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Many believers reach a moment when they feel worn out, discouraged, or convinced that their calling is coming to an end. Elijah reached this point in 1 Kings 19 after a season of intense spiritual battle, exhaustion, fear, and emotional collapse. Yet Scripture shows us something powerful. What looks finished to us is often the moment when God begins to restore clarity, perspective, and purpose.

This message from 1 Kings 19 and 20 invites us to slow down, examine our perspective, and let the Holy Spirit reshape our understanding of the season we are in.

When Life Makes You Feel Like It Is Over

Elijah had just experienced a major victory over the prophets of Baal, yet one threat from Jezebel sent him running for his life. He left his servant, isolated himself, and declared that he was finished. His perspective convinced him that everything he had done was now meaningless and that his purpose was over.

This is a common spiritual experience. Circumstances can make us feel like we have reached the end of the road. Threats, closed doors, financial pressure, emotional exhaustion, or disappointment can cause us to misread what God is doing.

Just because something feels finished does not mean God has declared it finished.

Why Perspective Shapes Your Faith Journey

Perspective determines how we interpret our circumstances. Elijah believed he was the last prophet left. He believed his ministry had failed. He believed there was no way forward. None of these things were true.

As Jaime shares in the teaching, even a small shift in perspective can change everything. What looks stormy in one location can be peaceful in another. The same is true spiritually. When we view our situation through emotional exhaustion, fear, or burnout, our conclusions will be inaccurate. God often invites us to step back and see from His vantage point.

Understanding Seasons, Timing, and Necessary Endings

There are seasons when God brings an assignment to a close, but there are also times when something appears to be over even though God is not finished with it. Elijah assumed the ending. God had not declared one.

This is why discernment matters. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal whether we are in a season of rest, a season of transition, or a season of renewed purpose. We cannot rely solely on circumstances to decide whether something is done.

Emotional and Spiritual Exhaustion Require Restoration

Elijah was not only physically tired. He was emotionally depleted and spiritually discouraged. Scripture shows that he experienced:

• deep exhaustion
• depression-like symptoms
• fear
• hopelessness
• negative thought patterns
• unmet expectations

God addressed all of these before speaking new direction. Elijah needed rest, nourishment, and personal ministry from the presence of God.

Many believers today need the same reset. Before God gives fresh instruction, He often tends to the wounded places in our soul.

God Meets You in the Wilderness and Restores Your Strength

God did not rebuke Elijah for breaking down. Instead, God nourished him, strengthened him, and invited him into His presence. Elijah needed time off the battlefield to recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Healing does not come from striving. It comes from being in God’s presence. Time with the Holy Spirit can accomplish in a moment what years of human effort cannot.

God Reveals Truth and Corrects Wrong Perspectives

In the cave, God corrected Elijah’s thinking. Elijah felt alone, ineffective, and abandoned. God reminded him that he was not alone, that God was still working, and that Elijah still had a future assignment.

When we are discouraged, our thoughts rarely reflect God’s truth. This is why Scripture and the voice of the Holy Spirit are essential. They bring clarity and correction to the places where fear and fatigue have distorted our understanding.

God Gives Renewed Purpose and Fresh Assignment

After Elijah rested and received clarity, God gave him new direction. His calling had not ended. It had simply shifted. The next season would not look like the previous one, but it still carried purpose.

This is a vital principle for believers. When we come out of a wilderness season, God often places a new assignment in front of us. It might be smaller, simpler, or very different from what came before, but it is still meaningful and ordained.

How To Know If Something Is Truly Over

People around you may say it is time to quit. Circumstances may say you have hit the end. Your emotions may insist that nothing can change. But only the Holy Spirit can tell you whether a season has ended.

If it is over, He will give you peace.
If it is not over, He will breathe life, strength, and direction back into you.

If you are still breathing, God still has purpose for you.

Walking Forward With God’s Strength, Not Your Own

Jesus invites us to take His yoke and walk with Him. That means you are not expected to fulfill your calling by yourself. God empowers, strengthens, guides, and carries you through the next season.

Surrender releases the weight you were never meant to carry. When you let go of striving and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, clarity and peace return.

It Is Not Over Until God Says It Is Over

If you feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or discouraged, Elijah’s story reminds you that God is still working. He restores perspective. He renews purpose. He gives new assignments. He brings comfort, wisdom, and supernatural strength.

Your life, your calling, your purpose, and your future are not defined by threats, circumstances, or exhaustion. They are defined by the voice of God.

It is not over until God says it is over.

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

00:00:09:08 – 00:00:48:26
Jaime Luce
Welcome to the Jaime Luce Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. Today will be in First Kings Chapter 20. So in case you are keeping track of where we’ve been, in the last several weeks, we’ve talked about seed, but before we talked about seed, we were talking about Elijah. And as I was mulling over chapter 19 and then reading chapter 20, it just seemed apparent to me that we could spend a little bit more time on 19 before fully going into 20.

