Shadowing Practice: God Has The Answer | Joel Osteen - Learn English Speaking with Video
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208 sentences
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A while back, there was this challenge I was dealing with.
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It had to do with our ministry and what we were going to do in the future.
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I couldn't figure out how it was going to work out.
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I studied it and made phone calls, got other people's advice, but there was still no solution.
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Every time it came to my mind, it kind of bothered me.
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I thought, what are we going to do?
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I was tempted to live stressed and worried.
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Finally, I said, God, I'm turning this over to you.
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I can't make this work out my way, but I know you already have a solution, so I'm not going to live uptight.
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I'm going to just keep being my best, honoring you.
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Every time I was tempted to worry, Father, thank you that my life is in your hands.
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Thank you that you're making my crooked places straight.
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Sometimes we're frustrated because we're trying to control things that only God can control.
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We're trying to figure something out that there is no answer to right now.
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That's when we get frustrated, can't sleep at night.
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The good news is God doesn't ask us to figure everything out.
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You have to know what's your job and what's God's job.
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Our job is to believe.
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Our job is to thank God.
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Our job is to walk in obedience.
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The Scripture says God will work out
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His plan for our lives.
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God's job is to work things out that we can't work out.
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You're not on your own.
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The creator of the universe is working out his plan for your life.
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His job is to open doors we can't open.
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His job is to part Red Seas.
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His job is to heal sick bodies.
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His job is to make things happen that we can't make happen.
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Are you frustrated because you're trying to do God's job?
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Take the pressure off.
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You don't have to make everything happen.
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You just have to keep traveling steadily, staying faithful, being good to people, keeping God first place.
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About two months ago, I was at the church and a staff member was passing by.
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He said, I meant to tell you that thing that we were working on, we figured it out.
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I said, what do you mean?
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He said, I'll show you.
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I went in and looked at it.
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It was perfect.
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Couldn't have been any better.
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I thought this was going to be an ongoing challenge where it would take all this extra effort
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and energy on my part.
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But then without me even working on it, things fell into place.
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I never dreamed it would be that easy.
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That's what the scripture says.
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If you'll keep traveling steadily, God will give you the land.
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That means you don't have to struggle, strive, manipulate things, try to force it to work out.
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it's going to be easier than you think.
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Things are going to fall into place.
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The right doors open.
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The right people show up.
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The school calls you with the scholarship.
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The medical report suddenly turns around.
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In the scripture, Joseph was engaged to a young lady named Mary.
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An angel appeared to her and said she was going to have a baby without knowing a man, and they were to name him Jesus.
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You can imagine how Joseph must have felt when Mary told him she was pregnant, not with his baby, but with the Messiah.
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I'm sure he thought, yeah, right.
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He was going to quietly call off the engagement, but that night an angel appeared to him in a dream.
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He told Joseph that what
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Mary said was true, that he was to go ahead with the marriage.
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Joseph could have backed out, thought, God, I didn't sign up for this.
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I don't want my reputation ruined.
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Find somebody else.
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But Joseph did what the angel said.
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It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
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The Roman emperor decided to take a census, everyone had to go to their hometown.
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Joseph was from Bethlehem.
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He loaded up
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Mary on a donkey.
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She was nine months pregnant.
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They traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
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It would be one thing if this was across town, but this was a 90-mile journey.
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It would take about 10 days.
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I've seen what it's like for Victoria to be pregnant.
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How uncomfortable, especially toward the end.
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Her back was hurting, feet swelling.
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I can't imagine telling her at nine months pregnant, honey, to fulfill prophecy, we have to get on a donkey and go 90 miles.
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I think I would be hearing, welcome to heaven.
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Sometimes God asks us to do things that are difficult.
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Mary could have said, not getting on that donkey.
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It's too bumpy.
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My feet hurt.
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You can go by yourself, but you never read where Mary complained.
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You never read where Joseph was sour.
