Sheryl Brady - From Grumbling to Glory

On your way down, tell somebody from Grumbling to Glory that we are trusting God’s provision. One of the things I’ve learned in my life is that for every God-given vision, the Lord has always—and I say always—given us provision. I can usually tell what is God’s idea and what is my idea by whether He gets behind it or not. There are times when I thought something was God, and I stepped out to do it, only to find myself toiling and spinning in it. I know y’all have never done that in your life, but I can look at a situation and say, «Okay, after a minute, if I don’t feel the wind of God behind it, that’s when I know it’s time for me to stop.» This may be a good idea, but it’s not a God idea. The reason I stop is that I realize I don’t have time to waste trying to do things that God Himself is not interested in doing. Here’s why: If He’s not interested in this, He could be interested in that. So I don’t want to waste my energy, my strength, my passion, or my time pursuing something God is not into. Yes, we must understand that even if He is into a particular thing, that does not mean it won’t have a little bit of trouble from time to time. You can’t allow the trouble or the resistance to stop you or intimidate you from moving forward. But once you realize that God is not getting behind your plan, then we need to wrap it up, because it only then becomes a distraction from what God really has for your life. The Bible says, «Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that shall prevail.» And that helps me. You know, I’ve never really been one of those people that suffer from low self-esteem issues, and I say that and give God the glory for it. I thank God because I had a mother and father who always told me who I was, and then I married this guy right here 48 years ago, and he has always been my biggest cheerleader. So I’ve been blessed in that regard. I know that when God made me, He made me somebody. I know that He loves me, and I know He is for me. Do you know that God is for you? You need to know that in your knower, on the inside of you—you need to know that God is for you. Anytime I’m trying to do something, and it doesn’t move like I want it to, I don’t start questioning and saying, «Oh God, it’s just not fair; He doesn’t love me,» or «I’ve done something so massively wrong.» I don’t do that; I just say, «Where did I miss this, and how do I bring myself into alignment with the purpose of God for my life?» When you do that, what does not work will eventually work, or it will lead you to what is working. Because for every God-given vision, there is always provision, because what God orders, God will pay for—that’s right! And what you order, you have to pay for. So we need to understand vision, and we need to understand when it’s from Him and when it’s from us. Look at somebody and ask them, «Do you have a vision?» We need a vision because we need it in our lives, in our ministries, in our households, in our businesses. We need a vision for our future, for our children, and for our grandchildren. We really do need that because, by no means, can we afford to wake up each day stumbling, staggering, and wandering through life. Now, there are seasons when we go through things like that, but it shouldn’t be like that every day. We need to have something that we’re aiming for; we need to have a target. We need to have something that has a sense of direction for our lives, not only for us but for the people following closely behind us. We have to have some kind of vision. Why, Pastor Brady? Because the Bible says, «Without a vision, the people will perish.» A vision is a forward projection; it’s something in front of you. Anytime you sync your vision—you know how you sync your iPhone—anytime you sync your vision with God’s vision, then God empowers you to embrace what you are envisioning. Look at somebody and tell them to sync up your vision. Now, when we talk about vision and provision, we have a tendency to think about money, but I promise you that if you live a little longer, you will find yourself facing needs that money cannot fix. How many of you know what I’m talking about? There are situations you might encounter in life where you wish you could pull your card out and swipe it. Or I started to say you only wish you could pull your checkbook out and write a check. Nobody in here writes checks anymore but me—but anyway, you know what I mean. There’s something you wish you could…