00:00:48:26 – 00:01:12:12
Jaime Luce
So, I and depending on time today, maybe we’ll only do 19. We’ll see how far we get. And this is, the holiday season and I know that those of you who are dedicated to the word want to get your word, you want to make sure and be in your word. But at the same time, you might be constrained for time during this season.

00:01:12:12 – 00:01:39:29
Jaime Luce
So I don’t want to keep this real long right now. But I, to coin the phrase of Yogi Bear, we’re going to talk about this later, but it ain’t over till it’s over. And we seem to see this in the life of Elijah. And I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about the condition he was in, and then taking us through kind of how that applies to our life.

00:01:39:29 – 00:02:10:01
Jaime Luce
I mean, we’re talking about historically what really took place with Elijah, but we also want to read the word and say, okay, now how does that apply to my life? And I think many times we either think that it’s over based off of whatever circumstance we’re facing. You can be in a very serious, dire circumstance right now. And by all intensive purposes, you are looking at it saying, this looks over to me.

00:02:10:08 – 00:02:56:29
Jaime Luce
This is done. And yet maybe not. Maybe not. I’m not saying that because there if you listen to the last couple of weeks, while we were going over seed with Jenny Brown and my sister, you’ll remember that we talked about there is a time for everything. And when we’re planting seed, it is imperative that we know seasons and times that we understand the ground we’re sowing into, that there is purpose in what we’re sowing, what we’re doing, that there is expectation on the other end of that, there is also the knowledge that we can’t control the outcome of a crop, so to speak.

00:02:57:01 – 00:03:22:24
Jaime Luce
All we can do is plant the seed and care for the soil, tend to it, but it is only the Lord who brings the increase. So there is a partnership that we have to remain in with the Lord. There is a place that we have to remain with him, with the knowledge that we are that we are working together.

00:03:22:24 – 00:04:01:09
Jaime Luce
We are, we are following his instructions. We are sowing to the spirit. But then the reaping comes. Yes, we are diligent. Yes, it demands that we continually stay engaged, but that we can’t do the work of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can be the Holy Spirit. So, there are times and seasons. There are times when things are finished, you know, if you are familiar at all with, Christian psychologist, Doctor Henry Cloud, he wrote a book that is, I believe the title is called Necessary Endings.

00:04:01:12 – 00:04:41:20
Jaime Luce
Sometimes there are endings. You know, Yogi bears, quote of it ain’t over till it’s over. Tells you there isn’t over. It’s just not over until the thing is done, until it’s finished. And we tend to, in our human natures, be those kind of creatures that when it looks really difficult. And I would say that even as Christians, sometimes we can fall to this more easily because we might attribute to God things that are not actually God.

00:04:41:23 – 00:05:09:20
Jaime Luce
Let me give you an example. We can go through a circumstance and we can see doors closing. We can see, that there’s no fruit in something and and that we are exhausted and we feel like we have, used every resource that the Lord has brought to us. So we would then say, well, it looks to me like the Lord is telling me that this is done, but sometimes that’s not the case.

00:05:09:23 – 00:05:37:12
Jaime Luce
And so I’m going to show you this. Like I said, if we’ve got time in both in both instances. But I want to start with Elijah. So, where we left off with Elijah is that he had left his servant in Beersheba, so he, you know, tackles and takes on all of the prophets of Baal, 450 prophets of Baal, and and goes through this dramatic showdown.

00:05:37:12 – 00:06:04:17
Jaime Luce
Right? I mean, this is just the showdown of showdowns. And when all that’s over, here comes Jezebel. And she says, basically, I’m gonna expect that God kills me. If by tomorrow you aren’t dead that you aren’t like one of these, like, it’s she she’s just having a fit. She’s furious that he’s done this. And she is making her threats.

00:06:04:20 – 00:06:30:20
Jaime Luce
And, I don’t know, maybe you’re in a situation today where you feel threatened that there are threats. Maybe you’ve received a letter in the mail from the IRS. Maybe. Maybe you have, you know, unpaid bill notices, maybe you received divorce papers. Maybe, maybe in your life, you’ve dedicated yourself in your schooling and you’re receiving notice that you’re failing a class.

00:06:30:23 – 00:06:54:23
Jaime Luce
You you can get a report from anybody. You can have all kinds of things come from outside sources. And that report says you’re history, buddy. You’re done. This is over. It’s time to run for your life. So Elijah does. He runs for his life. And we talked the last time about the journey that he went on, how far he ran.

00:06:54:26 – 00:07:22:09
Jaime Luce
But I wanted to look back at this. Maybe let’s hit rewind and let’s go through this just a little bit more slowly and see where you might see yourself, or maybe somebody that you know and you can be listening intently to hear what encouragement that you can bring to them that that maybe we can have a different perspective today, maybe put on a different pair of glasses and see things a little bit differently today.

