Swerved But Still Saved x Sarah Jakes Roberts

my husband and I we're a blended family and we have six children and the two youngest are 14 and seven which means that for the older four we've gone through this stage of teaching them how to drive and you know we have different my husband and I we have different teaching methods he's very thorough in his teaching and I'm and I'm more like a you know just like let's see what happens kind of girl and so I told the kids like I will teach you how to drive but then you know my supervisor is going to have to come in and make sure that I checked all of the boxes and so on one of the first drives that I went out with one of the children I won't name them them name them cuz all four of them who we've talked to drive are currently in the building but when I was out doing one of the drivers I'm like this is just as important for me as it is for you of course I want you to be safe and I want to make sure that when you're on the road that you are you know well aware of all that it takes to be a good driver but also when my supervisor comes in I want him to know that I was so good at teaching you to drive that I don't have to hear his mouth right and then we was driving and we was practicing and we did real good when we were like pulling out of the neighborhood and we did very well when we were you know within the community we weren't like on the main streets then we got on the main streets and and I noticed things was you know we need a little polishing cuz I noticed that as the cars were coming that the driver was swerving a little bit into the other lane and I didn't want to say anything cuz I didn't want to alarm him her him them they us [Music] we next few therapy sessions going to be on me them I didn't want to alarm them but when they were driving I just asked once we got to a stoplight I said what are you looking at when we're driving he goes I'm looking at the cars coming and I go and I understand why you would do that because it is a lot to pay attention to but if you're going to stay in your lane you're going to have to stay focused on your lane because the more that you shift your focus towards what's happening in another Lane little by little you start turning the wheel you're not not even doing it intentionally you just start turning the wheel in the direction of where your attention is this isn't even something that is necessarily relegated to driving it's the same thing that happens to many of us when we enter into entrepreneurship we get so busy looking at everyone else's Journey that now we don't even believe in the very Vision that God has given us I am convinced that our responsibility is to do as we do with driving it's not that we ignore what's happening completely but we have to learn to glance at what's happening but pull our Focus back to what is happening within our sphere of influence I need to understand the market trends I need to understand funding I have to know what's happening in this space but I cannot be so consumed that I become discouraged it's the same thing with content creation or weight loss or Ministry or whatever you have to understand what's happening you have to understand what's moving the numbers what helps people gravitate what makes for an easier experience you have to be willing to look this is not us being ignorant and blind you got to do the research you got to understand what's taking place but at the same time you have to understand when it's time for you to bring your focus back to the Lane that God has given you so that you can stay in your lane your attention is an investment and what we have to be willing to ask ourselves is what return am I getting on this investment you know when I sometimes forget that I'm a gentle parent cuz I'm still new to it I remember in moments where my younger children are distracting me while I'm working that I don't get to just get somewhere and sit down and move out way I don't I don't do that though that's what's in my spirit because I read somewhere that it is important that a child receives attention so that they are positively affirmed in their confidence their self-image so much of who they are and what they believe is possible has to do with the level of attention they receive from their primary caregiver and so there are some moments where I say hold on let me finish this email so that I can give you my undivided attention because what I want in return turn from that attention is in an adult who believes in their ideas their gifts and their talents because I created an environment at home that says what you say matters to me how you express yourself matters to me your creativity is important to me so much of what's wrong with so many of us is that we never had someone stop and give us enough attention to say I believe in you and so now we are adults trying to figure out how do I move with confidence and boldness not recognizing that that could have been solved when we were young children if somebody would have said I see you what you're doing is important to me you matter the attention that we give to our children that we give to our spouses we get an investment back on that when you stop everything and you look at your partner as if you really care about what they're saying even if you have to buy some care for what they're [Applause] saying there some things I I'll be honest I don't care about it but I care about you and if this is important to you because I'm into you I'm going to give you the attention connected to this moment because I want to see you recognize the value that I have in our connection when you value something you give it attention but also your attention gives things value so you have to be careful not just positively but negatively as well when you give attention into negativity you get a return on that as well there are certain things that when I give them attention they heighten my shame they heighten my insecurity and so we have to be willing to do the work to ask ourselves what did I get in return from that attention like I gave you some attention for this drama I gave you some attention