FORGED FOR YOUR FUTURE ASSIGNMENT | Episode 7 –While You Were in the Valley, God Was Already Moving

Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, the place where stronger

lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts

are encouraged, and Christ -centered lives are

shaped through ordinary conversations that become

extraordinary encounters with God's truth. I'm

your host, Barry Mwamba. There is a question

that has stayed with me for quite some time.

Why do faithful Christians go through difficult

seasons? I don't mean people who are running

away from God. I don't mean people who have completely

abandoned their faith. I'm talking about believers

who sincerely love God, who pray, who seek Him,

who desire to obey Him, and yet still find themselves

walking through valleys they never expected.

Why? Have you ever noticed that almost every

great servant of God experienced a season like

that? Joseph did. David did. Daniel did. Paul

did. Even Peter did. None of them were strangers

to hardship. Yet when we read their stories carefully,

we discover something fascinating. Not every

valley in the Bible has the same purpose. That

realization changed the way I read scripture.

And perhaps, it will change the way you understand

your own life. because I believe there are at

least two kinds of valleys that believers experience.

The first valley is the one God uses to bring

us back to Him. The second valley is the one

God uses to prepare us for something greater

than ourselves. Those two valleys may look similar

from the outside. They both involve pain. They

both involve uncertainty. They both involve tears.

but they are completely different in purpose.

And if we fail to recognize the difference, we

may misunderstand what God is doing in our lives.

Let's begin with the first one. The first valley

is what I would call the valley of positioning.

There are seasons when life suddenly shakes us,

not because God has rejected us, but because

we have slowly drifted away from Him Sometimes

it happens through sin. Sometimes through pride.

Sometimes through success. Sometimes simply because

life became so busy that our relationship with

God quietly moved to the background. Then something

happens. A storm. A disappointment. A loss. A

crisis. And suddenly, the very thing we thought

was destroying us. becomes the thing that brings

us back to God's presence. Think about the prodigal

son. It wasn't comfort that brought him home.

It was famine. Think about Jonah. It wasn't the

calm sea that changed him. It was the storm.

Think about Israel throughout the Old Testament.

Again and again, when they drifted from God,

adversity became an invitation to return. That

is why I love what God says in Second Chronicles

714. He doesn't begin with healing. He begins

with relationship. If my people will humble themselves,

pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked

ways, only then does he say, then I will hear,

forgive, and heal. Did you notice that? Healing

was never the first step. Returning was. God

first restores our position before He changes

our circumstances. But here's where the conversation

becomes even more interesting. What about people

who have already returned? What about believers

who are intentionally walking with God? Not perfect,

because none of us are. But sincere. People who

love Him. People who quickly repent. people who

desire holiness, people who have made God their

dwelling place. Why do they still walk through

valleys? Now we have entered a completely different

conversation because this second valley is no

longer about positioning. It is about alignment.

And I believe this is where Psalm 91 begins.

Not because David had never experienced difficulties.

Not because he had never known fear. Not because

he had never cried. But because by the time David

wrote those words, he had already learned something

about walking with God. He had discovered that

there is a difference between knowing God and

dwelling with God. I find that fascinating. Because

David is no longer talking about someone trying

to find God. He is talking about someone who

has already made God his home listen to how he

begins he who dwells in the secret place of the

most high he doesn't say he who visits he doesn't

say he who remembers God when life becomes difficult

he says he who dwells that word stayed with me

because dwelling is much more than believing

it is much more than going to church It is much

more than praying from time to time. Dwelling

is choosing to build your entire life around

the presence of God. It is waking up every morning

saying, Lord, I don't want to live this day without

you. It is learning to recognize the voice of

the Holy Spirit. It is becoming intentional about

repentance, intentional about forgiveness, intentional

about sanctification. Not because we are perfect,

because we are not. But because we have discovered

there is no safer place than living close to

God. And maybe that's why this second valley

feels so different. Because God is no longer

trying to bring me back. I'm already walking

with Him. I'm already depending on Him. I'm already

seeking Him. So if He's not bringing me back,

what is He doing? That question stayed with me.

