E59 From Stuck to Spirit-Led: How To Take Action on Your Faith and Experience Real Spiritual Growth

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Jen Cudmore (00:00)
You have to invest in your personal growth. Your life doesn’t just randomly get better on its own. Good things don’t just fall in your lap. Do you want a life of abundance? Do you want to live life to the full? Do you want God’s best? Then you must be intentional and you must take action.

The Bible says you reap what you sow. How are you sowing into yourself? Are you investing your time and money into things like growing your skills or expanding your mindset or healing your heart or equipping yourself for life’s calling and purpose? Come on, let’s stop settling. Let’s be women of faith. Let’s be doers of the word and not just hearers. The world is waiting for you. Let’s go.

Hey there, welcome to the show. This is where we go below the surface and we talk about some deeper things. I just returned from equipping the saints.

Conference I was over in Texas for that and I am still fired up with just all the things that I learned and the ways God showed up and I wasn’t ⁓ Actually sure that I wanted to spend my time and money to go to this. I thought ⁓ I just wasn’t quite sure it was gonna be worth it and man it was worth it God really showed up and ⁓ personally for me in several ways and I’m gonna share a couple of those today, but what I want to discuss is just the concept of how

There’s always ways to grow and there’s so many people that are not intentional about personal growth. ⁓ And we say cliches like, we know God’s not finished with us yet and sanctification, becoming like Jesus is a journey, things like that. But…

I just see so many believers who don’t take that seriously and don’t actually invest time or money into becoming all that God designed them to be. And so the question is, how much are you leaning into this process? Are you letting God refine you? Are you letting God heal you?

Are you pursuing the things of the Lord so that you can become the best version of yourself that you can become all that God designed you to be? So when I went to this conference and by the way, I should say specifically this conference is put on every April by summer day and she has been I’ve been in her coaching group since let’s see. I think I joined in October called fear into Faith Academy and I’ve been doing that every Tuesday night and really

appreciate.

The different topics that she guides us through because she really there is some depth there, you know, she really pushes us to lean into forgiveness, not only forgiving ourselves, but learning to forgive other people, but go deep with it. think a lot of relievers just kind of stick to the shallows and they’re like, yeah, I know I need to forgive, but they don’t really take the time and effort to lean into that. And I definitely like I never crossed my mind that I might need to spend some time forgiving myself for some things. Like I was mind blown when I

that exercise. anyway, there’s so much to the way that she teaches different topics. But what I appreciate so much about her approach is that it’s always hands on. There’s always lots of discussion. It’s not just lecture. There’s always practical application like, okay, here’s your homework, go and do these things. And

I greatly have enjoyed making some friends in there. But anyways, I just say all of that to say I will probably be talking more about this. I’ve been kind of quiet about it because I wasn’t just at first. I wasn’t quite sure this is where I wanted to be. But God has really challenged me in areas where I’ve been uncomfortable or I thought things had to look a certain way and.

So I’ve grown a lot through this program and all that to say when I went to the conference, which they do at the end of the six month training.

I was really not sure what to expect. In fact, it sounds like the Lord kept kind of changing the agenda on them, but I was really blown away with the way that God showed up, not just for me, but for everybody and all the attendees. I’m guessing, I don’t know, maybe like 40 people. They really were super hungry for the things of the Lord and hungry to grow and be challenged. And so that was really special because I’ve been in groups where people just show up at a conference to say they went and they aren’t actually interested in doing the work to get

healing and the freedom that they need. So I’m just going to share a couple of stories to get you thinking and hopefully inspire you to lean into your own personal growth. I have always been interested in personal growth. I recognize that that is not most people. Most people prefer to just live in their comfort zone and I get it. I’ve definitely done that in some certain areas but

The biggest thing right out of the gate is we started off talking about false identity. You know, I went in there thinking, I know who I am. I feel pretty solid in who God says I am. I feel pretty solid in what he’s saying about my calling and my purpose. And so I wasn’t quite sure what this topic would mean for me because I felt like ⁓ I was pretty clear on what God was asking of me and where he was taking me and what I realized within the first 30 minutes to hours.

starting this conference was that I had some false identity still lingering in some different areas and I was shocked you know God led me to the Bible verse Ephesians 2 10 where it talks about how we are God’s handiwork how we are his masterpiece and you know I’ve grown up in church I’ve heard this Bible verse so many times it just it’s kind of lost its meaning for me I’m like oh I get it you know I’m wonderfully made you know but

