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Now let's get into the show. We're talking about planning our futures. And here's the thing: planning is a very, very, very good thing. But you always want to remember God's sovereign will in your life. Planning with that in mind coming up right now on the Cleary Today Show.
You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clearview Today Show.
We're so glad you're joining us here in the studio with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah. If you're listening for the very first time today, Dr. Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. Dr.
Shah, welcome. Good to be here. You know, I'm like a lot of people in my life where I've watched just way too much Star Wars. And so when you watch too much Star Wars, you watch too much fantasy, all that stuff, you start to think that God is, he's like the force. You know, he's out there, he's moving things around, he's getting things ready, but he's like a mystical sort of presence.
And in planning our futures, we forget that God is a living person who has a plan and a will for our lives. You know, not just that he has a say, he has the say. And a lot of times I think we forget that. Most people. I would say most people believe that there is a God.
But most people do not believe that the God cares or is intricately Interested in their daily lives. You know, he's connected to them. They think he's up there somewhere, he made the world, and now he's like, Now go on, make something of yourself and don't do anything bad. And That's it. Don't misbehave.
Go on, you little scamp, you. Yeah, don't misbehave, or I'm going to come down there and just beat you to a pulp. Other than that, go about. Just don't do anything too bad. Right.
But make something good out of yourself. That's all people think. They don't know that God cares about every single decision in our lives, every single goals, hopes, and dreams, what we're going to do tomorrow, what's going to come in our lives years down the road. They don't believe that God is very, very. Concern and and Intricately involved, people mask that a lot by saying things like, you know, God is God's so much bigger than we are, and God has the whole universe to think about.
Why would He think about the, you know, what I'm having for breakfast in the morning, or what's going on in my job, or what's going on in my family? Yeah, I mean, who cares about my problems, man? Yeah, when you tell some people I'm praying for you, they're like, Oh, look, there's some people with some worse problems. You know, sometimes, you know, you got a lot to be grateful for, man. There are people out there, there's genocide, pray for them.
That day is that prayer in the hospital rooms. You know, I see people in the ERs and But that's another way of saying There is a God, but he is not that concerned about me. That's right. You know, I see people all the time, like at a wedding or at a ball game, or just at a party or something, like a birthday party. And these are many times, these are people who are not in church.
They're not in the word. They're not bad people. They don't hate Christianity. They're not like fist. pumping atheists who hate God.
No, they just, um Civil Cordial nice people Who believe in a deity? Yeah, they've probably heard about God somewhere. Yeah, or maybe heard a lot about God. You know, we don't know for sure whether it's little or much. It's just that.
How much Is God concerned about their lives? Not much. It's like God's an acquaintance. God's like a friend that I used to know or I might know a little bit about, but this is not a person that I truly know on a deep level. I would say not just an acquaintance.
They would look at it more as God, as the CEO of a very, very, very, very, very big company. And you are like. Way down the totem pole, maybe working in the mail room. I don't even know if they still have mail rooms. You know, way down the totem pole.
You will probably never see the CEO other than maybe if it's a company picnic, or it's like they bought like. 2,000 tickets to bring you and your family to the ball game at a baseball game. And so you see the CEO far away. There's a ton of people who are listening to this right now. That's like, you are describing my 30s, my 40s, and my 50s.
This is corporate life. Absolutely. And people think, like, you know, this person, he's the reason I have a job, but I'll never see him. I'll never cross paths with him. And even if I do, it's going to be way over there.
He doesn't know that I exist. Yeah. And if I quit, it's not going to matter to him because my position is so inconsequential that they will hire somebody else. Yeah. But how would we?
I mean, the three of us are dads. How would we feel if our kids viewed us that way? If our children looked at us like, they don't know that I exist, you know, I've got the stuff that I need and I've got a place a life to live, but they're off in their own world. And you know, I would hate that if my kids thought that about me. Yeah, and you know, look, dramatic teenagers say that, but then these are people who are living their lives according to that.
That's the truth that they have in their mind. You know, I don't really matter that much to God. And the other thing is, because life works out for such people. means they have a job, they have a good life, sometimes even making more money than people who love God, serve God in church all the time. They have problems, but they're not that bad.