Because when I looked at Joseph, I couldn't find

a man running away from God. When I looked at

Daniel, I couldn't find compromise. When I looked

at David in the cave, I didn't find rebellion.

When I looked at Paul in prison, I didn't find

disobedience. What I found were men who had already

made God their dwelling place. And suddenly,

Psalm 91 made sense to me. The promise isn't

given to people who occasionally seek God. The

promise belongs to people who have decided I

would rather lose everything than lose his presence.

Now think about that. If these men were already

dwelling, if they were already aligned, why didn't

God simply keep them away from trouble? Why Joseph's

prison? Why David's cave? Why Daniel's lions?

Why Paul's chains? That is where I believe the

greatest discoveries begin, because perhaps the

purpose of this valley is no longer to change

my position. Perhaps God is preparing me for

something my present eyes cannot yet see. So

if these men were already dwelling, If they were

already aligned, why didn't God simply keep them

away from trouble? Why Joseph's prison? Why David's

cave? Why Daniel's lions? Why Paul's chains?

That question stayed with me, because if these

men loved God, if they sincerely walked with

him, why would he allow them to enter valleys

that seemed completely unnecessary? Then I started

noticing something. The valley wasn't the problem.

The battle wasn't the problem either. The real

battle was spiritual long before it ever became

physical. Paul says something that I think we

often read too quickly, for we wrestle not against

flesh and blood. I've read that verse many times,

but this time I stopped because Paul wasn't just

explaining where the battle takes place. He was

explaining why faithful believers don't respond

the same way everyone else does. Most people

only see the physical battle. They see the prison,

the accusation, the betrayal, the sickness, the

loss, the injustice, the fire, the lions. But

God sees something much deeper. He sees a spiritual

battle long before it ever appears in the natural.

And maybe, That's why he prepares his people

before they even know a battle is coming. Have

you ever noticed that? Before Moses ever stood

before Pharaoh, God had already called him at

the burning bush. Before David ever became king,

God had already anointed him. Before Peter stood

before rulers, Jesus had already told him, don't

worry about what you will say. because the Holy

Spirit will speak through you. Before Paul reached

prison, God had already told him he would testify

before kings. God always seems to prepare his

people before the battle begins. Then another

thought came into my spirit. Maybe that's because

God never enters the battle after we do. Maybe

he was already there. That thought overwhelmed

me. Because if God is already there, then nothing

catches him by surprise. Nothing. Not the accusation.

Not the betrayal. Not the valley. Not the prison.

Not the fire. Not the courtroom. Nothing. We

are often surprised God never is. Then my mind

immediately went to the fiery furnace. Think

about that story for a moment. The king ordered

the furnace to be heated seven times hotter.

The soldiers who brought Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego to the furnace died because of its heat.

The fire was doing exactly what fire naturally

does. It burned. It killed. It consumed. Nothing

had changed about the fire. Yet the moment those

three faithful men entered, everything changed

for them. Not because the fire stopped being

fire. but because the presence of God entered

before the fire could accomplish its purpose.

When the king looked again, he expected to see

three men dying. Instead, he saw four men walking,

walking, not crawling, not screaming, walking.

And that's when something became very real to

me. God had already preceded them into the furnace.

He wasn't rushing toward them after they entered.

He was already there. Waiting, preparing, protecting.

The enemy prepared a furnace. God prepared his

presence. And perhaps, that's exactly what Psalm

91 is trying to teach us. Protection doesn't

mean the fire disappears. Protection means the

fire loses its authority. The water doesn't disappear.

It loses its authority. The valley doesn't disappear.

