Interview with Debra Gaskill | InspireHive Podcast | Part 1

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You pray it and he can answer it. The effectual

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fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

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God will put the prayer in your heart to pray

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so that he can answer it. Goes into the hearts

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of the people, doesn't return void, it produces

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results. Hello, everybody. Thank you so much

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for joining me today. I have a very special guest

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for you. Oh my goodness. She is dedicated. to

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training people to develop intimacy with God.

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Honestly, I don't know of a higher calling than

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that, to develop intimacy with God. She's the

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author of 10 books. She's been in ministry for

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45 years. She must've started when she was like

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two. She reaches nations with her call to prayer

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and intercession. And thank God for the internet.

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And she is here today as we're going to delve

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into the topic of loneliness. And is there a

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purpose in solitude? Please welcome my very special

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guest, Margie Florent. Hi, Margie. Nice to be

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here. Hello, everybody. This is exciting. Yes,

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it is. And I have to tell you something before

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we get started. Somebody wrote me, David Stearman.

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Also, you know, okay. He said he wasn't sure

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if you would remember him and his wife, Diane.

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He said that you prayed for him decades ago,

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I believe, to release the gifts of the spirit

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in his life. And he said after that prayer, the

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gifts came forth in him in a very powerful way

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till this day. So he wanted me to pass that along.

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So that's pretty amazing. He's a wonderful friend

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and he's a wonderful leader in the body of Christ.

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Amen. Amen. Amen. When you all were going to

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Rhema, I was a young mom with three little kids.

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And I was taking Rhema courses by mail. Oh, my

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goodness. Back in the day. Yeah. So you had the

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blessing of actually being there. But I did the

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best I could. And I was taking it by correspondence.

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But Margie, the reason that, you know, you just

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I always look for a spark. And the spark with

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you was you made a post one day and it said.

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Loneliness is not a place you stay, but rather

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a place you walk through. And that really grabbed

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me because so many people today tell me how lonely

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they are. And I remember a time I was in full

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-time ministry. I was being asked out to dinner

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at least twice a week. I was being asked to go

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to lunches. I was going to events, speaking at

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events. It was just something all the time. And

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yet I remember being so lonely, it almost felt

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like it was physically painful. And I describe

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it like this. Sometimes in life, it's like trying

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to fit a square peg into a round hole. And I

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just wanted you to talk to us. Take a minute

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and talk to us about that loneliness being a

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place you walk through, not a place you live

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in. Right. You don't you don't have to live anywhere.

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That's not, you know, from God. And the Bible

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says, though, I walk through. The valley of the

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shadow of death. I will fear no evil. Why? Because

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his rod and his staff brings comfort. Yes. So

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it's not a place you can stay or hang around.

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My experience has been that my intimacy and my

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relationship with Jesus Christ has fulfilled

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my heart. That's not to say that God can't give

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someone the desire of their heart. And that is

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to be married, to have a spouse. When that is

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not your reality, the Bible says that Jesus said,

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I am your maker. I'm your husband. So fill those

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needs. So I feel like an answer to your question,

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it's just cultivating intimacy with Jesus, cultivating

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the fact that he said, I'll never leave you.

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I'll never forsake you. I'm with you always.

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You can't see him. But he's there with you and

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he'll send little he'll send little like surprises

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to show that he's with us. And I had I had a

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situation when I first found myself single after

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almost 34 years of marriage. I had a thing there,

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especially the first year, which was really hard.

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But I woke up one morning and I was thinking

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about it. And I said, Lord, you know, you know,

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don't you know my situation? You know, I'm here

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managing everything. I've had to learn how to.

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fix my hot water heater and know how to turn

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all the valves off. So I don't have a flood in

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my house to hire a financial planner. I had to

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learn so many things that were, whereas before

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it was two people carrying the load. Right. Yeah.