People get sick in their lives, people die. Children go through divorce. I mean, things happen, but it's like, oh, okay, this is the stinky part of life. And so what?
So, how do you, so, how do you, as a pastor, deal with that? What is the reaction when you, from the pulpit, say, you know, God has a sovereign will and a plan for your life? Like, is that something that they just it sounds Christianese to them? And they're so like, okay. Or is does it does it throw them to think about that?
Bottom life, bottom line, and unless the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of a person, no amount of convincing, reasoning, logic can really help them. God has to be involved in the opening, and He does that. God is involved in the inner workings of every single human being throughout history, since Adam and Eve till the end of time. Every single person, God is intricately involved in their lives. They just don't respond to Him.
Think about the person in the most sophisticated part of the world, somewhere in Europe or somewhere in America. They're very smart, very educated, very accomplished. But God has no place in their lives. They're not necessarily atheists, but they just don't. think about God.
Yeah. And so how about a person like that They just He he is he's way up there. Yeah. Or think about the person who's living in some very, you know. backward part of the world where technology hasn't really penetrated without beyond having a cellphone and a Facebook account, or they they don't have hardly anything, no education, no goals, nothing, there are no opportunities, they're just surviving day by day.
God is just as much involved in that person's life and wants to be As he wants to be involved in the person's life who is living in Malibu. But they don't have time for God either because they're more concerned about their own personal needs and wants and and Cravings. They're more concerned about why life is not fair. The person on the other side of the world, in the sophisticated world, is more concerned about. The next goal, the next achievement, the next billion-dollar deal.
And this person on this backward part of the world is more concerned about Man, I'm going to steal that, or I'm going to marry this person and maybe have some wealth coming from her family, or something, you know. Do you have no time for God?
So, this kind of restructuring of what people think about God, how does that help with planning and thinking about your future? If you're moving from the idea of like God might exist out here somewhere and He just sort of sets the pieces in motion and zaps us when we mess up to an invested, involved, loving, Heavenly Father, how does that change the way that we plan? Number one, they need to know Jesus Christ. The only way you and I can have a relationship with God is through his Son. You cannot bypass the Son to get to the Father.
So coming to know Jesus Christ is. Square one. And so we pray. That people will come to know the Lord. We pray that they will.
See the need in their lives to be saved. We pray that somehow the gospel will come to them through a podcast like this. Or through a book at the airport, or through a chance encounter with an old friend. We're hoping that someone, a co-worker, will share the gospel with them. A family member may invite them to church on an Easter Sunday or a Christmas Sunday.
And somewhere, somehow, that spark will be ignited and they will begin to. Look for God in their lives. And in the process, come to know Jesus Christ.
Now, Things Change. Once that connection is made, Now things change, and then we say, okay, this is that. great and awesome and aloof and transcendent God who really cares about me enough to send His Son to die on the cross for my sins. And take my sin upon himself.
Okay, now, how does he want me to live? Yeah, I think that's a great point that a lot of us miss: is that we might hear that kind of stuff if you grow up hearing about God, you might hear that he cares about you, he's got a plan for his life, but until you have Jesus, you can't really be convinced of that. You know what I mean? Right. Because it is so, it is such a foreign, I guess, concept for the, for the non, for the non-Christian, and maybe even for the Christian who grew up thinking that way.
And so, if they do that, now they say, Okay, I believe that this person cares about me. What does he want me to do? Where do you see that going? Like, how do you, how do you now live your life based on what he wants me to do? But James tells us in verse 15, this is going back to James chapter 4 and verse 16.
He says, Instead, Instead of planning and prepping and doing all these strategizings, instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, We shall live and do this or that. If the Lord wills, so it's not sinful to plan. But it is sinful to plan without asking the question: what is God's will for my life? Yeah. Yeah.
In everything We should ask, what is God's will? He said, Well Haven't I heard you say some point in time that When it comes to God's will, you simply go ahead and do it. And you know it's God's will.
Well, yeah, if you're constantly walking with God, you don't have to stop and say, So, which way are we going? I mean this way. Right? I mean, if you like. Yeah, you feel like going down, walking down this long, dirt path.