00:07:22:11 – 00:07:51:19
Jaime Luce
You know, it was interesting. My husband and I went on a ministry retreat, so to speak. And we flew to, Cabo San Jose, I think. And it wasn’t Cabo San Lucas, but the other Cabo. Anyway, while we were getting ready to leave Southern California, the news is all saying there is coming a week long bout of rain.

00:07:51:19 – 00:08:13:27
Jaime Luce
There’s going to be horrible storms, and they’re going to be watches for flooding and all this kind of thing. And in California, we don’t get that very often. And even sometimes when they tell us that it doesn’t pan out exactly that way. But that’s what the reports were. And so we literally get on the plane and we’re flying, and once we land, there’s not a cloud in the sky for days.

00:08:13:29 – 00:08:37:12
Jaime Luce
It is the most gorgeous, beautiful, warm, perfect weather outside, even slightly. I mean, it got hot, so I was glad that it had cooled down just a little bit. It was hot and it was amazing to know that just based off of location, just on a plane for two hours, go to a different location and it looks completely different.

00:08:37:14 – 00:08:57:00
Jaime Luce
We’re getting all the notifications of rain at home and all the things going on at home, and I’m checking in with family at home and making sure everybody’s good and we’re taking care of the property and all of that. And yet, where we were at a completely different perspective, it was perfect. This beautiful. It was warm. It was inviting.

00:08:57:00 – 00:09:22:25
Jaime Luce
It was it was a joy to be outside. And not that, I mean, if you enjoy rain, I do too. But you can see what I’m saying here, that there is a difference. Perspective changes everything. I mean, it really changes everything. And even while we were there, one of the ministry sessions was all about your perspective and one little thing can change your perspective.

00:09:22:25 – 00:09:49:09
Jaime Luce
And when that perspective, it changes. It literally changes everything. Everything. When you see things from a different angle, it literally can change everything for you. How you feel, what you think, what you do, who you do it with, how you do it. One little shift of perspective can change everything. And so Elijah has is running for his life.

00:09:49:09 – 00:10:12:16
Jaime Luce
He has just left his servant in Beersheba. Now why would he leave his servant? This is the person assigned to take care of him during his time of ministry on this earth. Why would he leave him? He leaves him because he thinks I’m done. If I’m done, I and I quit. I don’t have need of a servant anymore.

00:10:12:18 – 00:10:44:05
Jaime Luce
I don’t need anybody to do anything for me. I mean, his plan was he went and found himself a broom tree to get underneath and cry out to God and say, take my life. He really had it in his mind. This was truly over. I mean, he was really wanting to completely quit, be done. And he had thought through his own processes saying to God, I alone am left and I have done all this and I have proclaimed in Israel won’t listen.

00:10:44:07 – 00:11:09:04
Jaime Luce
I mean, he, he, he thinks he is the only prophet left now. He was not correct, but he from his current perspective, he he thought it was bad enough and threatening enough that he was done. It was done. Ministry was over, no longer able to be used by God for the purpose that you were put on this earth.

00:11:09:09 – 00:11:43:09
Jaime Luce
Done and I know, I’m sure at some point in your life, for many different reasons, maybe multiple times in your life, I have felt like it’s done. It’s done. There is nothing going forward from here. There’s no place to go from here. It’s finished. And yet it wasn’t finished. It wasn’t over.

00:11:43:11 – 00:12:19:11
Jaime Luce
And then we see that he goes to this place in the wilderness. He’s on a long journey by himself. Lots of time to think, but more time to get more exhausted. He has a time of rest. He gets a time of nourishment. And we talked about that. The angel came and nourished him. He received ministry. The touch, the angelic touch that came upon him, and that he had a time in the cave with the Lord, that he had time and the presence of God to truly hear God’s voice.

00:12:19:13 – 00:12:52:04
Jaime Luce
But not every soldier, because, you know, the New Testament says that, we are like Christian soldiers. In, in that mindset, sometimes soldiers are wounded physically on the battlefield. Sometimes it’s, it’s real evident the, the destruction that has come to their physical bodies, and their equipment and, and all that. They have their, their, squads that they’re in whatever troop there might be.

00:12:52:04 – 00:13:32:15
Jaime Luce
And, and there can be massive external damage, physical damage. But not every soldier who’s wounded is wounded on the outside. Sometimes soldiers are wounded on the inside. And that inward wound is what I believe took place with Elijah. He has given his life to proclaim the Word of God, and he’s at a point in his life where he feels like he’s given all he knows to give, and he doesn’t think anything is working anymore, and he doesn’t think he’s effective anymore.

00:13:32:18 – 00:14:06:28
Jaime Luce
And he’s exhausted, and he doesn’t see the he doesn’t see the tangible results of what he’s hoping to see. So he has unmet expectations based off of what he’s doing and obedience for God. And this wounding, this inward wounding is physical in that is exhausted. He’s exhausted. It’s emotional because he is pretty much living in a, a, a not only a depressed state, but a self-pity, a place of self-pity.