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They just kept traveling steadily, doing what God asked them to do.
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Day after day, getting on the donkey, dealing with the heat, finding a place to sleep at night.
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God only spoke to them one time.
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This whole trip, 90 miles, God never said anything.
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Would have been much easier if the angel would have come back and said, you're doing great.
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Keep going to Bethlehem.
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You're right on track.
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It's easy to follow God when you hear him speaking.
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You have clear direction.
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Things are going your way.
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But the real test is, how do you respond when God is silent?
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You don't hear anything.
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You're doing the right thing, but it's not improving.
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You're being your best, but doors aren't opening.
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Months have gone by, maybe years, and you don't hear anything.
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Here's the key.
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Keep doing the last thing God told you to do.
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Keep being consistent.
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Keep being faithful.
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Joseph and Mary finally arrived at Bethlehem.
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I can imagine it was late at night.
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Mary was getting close to having the baby.
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Joseph walked up to the inn, the hotel.
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He said, Mary, wait here.
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I'll go arrange a room.
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The innkeeper said, I'm sorry, sir.
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We're full.
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We have no more room.
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Joseph could have thought, God, you said come to Bethlehem.
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You said this was your baby.
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Why is nothing working out?
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Instead, Joseph went back out, told Mary to get back on the donkey.
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They were tired, disappointed, uncomfortable, but they just kept traveling steadily.
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God rewards faithful people, people that don't give up, People that don't let a disappointment cause them to be sour.
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People that don't let a setback, a loss, a delay to stop their destiny.
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When things happen that we don't understand, our attitude should be, Father, thank you that you are working out your plan for my life.
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You are ordering my steps.
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You are opening doors that no man can shut.
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Thank you that you'll get me to where I'm supposed to be.
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Don't let a bad break, a delay, a pandemic, a person that did you wrong
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cause you to quit believing for your dreams and quit pursuing what God put in your heart.
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You are full of can-do power.
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The same spirit that raised
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Christ from the dead lives in you.
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You are not weak.
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You are a warrior.
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Now dig your heels in and be consistent, not just when everything is going your way, Not just when there's room at the end,
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business is flourishing, but when the door closes, when the contract doesn't go through, when the journey is longer than you thought.
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God is looking for people that are determined, people that have stamina.
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You can't be weak and reach your destiny.
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You can't be half-hearted and become who you were created to be.
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God will be silent at times.
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You don't hear anything.
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Things are not improving.
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You're on that donkey, so to speak.
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Doors aren't opening.
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What are you to do?
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Keep being faithful.
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Keep getting to work on time.
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Keep singing in the choir.
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Keep being good to those neighbors.
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Keep thanking God when you feel like complaining.
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If it was going to happen instantly, you wouldn't need any faith.
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Don't be impatient for God to act.
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Just because the inn is full doesn't mean there's not a place for your baby to be born.
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Just because you've had a setback, somebody walked away, the medical report isn't good, doesn't mean that your dream is not going to come to pass.
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What God promised you cannot be stopped by people, by circumstances, by bad breaks.
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God wouldn't have allowed the end to be full if he didn't have something better.
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My question is, are you going to keep traveling steadily?
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Are you going to keep believing, keep praying, keep doing the right thing?
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Joseph and Mary packed up, got back on the donkeys, disappointed but still moving forward,
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tired, hungry, back hurting, but still traveling steadily.
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Joseph looked up and saw this old barn where they kept animals.
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Wasn't a nice hotel.
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Didn't have a bellman out front.
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No room service.
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Just a manger where the sheep rest.
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It wasn't what they had in mind.
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But God doesn't always do things the way we have planned.
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His ways are not our ways.
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If you don't stay open, you'll be frustrated because they wouldn't let you in.
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Upset because the door didn't open.
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Can I tell you, God knows what he's doing.
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When it's time to birth your baby, all the forces of darkness cannot keep you out.