The Lord really put a fresh spin on it for me and he really showed me like in my uniqueness how much he delights in the way that he made me and and specifically let me get into one point. I recently have been struggling with an aspect of my personality that had been

labeled as something bad

So what God showed me right away on that first morning was that I was beginning to believe a lie that I’m a bad person because I like to plan out my calendar six months ahead. I write everything in my planner. I am constantly trying to nail down details and that can come across as controlling. And so what I had noticed is over the past several months that I was starting to feel really ⁓ uncomfortable and kind of feel bad about myself that I

prefer that type of lifestyle, I guess you could say. And what God showed me is that I needed to break that lie because he made me to want to plan ahead. He made me organized

But he really honed in on the fact that I was beginning to believe that there were parts of my personality that were a sin. And so he broke that off of me and I recognized that there was a lot of shame there. I was quite surprised. But once he showed it to me and pointed it out, I was like, yes, I’ve totally been falling into that lie of, must be a bad person.

because I prefer to do things this way. And it was so freeing and it was just so sweet because then the next day we talked about different personality types and God really validated to me, I made you this way on purpose and it’s totally okay if you want to map out your calendar six months ahead. And I just felt like such peace, like, okay, I’m not a weirdo, I’m not an idiot, you know, there’s nothing wrong with me because I like to do it this way. And so I really just appreciated that because I didn’t recognize that.

that I was falling into that place of shame. And so that was just one example of the things that God showed me and something that I was able to break free of. And what I really want to hone in on is you guys know like all the healing and freedom that I have really leaned into over the past, really it’s been a decade of working through wrong mindsets and heart healing and different things. And here I am still,

still dealing with this stuff like this stuff hides really really well and you have to be diligent to go after and ask the lord to reveal stuff and so it isn’t a one and done and you don’t get to just go through a year or two of healing and renewing the mind and expect that you’re going to be fine it really is a lifelong journey

how intentional are you being about your growth and what the Lord wants you to be working on and get free of? Another thing that was really fascinating for me is that one of the things they were teaching on in this conference is they had through the course of the three days, they had five different leaders come up and talk about different aspects of deliverance from demons. And this is a topic that I’ve not necessarily been interested in. I don’t mind it. And I’ve definitely learned some things about it, but I

felt like it was connected to my calling and what God has showed me is that yes it is I do need to learn these things because the supernatural is very real angels and demons are very real and I need to have a deeper understanding of that because I will encounter it as I lean further into my calling and my anointing.

and beginning to coach women in the various areas. So I was like, okay, Lord, know, fine. I’m open to learning whatever it is. this, you know, deliverance is a topic that really sparks ⁓ a lot of

How do I put this a lot of people are put off by it? I think they’re just uncomfortable because they don’t understand the supernatural They just ignore the topic I know there are some churches that actually teach that angels and demons are not real that the supernatural

it doesn’t really impact the physical a lot, which is not true. And so it just always bothered me that this topic is so hush hush, but I’ve also seen that deliverance has not always been handled well, right? There are some, ⁓ old school ways that could actually do more harm than good. And so I’ve always had a slight curiosity to know, like, I feel like there’s, you know, there’s gotta be a better way than shouting and just, you know, violence and people flailing all over the room.

whatnot. And so anyhow, I was able to learn a little bit more and feel a little bit better equipped in that area. I personally believe every follower of Jesus should have training on deliverance, that should have training on the supernatural so that you can gain a better understanding of what’s really happening.

I’ve always supported deliverance ministry, but I was always sort of like that someone else’s job. And I’m beginning to understand that it may not necessarily be someone else’s job. Not saying that I’m called to cast out demons as a ministry, but I think there will be some of that involved in where the Lord’s taking me. So isn’t that fascinating? So I’m looking forward to knowing more. But what I greatly appreciated about the approach at equipping the Saints with Summer Day is how

they

really try to facilitate a safe space for you to practice and for you really begin to do like really to me it felt like a mini apprenticeship and I would love to be around it more so I can so that I can really get a lot more hands-on experience but I really ⁓ appreciated that because there are so many conferences that you go to where they just fill you up with all this knowledge and send you on your way and it’s like there there I just I’ve always felt like there’s more there needs to be more

And that’s the approach that they took at equipping the saints. They made sure that you could practice the things they were teaching you. And I just want to see more of that. I’m desperate to see more of that. I’m desperate to get in spaces where I can practice things. So the last thing I wanted to share was about prophetic words. And I just want to quickly point out 1 Corinthians 14 verse 3. says that he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort.

the New King James Version but I also wanted to read it from the NIV. And everyone who prophesies speaks for strengthening encouragement and comfort and I think that ⁓

There’s been some abuse, especially lately, abuse and some misunderstanding and things not handled well, unfortunately, in the prophetic community. And so it’s really a turnoff to those people who, you know, are not super comfortable with the spirit realm and the supernatural because some of us are getting it wrong. We’re not doing it right. The scripture is clear. When you have a prophetic word, it needs to follow these guidelines. It needs to encourage people and edify people and build them up and build up the church.