00:14:07:00 – 00:14:32:22
Jaime Luce
So depression literally, you know, feeling that, that there’s no there’s no hope. Depression is such a sneaky thing because it can make you feel numb and no emotions. And some people are willing to feel and live that way. But when what depression generally wants to go after is that there is no hope and nothing forward for you, there’s nothing in front of you.

00:14:32:22 – 00:14:57:25
Jaime Luce
There’s nothing that will change. It will be this way forever. It is totally done. It’s over and I really believe that that’s what Elijah was dealing with. He was dealing with a mental assault, the mental assault of the the threat against him. I mean, he truly was threatened by a legitimate threat. She could do something about what she said.

00:14:57:27 – 00:15:19:03
Jaime Luce
She had killed 50 of the prophets. And it was Obadiah who hid the other 50 in a cave to take care of them. But she had already killed 50 prophets. So this isn’t an empty threat. This is a real threat. And mentally he’s dealing with this threat that my life is truly in danger, and this person has the power to do this to me.

00:15:19:09 – 00:15:41:06
Jaime Luce
He is dealing with not just the exhaustion and the emotional stress and strain of all that he’s done. I just emotionally done, depressed, completely depressed. And the mental state of of probably ruminating and being in this place of, my life is in danger.

00:15:41:06 – 00:16:04:19
Jaime Luce
It’s over. There’s nothing left. And continually thinking these thoughts now, we know that he’s thinking these thoughts repeatedly because repeatedly he tells God the same thing, the exact same thing. So he’s running through the same set of records, running in his head right now, and there’s no new thoughts coming in. Right? I mean, these are the reason these thoughts are the reason why he’s staying in this depressed state.

00:16:04:22 – 00:16:38:14
Jaime Luce
But like I said, there’s there is not a this doesn’t say this in Scripture. And I don’t know what year we coined this phrase, this title, this diagnosis. I’m not sure when this came to be, but for what our our purposes here is to see. I could see this being the case, meaning that we have a term for our military or for those who have gone through any traumatic experience called PTSD, post-traumatic syndrome.

00:16:38:17 – 00:17:15:14
Jaime Luce
And, and this diagnosis, I’m looking at this thinking Elijah is experiencing some possible PTSD here. He it’s after the big event. It’s after this major, major victory and then battle. And, I mean, he he slaughters 450 prophets. This is a major event in his life, major. And in this outwardly, he has displayed great military skill.

00:17:15:14 – 00:18:02:11
Jaime Luce
I mean, he executed 450 prophets. And right afterwards he outruns a chariot, so outruns a horse. He outruns a horse. I don’t know if you understand the the supernatural in this of that outruns a chariot and then goes on this journey that lasts 380 miles on foot. That is pure exhaustion. That is incredible. Incredible in that what he was able to do, his skill, his might, his obedience to God, his his fervor and his zeal for God to do what he did for God.

00:18:02:13 – 00:18:19:25
Jaime Luce
But then add to that the mental, weightiness and the the mental struggle of dealing with I did all this for God, and now I’m running for my life.

00:18:19:28 – 00:18:39:14
Jaime Luce
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00:18:39:14 – 00:19:01:21
Jaime Luce
There’s wars and rumors of wars. We’ve got everything hitting us all at once. With interest rates rising, you need to know what to do and so many times we think we need the money. But you don’t need money. I’m telling you, the answer is you need God. And that’s exactly what we want to teach you through this book, we’ll give you practical ways to know what to do and how to do it so that you get answers.

00:19:01:21 – 00:19:16:25
Jaime Luce
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00:19:16:28 – 00:19:51:29
Jaime Luce
What Elijah did was extraordinary. I mean, absolutely extraordinary. And he did all that we just talked about on the heels of living through a three and a half year drought, that he’s the one that God chose to pronounce. The drought. He had already been hiding from King Ahab for three and a half years, surviving by God’s grace, leading him where he needed to go to make sure he had bread and water.

00:19:52:02 – 00:20:14:23
Jaime Luce
This man has been through it, and as much as we can try to to picture what he’s gone through living next to a brook, having birds feed you and drink out of the brook until God leads you to a little widow woman. This man was not living an easy life and he was doing it all for the Lord.

00:20:14:25 – 00:20:49:06
Jaime Luce
And I can bet that many of you have gotten to a place where you’ve done what you thought God wanted you to do. You walked out just, decisions and plans that you know, that God ordained for you. And yet you’re exhausted. You are undone. You are emotionally a mess. You don’t feel like there’s anything left for you.

00:20:49:08 – 00:21:29:26
Jaime Luce
You were in a desperate place, and depression can settle in. And I think we can all relate to this in some form or fashion. I really do, if not multiple times in our life. And this experience meant that he needed some time off the battlefield. And my hope today is that because the holiday season can be so busy and overwhelming that you will do what’s necessary, listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

00:21:29:28 – 00:21:54:11
Jaime Luce
Allow him to minister to you. Take enough time, whatever that means. If that means say no to some things and carving out some time to make sure you’re able to hear from the Lord. You know a new year is coming and so many people want to have these plans for the new year, and that can feel like a lot of pressure to.