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There will be a place for you to shine, for you to flourish, for you to show this world what God put in you.
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Now quit worrying about who wouldn't let you in, why this didn't work out, it wasn't fair.
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You weren't supposed to be in the end.
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They weren't supposed to have room for you.
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Your blessing is not in the end, it's in the manger.
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Your increase, your favor, your abundance is not in where you've been, it's in where God is taking you.
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It's not in where you were left out, it's in where you're going.
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Now do your part and start moving forward in faith.
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Not bitter over disappointments, not discouraged over what didn't work out, not upset because it's taken longer.
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There were delays and detours.
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God is saying if you'll keep traveling steadily, being faithful when nobody is noticing, doing the right thing when it's uncomfortable,
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not complaining because you don't see things changing, then you're going to give birth to dreams bigger than you've imagined.
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God's going to do uncommon, unusual, extraordinary things.
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The night Mary gave birth, there were shepherds out in a field.
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An angel appeared to them and said, I have good news.
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The Messiah has been born in Bethlehem.
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This is how you will recognize him.
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You will find him lying in a manger.
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If the innkeeper had not turned Jesus away, he wouldn't have been in the manger.
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The shepherds wouldn't have found him.
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The inn was supposed to be full.
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The innkeeper was supposed to not let them in.
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Nothing that happens to you is a surprise to God.
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He's ordering your steps.
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If the door closed, it was supposed to close.
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If the person walked away, they were supposed to walk away.
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Don't get bitter.
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Keep traveling steadily.
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Keep doing the right thing.
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Keep being good to people.
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Keep expecting.
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Keep believing.
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When you get to your manger, so to speak, the shepherds are going to find you.
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The blessings, the healing, the promotion will come to you.
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Now my challenge, stay consistent.
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Don't be ruled by your feelings.
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Make up your mind.
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You're not going to be moved by what's not changing, not discouraged over how long it's taking.
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You're going to keep doing the right thing.
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Prove to God that you're going to be faithful.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “God Has The Answer”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Joseph, Mary, steadily, traveling, door. This video has 208 sentences and 1980 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:22. The speaker talks at a natural 160 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| steadily adverb | /ˈstɛdɪli/ | In a steady manner; with a steady progression. |
| donkey noun | /ˈdɑŋ.ki/ | A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse. |
| faithful adjective | /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/ | Loyal; adhering firmly to person or cause. |
| angel noun | /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/ | An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes. |
| consistent adjective | /kənˈsɪs.tənt/ | Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature. |
| delay noun | /dɪˈleɪ̯/ | A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity. |
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| uncomfortable adjective | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | Not comfortable; causing discomfort. |
| shepherd noun | /ˈʃɛpəɹd/ | A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock. |
| scripture noun | /ˈskɹɪpt͡ʃɚ/ | A sacred writing or holy book. |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| disappointed adjective | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/ | Defeated of expectations or hope; experiencing disappointment; let down. |
| bitter adjective | /ˈbɪ.tɚ/ | Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance). |
| destiny noun | /ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/ | That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will. |
| heal verb | /ˈhiːl/ | To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| walk away verb | To withdraw from a problematic situation. | |
| back out verb | To reverse (a vehicle) from a confined space. | |
| call off verb | To recall; to cancel or call a halt to. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| go ahead with verb | To resume something previously cancelled or delayed; to continue something despite known concerns. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I thought, what are we going to do?
- Thank you that you're making my crooked places straight.
- That's when we get frustrated, can't sleep at night.
- I said, what do you mean?
- What are you to do?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you'll keep traveling steadily, God will give · If you don't stay open, you'll be |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was tempted · was prophesied · were created |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've seen · have gone · you've had |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person that did · people that are |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 84 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: faithful /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shepherd /ˈʃɛpəɹd/, flourish /ˈflʊ̈ɹ.ɪʃ/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, promotion /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, disappointed /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/, disappointment /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like steadily, donkey, faithful.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.