Yeah. Who owns the land, who owns the path? You don't have to keep asking them, still straight ahead? Yeah. Still straight ahead.
No, you keep going. You explained it really great in an episode that we did on this exact subject, but basically it was like you don't stop and ask, which way do I go? And then wait for the answer as you go, but then you are discerning enough to know that God is course correcting you. It's like when God course corrects you and say, no, no, I don't want you to go that way. Instead of...
ignoring it or justifying or rationalizing it, you course correct. But for Christians who don't do that or aren't going to take that step, they just end up stagnating because they're not moving at all. And the reminder is that the person who's course correcting you is right there with you. Right. It's like walking.
I mean, that example is perfect. It's like walking with somebody and then constantly like, are we still going? You would be like, no, we're keep walking. Straight ahead. Think about Jesus.
Jesus gave us the perfect example of how you and I, in fact, every human being should live. on the earth. How did he live? Mm-hmm. in his prayers.
Or in his Messages in John 4:34, Jesus said, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. My food. My sustenance. My nourishment is to do his will. In Matthew 6, 9 and 10, In this manner, therefore pray, O our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your will be done.
So, Jesus. Always Sought to do the will of his father. But and he prayed constantly, he was in prayer. Can you imagine that? Jesus talking to his father in prayer.
But well, why did he need to? Isn't he God? Yes, but he's also fully man.
So as a fully man he was demonstrating How you and I should daily communicate with God. Yeah, there are days I I'm ashamed to say that I'm busy, or sometimes early appointments keep me from praying. Yeah. Same. And it's not a good thing.
It's not a good thing. I think a lot of times when we talk about these things, like God's will in your life and course correcting, it can sound to someone who's a new Christian, it can sound kind of like over your head. It can sound kind of pithy. But I think a good example is, you know, maybe three, four months ago, you know, we had this idea. I had this idea that let's change up our social media strategy, this drastic change.
And we're going to get way more engagement of the kind we like and we're going to minimize the kind of engagement we don't like.
Well, we did it. And it was about the exact opposite. You know, we saw a vast decrease of people sharing our stuff. And then we also saw a vast increase of people coming in and, you know, just acting on social media the way you don't want people to act. But I think that's a course correction.
That's an example of like, okay, well, maybe that wasn't God's will. You know what I mean? Like these practical things in our life where you try something, it doesn't work. And instead of being like, Well, let me go to YouTube. Let me figure out how to make this thing work.
Maybe taking that step back and saying, you know, maybe we didn't put Christ at the center of this. Maybe I was at the center of this. And I think that's a practical example of kind of what we're talking about. Yeah, that adjusting in real time is important too, because we don't just wait and, you know, Lord, take my foot and put it on the path that you want it to go on. No, we take a step out in obedience, but we also allow God to course correct and allow God to adjust our thinking and our desires on the way.
We were out doing a filming project, and I remember complaining, really complaining to you and being like, you know, this social media thing has really backfired. And I remember you coming back and saying, you know, we're going to do, we're going to keep doing our social media, we're going to keep doing it, but we're going to make sure that Christ is at the center of it. And I think since doing that, we've seen, I mean, it's obviously slow and we're still tracking metrics and all that stuff, but we are seeing more engagement of the type that we want. And I think that's a great way of. Kind of telling how God is course correcting you as you are moving forward in your life.
Well, Paul had the same mindset. In his ministry in 1 Corinthians 4:19, it says, But I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills. Paul was not a kind of person who just sat there and waited. He kept moving, he kept writing, he kept. Trying to go back and visit the churches that he had planted.
But every step of the way, he had the mindset of if the Lord wills. And that's how I try to do it every single day. I pray, I begin the day with prayer, even before I get out of bed. When the alarm goes off, I'll take five more minutes to just kind of lay there. And then finally, I'm starting to get up, and then I will pray for a few moments.
But this is not my prayer. This is just prayer to just get me going. And then I will slowly get out of bed. and then make my way to get some coffee, sit down, read my Bible. And then I pray.
