Yes. I own two businesses but they no longer matter to me. Before it more about money and they kept me from what was really important which is God and my family. Now he has me transitioning out of all of that to use my skills for his kingdom. I say keep leaning in and keep listening and obeying Him. He definitely does provide and make ways.

This was an excellent video. Normally, I skip past these things because I figured it was kinda spamm-y. I think my opportunities to be an entrepreneur in a secular environment have prepared me for what God wants me to do. I am great at organizing processes. I am also an artist and make soap.

Job 23 is one of my favorite scriptures when dealing with feelings away from God. Remember He knows the way that you take. Even when you don't feel near Him continually seek Him and he is there with you. Psalm 91 is always good too when faced with spiritual attacks. When I first came to Christ mine were bad. He used my family to get at me but he didn't succeed. I held fast and leaned in to God even more. Those 2 scriptures gave me strength. I hope they help you as well. When you are sleeping learn to train your brain to pray. It helps to fixate on a verse specifically dedicated to overcoming spiritual warfare. It combats these attacks and eventually they will stop. The devil wants you to feel alone and powerless but you aren't always remember that.

Were these recorded? If so where do you find the recorded version of these for those of us who missed it or who are new here?

A Tale of 3 Kings: First, thank you for the assignment. I would have never came across such a pivotal book. It lead me to see how this applies to my own everyday life outside of church and politics. Please forgive me for the length. I always see things from the micro and the macro. Each human being is unique. Designed with a specific purpose. All to Glorify God. No two are the same. Each one of us has a job to do if we answer the call. All humans are tested on the measure of their hearts. This reminds me of a quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, "But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" That is exactly what God requires us to do. To circumcise our hearts. Time and time again the prophets declare to the people to turn from our ways. Our hearts in unison dictate the level on which society plants it house on. We need only look at what is acceptable to society to see where that level is. Today, what is accepted and celebrated is abortion, complete sexual immorality and depravity, and self idolizing. Anything contrary to these things is deemed extreme and hateful. Yet those of us who chose to submit to God are convicted of the Truth. That what we stand for is done out of love even if the world doesn't see it. We see 3 kings juxtaposed against each other. All three possibly anointed by God's will. In the case of Saul, God did anoint him to be king. Everyone knew it. This was done even, due to the will of the people. Before that, God was their king. Let me say that again. GOD WAS their KING. They could go straight to Him or his priests and prophets and ask like they would any worldly king. That wasn't good enough. So in order for God to appoint a king he must search for one. The first one was Saul. Saul did follow God and he had the blessing to do what God asked. However, he was also demonized. (We often see this happen time and again when God lifts people up they don't seek Him anymore and think they don't need Him when it was all HIM to begin with. )Through that, his own heart was revealed. They say that absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is true and not true. God has absolute power yet is not corrupt. It is the heart of the person seeking power that determines it and through the power attained their heart is revealed. Most of the time the search for power is driven by selfish means. God chose Saul and then Saul's heart was revealed. He took it out on his people. Since this did not please God he was not going to allow Saul's children to inherit the throne. Saul knew this. Yet his heart was fixed on the power and this spirit of rebellion was in him. Knowing the consequences of his own actions Saul sought to undermine God and take matters into his own hands. God searched and searched and found David as an answer to Saul. What you don't understand is that Saul KNEW David was anointed by God. God said as a warning that HE would raise up another king. He did. This time he needed his servant to circumcise his heart. David had a heart for God. Yet he was not ready to be king. While he understood his anointing, he did not seek to overthrow what was in place. To the dismay of the people. David sought first the kingdom of God by his own volition. Revealing his own heart. Does that make David perfect? No. Not by any means. It means he was submissive and obedient. It did not matter what others wanted. It only mattered what God wanted. We sometimes get that mixed up. We get that mixed up a lot actually. We think what we want and what God wants for us is the same. We sometimes justify our own hand taking what we deem ours and assume it was God's will. It was God's will to allow us to chose and it will be His will for us to suffer the consequences too. This is why we must first seek God in all we do. We must also wait on Him to guide us. He wants to guide us. The difference between Saul and David was that David understood that God chose him. He understood that what God gave to David was not David's but Gods. Saul thought because God chose him he was somehow superior and that went straight to his head. That he could somehow hold on to what was always God's. David's son Absalom did what we typically do. Take matters into our own hands. David, being David and loving his son and loving God more, sought God and God wanted him to be David. So that is what he did. Even if it risked everything. We learn later that it is Solomon that is appointed to be king and unfortunately Absalom suffered the consequences of his actions. Not at the hands of his father. His father would have gladly given him what he wanted even if it cost him his life.