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Morning. I was thinking about it and I always

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take my dog out in the back first thing in the

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morning. And that's the beauty of Jesus. You

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know, he knows our habits. He knows how many

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hairs we have on our head. He knows everything

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about us. And so I was getting ready to take

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my dog out first thing in the morning. I opened

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the door. We went out off the deck. And down

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by my pool deck area, there was a cross. It was

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a stick and then another stick on top of it.

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And it was perfectly aligned. as a cross right

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there where I always walk out and I looked and

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I was like hmm could that be Jesus you and so

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I took my dog towards the back of the yard where

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he always goes any of you that have dogs know

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they have habits as well and I took him to the

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place he always goes and when I got up to that

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spot there As God is my witness, I could feel

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the Holy Ghost right now. I looked over where

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he always goes and up against the fence. There

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was another stick and another perfectly aligned

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as a cross. And I have a picture of it on my

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Instagram. And I just never forgot that. And

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someone said to me when I posted it on my Facebook

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page, they said. You know, there's a scripture

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that says, and again, I don't have all the references.

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This is just what's in my heart. There's a scripture

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that says that he is a God who sees. Yeah. White.

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When I read that verse, I was like, yeah, you

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see me. I'm not invisible. And I think sometimes

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even when you're single, you feel invisible because

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you're the third wheel or the kids all have their

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lives. And you know how kids are. all about their

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lives, which is fine, but you sometimes feel

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invisible. And does anybody really see me? And

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when I saw those two crosses in my yard, you

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can't make this up. I believe God put them there.

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This is not a coincidence. And God really showed

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me, Deborah, that he's a God who sees. Yes. He's

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with me. I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake

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you. I'm with you always. I'm going to help you.

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I'm going to strengthen you. I'm going to uphold

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you with the right hand of my righteousness.

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Don't worry. Don't fret. Don't have any anxiety

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about your life. I knew this was going to happen

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before you did. And I've already gone before

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you and prepared the way. So it's just, I feel,

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you know, having that confidence that we're not

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alone. that he is a God who sees. And I think

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sometimes he gives us little clues, little love

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tokens of, yeah, I am here. I am your God. I

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am your husband. And so that was only one of

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the stories I have just about how to navigate

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loneliness and learning that he is a God who

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sees and that I am truly not alone. Amen. Amen.

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That is so good, Margie. You know, I could really

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relate as you were talking because I was married

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for 25 years and it turned abusive on the second

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day of our honeymoon. I've been very open about

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it. I wrote a book about it called Single and

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Sublime where I tell my story, some drama, some

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comedy, and a lot of redemption. And after 25

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years, I found myself in exactly the same spot.

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I'm doing everything. I'm fixing my water heater.

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You know, I totally could relate to that. Putting

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the garbage out, have to remember everything.

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And yeah. Yeah. Oh, your tires on your car, you're

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supposed to rotate those. Oh, wow. The garbage,

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putting the garbage out and recycling. Yeah,

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exactly. And I can remember, though, even being

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married. And some people today that are watching

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may feel this way. You're married, but you still

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feel lonely. Yeah, I have a friend that talks

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about that. And it's very common. Yeah, you feel

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like you're not in the same page. You're not

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in the same book. You're not even in the same

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library. And I love what you said about the intimacy

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with God, because I remember those days feeling

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like I was married, but alone and hurt. And I

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remember one time in particular, I was getting

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my car washed. I was very pregnant and my husband

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was in love with a coworker and had been for

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two years. And here I am, you know, pregnant

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and I'm at the car wash and I'm watching my car

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go by. You could go inside and stand at this

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window and watch the car go by. And I am telling

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you, God was so present with me. So you are not

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alone. I almost it's like I could feel a person

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pressing up against me and there was nobody there.

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Another time I remember driving down the street

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in my car and just thinking, I am so alone in

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this. And I could sense it was like the Holy

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Spirit was in the back seat. And I'm like, come

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on up front, come up to the passenger seat. And

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I literally sensed. the presence of god move

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up there next to me and and i it reminds me of

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that scripture that says he is near the broken

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and heart i was just going to say that yeah he

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comes in real close yeah and you know what another

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thing is margie being single It's not always

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our choice, but it's also not a disease. No,

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it is not. It does not mean you have failed.