for this thing that we've gone over over and over again and now for some reason after I gave you attention I feel less than after I gave you attention I feel more insecure after I gave you attention I don't know if I trust God anymore there are some people that when you give them attention there are some situations when you give them attention you get a value but the value is not necessarily in the place that you wanted now your depression has more value now your insecurity has more value now your trauma has more value how did it become more valuable it's because I gave attention to something that fed into something that was already living inside of me the only time that things really get under my skin is when there's already a seed that has been deposited in my life and then someone comes along and they water a seed that was already there and so what I have to learn to do is starve out the people who feed the things that make me more insecure because I'm moving into a season in my life where I cannot afford to be double-minded I got to be stable in order to break this generational curse I got to be stable in order to build this business I got to be stable in order to walk with Integrity I got to be be stable in order to lead this church I got to be stable in order to be in Ministry and sometimes that means I got to block some things out of my mind because the only time I feel unstable is after I have engaged with you some people are on assignment from the enemy and they don't even realize it my assignment is not even to thwart you my assignment is to divide your attention because if I divide your attention then you will not have enough momentum to do the thing God has called you to do the enemy didn't stuff the fruit down her mouth all he did was divide her attention I know you're focused on being fruitful and multiplying I know you're focused on having Dominion but did you ever think about this fruit and now her attention has been divided I got to pay attention I'm paying attention if it costs me something to pay attention my attention is an investment and there are moments where you do need to see what's happening but you also need to have enough wisdom to know when you can't handle it anymore there are moments where you need to see what God is doing in the life of other people it blesses you it encourages you it edifies you but then there are moments where you need to stop looking at what God is doing in the lives of other people cuz when you finish looking at what God is doing in the lives of other people you come back over to your life and you're like God I don't even see you moving at all in my life I see this person got married I see this person got the finances I got to pay attention to what's happening in my life and what we learn when we bring our attention back to what God is doing in our lives is that we serve a God who sees us sometimes we have these moments where we make it seem like blessings just fell into our lives the blessings didn't just fall into our lives we serve a God who paid attention to what we needed and gave it to us right when we needed it if I had about 10 seconds in about 10 old school church folks we could have testimony service in this room and we could talk about those moments where God showed up in our lives in such a way that there was no denying that you were paying attention to me you see God has just blessed some people but God has done some things in my life that helped me to recognize that you were paying attention to me you knew exactly what I needed in that grief you knew exactly what I needed when I was going through that pain you knew exactly what I needed no one but God could have known that I needed that word when it came no one but God could have known what I needed out of that worship service but God you pay attention to me it gives me a Psalms 3 praise where I start thinking like David br thought in Psalms 8 in Psalms 8 David said how is it that this God who considers the heavens and the works of your fingers the moons and the Stars which you have ordained God you set the ocean in motion you put the Sun in the sky you place the Stars over the Galaxy who am I that you are mindful of me that you pay attention to what I need little oh me God I barely paid attention to you but you paid attention to me you knew I wouldn't have the father but gave me the uncle you knew I wouldn't have the family but you gave me the teacher God you didn't just leave me with nothing to pull from you paid attention to what I needed he paid attention to me he paid attention to what I needed he paid attention to the areas where I had Brokenness he's already gone ahead of you that means that I'm paying attention before you even step into the room that you have the right people when you get into the room he's paying attention right now in this moment when you feel lost and Forsaken and Confused God says I'm paying attention when we talk about him restoring what the Locust have eaten we're talking about a God who paid attention to everything you lost along the way I'm paying attention to everyone who walked away I'm paying attention to everyone who portrayed you because when the time is right when you step into restoration you're going to see that I didn't leave you when you step into restoration you're going to see that I understood what you needed along the way I know your life feels random I know it feels like you're scattered all over the place but God says I paid attention to everywhere your foot treaded I paid attention to everything they said I paid attention to every dream I paid attention to every hope I paid attention to every desire I paid attention to [Music] you oh God who am I that you would be mindful of me God knows how to stay in his Lane and your lane too that's what that verse shows me in Psalms 8 that I know how to stay in my Lane I can still run the Galaxy I can still sit high and lift it up but I also know how to get down into what bothers you that's the whole thing with me being omnipresent I know how to be everywhere all at the same time I can be in your lane and my Lane I can be in her Lane