That’s what the Bible says in 1st Corinthians 14. And so it’s not about, ⁓ you know, bashing other people or like even harsh warnings like you sometimes see in the Bible. That does happen from time to time, but most of the time it’s not. This is what it’s supposed to look like. And ⁓ I know that there are a lot of churches, you know, I went to a few churches. ⁓

in my younger years where they taught what’s called cessation ism, which means the spiritual gifts are no longer valid for today. They stopped at a certain point in time. And ⁓ I struggle with that because I’m like, it’s so clearly not true. If you were, you know, around this, you would know that this is truly spirit led. But because people have abuse and different things, it’s caused a lot of confusion. And so what I’m talking about, as far as my experience is, I do believe that prophecy

is still valid for today and God still uses it to edify and encourage and build people up. And ⁓ I am leaning into doing this a lot more often. I used to just do it little bits here and there, but I feel like the Lord wants to make this gift much more prevalent in the church. The scripture, ⁓ gosh, I really want to dig deeper into this, but I’m trying to stick to my topic for today. So maybe I’ll maybe I’ll go ahead and do another episode on this later on.

and try to figure out how to explain. I think for those of us who come from a conservative background, it can be a little bit difficult to understand because we really were taught, whether it was on purpose or by accident, we were taught that…

The Spirit really doesn’t move in certain ways. Like we’ve really put Holy Spirit in a box and said, this is what it has to look like. And he can only behave in these certain ways. you know, things like speaking in tongues and prophecy are no longer valid. And that, like I said, has caused a lot of confusion. And so I have learned just through the things that God has taught me that, that all the spiritual gifts are still valid, are still utilized. And we really need to incorporate them more, not just in the church, but in our

daily lives so let me just let me just get back to my topic but what was amazing to me is that at this equipping the Saints conference they not only you know gave us some scriptures about why this is valid and the fact that every believer is capable of ⁓ speaking prophetic words to others

I was so impressed that they gave us multiple opportunities to give and receive and it was just fascinating to me. I wrote them all out in my journal and if

I was absolutely shocked. Through the course of those three days, God gave me 18 different prophetic words through 15 different people. I have never had this happen in my life. I’ve had prophetic words spoken over me before. And side note, just when you do have that, make sure you confirm with the Lord or possibly another person because the scripture tells us to test the spirits and make sure that it bears witness. And so that is part of the process. If somebody wants

to speak something over you. But anyway, I was pretty fascinated that God would would do that. But I also got to prophesy over probably 10 or 12 people or actually maybe more than that and just give them a prophetic word, you know, whatever the Lord dropped in my spirit. And so I greatly appreciated the opportunity to be able to practice those things because I do sometimes get in my head and like, my gosh, I would love to speak life over this person like, Lord, what do you want me to say to this person?

But sometimes we can get stuck or have a block. For me, a lot of times it’s fear of man. Just worrying that that day a person won’t believe me or that I’m not good enough to speak over them. I noticed that.

When someone is a leader, have a hard time. ⁓ I will struggle sometimes with feeling like I’m not qualified to give them a prophetic word, which is absolutely not true. And so there was at one point where one of the leaders ⁓ stopped me and actually coached me for a minute and I had to rebuke ⁓ the fear of man. And then she’s like, okay, now give me my prophetic word. And I was just so grateful because this is what we should be doing. Like, I just feel like, why is there not more of this? Why are we not creating

safe spaces in our churches where we can practice these things, where we can teach the average Christian, the normal Jesus follower, like, hey, you are capable of using this gift. Here’s how you can practice and begin to lean into that and have faith that God is going to use you and speak through you. And so ⁓ I just felt so grateful to be able to have that opportunity to do that. And what was really cool for me, like most of those people in that

didn’t know me very well. I mean we kind of knew each other a little bit from class, but that’s pretty much it because our class is virtual. And so it was just amazing to me how God confirmed my calling and the passions he gave me and then like he expanded my mind because he showed me some additional things that I get to do in ministry that were not on my radar yet, you know. And so it’s just really, really special. And so all that to say, I love to go to conferences.

but sometimes I just get tired of the same old thing where we sit down, we grab our notebook, we take notes, we get inspired with all of this truth and then we go home and we’re not really changed and it doesn’t really affect our lives because we haven’t been given opportunity for practical application. You know, we have these wonderful speakers who inspire us and give us all this knowledge which is fantastic, but what…

What about walking it out? What about practicing it? And so that’s what I love about the way Summer Day runs her programs is she doesn’t just dump a bunch of truth on you. She expects you to practice it. And that’s what I want. Like as I’ve started this coaching,