At the end of that. Time of reading the word of God. And in that prayer time, I will again. Say, God, not my will, but yours be done in my marriage, with my children, with my staff, with our leadership at church, with our influence in the community, with our influence in the academic world, in our influence in the world at large. God, we want your will to be done.
We don't want the enemy's will to be done. Let us not become a tool. of the enemy. In no way we want the enemy to use us. And so My whole prayer time, whether it's those three minutes in bed or that five, ten, fifteen minutes after reading the Word of God and praying, is to submit my will to the will of the Father.
And then I'm not like walking around going, is it God's will to do this? Should I call this person? Is it God's will? No, I know what's happening. Yeah.
And I keep rolling to the next thing, to the next thing, to the next thing. And. Before you know it, great things have happened. Yeah. You know, we're talking about planning in 20, oh my goodness, what was the year?
2020. I think you guys went to Greece 2023. Three. Where you guys filmed the documentary on Paul's second missionary journey, 2023? 23.
2023.
So you did a section in what was the very first town, Kavala. Yes. Where Paul tried to go. To Asia Minor, and the Spirit said, Oh, I'm not going to happen. We're talking about planning.
I can imagine that Paul did not shoot that second missionary journey from the hip, right? Like he planned out his route and he's trying to go and in something as huge as a missionary journey of Paul, the planning that must have gone into it, the Holy Spirit closes that door. Do you want to talk to the people who are listening to this who are saying, That's me? I genuinely feel like I've involved God in the planning, I've prayed, but He has closed the door and now I don't know what to do.
So, that is a great, great question. There are two things that can happen when a door closes. It it may be, number one, that y God is telling you to push harder. God is telling you don't give up. Don't Don't You know, just walk away, fight for this.
Stay on course. Come back, find a better way to approach that situation or that problem.
So there is that one thing where Just because a door is closed It does not mean that God is not in it, or God does not want you to go forward. It just means that you got to try harder. And the other side is God keeps closing that door, And it's because God is closing that door. He doesn't want you to go through that. Through that door.
So how do you know the difference between those two? On one hand It is complex. But on the other hand It is quite simple. When you walk with God, You can hear his voice. It may not be audible, but you can hear his voice.
You can sense. his presence. Things may be very complex, things may be very conflicting, but you know what God wants you to do. It may be complex, it may be conflicting. Like, yeah, that's a good thing, but confusing a good thing for a god thing?
Or Is it really a good thing and a god thing? But when you walk with God, you on a regular basis, you know what He wants you to do. And it's not that complex. For me, most of my life, I would say most of my life, especially ministry life, has been. Just gotta push harder.
Let's take a quick break. It's John here from Clearview Today. Before we jump in, quick shout out to today's sponsor, Mighty Muscadine. If you've been looking for a natural way to support your health, these guys are doing it right. From 100% Muscadine grape juice to really high quality supplements, everything they make is handcrafted, it's backed by science, and best of all, it's grown right here in our home state of North Carolina.
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So thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. Most of it has not been, that's not the door. This is the door.
No, most of it is just you got to push harder. It has not been Hardly any times I would say it is like, man, I thought this really was it. But It ended up being that. No, as I Push harder, something better came up.
So that's a great point. That's a great point: is that the thing that we were aiming for might not have been the thing, but something even better that's still along the same route. Yeah, we had to push for this thing to get to that better thing. Yeah, like I kept pushing against this door, and the door flung open, but it's not flung open to a new path, but it flung open and I fell down. And when I fell down, I discovered a gold piece.
I mean, it's like that. Yeah, yeah. It's, it's, it's. I think it's a great illustration. It's not like a door opened up.
Oh, wow, look at this. No, I fell and then I found this. And God says, see, that's why I was holding back the door. Because I want you to fall on your knees, and but when you fell on your knees, you saw that gold piece under that couch. And now, you see, this is why I was getting you to push harder on that door.
Yes, because you would fall, and if you fall, then you find that gold piece.
So it's been like that for me. I got you. It hasn't been as much of, oh man, I really thought that was the way, but you know, God just took me down a different path. You know, that's a great point because I think of all the people who think, okay, God's going to have me go all the way up to this door just to close it and say, just kidding, the door's over there. Yeah.