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It does not mean you are less than. It just means

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that's where you're at at this moment. And I

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really just believe that God is there in a very

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supernatural, strong way, just like with your

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crosses and lets you know all the time I'm here.

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I'm here overseas. Yes. And I used to kid when

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people would, single people would say, ladies,

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they'd say, oh, I'm married to Jesus. And I would

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think, okay, now I get it. And I'm not laughing

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anymore because he truly, the Bible says that

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he truly is our husband. And that is just, you

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use the perfect word. It's comforting. It is

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comforting. He'll even show you how to fix your

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hot water heater. A hundred percent. Amen. You

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know, if Jesus withdrew, I know that you lead

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a very powerful prayer ministry. And if Jesus

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withdrew for times of solitude to pray, how much

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more do we need to have times of solitude? And

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I think that's sometimes where people do get

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lonely. We need that time of solitude to pray.

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It's prayer. It's solitude with purpose. How

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can we reframe that and not think, oh, I've got

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to go alone and be in my prayer closet. How can

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we reframe that, that of the intimacy with God

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that we can find in that solitude? Well, when

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you were saying that, I was thinking about Matthew

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6. You know, the Bible says, when you pray, go

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into your closet and shut the door. That word

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closet in the Greek is T -A -M -B -I -E -N, and

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it means any secret chamber. It doesn't have

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to be a physical closet, although that's how

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I started my prayer journey. It could be a room.

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It could be your car. I personally think it's

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best not to be distracted in prayer, to really

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be focused in prayer. So if you're driving, it's

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fine. We all pray continually. We can do that.

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But that intimacy with God that can be developed

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in that closet, so to speak. So I think it's

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important to make room for God and to go in to

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find a spot in your home. If it's a chair, if

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it's an office where you can go in and you could

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shut yourself in with him. Amen. The thing I

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feel like people struggle a lot with in that

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regard is, you know, they don't really understand

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he's actually really there. Yeah, you see him,

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but he's there. So I tell people, use your spiritual

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imagination. Oh, that's good. Right? That's good.

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What does Jesus look like? Well, he looks like

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who he is in his earthly ministry, right? Look

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in the Bible, look in the word of God, go to

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revelations. You know, he's high and lifted up,

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you know, just imagine Jesus, you know, standing

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there and use, you know, the Bible says, I'll

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keep him in perfect peace. mind is stayed on

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me. So using your mind for good and focusing

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in on him and just taking that time to be intimate

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with him. And the interesting thing is what I've

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learned in my prayer journey is you don't, you

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don't always feel the change taking place in

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your life right away. Good. That's good. Yeah.

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You know, it takes time and it builds. Yes. For

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example, like, you know, do you work out? I'm

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sure you do. You look amazing. Oh, back at you.

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You got to work out. So, you know, it's like,

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you know, if you if you're starting a new health

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journey and you want to get in shape, well, you

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know, you begin where you are. You start on the

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treadmill 15 minutes and then. After a while,

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you build a little more endurance. And next thing

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you know, it's 20 minutes, 30 minutes. And then

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you begin to see results down the road. Prayer

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is kind of like that, if I could use that analogy.

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You know, you start to pray, enter into the presence

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of God. You don't feel him. You don't see him.

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You're distracted or your mind is going crazy.

00:14:54.110 --> 00:14:58.149
And all of a sudden you reach a zone. And that's

00:14:58.149 --> 00:15:01.909
when the fun really begins. Because prayer goes

00:15:01.909 --> 00:15:05.149
from a sacrifice. I'm doing this. Then it becomes

00:15:05.149 --> 00:15:09.450
joy. Then it goes into a desire. I really want

00:15:09.450 --> 00:15:13.149
to know God. To a discipline. Then you discipline

00:15:13.149 --> 00:15:16.870
yourself. Okay, I'm going into this closet, shutting

00:15:16.870 --> 00:15:21.029
the door. I'm going to seek a sacrifice. It goes

00:15:21.029 --> 00:15:26.009
from a desire to a discipline to a delight. Yes.

