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For over 25 years Proverbs 31 Ministries' mission has been to intersect God's Word in the real, hard places we all struggle with. That's why we started this podcast. Every episode will feature a variety of teachings from president Lysa TerKeurst, staff members or friends of the ministry who can teach you something valuable from their vantage point. We hope that regardless of your age, background or stage of life, it's something you look forward to listening to each month!
MEREDITH BROCK:
Thanks for tuning in to the Proverbs 31 Ministries podcast, where we share biblical truth for any girl in any season. I'm your host, Meredith Brock, and I am here today with my co-host, Kaley Olson.
KALEY OLSON:
Hey, Meredith, and hey, friends. Thanks for tuning in today. I'm really excited to give you guys a sneak peek of what you're gonna hear today. First, you're gonna meet a new friend named Becky, and she's all the way from Yorkshire. I think that's how you say it. I, in my Southern accent, would wanna say Yorkshire, but I know that that's not correct. But she's from England, and so first of all, she sounds really cool. But second of all, Meredith and I got to meet her for the first time and hear all about h- the organization that she has led for 20 years.
KALEY:
But the message that she shares is really her own story in alignment with the story of Moses in the Bible. And it's all about looking at what's holding you back from God's calling in your life, and I just thought it was a really, really refreshing teaching, and we had a really great, honest conversation at the end.
MEREDITH:
Yeah.
KALEY:
So good.
MEREDITH:
It was s- super inspiring and challenging at the same time. I was just walked away super encouraged, and I think our listeners will, too.
KALEY:
Yeah.
MEREDITH:
Um, but Kaley, I couldn't- We can't jump into the teaching yet. Because I had to share a story with you-
KALEY:
Okay ...
MEREDITH:
from one of our listeners.
KALEY:
Do tell.
MEREDITH:
Um, somebody wrote in the other day, and I thought, "I think we need to share this with our listeners because this is why we have this podcast.” "This is why it exists." Um, she wrote in and said, "I have always been a Christian, but I was the kind of Christian who went to church occasionally, often for social reasons, and only talked to God when disaster struck or I needed something.
MEREDITH:
Following an especially hard season, I began embarking on a relationship with God, which I had no idea how to do. The Proverbs 31 Podcast has been such a blessing. I've learned so much and have binged episodes during my daily commute and lunch break walks." Love to hear it. Like, I, like, feel like I'm on walks with you when I hear that.
KALEY:
That's amazing.
MEREDITH:
Um, "I have learned to prioritize daily time with God, actually read the Bible for the first time in my life" Guys, that's amazing. "Seek out church community, and let go of self-reliance to let God lead. Thank you for all you do and for give, for giving me much needed guidance, support, and teaching on my journey back to know the Lord."
MEREDITH:
"You are, you are doing great work. I'm so blessed to have found Proverbs 31." And I just wanna say what a blessing this is to hear this story because that is why we do this podcast.
KALEY:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's so powerful. And aside from wanting to cringe of knowing this woman is, like, binging our voices all the time You know? Just think about how many times have they heard you cackle?
MEREDITH:
Oh, boy.
KALEY:
Or, but, but-
MEREDITH:
I cackle?
KALEY:
Sometimes. Um, but the, the selfish part of me has to let that go and be reminded that this woman going back through old podcast episodes and the fact that the Lord is still speaking is proof that God is doing what He says He will do.
KALEY:
The Bible says, "God's Word is living and active."
MEREDITH:
That's right, Kaley.
KALEY:
And even an episode all the way back from, let's say, 2018 when we started the podcast, is, was applicable then, and it's applicable now. And so friends, if you're listening, and you're part of the group of people who donate monthly to Proverbs 31 Ministries, or maybe you recently made your first donation to us, I want you to hear this woman's story and know this is just one example of the impact you are making because of your generosity.
KALEY:
Thank you for investing into the work God is doing through Proverbs 31 Ministries. And now, let's dive into today's episode.
MEREDITH:
We are excited to welcome Becky Murray to the podcast today. Becky, how are you?
BECKY MURRAY:
I am doing wonderful, thank you. How are you guys?
KALEY:
Oh, we are so good. So excited to be talking to you.
MEREDITH:
Absolutely.
