Ever feel ignored by God? Like he’s withholding answers to the prayers you’ve desperately prayed? We may feel like he’s holding out on us at times, but that’s not true. According to the verses I read in today’s episode of the Believe & Speak podcast, God does not withhold good things from us. When God doesn’t give me what I’m asking him for, I try hard not to think of it as him saying, “No, you can’t have that.” Instead, I imagine God saying, “No, that wouldn’t be good for you right now.” The idea of God only withholding what would not be good for me reminds me of Proverbs 30:8-9, which says, “give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (NIV) James also speaks to those of us who may think God is holding out on us. In Chapter 4, he writes, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.” (James 4:2b-3a NIV) When we ask God with pure motives for good things to be given at the right time, God hears us. He is not slow in keeping his promises to us—at least according to his timeline. One day in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere. The Lord God is your sun and shield. He bestows favor and honor. That means he will always protect you and provide for you. Saying this week’s declaration will help you remember these truths. 10-Day Reading Plan http://bible.us/r/6Ra Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Psalm 84:10-12

Today’s episode was inspired by the word “inconceivable” from last week’s declaration. If you missed Episode 63, I encourage you to listen and then repeat the declaration from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that I gave you. I firmly believe that speaking declarations drawn from the Bible empowers our tongues with truth. That’s why every episode is based on Scripture, and every declaration is drawn from the verses I read. In the Bible passage I read today, Paul quotes Isaiah—with a slight difference. Isaiah 64:3-4 says, “When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (NLT) Watch for the change Paul made in 1 Corinthians 2:9. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (NLT) This side of the cross, Paul not only added the mind to the eyes and ears, he also changed “those who wait” to “those who love”. The wait is over! God wants to accomplish the inconceivable through those who love him. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-10

Ephesians 3:20-21 promises us that God is able to do amazing things THROUGH us! We are his workmanship and we are his vessels. We are crafted and created to do amazing things. In fact, we can’t even imagine what God can do—and WILL do—through us. Let’s not limit our thinking. Let’s allow our imaginations to run wild! God’s supernatural activity is desperately needed in this hour. Could it be he’s wanting to do something through you even today. When you make yourself available to do the inconceivable and allow God’s power to work through you, you bring God glory. People will stand in awe of him as you display his glory through your works empowered by his Spirit. Believe and speak this week’s declaration and then stand in awe of God’s activity. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21

Hebrews 11 is referred to by many as “The Hall of Faith.” Today’s episode covers the first six verses of that chapter, and I hope it will encourage your walk of faith. You and I demonstrate faith when we’re confident that God will keep his promises. We demonstrate faith when we’re certain of what we don’t see. And when we seek God with bold confidence, he will reward us. Your faith, your assurance about what you do not see, pleases God. When you come to him, you must not only believe that he exists (most people believe that God exists), you must also believe that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Do you earnestly seek God? Do you even know how to seek God? My husband, Steve, made that his goal for at least a solid year. He’d wake up and say, “God, I will seek you with all my heart today.” Steve confessed on more than one occasion that he wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. I believe declaring our intent to seek God is enough to prove we’re seeking him. After all, the Bible says that the tongue has the power of life and death. God will take us at our word if we tell him we will seek him earnestly. I have the faith to believe that if you start telling God every morning that you intend to earnestly seek him today, he will not only be pleased with your efforts to seek him, but he will also reveal himself to you in ways that only he can. His magnified and manifest presence and activity in our lives IS our reward. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Hebrews 11:1-6

The book of Proverbs is filled with wise sayings. Today we focus on two verses that speak of the benefits of loving and worshiping God. There is no reason to cower in fear when you stand in awe of God. Proverbs 14:26 says that confidence and strength flood our hearts when we live in awe of God. Not only that, but our devotion to God also provides our children with security. Proverbs 14:27 says our worship opens up a fountain of life and turns us from the snares of death. Worshipping God empowers us to escape the darkness of death and hopelessness. Hallelujah! God has promised to be our strength when we are weak. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9.) We can depend on his strength to empower us when we feel powerless. Romans 8:10 says that “if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. Knowing this underscores why living as a lover of God keeps us strong and confident. There is no reason to cower in fear when you stand in awe of God. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Proverbs 14:26-27

Back in Episode 11 of the Believe & Speak podcast, I mentioned that Christian followers of Jesus have been adopted into God’s family. Therefore, believers have the right to claim the promises God gave to Jacob and to Israel. Jacob was a patriarch of God’s “family,” the nation of Israel. Because we belong to that family too, we can apply the promises God gave to them. So today, as I read from the book of Jeremiah about Jacob and Israel, don’t just think of “them” think of “us.” Verse 3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Do you believe that? Do you believe God has loved you (and will continue to love you) with an everlasting love? He has drawn you with unfailing kindness and will build you up again. If we measure God’s love by our circumstances, we will ride a rollercoaster of doubt… like pulling petals off that daisy. “He loves me. He loves me not.” Stop and declare the truth that God will never stop loving you. You are loved. Now and forever. Always. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Jeremiah 31:3-9