00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:29.049
Yes. You crave the presence of God. You crave

00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:31.509
prayer. You want to pray. You want to be with

00:15:31.509 --> 00:15:33.830
him. And then you see the fruit of it in your

00:15:33.830 --> 00:15:36.190
everyday life when you're at the grocery store,

00:15:36.470 --> 00:15:39.370
when you're with people. And that's where the

00:15:39.370 --> 00:15:44.009
friendship with Jesus really begins. Amen. That

00:15:44.009 --> 00:15:47.730
is so good because I love the analogy because

00:15:47.730 --> 00:15:49.889
when I first started going to the gym a couple

00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:52.950
of years ago, I can't tell you I was thrilled.

00:15:53.470 --> 00:15:58.230
No. And I had to tell myself, you're going to

00:15:58.230 --> 00:15:59.990
like this. I actually learned that from Kenneth

00:15:59.990 --> 00:16:02.809
Copeland. He said that he hated getting on the

00:16:02.809 --> 00:16:05.269
treadmill and he told himself, you're going to

00:16:05.269 --> 00:16:08.669
love this. And eventually he did. And I had to

00:16:08.669 --> 00:16:12.250
really discipline, as you said, myself, you're

00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:14.110
going to drive there. You're going to go in through

00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:17.200
the door. And it really helps if you like talk

00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:20.799
to people or watch other people work out or get

00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.980
a trainer and have a buddy for a while. And then

00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:26.500
once you take off, it does. It really becomes

00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:28.480
a delight. And there's where you start to see

00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.299
some fruit. And I also loved what you said about

00:16:31.299 --> 00:16:34.899
finding a place in your home like where you won't

00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:36.879
be distracted. There's always a dog barking.

00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:39.759
There's always, you know, we have these kids

00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:43.950
in our neighborhood. Yeah, exactly. The refrigerator.

00:16:48.110 --> 00:16:51.370
I'll hear these kids outside like screaming and

00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:53.809
you think that someone is peeling their skin

00:16:53.809 --> 00:16:57.669
off and they're just chasing each other. So I

00:16:57.669 --> 00:17:00.610
actually took a beanbag chair at one point and

00:17:00.610 --> 00:17:03.909
put it in my closet and shut the door. My closet

00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:07.220
is not that big. and leave your phone on the

00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:10.480
outside because it will be so tempting at first.

00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.539
Oh, I got to clean that drawer out. Oh, I've

00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:14.900
got to return that email or see if I have an

00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:18.839
email. And so I think what you said, I love it.

00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.400
It's got to start out as a discipline, even if

00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:23.539
you have to set an egg timer. And I've done that

00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:26.000
before. I've said back in the day, I would set

00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.759
the timer like on my microwave or my stove and

00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:33.130
I would make myself pray for one hour. And you

00:17:33.130 --> 00:17:35.109
really do get to the point where it's like that,

00:17:35.150 --> 00:17:37.170
you know, oh, my gosh, you look at your watch.

00:17:37.309 --> 00:17:39.430
It's like an hour has gone by. You're kidding.

00:17:39.670 --> 00:17:42.289
It felt like five minutes. But I remember Brother

00:17:42.289 --> 00:17:45.029
Hagen would say, that's because, you know, you've

00:17:45.029 --> 00:17:47.349
gotten into the spirit. When time doesn't bother

00:17:47.349 --> 00:17:49.589
you anymore, you know, you're in the spirit.

00:17:50.089 --> 00:17:54.099
Yes. Yes. Just you're in the zone. And that's

00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:57.460
where friendship begins with Jesus and relationship.