00:21:54:14 – 00:22:20:26
Jaime Luce
But the best way to know, is there a way forward? Is this the end? Is there more after this? Is this all there is? Is it always going to look like this while will I always feel this way? If you see yourself in any of those statements, this may seem like work to you, but I promise you it’s not.

00:22:20:28 – 00:22:47:22
Jaime Luce
It’s not work it. We labor to enter into his rest, right? So we the labor simply means say no where you need to say no. For some people, that’s labor. They’re people pleasers. Or they just think, I can’t do that. I have too many responsibilities. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring answers for you to the questions that you have.

00:22:47:25 – 00:23:20:08
Jaime Luce
If you’ll allow him to do that, he will lead you into a place where you are able to receive comfort. You are able to receive nourishment. You are able to receive ministry. There is no place more important for you to be than in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you enter into his presence there, he can do in a moment what it takes years to do in therapy.

00:23:20:10 – 00:23:44:15
Jaime Luce
And I don’t know how many people I have heard, sadly, who have gone to therapy for many years and don’t feel any better for it. And this isn’t about therapy. I’m grateful for counselors, totally grateful for counselors. But I’m simply saying you need time with Jesus. Don’t do the one and let the other go. Don’t think I am doing it.

00:23:44:15 – 00:24:10:17
Jaime Luce
I am taking care of it. I’m not talking about you getting spending time in the presence of a counselor. You need the counselor, the Holy Spirit. You need time in his presence. It’s okay to go to counseling, but don’t leave off your time with the Lord and think that that is sufficient. You need to be in the presence of the Lord.

00:24:10:19 – 00:24:38:23
Jaime Luce
You need to make time to be in his presence. I guarantee you there’s nothing that will will touch your soul, strengthen you, and fill you up more or faster. Then coming into his presence and just being with him. He knows what you need far more and far better than what you think you need. He is your creator. He formed you in your mother’s womb.

00:24:38:23 – 00:25:07:06
Jaime Luce
He knows everything about you. He knit you together. You are his handiwork. He knows what you need. He knows how to minister to the depths of your soul. So get alone with God. That might mean that you go. Maybe your church has time where the sanctuary is open, and you could just go spend time with God in his house.

00:25:07:08 – 00:25:34:24
Jaime Luce
Maybe that means you go into your prayer closet. You just spend time. And now a conversation is two ways. There is a time for speaking, but it is also listening. So make sure that you just aren’t going into your prayer closet and pouring out all of your requests. Make sure you stay long enough that you sit and listen, that you can be ministered to.

00:25:34:26 – 00:26:02:24
Jaime Luce
Make sure that you are in your word. You. You would be shocked, how many times the Lord did it for me this morning that I sit down and I just think I’m just going to read. I just want to make sure I’m reading the word, and the Lord will just illuminate a Scripture, and it speaks right to what I’m asking him about, right to what is concerning my heart.

00:26:03:00 – 00:26:28:19
Jaime Luce
And it is the answer that I need, or the encouragement that I need or the correction that I need. His word knows what we need, and it delivers every time. His word is living and active. It is sharper than any two edged sword. It can divide between soul and spirit. Sometimes you don’t even know what where the wound is in you.

00:26:28:21 – 00:26:54:05
Jaime Luce
Is this a spiritual issue or is this a soul soul man issue? It’s so deep we don’t know. And it might be speaking really loud, but you don’t know exactly who. What part of you is speaking? Is that flesh or is that spirit? We need the help of the Holy Spirit. And I’m telling you, you need to allow yourself time in his presence.

00:26:54:07 – 00:27:20:25
Jaime Luce
During Elijah’s time of doing this very thing, during his time of rest and recovery, God was restoring something for Elijah. He was restoring not only his physical body and the needs he had mentally and emotionally, but he was bringing correction to his thought life, the things that he was dwelling on. The Lord was saying, you don’t have your information right.

00:27:20:29 – 00:27:49:00
Jaime Luce
He was changing his perspective. He was helping him see things from a different from God’s point of view, a God point of view, not man’s point of view. And then on top of that, he’s gently correcting and renewing. God knows how to. When you think it’s completely over and done, he knows how to come in and renew life.

00:27:49:07 – 00:28:17:16
Jaime Luce
Breathe new life into you. And what was he renewing for Elijah? Not just life, but purpose. Our life can feel like such a waste if we’re not living purpose to to live God. Why am I here today? This can be a question. This doesn’t have to be some. I’m supposed to be the president of the United States. You know, purpose can be literally every day.

