanted to answer her from a place of wisdom, not from a place of hurt.

Here is what I shared with her. And here is what I want to share with you.

01. Obedience to God

Obedience to God is the first and most important driving factor in any decision you make. And a lot of times when we are trying to be obedient to God we are listening with the wrong ears or listening to the wrong thing.

What I have noticed is that Satan loves to bring something to you surrounded by a sense of urgency. It will usually be wrapped in rush. It will feel like get on the bus now or you are going to miss this. It is usually enshrouded in some level of chaos. Or sometimes there is peace but there is this underlying sense of vanity, like “this has no eternal impact”.

That sense of vanity was one of the pieces that ultimately led me to close the business. I always knew in my heart that I wanted something with eternal impact. And this podcast gives me that.

On the other side: God is always in the waiting. God is never pressed for time. Go through Scripture and check it out for yourself and come back to me if you can find a single instance where God was rushed. I will wait. Seriously though — He is never on our timeline. He is not only in the waiting, He is in the resting.

Obedience is worth far more than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22

02. Rest in His Guidance

Contrary to how Satan presents something to you, God's answer often comes in the resting. When we finally get to a place where we can trust in His promises, knowing He is our Father, that He loves us, that He cares for us, that He sees us, that He knows us, that we matter to Him . . . it is so much easier to make decisions from a place of confidence.

And that is what faith is. . . being confident of things even when you cannot see them yet.

Pay attention to the timing. When God calls you to something it usually happens in that waiting period, that resting period. Ask yourself: what was the last thing you felt clearly that God called you to? Because a lot of times where you already are is the answer. Where you are very likely is the last thing God called you to do.

And ask yourself about the circumstances that surrounded the original decision. Did you feel rushed? Pressured? Like you were going to miss out? Or did you feel a settled peace — even if the peace did not come immediately, because sometimes it does not? Our flesh does not want to serve God. So sometimes God calls us to something and we do not feel immediate peace because we have to get through our own fear and our own stuff first. The peace does come from God, but you have to be still enough to hear it underneath all the layers of your own personal fear.

03. The 95% Truth Principle

Here is one of the most important things I have learned about discernment.

Satan will take something that is true and make it 95% truth and then add 5% of a lie. And that equals distraction.

My flower business was not bad. My heart was in the right place. I wanted to help my husband provide for our family. That is a good endeavor. But it was 95% good and the 5% that was off was that it was a distraction from what God was actually calling me to do. And look at the timeline . . . it came just a few months after I felt God calling me to start this podcast.

So before you say yes or no to something, pay attention to the timeline. What was the last thing you clearly felt God calling you to? Where does this new opportunity fit relative to that?

Can you back it up with Scripture? Because that is where you will find your answer. Not in AI nor in urgency. It’s in the Word and in the waiting.

THE THREE THINGS

When you are navigating a hard decision, remember these three things:

01 — Obedience to God It is worth far more than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22

02 — Rest in His guidance If you feel pressed, if you feel pressured, if you feel like you are about to miss the boat, that is probably not God. He is in the waiting. Satan is in the rush and the urgency.

03 — Pray, fast, and seek after Him He will give you the wisdom. He will give you the faith. And when you do not feel like you have enough faith to trust Him with this — tell Him. "Lord, help my unbelief." He can work with that. Mark 9:24

AND REMEMBER — NOTHING IS WASTED WITH GOD

Even the things He did not call you to. Even the year that felt like a detour. Even the business that closed. Even the job that did not work out. Even the move that cost more than you expected.

God is in the waiting.

He is in the silence between the last prophet and Jesus's arrival. He is in the silence of the Israelites in the wilderness wondering if they were strong enough to conquer what was ahead. He is in the silence of Esther fasting before she approached the king. He is in the silence of Joseph in a jail cell waiting on a promise that had not yet come to pass.

He was always working. And He is always working for you.

COMING UP NEXT

I am getting back to Hebrews very soon. There is so much more to dig into and I am really enjoying it — I hope you are too. I am looking forward to our next conversation.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

  • Psalm 37:1-5 ESV — fret not, delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart

  • 1 Samuel 15:22 — obedience is better than sacrifice

  • Mark 9:24 — "Lord, help my unbelief"

  • Hebrews 11:1 — faith is the confidence of things hoped for (referenced in context)

EPISODES REFERENCED

RESOURCES MENTIONED

JOIN THE 7 LETTERS CLUB 🌸

Your village is waiting.

The 7 Letters Club is a 14-week letter writing community for women who are ready to show up for each other with intention. A small circle of women. Prompted stationery, a journaling pen, envelopes, stamps, and a surprise, all shipped to your door. You just write.

[LEARN MORE →] theologyandtestimony.com/the-7-letters-club

LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

If this episode helped you, please share it with one woman who is in the middle of navigating a hard decision right now. And leave a review on whatever platform you are listening on. I would be so grateful.

Have a testimony you want to share on the podcast? Send me an email at mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com — I would love to have you on. 🤍

⚠️ A NOTE ON HOW THESE SHOW NOTES ARE MADE

I pour my heart and soul and prayers into every episode. I do not use AI to build the studies or the teaching. Every recorded episode is purely from best my submission to the Holy Spirit, studied through Logos Bible Software and brought to you as faithfully as I know how.

However, in full transparency, because I am a mom and a wife and I am doing all the things and taking classes, I do pop my transcripts into AI so that it can help me draft the initial show notes. Then I go back through and make sure everything reflects me and the community we are building here at in case i forget.

I just want you to see my heart and hear my heart. These episodes are for you. Always. 🤍

This is in case i forget — a space for women just like you and me to learn more about God, to dive deeper into theology, and to anchor ourselves with testimony in the case that life would have us drift away and be forgetful of what God has done. I will catch you on the next one. ✌🏽

🌐 theologyandtestimony.com | 📧 mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com

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