This week’s episode was inspired last Saturday during a small group study of my book. I’m taking a few 20- to 30-something-year-old women through my new book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance, and last week we were discussing the chapter called “I Am Not Invisible”, which includes a character profile of Rahab, the prostitute visited by the spies that Joshua sent out to explore the land of Jericho before the famous Jericho march brought the walls of Jericho down. I tend to look at the Jericho story from the perspective of the Israelites having their first victory in the promised land, but consider Rahab’s perspective. Rahab knew Joshua had overpowered the two kings east of the Jordan River and that his army had left no survivors. But how did she know to credit God for Israel’s triumphs? Rahab grew up in a pagan culture that didn’t worship God or even believe in the existence of a singular Supreme Being. So how did she know the “supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below” would deliver her? How did she summon the strength to commit treason against her earthly king to align with an enemy army? How does a woman with no knowledge of God find the faith to trust him with her life? The answer? Revelation. Whether God silently revealed himself to Rahab through creation or spoke decisively to her through the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, Rahab learned the secret to seeing the unseen God. She also saw the probability of rescue. The story of Jericho is one of victory from both Israel’s and Rahab’s perspective. But only Rahab watched the walls fall from inside. God destroyed the walls that had kept her bound up in a life of sin. For Rahab, the fallen walls of Jericho represented a fresh start and demonstrated the matchless power of the supreme God. That same power is at work in our world today. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Joshua 2:8-11

This episode was inspired by the fact that my firstborn is celebrating her birthday today. She just turned 29—the age I was when she was born. But she (and her wonderful husband) have already given me two beautiful granddaughters, and they’re expecting their third child in July. I’m blessed to have multiple generations of family members who love and revere God. When I read in Psalm 103:13 that the Lord’s compassion is similar to a father’s compassion for his children, I get it because my dad was a kind and compassionate man—not only to his children and grandchildren, but to everyone. You may not relate to having a compassionate earthly father, but you absolutely have a compassionate heavenly father. No matter what your heritage is or what you think your legacy may be, you can count on God’s compassion to be upon you and your children and their children. When you keep God’s covenant with you, when you welcome his presence and love, when you honor and revere him, you—and your children and their children—will remain in God’s compassionate care from everlasting to everlasting. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Psalm 103:13-18

I’ve often heard professional athletes say their favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13. They credit God for the “against all odds” strength that he provided so they could pull off a “come from behind” victory. But Paul, the author of Philippians, is not crediting God for his physical strength. Verse 13 in the NIV says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” In the context of the surrounding verses, Paul is acknowledging that God’s strength gives him the ability to be content in any and every situation. Paul had died to himself and his own abilities. He’s the one who wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NIV) Paul also wrote, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:24–25 NIV) In other words, by writing “I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” Paul was saying that yielding his passions and desires to the Spirit of God is what gave him the strength not only to be content when he was hungry and living in want, but also supplied the strength he needed to keep from patting himself on the back when he was well fed and living in plenty. Rather than merely empowering us to achieve an unexpected victory, God provides the strength to live in peace and contentment whether we win or lose. When we surrender our passions and desires to God, we neither fear when all hope seems lost nor exalt ourselves when we win. Also worth noting is verse 14. Right after acknowledging his total dependence on God, Paul gave a grateful nod to the Philippians by writing, “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Philippians 4:10–14

I was recently challenged to bring a message of hope to those who might be despairing to the point of death. To be honest, I feel ill-equipped to redirect the thoughts of someone who considers suicide a better alternative to living. But I know that I know that there’s life-giving power in believing and speaking declarations of truth—especially when it comes to declaring truth about who God is—who he really is—and declaring what he thinks about you and how much he loves you. The challenge to bring a message of hope to those who might be despairing to the point of death came in the form of a text from a friend who wrote this: “If you are doing your podcasts or have the ability to speak with people during the pandemic, we need to remember those suffering during these very tough times.” He attached a link to an article in the Harvard Crimson titled Harvard Remembers Tommy Raskin, an ‘Extraordinary Young Person’ with a ‘Perfect Heart' And ‘Dazzling Radiant Mind'. My heart broke as I learned that this 25-year-old man committed suicide on New Year’s Eve. I’m not convinced any of us could have said something to make Tommy Raskin reconsider taking his young and vibrant life. The simple little “Believe & Speak” declarations I give each week seem insignificant in the face of depression so powerful that it kills any hope of escape. I’m not convinced my words would make any difference to a soul hurting that deeply. But I do trust the Word of God. I do believe the name of Jesus has the power to make demons flea. And I am convinced that the words we say have the power to change our circumstances. What are you saying to yourself? What words and phrases are playing through your mind? Would you be willing to speak the truth of today’s declaration to drown out despair? Listen again to the promise of hope in Romans 2: What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our hope of experiencing God’s glory!  Christ in us—by faith—is our hope of glory. Celebrate this hope by declaring words of truth and power. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Romans 5:1-5