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Monica leads conversation this week about Purposed Pauses, and how they are orchestrated by God’s hand for a very specific preparation and purpose. The most important characteristic of a purposed pause is that in it, God does a divine preparation in you for what He has planned next. Listen in to hear how you can find purpose in your pause!

THIS WEEK'S VERSES:

• Jonah 1-4
• Exodus + Numbers: Israelites and a 40-year pause in the desert
• "Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home." (Luke 1:56)
• "And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'" (Matthew 1:19-21)
• "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40)
• "Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is a Sabbath day’s walk from Jerusalem. When they had entered, they went up into the upper room, where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." (Acts 1:12-13

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

If you’re in a purposed pause right now, the most important thing you can do is to stop bemoaning that you’re in one, and instead praise God for His divine orchestration of it.

• Tell your soul to stop being so downcast. Look for your own biblical examples of purposed pauses in the Bible (there are hundreds more), and use them to encourage yourself as you are paused.
• Look for the ways God is preparing you. Journal and make notes on all the ways you notice God preparing you for His next steps, even if you don’t know what they are.
  • Recognize the ways you’re growing and maturing.
  • Notice His hand and all the God winks right in the place you are.
  • Thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you, and loving you too much to keep you where you are.
• Speak truth. Memorize scripture and let the words that come out of your mouth about the situation be filled with the truth of God’s word. Acknowledge the ways God has brought you through before and thank Him that He’ll do it again.
• Worship Him and be glad! He is worthy of our praise and worship because of who He is, not what He can do for you. We forget this a lot, and wait to praise Him until He acts. He deserves our worship simply because He is God.

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