and your lane just because I'm doing it in her life it doesn't mean that I'm not doing it in your life too I know how to be in everybody's Lane at the same time and I'm paying attention to what you need and I'm paying attention to what hurts you and I'm paying attention to what's still doring inside of you we serve a God who pays attention we pay attention God pays attention because he recognizes that I'm trying to keep you in your lane and sometimes in order to keep you in your lane he does have to go ahead of us and make our crooked path straight in order to keep us in our lane he does have to do some things that help us to recognize that only God could do this but what I love the most about God is even when we swerve out of our lane he shows up there too [Applause] David said again in Psalm if I make my bed in hell you'll be there which means that he's not just God when you're doing everything right and he's not just showing up just because you showed up in all of your righteousness and Holiness but when we look back over our lives I bet a few of us see sometimes where I swerved out of my Lane but God was still there in the midst of it all that God said I know you don't have no business being over over here at this hour of the night I know you don't have no business talking this person at all that's why I'm going to flicker the lights to let you know that I'm over in this Lane too I wish I had some people in here who tried to live wrong like I gave it my best shot like I was the best at doing bad but God wouldn't let me get out of my Lane God kept calling me God I wanted to turn this sermon off I didn't want your presence to reach me I swerved out of your lane because I've got too much shame and I got too much guilt but for some reason God came and chased me down goodness and mercy kept following me so much so that I had to turn around and finally say God what is it that you want from me you know I'm not good enough you know I'm not smart enough you know all of the things I've done in my past but every time I swerve out of my Lane you keep pulling me back to where I'm supposed to be you keep calling my name in spite of what I've gone [Music] through what kind of God do we serve who won't even allow us to get out of line and treat us the way we treat people when they get out of line I'll leave the 99 to come get the one because I'm so committed to who you can be that I don't care who you used to be I'm so committed to what's in you that I can't give up on what came out of you I'm so committed to what I placed inside of you that I won't just let you get tossed up and any your environment in any your circumstances he's coming to get somebody he's coming and get us and what we learn in this text the reason why I believe God highlighted this for me is that we see in the children of Israel the reality of what happens when we serve a God who doesn't mind swerving in and out of these Lanes with us we think I thought that God was trying to keep us in the lane because that's just where we're supposed to be what I know now is that the reason why God Is So committed to us staying in our lane is because he created this Lane for us and in the context of this Lane there are promises that only manifest when you stay in your lane we always talk about no weapon formed against meil prosper and it's a beautiful scripture but if you read the full scripture it says this is the inheritance of the Servants of the Lord this is for a select group of people who learn to stay in their Lane when you stay in your lane the weapons form but they don't Prosper when you stay in your lane there's protection when you stay in your lane there is covering there are some people in in this room who you are right they should not be on the path that they are on I should not be looking at generational wealth I should not be looking at generational wholeness but because some kind of way I stayed in my Lane now the promise that God spoke over my family is a reality I don't know who needs to hear this but 2024 is going to be the year of a deal breaker it's going to be the year where the deals that you made with the Enemy the deals that you made with your shame the deals that you made with your insecurity are broken because you stay in your lane and because you stay in your lane you make some commitments to God God I don't know why you place me here God I don't know what you're seeing me but I'm going to stay in my Lane the old folks will say I think I'm going to run on and see what the end's going to be I'm going to stay in this lane cuz there are some promises connected to this Lane I'm going to stay in this Lane because there are some weapons that I see forming and everything in me wants to step out of my Lane to move out of Dodge to get out of Target but I'm going to stay in My Lan and trust that the promises of the Lord are yes and amen I see the weapons forming but I see myself running I see the weapons coming for me but I also see goodness and mercy following me you don't think I see you I see you baby but what I see more than that is the path that God has for me I think I'm going to run on and see what the end's going to be I think I'm going to run on and see how all things work together for the good of those who stay in that lane I think I'm going to run on though he slay me yes shall I trust in them I'm going to stay in my Lane though the weapons are formed I'm going to stay in my Lane though they talk about me I'm going to stay in my Lane baby this is my Lane he created this Lane for me can't nobody do my Lane the way I do my lande I can't give up on my lane cuz if I give up on my Lane a generation may not be saved so I'm going stay flat footed in the lame God gave me

Channel: Sarah Jakes Roberts

Views: 224,668

Keywords: sarah jakes roberts, sarah jakes, pastor sarah, pastor sarah jakes, woman evolve, sarah jakes roberts 2019, sarah jakes 2019, Sarah Jakes 2020, Sarah Jakes 2021, Sarah Jakes Roberts 2021, ONE, Woman Evolve Podcast, Hey You, Hey You Sarah Jakes Roberts

Id: UGkYq65xxqg

Length: 20min 5sec (1205 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 12 2024