It loses its authority. Death itself doesn't

disappear. It loses its sting. The weapon is

still forged. It simply does not prosper. Do

you see the difference? The miracle is not always

that God removes the battle. The miracle is that

the battle can no longer produce the outcome

the enemy intended. And suddenly, David's words

became much more personal to me. He is my refuge

and my fortress. A refuge only makes sense if

danger exists. A fortress is only necessary if

someone is attacking. David wasn't pretending

danger wasn't real. He was declaring that God's

presence was greater than the danger. And I wonder

if that's exactly what God has been trying to

teach his people all along. Not to become fascinated

with the battle, but to become confident in the

God who has already gone before them. Because

maybe, while we are still asking God where He

is, He has already entered tomorrow. He has already

prepared the answer. He has already limited the

fire. He has already declared that the weapon

will not prosper. And he has already begun writing

a testimony that we cannot yet see. And I think

that's where David's cave begins to make sense.

Because while David thought he was hiding, God

was already moving. Have you ever thought about

that? Imagine David sitting inside the cave of

a dullum. He has just escaped Saul. He's exhausted.

discouraged. He has lost his position, his reputation,

his home, his certainty about tomorrow. If you

had walked into that cave and asked David, what

do you think God is doing right now? I wonder

what he would have answered. Maybe. Nothing.

Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. I'm just trying to

survive another day. But while David was sitting

in that cave, God was already doing something

David could not see. Somewhere outside that cave,

God had already started moving hearts. 400 men,

men from different places, different backgrounds,

different stories, were already on their way.

David didn't know them. He hadn't invited them.

He wasn't recruiting an army. He wasn't making

phone calls. He wasn't building a kingdom. God

was while David was crying inside the cave. God

was gathering people outside the cave That is

incredible David thought he was waiting on God

The reality was that God had already begun working

long before David realized it and I started asking

myself How many times has God been doing exactly

the same thing in our lives? How many times have

we prayed? Lord, where are you? While heaven

was already moving, how many times have we mistaken

silence for inactivity? Because silence does

not mean God is absent. Sometimes, silence simply

means God is working where your eyes cannot yet

see. Then I began seeing this pattern. Everywhere

in scripture before Joseph was called out of

prison, God had already disturbed Pharaoh's sleep.

Joseph didn't know it. He woke up thinking it

was another ordinary morning in prison. He had

no idea. That's somewhere else. God was already

setting the stage for his promotion, before Esther

risked her life before the king. God had already

positioned her inside the palace years earlier,

before Daniel entered the lion's den. God had

already determined that the lions would not have

the final word. Before Peter stood before rulers

and authorities, Jesus had already promised him,

don't worry about what you will say. The Holy

Spirit will speak through you. Before Paul boarded

the ship that would eventually be wrecked, God

had already told him, you will stand before Caesar.

Do you see the pattern? God never starts working.

When we finally notice Him, He has already been

working, long before we recognize His hand. And

then another thought came into my spirit, one

that completely overwhelmed me. Salvation itself

was never an emergency plan. When Adam sinned,

God didn't gather the angels and say, what do

we do now? No, before humanity ever fell, God

already knew redemption would come through Christ.

God was never surprised, never caught off guard,

never forced to improvise. And if salvation,

the greatest story in human history, was never

an emergency plan, why would I believe that my

own life is? Why would I think that my valley

caught God by surprise? Why would I imagine that

my trial is forcing God to figure out a solution.

No, that's not who He is. He is the God who declares

the end from the beginning. He is already in

tomorrow, while I'm still trying to understand

today. And maybe that's why faith is so important,

because faith is not believing that God will

eventually start moving. Faith is believing that

He is already moving. even when I cannot yet

see it. Maybe that's why David could eventually

sing again. Maybe that's why Joseph never gave

up. Maybe that's why Paul could worship in prison.

Maybe that's why Daniel kept praying. Not because

they understood everything, but because somewhere

deep inside, they had become convinced that God

was already doing something greater than they

could presently comprehend. And I don't know

who needs to hear this today, but maybe while

you are praying, God is already preparing. Maybe

while you are crying, God is already gathering.

Maybe while you are waiting, God is already opening.