KALEY:
Uh, Becky, you are so new to the show, and in P31 fashion, what we always do here on the podcast, I would like to have the honor of introducing you to our friends who are listening. And so for everyone, here's Becky. She is a wife, she is a mom, she is the founder and CEO of One by One, an organization that exists to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people all over the world.
KALEY:
And by all over the world, I mean, if you haven't been able to tell by now, Becky is not joining us from here in the United States. Becky, can you tell our listeners where you're joining us from?
BECKY:
I am from the north of England- ... in a county called Yorkshire.
KALEY:
That's amazing. I kinda wanna go for tea. Like, can, could we not have just gone across the pond-
MEREDITH:
I would have liked to
KALEY:
and had tea and recorded this conversation? I think that would've been-
MEREDITH:
That would've been very fun
KALEY:
really fun. Um, okay.
BECKY:
I think that's a sign for next time.
KALEY:
Becky, Becky, really quick, um, I just mentioned that One by One is an organization that, um, helps vulnerable people around the world, but I would love for you, since you're the CEO, can you share just a little bit more about the daily work that you guys do there?
BECKY:
Absolutely. So we are incredibly passionate about both prevention and protection. So we have a prevention program that stops children from going into trafficking in the first place, and we've reached just short of 53,000 kids with that across-
KALEY:
Wow ...
BECKY:
14 different countries so far. And then we are also passionate about protection. So for the ones we couldn't prevent from going into slavery, we want to get them out. And so we've got centers across Kenya, Pakistan, and Uganda helping to get kids out of slavery, give them counseling, trauma therapy, and then we work with their families in order to get them back into family-centered care afterwards.
KALEY:
Oh my goodness, that is-
MEREDITH:
Incredible
KALEY:
incredible work.
MEREDITH:
Thank you for doing that work.
KALEY:
Yes. Yes. Thank you so much. And I know along with leading this organization, Becky, you have a heart for God's Word and teaching, uh, the Word and speaking to people, um, across all different mediums. And so we're so excited to hear the message that God has given you to share with us today. So why don't you go ahead and take it away?
BECKY:
Amazing. Thank you so much. So I want to look at today at what could be holding you back from God's calling. You see, I believe every single one of us have got a plan and a purpose, that you have been divinely selected by God with a specific plan, but I think sometimes we hold back for different reasons.
BECKY:
And so I'm gonna look for a few moments at Moses. You see, one thing I love about the Bible is we don't just see the Instagram version of the Bible characters, we see them warts and all. So we see their faults, their failings, their insecurities. And I don't know about you, but that gives me heart because if everyone in the Bible was perfect, that would rule me out from ever being able to serve God.
BECKY:
But thankfully, we can learn from them, and if God can use those people in the Bible, He can use me and you, too. So I'm gonna dive into it, looking at what holds you back from God's calling. So Exodus 3:9-14 says this. "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I've seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
BECKY:
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I can bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" And He said, "I will certainly be with you." Verse 13 continues, "Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they say, "Well, what is His name?"
BECKY:
What shall I say to them?'" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" This is the moment of the burning bush, this incredible, powerful encounter that Moses has, this amazing one-on-one conversation with Almighty God. It's this amazing moment, but there's some beautiful lessons I think we can draw from Moses.
BECKY:
So firstly, Moses doesn't say, "Okay, yeah, absolutely. Where do I sign up? Like, sign me up. I'm all in." Moses actually has several moments where he tries to resist because he just doesn't feel enough. He doesn't feel adequate for the call that God's asking him to. So I'm gonna look at f- a few of his excuses because I think there's a little bit of Moses inside every single one of us.
BECKY:
So the first lesson is that Moses was facing intimidation. He doesn't wanna go and face Pharaoh. Now I've got to acknowledge, I can understand why. So Pharaoh at that day and age in Egypt had ultimate power. Whatever he ordered, that would, was it. It would pass as if it was law, no matter how ridiculous or unjust.
BECKY:
For example, let's annihilate all the Hebrew boys. And right on cue, Moses' mom goes into labor. Have you ever noticed that sometimes things happen in our life and we think, "Oh my goodness, this is the worst timing ever. Like, there couldn't be a worse time for this"? And I'm sure naturally speaking, Moses' mom must have felt that way.
BECKY:
But what we in the natural determine as the worst possible timing can actually sometimes be a setup of Heaven. You see, God is way more strategic than we give Him credit for, and His timing here was perfect. So Moses' mom places him in the bulrushes in an attempt to save him from this annihilation, and as we know, Moses is pulled out the bulrushes, but by none other than Pharaoh's own daughter. So he ends up growing up in the palace.