Well, the coaching program I already started and then the one I’m building to open up this summer. I really have a lot of ⁓ homework ideas ⁓ and like assignments because it’s not just about. ⁓

learning a bunch of things. It’s also about how do you apply it practically to your life? And so that’s super important to me and I just want to encourage more people to look at it that way. If we can get a little bit pulled back from the model of lecture, lecture, lecture.

sermon teaching whatever and Pull back and give people space to okay. Here’s the information you were given Now, what are you gonna do with it? And I will say this is one of my favorite things about my church right now Is that after every sermon on Sunday morning? They will pause and they will give everybody I don’t I’ve never really timed it but like five to ten minutes during some worship music

To sit with the Lord and they say what is God saying to you today? And what are you gonna do about it? And I just I wish there was more of that, know I wish there was more space in in sermons and teachings and messages for people to really lean into okay Lord I don’t want to be just a hearer. I want to be a doer of the word this

based on John ⁓ chapter 1 verse 22 and this is the NIV version it says do not merely listen to the word do not deceive yourselves do what it says so don’t just listen to the teaching but put it into practice and so are we giving people space to do that or are we just sending them out the door and saying go figure it out that approach

I feel like doesn’t work very well because a lot of us are going to walk out those doors and never think about that topic again. It’s human nature. I don’t think most of us do it on purpose intentionally. So, you know, can we shift that a little bit? I definitely want to see if I can help shift that thinking.

how often do you go to church on Sunday? How often do you go to maybe a conference here or there? And you get filled up with all this truth and knowledge and inspiration. And then you go home and all of that dies down and you settle into your old routine and nothing actually changes. Like your life isn’t made any better because you have all this information in your brain. You have to actually take action on it. You have to actually get in spaces where you are challenged to take action, those spaces where you can

actually do practical steps and begin to practice the things that it is that you’re learning, the areas where you need to grow. And I think part of that too is like just how desperate are you for your life to change, right? Like how hungry are you for the things of the Lord? When you are

Desperate and hungry you will do anything to see change like time and money are no longer an issue Yeah, you’re gonna find a way to do the thing You’re gonna yield you’re gonna surrender those things that you’ve been holding on to more tightly than you should You’re gonna begin to give those to the Lord because you want more you want better, right? You’re gonna pursue those places where you may still have some unconfessed sin and you’re gonna or even some unforgiveness and you’re gonna choose to

To have a soft heart and let the Lord convict you so that you can repent of those things and you can stop trying to make excuses and get away with Bad behavior and say it’s not that bad. But what if it is right? What if it is what if it’s causing a block in your life or those areas where you’re refusing to deal with your wounds because it’s painful and uncomfortable that stuff holds us back, right I talk about this all the time, but ⁓

Anyway, this has just been on my mind the past few days. I’m just really passionate about people taking their personal growth seriously. And I just really want to encourage you to lean in.

Go do the learning, but don’t just hear it go out and actually do it. So anyhow, thanks for listening I do want to point out to that because i’m going to be working a little bit more in depth on some coaching things And ⁓ sort of building that up, which I do hope to have that open to the public later in the summer Or the fall so stay posted. I’m really excited. I’m starting with a prayer this year and then we’ll see we’ll expand into some other areas, but

I also have a few other opportunities of some things where I’ve been invited to participate and help in some ministry things and so I’m not going to get into that right now but I’m super excited to see as the Lord is opening doors for me and expanding me expanding my capacity as the phrase goes and really challenging me and growing me I also feel like there’s some additional trainings he wants me to do so I just feel like I have a lot on my plate and I’m seeing all of that to say

that I’m going to pull back just a little bit from the podcast. I am only going to be posting probably two episodes a month for a little while as I lean into some other things. Definitely not giving up because I know it’s helpful to you and I do enjoy sharing just all the ways that God has challenged me and pushed me to grow. So just wanted to give you a quick heads up that you’ll see a few less episodes over the next coming months, but I’m not going anywhere.

We’ll still be talking about all things self-sabotage and strongholds and such. So let me wrap up. As we go about this week, let’s explore the depths of this final thought. You have a purpose in anointing, a calling. You’ve got assignments, right? ⁓ Some of us know what it is. Some of us don’t. Have you actually been actively working towards those assignments that God has given you? Like, what is your next step?

Where do you need to invest in yourself? Maybe it’s time or money, right? Or just even just effort and attention. What do you need to be doing so that you’re fully equipped to go out and make a difference in the world and further the kingdom? What is your next step?

So I say to you, be bold, be brave, and become all that God designed you to be. Bless you, friend. Have a good week.