Maybe while you are wondering how this story

will end, God has already written the next chapter.

You simply haven't arrived there yet. And that

brings me to one final thought, perhaps the most

beautiful one of all, because if God was already

gathering 400 men for David, what else had he

already prepared before his servants ever entered

their greatest battles? Then I started going

through the Bible and I realized this is how

God has always worked before Joseph walked out

of prison. God had already disturbed Pharaoh's

sleep. Before David left the cave, God had already

gathered his future army. Before Esther stood

before the king, God had already placed her inside

the palace years before anyone understood why.

Before Peter stood before rulers and authorities,

Jesus had already promised him, don't worry about

what you will say. The Holy Spirit will speak

through you. before Paul ever arrived in Rome.

God had already declared, you will testify before

Caesar. Then my mind stopped at one story, the

fiery furnace. I have read that story many times,

but this time I saw something different. The

king thought he controlled the furnace. He ordered

it to be heated seven times hotter. The soldiers

carrying Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were

killed by the flames. The fire behaved exactly

as fire should. It burned, it consumed, it killed.

Nothing had changed about the nature of the fire,

but something had already changed before those

three men ever stepped inside. God had already

gone before them. The fire still burned. but

it could no longer accomplish what it was designed

to do. Think about that. The men who approached

the furnace without God's covering died. The

men who entered it with God's presence walked.

Not because the fire stopped being fire, because

God had already prepared the outcome even before

they entered. Then I remembered something else.

When Israel stood in front of the Red Sea, It

looked like there was no way forward. The sea

was in front of them. Pharaoh was behind them.

From a human perspective, it was over. But while

they were wondering, God already had a path.

The sea did not decide to open by itself. God

already knew where his people would walk. He

already knew where the walls of water would stand.

He already knew Where Pharaoh's army would fall

the miracle wasn't an emergency it was already

in the heart of God and then Something became

very clear to me Maybe that is why Paul could

write with so much confidence We know that in

all things God works for the good of those who

love him who are called according to his purpose

Notice what Paul doesn't say he doesn't say we

hope He says, we know. How could he know? Because

by then, Paul had walked with God long enough

to understand something. God never starts working

when we finally see him moving. He has already

been moving, long before our eyes catch up with

his plan. And maybe that is what faith really

is. Faith is not trying to convince yourself

that everything will somehow work out. Faith

is resting in the certainty that God is already

ahead of you, already in tomorrow, already in

the courtroom, already in the valley, already

in the fire, already in the prison, already preparing

people, opening doors, closing others, moving

hearts, ordering steps, arranging meetings, protecting

you from dangers you will never even know existed.

Maybe the greatest miracles in your life are

the ones you never saw. The conversations God

prevented, the accidents he stopped, the doors

he closed, the people he removed, the attacks

he never allowed to reach you. And maybe one

day in eternity, God will show us everything

he was doing while we thought he was silent.

That thought fills my heart with peace. Because

it reminds me that my life has never been in

my hands. It has always been in his. So if today

you find yourself in a cave, don't assume heaven

has stopped moving. While David was sitting in

the cave, God was already gathering 400 men.

While Joseph was sleeping in prison, God was

already troubling Pharaoh's dreams. While the

three Hebrew men were walking toward the furnace,

God had already gone before them. While Esther

was faithfully serving, God was already preparing

the moment that would save a nation. And while

you are praying today, while you are wondering,

while you are waiting, while you are trying to

understand, God is already moving. He always

has been. Because our God is never caught by

surprise. He never improvises. He never reacts.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning

and the end, the one who declares the end from

the beginning. And perhaps that is why I can

finally rest. Not because I know how this story

ends, but because I know the one who has already

written the ending. So I'll keep praying. I'll

keep dwelling. I'll keep trusting. I'll keep

believing. Because if history has taught us anything,

it is this. God has never abandoned those who

made Him their dwelling place, and He will not

begin with you. Amen. Hallelujah.