00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.140
And it's an intimacy. It's not based on works.

00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:05.660
It's based on love and relationship. And so many

00:18:05.660 --> 00:18:08.819
people say, I have to pray. No, we get to pray.

00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:13.460
Amen. Yes. Yeah. Oh, I get to talk to God. No,

00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:19.559
I get to talk to God. It's fun. Wow. And, you

00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:23.299
know. We were talking about the loneliness factor.

00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:27.779
Sometimes I think people are lonely because they

00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:30.400
don't put themselves out there. And I'm not talking

00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.579
about a dating app. I'm talking about you get

00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:36.200
involved in something at your church or you go

00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.619
for a walk in your neighborhood. Sometimes there

00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:42.859
is a practical side to things. I mean, there's

00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:44.680
someone in my neighborhood. I haven't seen her

00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:47.579
leave the house in like months. She's very reclusive.

00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:52.660
You can't complain that you're lonely. When I

00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:55.220
first joined my church a little over two years

00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:58.819
ago, I purpose, I thought I'm not meeting anyone.

00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:02.019
So when they came up with an offer, would you

00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:05.039
like to teach a connect group within the church?

00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:06.640
Because they're all about connecting. I said,

00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:08.819
sure, I'll teach a group on healing because they

00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:11.440
didn't have one. And that's how I started meeting

00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.259
people and growing relationships with it. So

00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:18.470
if we're lonely, sometimes. Do you think it could

00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:21.369
be kind of self -inflicted? Definitely. I mean,

00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:24.789
you know, I think COVID created a lot of loneliness

00:19:24.789 --> 00:19:28.109
in people and depression and anxiety. But you're

00:19:28.109 --> 00:19:31.170
right. It takes effort sometimes to get out and

00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:34.390
to break your daily habit and your daily routine

00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:37.789
and put yourself out there. Yes. And even what

00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:40.529
you were saying about working out and going to

00:19:40.529 --> 00:19:43.309
the gym when you said about, you know, you started

00:19:43.309 --> 00:19:46.829
that program. Like working out is wonderful for

00:19:46.829 --> 00:19:50.069
our mental health. Sure. You know, it's wonderful.

00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:53.890
And just connecting with people is good for our

00:19:53.890 --> 00:19:56.349
mental health. So, yeah, you just got to put

00:19:56.349 --> 00:19:59.089
yourself out there. But putting yourself out

00:19:59.089 --> 00:20:03.069
there with the right people. Oh, you read my

00:20:03.069 --> 00:20:08.190
mind. The next thing I wanted to talk about was

00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:11.109
sometimes people get involved in relationships

00:20:11.109 --> 00:20:16.519
out of loneliness. And it's like, well, they're

00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:21.440
better than being alone. So I wanted to bring

00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:26.619
up three great women in Pentecostal history who

00:20:26.619 --> 00:20:30.079
all went down the wrong road because of loneliness.

00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:35.140
And one of them was Catherine Kuhlman. She was

00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:37.140
lonely and we don't have time to go into her

00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:39.519
story here, but she ended up marrying someone

00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.140
out of loneliness. She knew she shouldn't have

00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:45.220
done it. Every prominent minister of the day

00:20:45.220 --> 00:20:49.319
told her, don't do it. And she did it anyway

00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:52.839
and knew it was so wrong. She fainted during

00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:56.160
the ceremony. And as soon as the ceremony was

00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.359
over, she ran into her friend's hotel room and

00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:01.079
told her that she had made a mistake. And the

00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:05.180
friend said, too late. You did this. And it derailed

00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:10.200
her ministry for 10 years. Yeah. Amy Semple McPherson,

00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:14.289
first husband died. Second husband didn't want

00:21:14.289 --> 00:21:17.130
the traveling evangelist lifestyle, so they divorced.