BECKY:
Well, years pass by and suddenly Moses goes out one day and he sees this Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and knowing Moses, knowing he was a Hebrew, he's got this real heart for justice, and so he goes to intercept, but he ends up killing the Egyptian. So of course, Moses tries to cover it over, thinking maybe no one will know, "If I can just hide this sin, maybe no one will know."
BECKY:
The problem was a few days later he goes out again and this time he sees two Hebrews fighting. Again with a heart for justice, he tries to intercept and one of them turns to him and says, "What? Are you gonna kill me like you did the Egyptian?" Suddenly, Moses realizes the thing he's most ashamed about is known about, and he also knows if Pharaoh finds out, he's gonna be killed.
BECKY:
And so yet again, in human wisdom, Moses runs away from the problem. Moses is about 40 when he kills the Egyptian, and the burning bush encounter we just read about, he's about 80. He has literally spent half of his life running away from Pharaoh, and suddenly God comes to Moses and says, "I want you to face Pharaoh."
BECKY:
I'm sure Moses must have been thinking, "What? Like, anybody else would have been better for the job than I could. Like, I've been avoiding Pharaoh for half of my life. Send anybody else but me." Now, the reality is there was probably a different Pharaoh in power by this point, but still, Pharaoh represented everything that intimidated Moses, and the same happens with us.
BECKY:
I'm sure in our everyday life, we may never have to stand before a Pharaoh, but I can guarantee this: there'll be a stirring in your heart to step out with God's call, and all of a sudden, something will rise up that intimidates you, and it makes you tempted to shrink back.
BECKY:
Do you know what intimidates me? The fact that there's 50 million people currently trapped in modern-day slavery today. That intimidates me. It's too big. It's too hard. I can't do that. But every time I become intimidated and shrink back, God brings me back to the one. You see, the whole reason One X One started was because of one little girl on the streets of Sierra Leone 20 years ago, a little girl called Felicity that simply needed a pair of shoes.
BECKY:
I bought her a little pair of flip-flops for 50 pence. To my horror, what should have just been a simple act of kindness meant so much more. You see, that little girl had asked the locals where the British team was staying. She then found their hotel and asked if she should wait in my room. I couldn't understand what she meant, and after asking her three times, the meaning landed.
BECKY:
This little girl thought I'd bought her a pair of flip-flops so that I could have her body. In that moment, my life just changed. She put a face to a global problem. The problem was I didn't have an organization back then. There were no safe houses. There were no staff or social services working alongside us.
BECKY:
There was nothing, and I had to leave that little girl on the streets of Sierra Leone, but I've carried her with me for 20 years. Sometimes I feel like I'm attempting to empty an ocean of need using a teaspoon, but when my heart becomes intimidated, God brings me back to the one. Can you help that one life in front of you today?
BECKY:
And with that mindset, I can help one today and another one tomorrow and another one the next day, and with that exact mentality, quite literally one by one, we can see an end to exploitation. So the second reason Moses didn't wanna go and accept the call of God was he was facing rejection. He didn't wanna go and face his peers.
BECKY:
Exodus 4:1 says, "But Moses protested again, 'What if they won't believe me or listen to me? What if they say, "The Lord has never appeared to you"?'" I wonder if Moses had somewhat of an identity crisis. You see, here's this Hebrew boy growing up in the luxury of the Egyptian palace. Meanwhile, all the boys who were born at the same time as Moses were either killed in the genocide, or for the ones lucky enough to escape, they were trapped in slavery.
BECKY:
Yet here's Moses growing up in the opulence of the palace, never going hungry, never breaking a sweat. Will they resent him because of that? Moses the murderer, will they reject or cancel him because of that?
BECKY:
Have you ever felt canceled by others in your life? Maybe there was something that happened years ago, and now you suddenly feel like you've been discredited from ever serving God. Maybe years ago at, in university, you struggled with an addiction of some sort, whether that was gambling or pornography, alcohol, drugs, sugar, whatever it may be. Sometimes there's moments where we feel like now we're canceled from plans and purposes. And the reality is, the enemy will often bring to mind your past in order to make it your present.