00:28:17:16 – 00:28:40:14
Jaime Luce
Lord, there’s purpose in my days today. Would you lead me in your purpose? What do you have for me today? Is there a person I’m supposed to talk to today? Is there something that I am supposed to accomplish today? It should my mind be on the Kingdom of God? And what I’m called to do in the kingdom today?

00:28:40:16 – 00:29:41:16
Jaime Luce
You don’t have to know all your tomorrows. You just need to know your instruction for today. And while Elijah was in the presence of God, God was renewing his purpose. He was giving him a fresh assignment. And I really believe that whenever we go through this kind of wilderness depressed, unmet expectation place that this wandering place, this wandering place, this very unsettled place, when we come to the end of that time when we have allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to us, almost always, almost always, there is now a new assignment, even if that assignment pales in size compared to what it was before, or the amount of strength it will take to do,

00:29:41:19 – 00:30:06:21
Jaime Luce
or the scope of what’s in front of you. We tend to like to put God in a box and say, okay, this is what you did last time. So the formula says this is what he’s going to do this time. God doesn’t work that way. God, you can’t put him in a box. I mean it, it was enough for God to say, like, you’re wanting to build a house for me to come and be in.

00:30:06:23 – 00:30:26:20
Jaime Luce
You know, when David’s wanting to build a house and David has the understanding, like, who am I, your God? You can’t be put into a box, so to speak, but we just want a place that we can come and know where we’re in your presence. So God honored him, but God is so big you can’t put him in anything.

00:30:26:20 – 00:30:51:01
Jaime Luce
He’s bigger than everything that is. So you have to understand that you you can’t expect to know and or think that the next thing that’s coming, the next assignment, the new, refreshed spirit, is going to take you in the same direction it took you before. There might be similarities. There might not be. That’s the whole point. There may be things that he calls you to.

00:30:51:01 – 00:31:11:08
Jaime Luce
He may simply say you were doing a good job. You were doing what I wanted you to do. This last thing that happened, it really knocked you down for a loop and you needed some rest. But I want you to get back at it. And here he can be calling you back into the war. He could be calling you back into the same place.

00:31:11:11 – 00:31:42:05
Jaime Luce
Only you’re healed and refreshed and have new, new insight and and new purpose and vision for it. So you go back where he’s assigned you, but at the same time, he may not call you to the same thing. It may look different from here on out. Either way, God has something for you. Coming off the battlefield may be a necessary need for a time.

00:31:42:08 – 00:32:10:13
Jaime Luce
For a time, but it isn’t meant to be permanent. Elijah thought it was permanent. He thought this was it. It was over. He thought he was done. But it isn’t over. It wasn’t over. We have to stay in the position that says, I don’t quit until the Lord says this thing is done. I don’t quit till I hear from the Lord.

00:32:10:15 – 00:32:50:25
Jaime Luce
No matter what it is, no matter what you’re waiting on, no matter what’s frustrating you, no matter what battle you’re in. I don’t quit until I hear the Lord say it’s time. I started by saying that, Yogi Berra is the one that we all know who is famous for saying it ain’t over till it’s over. And I was recently reading a book by, Artie Kendall, one of my favorite authors, and in his book he spoke about this quote and wanting to meet Mr. Berra because he had purposed in his heart that someday he wanted to write a book that was titled It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over.

00:32:50:27 – 00:33:18:15
Jaime Luce
And he wanted permission. He knew legally he had permission, but he wanted to actually talk to the man and have that conversation and get his permission to do so. And in reading that, R.T. Kendall did actually, through a series of necessary people to help make that happen, he was able to get a meeting with him. And when he did, this is what he said I meaning Archie.

00:33:18:15 – 00:33:47:29
Jaime Luce
Kendall asked Yogi if he could remember the first time he used this phrase, which has become famous around the world, Shea Stadium. He replied it was not when he was a Yankee, but when he was a manager of the New York Mets. In mid-season of July 1973, the Mets were at the very bottom of the league and were apparently doomed to end there.

00:33:48:01 – 00:34:19:28
Jaime Luce
The things were not going well. A reporter asked Yogi, is it all over? Yogi quipped, it ain’t over till it’s over. Yogi said to me, it just came out. And guess what? By the end of the season, this team was first and won the National League pennant. Winning the pennant no doubt made the phrase all the more famous.

00:34:20:00 – 00:34:42:28
Jaime Luce
And literally, that’s what I’m wanting to convey to you today. He said it perfectly. It looked like it was over. The questions were coming from others outside. Is it over? And you might be dealing with that. There may be people who are actually encouraging you in telling you it’s over. It’s over. There’s nothing left. There’s nothing here for you.

00:34:42:29 – 00:35:01:04
Jaime Luce
Why are you still here? Why are you giving your energy to that? Why are you doing that? Why? Why do you continue when you. This makes you miserable? I mean, all the different things that people can say to us about our circumstance, thinking that they’re encouraging us. But what are they encouraging us to do? To say it’s over?