00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:21.970
And she admitted out of loneliness, she married

00:21:21.970 --> 00:21:25.309
her third husband, who was a con man, and made

00:21:25.309 --> 00:21:28.789
a bet with others that he could infiltrate her

00:21:28.789 --> 00:21:31.549
ministry and infiltrate her life. And he did

00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:34.269
just that. He was very abusive. And she ended

00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:37.700
up dying at 54 years old. Wow. And then, of course,

00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:40.680
Mariah Woodworth, her first husband. I don't

00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:42.019
know that she married him out of loneliness.

00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:44.519
I don't know the situation, but I know that he

00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:48.839
was very mean to the people. And she always wanted

00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:51.900
to have a revival in Oakland, California. That

00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:55.140
was her dream. And when her ministry was thriving,

00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:57.900
she finally made it out there, had a huge revival.

00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:01.019
And it was discovered during that revival that

00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:05.279
her husband was having an affair. Three prominent.

00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:09.980
yeah pentecostal historians all derailed by wrong

00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:15.319
relationships talk talk to us margie about just

00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:17.960
sticking a placeholder in there and we don't

00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.480
think it's going to hurt us and it's just i know

00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:25.819
there is a ministry that kind of claims that

00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:28.240
they can get you hooked up with someone and get

00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.400
you married within a year and they boast that

00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.259
that is what they're called to do i'm not saying

00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:37.759
they're not But I'm just saying that I don't

00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:39.380
know that we should give people that kind of

00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:42.759
hope. I believe that we can trust God for the

00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:45.579
right people if that is our desire. Some people,

00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:47.339
it's just not. And that's OK. And there's nothing

00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:50.500
wrong with you. But some people who want to have

00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:52.619
someone in their life, we've got to let it be

00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:57.500
God. Yeah, it's got to be God for sure. Yes.

00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.779
Especially when you're in ministry. Like I have

00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:03.779
like for me personally. i was on all the dating

00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:05.960
apps and hired the matchmakers on the whole thing

00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:10.599
and it just it was it was kind of funny their

00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:13.380
stories i was kind of wishing i had had a log

00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:16.240
on each particular date it would have been a

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:20.099
funny book but it's got to be god number one

00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:24.579
and you know it's you have to be healed as well

00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:28.059
you know because sometimes former relationships

00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:31.420
especially if you've been in an abusive marriage

00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:36.119
or relationship can cause damage to the soul.

00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.559
Absolutely. It's very important. Anybody that's

00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:42.920
listening that you heal your, make sure you get

00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:46.880
therapy, let the word of God. I know Deborah,

00:23:46.940 --> 00:23:50.460
one of her cornerstone scriptures is Proverbs

00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.539
four. The word of God will heal you, restore

00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:56.500
you, make sure you get healed. Otherwise you're

00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:59.650
going to attract. the same kind of guy that abused

00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:02.650
you, hurt you, was mean to you because you think

00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:06.029
that's normal. Back in my book, A Love Like That,

00:24:06.069 --> 00:24:08.750
I talk about that in two of the chapters, you

00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:11.869
know, when broken wings fly. That's one of the

00:24:11.869 --> 00:24:14.690
chapters. And, you know, you just got to get

00:24:14.690 --> 00:24:18.170
healed and it's got to be God. Because what does

00:24:18.170 --> 00:24:20.390
it profit a man if he gains the whole world and

00:24:20.390 --> 00:24:23.609
loses his soul? Like for me personally, I just

00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:27.319
want God. I want to do his will. I want to fulfill

00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:29.859
my destiny and my calling. And the devil knows

00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:33.279
that. Yes. He'll send people to try to derail

00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.720
us and to get us off track. I'm not afraid to

00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:38.980
love again. I believe that God has someone for

00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:43.160
me, but it's just being, making sure it's God,

00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:45.859
making sure you're healed. And then number three,

00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.599
being surrounded by the right people. Yes. Yeah.

00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.200
I have a lot of really good friends. So I'm going

00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.460
to tell you something funny and I'm going to

00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:54.900
tell you something I've never said publicly.