BECKY:
But we have to stop undoing the work of the cross in our lives. You see, once you bring everything, even your worst mistakes, your worst moments, the things you've tried to hide or run away from, when we bring them to the cross, not only does God deal with the sin, He deals with the shame attached to that, too. So stop making your past your present and being worried about facing rejection.
BECKY:
And then we go on to Moses' third excuse, which was facing his own weaknesses. He didn't wanna face his own faults and failings. In Exodus 4:10, it says, "But Moses pleaded with the Lord, 'Lord, I'm not very good with words, and I never have been. Even now, though you've spoken to me, I get tongue-tied and my words get tangled.'"
BECKY:
Verse 13 continues, "But Moses pleaded again, 'Lord, please send anyone else.'" Five times Moses tries to put God off. Five times he tried to explain why he could not and should not follow the plans and purposes in his life. The reality was Moses was looking at himself. He saw his imperfections, his weaknesses, his limitations, but that was the problem. His eyes were on him and not on God, and I think sometimes me and you might fall into that same trap.
BECKY:
The work we do in Pakistan is very grassroots level, so we go into brick factories and rescue children out of bonded labor. So that's where a person, years ago, may have taken a loan from a brick master to pay for a dowry or pay for a surgery, and then they have to work back to pay that loan off. The problem is, oftentimes the interest rates on the loan can be greater than the daily wages, and because of that, people are then trapped in bonded labor for years Added to that, when the person who took the loan out passes, that debt is passed on to the next generation.
BECKY:
So you've- we're sometimes dealing with kids who are second and third generation slaves. In other words, their grandparents took a loan that they are still now paying off. And from the age of three, the child is given a quota of how many bricks they have to make every day to pay back this loan. Well, it's so unjust and so wrong, and so we set up a safe house there to get kids out of this.
BECKY:
And for every child we get out, we have a big party. Like, literally, quite literally for the one, we will throw a party because it's amazing. It's their life now free. However, there are still thousands trapped across different parts of Asia working in bonded labor, whether it's in brick kilns or carpet factories or tea plantations.
BECKY:
And so I remember speaking to our team and saying, "Look, if we are going to see long-term national change, we need to take this up a gear and begin working with governments." Well, I remember seeing their faces drop. You see, to work in a place like Pakistan and be a Christian, that in a, in and of itself is problematic.
BECKY:
Added to that, anybody who's ever spoken out publicly against bonded labor within Pakistan has either disappeared or been killed, and my team don't wanna be added to the list of people who are killed or disappear. Well, we take the safety of our staff as seriously as the safety of the kids in our care, and so we will never do anything to endanger our staff on the ground.
BECKY:
And so I remember praying this audacious prayer of, "Okay, God, would you begin opening doors in the West in order that they can put political pressure on Pakistan in order to see change?" Well, I don't know about you, but I sometimes pray these ridiculous prayers, and then when God answers them, I freak out.
BECKY:
So just a few years ago, I was invited into the White House in Washington, D.C. to share about the work we're doing. I was then invited into 10 Downing Street to meet with advisors to the Prime Minister, and then just a few weeks after that, I was invited to a meeting with Theresa May, who used to be a Prime Minister in England.
BECKY:
Well, I remember utterly freaking out. I was walking through these amazing buildings full of history, like such an honor. But the whole time I'm walking on my way to these very important meetings, I've got this internal dialogue going on which said this: "Who do you think you are? You need to pipe down and get back in your place."
BECKY:
You see, the reality is I come from a working class family. My dad was a delivery man, and my mum was, and still is to this day, a cleaner. We come from a very working class, humble family, where we didn't have finance, and we didn't have influence. I come from what would be classified as nothing. And all of a sudden, all these fears and insecurities began to rise up in me of, who am I to speak into, into these meetings?
BECKY:
Like, I need to just stop and shrink back And all of a sudden, I realized I was doing the same as Moses, where instead of focusing on God, the one who'd opened those exact doors in the first place, my eyes were on myself and all my faults, my failings, my inadequacies. And I realized instead of looking at God, I was looking at me, myself, and I.
BECKY:
Added to that, I wasn't just going into those meetings as me, but I was walking in with both the honor and responsibility of speaking up on behalf of every life that's currently muted, for every girl still trapped in a brothel, for every little boy still working 14 hours a day making bricks. How dare I shrink back while their lives are still trapped in modern-day slavery?