00:35:01:07 – 00:35:46:24
Jaime Luce
What if it is? What if it isn’t the only way to know? Because here’s the thing if it is over, you need the Holy Spirit to come and speak that to you so that you will have peace with the fact that it is over. If it is not over, and there is more for you, you need the Holy Spirit to come in and breathe new life into you, to take away the despair, to take away the pain, to take away the anguish and the hurt, to take away the exhaustion, to take away the mental mess that is going on in your head.

00:35:46:26 – 00:36:10:05
Jaime Luce
We need the Holy Spirit to tell us whether it’s over or not. I’m sure that you’ve heard it said, because I’ve heard this a million times over my life as a Christian, that if you’re still breathing, God isn’t finished yet. If you’re still breathing, God is still using you. There’s still purpose. There’s still something for you to do.

00:36:10:07 – 00:36:39:10
Jaime Luce
And biblically speaking, I think that’s really accurate. If there’s breath in your lungs, if God has ordained our days, there is something that he has for you, that he wants you to do, that he wants you to partner. We can feel like God was like taking on this heavy thing. But you have to remember that if God has something for you to do, he says, take my yoke upon you, because my burden is, light.

00:36:39:12 – 00:37:05:08
Jaime Luce
The weight is easy. I help you carry it. You don’t do this alone. You yoke up with me, and I walk with you. I’m not expecting you to go do something and ask you to do it without me. God never wants you to run off and do stuff without him. Were to be doing this with him, and that should be a comfort to us to know if he’s calling me to something.

00:37:05:10 – 00:37:28:23
Jaime Luce
He’s saying, I’m not calling you to go alone. I’m not expecting you to do this by yourself. I know this is heavy and hard, but it won’t be if I’m there with you. If you yoke up with me, I will help you get to where you’re going. That’s the catch. That’s the caveat. You need to spend time with him.

00:37:28:26 – 00:37:58:02
Jaime Luce
You need time with him in order to be able to do this with him. It’s not like this magic potion where we say, you know, abracadabra. And all of a sudden I feel strength that I’m going to be able to do this. No, we do it with him. Before I sit down to record, I pray and I ask the Lord, Holy Spirit, please use me for your purposes.

00:37:58:04 – 00:38:16:12
Jaime Luce
Help me not to get in the way. I don’t I don’t have an agenda. Lord. My hope is that I am conveying your word in a way that pleases you and brings you glory, that brings hope and help to your people. You are the great Shepherd, and you know what your people need and you care for your people.

00:38:16:14 – 00:38:45:14
Jaime Luce
My hope is that I’m able to assist in what he’s doing. Isn’t that what Jesus said? I only do what I see my father doing. I only say what I hear my father saying, that should be us. That’s the gospel. We live this life not on our own, but we live in the Kingdom of God by the grace of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ that he gave us the grace.

00:38:45:17 – 00:39:04:02
Jaime Luce
Our sins were forgiven as a free gift, but he empowers us by his grace that we are able to do things we could never do on our own. We could never do them. We couldn’t stop doing the thing we don’t want to do, and we couldn’t do the thing that seems impossible for us to do. We need his grace.

00:39:04:05 – 00:39:34:11
Jaime Luce
And yet, that’s exactly what our relationship with Jesus does. That takes us into his presence, where his grace is located. And we get all of that grace poured into us that enables us to think right, to act right, to choose right to do right, to have strength and courage. Folks, we need him. You might have had to pull off the battlefield, but I guarantee you this isn’t the end.

00:39:34:14 – 00:40:02:26
Jaime Luce
God has more and he will show you if you will allow him, if you’ll sit in his presence, if you’ll wait for his instructions, if you’ll understand that his timing is perfect, if you will let go enough to let God hold it for you and show you what to do with it, if anything, if there’s anything for you to do with it, let him lead and guide you.

00:40:02:28 – 00:40:06:10
Jaime Luce
Let him lead and guide you.

00:40:06:12 – 00:40:39:02
Jaime Luce
It’s in that place of surrender. It’s the most liberating place when you surrender something truly. All of that weight you were trying to carry it by yourself just comes off when. When you can say, Lord, I’ve been trying so hard. I’ve been striving so much in my flesh, and yet it’s not by my works, it’s by the grace of God, the grace of God in my face is I believe you.

00:40:39:02 – 00:41:03:05
Jaime Luce
I believe what you said is true. You have a better plan. You care about what I’m going through. You have an answer in a way. Through Jesus, you are the answer. You are the way. And when we allow ourselves to surrender it to him doesn’t mean we don’t pray about it, doesn’t mean we don’t come before him and offer up a prayer about it.

00:41:03:07 – 00:41:29:06
Jaime Luce
But we don’t say, try to manipulate and do things and make things be according to our own power, according to our own will. That’s literally what First Kings 20. It teaches us. God comes through over and over again. And yet Ahab and I’ll just in a nutshell, say this and we’ll go back into it, maybe next week. But Ahab has an opportunity.