00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.500
Okay. Like two years in and being single and

00:24:58.500 --> 00:25:00.779
the whole nine yards and I was getting frustrated

00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:04.240
and the whole thing. And I'm sitting here with

00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:06.400
a group of my friends. We were having like some

00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:09.160
kind of Bible study that I was leading. And they

00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:11.839
were all best friends. We were all sitting here

00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:17.079
in my son room and I don't know what, I just

00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:20.950
stood up. And I said, if God doesn't send me

00:25:20.950 --> 00:25:25.150
a husband, I'm going to go find him myself. You

00:25:25.150 --> 00:25:35.269
know, cause it's all about timing. Sure. In my

00:25:35.269 --> 00:25:38.789
timing, I wanted it now, but God knew I needed

00:25:38.789 --> 00:25:41.369
healing. I needed restoration. He knew that.

00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.960
We've launched so many things in the last five

00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:49.099
years. We have a podcast. We have our prayer

00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:51.920
calls. I've been speaking. We're getting ready

00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.559
to do some things with CTN, Christian Television

00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:58.000
Network, beginning in June. If I had a guy in

00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:00.900
this season, I wouldn't have had the time for

00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.619
him to devote to marriage. But there will come

00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:06.720
a time. Because doesn't the Bible say, I am a

00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:09.839
restorer. God is going to restore everything

00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:12.140
that the locust and the canker worm has eaten.

00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:14.259
He is going to restore it. And if it's a desire

00:26:14.259 --> 00:26:16.779
of your heart, my heart, those that are listening,

00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:19.160
God's going to bring the guy. But let the Lord

00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:21.900
bring the guy. Don't be going out there. And

00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:23.680
I'll tell you something a friend said to me.

00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:27.779
And I didn't really realize it because sometimes

00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:29.940
we're pretty and we don't really realize how

00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:32.420
pretty we are and attractive we can be because

00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:35.990
we're just. us sometimes we're maybe critical

00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:38.670
of ourselves at times and we don't really realize

00:26:38.670 --> 00:26:43.730
the power that beauty can have and my a friend

00:26:43.730 --> 00:26:46.509
of mine said to me your biggest challenge is

00:26:46.509 --> 00:26:51.569
going to be um your your beauty as a woman wow

00:26:51.569 --> 00:26:54.589
in dating and i didn't realize what she said

00:26:54.589 --> 00:26:57.130
because i was married for so long i wasn't in

00:26:57.130 --> 00:26:59.829
the dating world right and i realized the guys

00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:02.940
aren't reading they're not reading your profile

00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:05.859
they're looking at your pictures your picture

00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:11.819
yes very shallow thing yes very um concerning

00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:15.339
to me and uncomfortable and they were more interested

00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:19.099
in the outward and not the real us which is the

00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:21.579
bible calls it the hidden man of the heart which

00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:24.380
in the sight of god is more precious than all

00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:27.660
of this that we have on the outside So it's really,

00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:29.839
I don't know, I think there's a balance, Debra,

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.619
you know, just letting God bring the guy, but

00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:36.220
also putting yourself out there. Yeah. Everyone

00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:40.519
just has to be led by the spirit, you know, and

00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.940
just follow the leading of God and also just

00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:49.359
be practical. Yes. Yes. Oh, my gosh. That was

00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:52.690
just such a word right there. And it reminded

00:27:52.690 --> 00:27:55.730
me of a couple of things. First of all, if somebody

00:27:55.730 --> 00:27:59.029
contacts you, social media, in person, whatever,

00:27:59.109 --> 00:28:03.190
and says, God told me. Thank you so much for

00:28:03.190 --> 00:28:05.630
tuning in to today's podcast. It has been such

00:28:05.630 --> 00:28:07.970
a joy sharing this time with you. For more inspiration

00:28:07.970 --> 00:28:10.390
and resources on today's topic, please visit

00:28:10.390 --> 00:28:12.630
our website at margiefloran .org.