It's usually that you're going to go through this door, but not in the way that you think. That's a good way to say that. Yeah. And that's like, okay, great. Do you see this room?
That's your new office or your new home. No, it's many times it's like I'm pushing hard, man. Oh, it opened, but I fell. Yeah. Fell down.
But here guess what I found? Yeah. That's a great push. Which I wouldn't have found that had I not fallen in the front. Yeah.
So it's been sort of like that for me. Do you think there's pastors out there who are listening to this and they say, you know, I wish I could say that, but typically I'm just. Throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks? Do you think there's pastors out there who are coming to a place now where they say, In my planning, I want to walk more attuned with God? Or maybe not even pastors, maybe just people, maybe just Christians.
Yeah, you know, yeah, I would say there is zero substitute. for having a daily personal Walk with Jesus Christ. No substitute. There's nothing you can substitute to a time of sitting down, reading God's word, meditating upon it, and then praying. Maybe even reading a good devotional book.
I'm reading one right now, which is not a typical devotional book. It's on emotional problems that people face. I'm reading a great book on that, and it's great. It's great. I mean, right now, the section is on depression.
Not that I'm depressed or trying to help somebody who's going through depression. None of that. It just happens to be the chapter. But it's a great chapter. I'm reading on Cooper.
You know, we call him Cowper. It's not Cowper, it's Cooper. He was friends with John Newton. You know, he struggled with depression and. He was.
I went to Alney where I went to his hometown and John Newton's. Wa was the was the pastor there of that church where Cooper was William Cooper was was, you know. Friends with him, and they wrote songs together. And of course, John Newton wrote Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound. And William Cooper wrote many, many songs about that deeper walk with God.
And William Cooper struggled. He struggled with depression. He struggled with But Just emotional stability. But here's what happened with Cooper's life.
some of his best songs came through that time of depression. The best work C. He wrote. And so people often Wondered, you know, come on, is that the lot of a Christian that he goes through depression and then God gives him something great? Not the lot of every Christian, but maybe his lot.
Maybe that was God's will for his life. Because through that, He was able to to find The heart of God in a way that most people don't. And see God's faithfulness and God's goodness. and God's peace and assurance. That he will never leave you nor forsake you, even if you, at the end of your life, are at the lowest point of your life.
Do you think it's fair to say then that if when you're planning and when you're planning according to God's will, prepare for some suffering, prepare for a little bit of suffering, right? Yeah, it goes back to what we talked about on the previous episode: that life is unpredictable. Yeah, yeah, you can plan, you can prep, but you know, life is going to be unpredictable. You're going to get hit with tragedies, you're going to get hit with wrong turns, bumps in the road. But the point is.
It's a walk, it's a walk with God. There are ups and downs, there are missteps, but continue to walk with the Lord. That's right. You know, if the Lord wills, we should live and do this or that. And then James says, But now you boast in your arrogance, don't boast because all such boasting is evil.
Yeah, so be humble. And then see what God will. Do in your life and through your life. Amen. I love it.
Amen. Guys, make sure you join us next time. Same time, same station. We're going to dig further into this topic here on the Clearview Today show. Thanks again to our sponsors for making today's episode possible.
And don't forget that you can support us by subscribing to the show anywhere you can find podcasting content. And you can always support us financially at Abadanshaw.com forward slash give. That's why we want to remind all of you guys that the Byzantine text form 2026 released or releasing, I should say, by Clearview Press is available for pre-order right now. You can follow the link in the description and pre-order yours. Thank you for everyone who's already put their pre-order in.
You can stay tuned to this show for more updates as we are in the final process of editing and formatting. And we also want to let you know that Dr. Shah's other show, or we really got a lot of shows, but our newest show, which is How to Read Biblical Hebrew. New episodes are coming out every single week. We want to encourage you guys to go and pick this up.
This is a great way for you to stretch your mind and to dive deeper into God's word. And our promise is this. It's an introductory course. Our promise to you is if you stick with it, you will. Be reading the Old Testament, it's an original in its original language, and that's a big blessing.
That's right. We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clear Read Today.