00:41:29:08 – 00:41:55:25
Jaime Luce
God brings a victory, and Ahab has this conversation through the prophet for God and has all these questions. The court answers all these questions, and he’s okay. So he obeys and he goes and does it. But then after a time he doesn’t follow the second instruction and he doesn’t do what God told him to do, and he ends up making an alliance he shouldn’t make, and he ends up being judged for that and bearing a very severe consequence for that.

00:41:55:28 – 00:42:22:28
Jaime Luce
Sometimes we end up in messes because we blew it. We we did it wrong. We we disobeyed. We ignored what God told us. We procrastinated and the time is passed. Whatever. What I would say to you is this just repent. Just truly repent and ask the Lord, what would you have me do now? Lord, I submit this to you.

00:42:22:28 – 00:42:46:14
Jaime Luce
I repent before you. I’m sorry for taking all of this on myself, for leaving you out and for not coming and asking you and following your lead and doing what I think is best and running ahead, and all the things that we tend to do. I want to I want to submit myself to you. I want to do what you want me to do, Lord.

00:42:46:16 – 00:43:14:19
Jaime Luce
I want to walk according to your plans and your purposes. I want to bring joy to your heart for obedience. In those places, a surrender God can give fresh perspective. He can bring fresh purpose. He can bring a brand new tomorrow. Sometimes if you’re a golf person, you might say, okay, he might. He might give you a mulligan.

00:43:14:19 – 00:43:38:18
Jaime Luce
You might get a do over. Who knows, maybe God will give you one. Maybe he’ll say, let’s do it a different way. Let’s do something different altogether. Whatever he says, though, do it. Isn’t that what Mary, the mother of Jesus, said? Whatever he says to you, do it. That is the answer, folks. It’s whatever he says to you.

00:43:38:21 – 00:44:05:12
Jaime Luce
Do that. And in doing that, whatever he says to you, that means you have to be listening for what he says to you. That means you have to be waiting on his instruction, and then you are to act in obedience to that. In that place, a surrender resting in his presence, allowing him to touch you, allow him to heal you.

00:44:05:19 – 00:44:27:25
Jaime Luce
If he’s bringing something up and you know that thing needs healing, allow the Lord to minister to you. Stay in that place. Go ahead and talk it out with him. If you need tears, cry it out. If you have frustration, get it out. Give it to him. He’s strong enough. He’s broad enough shouldered. He can hold it and then let him minister to you.

00:44:27:27 – 00:45:08:01
Jaime Luce
Let him speak. Peace to your storm. Let him bring comfort to your soul. Let him give you fresh new purpose and vision for the future. It won’t always be like this. It ain’t over till it’s over. Let me pray for you, father. We just thank you that you are so faithful. You are so faithful that no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, no matter how bad the circumstances, no matter if we got ourselves in that circumstance by our own choosing and doing.

00:45:08:04 – 00:45:37:13
Jaime Luce
You are a merciful God and you have cared for us in every possible way. You have given us the Holy Spirit, who can minister to the deep things in us, who can bring answers, who can shed light on the truth and revelation of who you are in your word? Who can bring that comfort that we need? Father, I pray for everyone listening right now.

00:45:37:16 – 00:46:07:01
Jaime Luce
If there are wounded soldiers who are hearing this right now, God, that you would go to them, send nourishment, give them rest. Father, I ask that you would cover them, protect and keep them in all that they’re doing. Help them, father, to have right thoughts. Let your your gentle whisper come to them like you did Elijah and speak truth that they understand it’s not over.

00:46:07:04 – 00:46:34:21
Jaime Luce
May they hear your voice in the hope that you bring. That resurrection of Jesus Christ has afforded this hope. It’s not over until it’s over. So we have another opportunity today to receive from you and to know you are working on our behalf. Bless each one. Today, I pray, and it’s in Jesus name. We offer these prayers. Amen.

00:46:34:24 – 00:46:54:03
Jaime Luce
Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I hope this was an encouragement to you. I pray you have a blessed holiday season. This these, Thanksgiving. Christmas. This will probably air right after Thanksgiving. So, Christmas season coming up. If this if you know that this message is something that a friend needs to hear, someone needs encouragement.

00:46:54:05 – 00:47:25:12
Jaime Luce
Would you do me a favor? Would you just be those hands extended and share this message with them? If this has touched your heart or blessed you in some way, you can subscribe. Get notified, give us a thumbs up, help us as we have endeavor to help you. And if you’re listening to this on podcast and you have the availability to do so, it would greatly be an encouragement to me if you could go on and give us a great review that just helps us in furthering the gospel and these platforms that we try to make sense of it use.

00:47:25:18 – 00:47:32:10
Jaime Luce
They’re constantly changing and evolving, but we’re trying to keep up with them anyway. I pray this was a blessing and we’ll see you next time. Bye bye.