BECKY:
With that in mind, I managed to get through the meetings, and we've managed to see some amazing things take place. As a result of all that, we were able to then double the work we do in Pakistan. We were able to then, as a result of that, open another center in a different part of the world, this time in Uganda.
BECKY:
We opened a Mercy Center, rescuing little girls out of human trafficking, and over the last 12 months alone, we've managed to rescue 75 little girls out of trafficking, one of whom, last December, I was able to take back home. So this little girl called Deborah, who was 10 when she was, uh, sex trafficked, she went through horrific ordeals.
BECKY:
She came straight from the hospital, and the police brought her to our Mercy Center, where she received counseling and trauma therapy and a lot of love. Meanwhile, our social workers worked really hard with her family to ensure that when she was ready to leave the Mercy Center, she was going back home to a safe place.
BECKY:
I was able to be there when Deborah went home last December, and I remember being stood there overwhelmed with emotion because all of a sudden, I began to remember a girl from 20 years ago, a girl I've carried in my heart ever since and probably will continue to do so for the rest of my life. A little girl who 20 years ago I wasn't able to take to a safe place. I wasn't able to get her home.
BECKY:
And all of a sudden, in this moment in Uganda, it was this moment of redemption. Yes, Deborah's story is different from the little girl in Sierra Leone. It's two different lives, two different stories. But there was this beautiful moment of redemption of what I couldn't do 20 years ago is exactly the reason we can now do it for girls like Deborah.
BECKY:
And all of a sudden, what was once my weakness becomes the very platform from which I now serve. And it's the same for you and I. Maybe there's something you've been carrying for years where you've just not felt adequate enough. Maybe you feel like you failed in some way or just wasn't enough. I wanna encourage you today, stop holding back from God's calling on your life.
BECKY:
Yes, you may face intimidation. Yes, you may wonder what your peers may think of you. And yes, just like me, maybe you're all too aware of your own faults and failings. But I wanna remind you today what Moses, what God said to Moses, he says to me and you too, "I am with you." He has called you for such a time as this.
BECKY:
So stop focusing on all the reasons as to why you couldn't step out or shouldn't step out, and instead, fix your eyes on the God who's called you. He has perfectly positioned you for the call he's got over your life. Your life might be different from mine. Maybe your passion isn't to see an end to modern-day slavery.
BECKY:
Maybe it's for some other form of injustice. Whatever it is, run ahead with his calling and his plans and purposes, keeping your eyes fixed on him. Bless you guys.
KALEY:
Hmm. Becky, thank you for such a challenging teaching, but also weaving so much of your own ministry story into that. It's so cool how One by One got started and getting to hear how the Lord worked in your life that way.
KALEY:
Um, I love the story of Moses. I'm also really intimidated by it in many ways because it kinda speaks to the fact that everybody has some kind of calling. Like you just said, everybody's gonna have this thing or maybe a series of things in their life that the Lord asks them to do. But one of the, I think one of the most welcoming but hardest parts about Moses's story, as well as we see it show up in stories like Gideon and others in the Bible, where these, these people we look at say, "God, are you sure?"
BECKY:
Yeah.
KALEY:
And they wrestle with the Lord in a healthy way, and in his mercy, he lets them wrestle. It's almost like he doesn't just go quiet and say, "Well, you just have to, like, go anyways." But he, he's in it with him. Yeah. So I would love for you to kinda bring us on, maybe into your own story and your own process as we're looking at the thing that the Lord has asked us to do, and we're having our own moments of, "God, are you sure? God, can you can you confirm this one more time?" I'm kinda thinking about, like, the fleece story. And Moses had a lot of confirmation, too. I mean, there was the staff, there was all the things where he, like, essentially asked God to prove himself in a healthy way.
KALEY:
What does it look like for you to do that? Or w- or how would you, um- Just encourage someone to do that in their own life today if they were, if they were in a moment of wrestling.
BECKY:
Absolutely. I think that'd be a bigger question if they weren't wrestling. Because the reality is we have to remain dependent on God, because if we were strong enough to do everything that He'd asked us to do in and of our own strengths or our own talents then we would probably try to take the credit when it happens.
KALEY:
Wow.
KALEY:
But when we step out feeling like, "This is impossible, I am nowhere near up to this job," that's when God gets the credit. And the beauty of Jesus, the beauty of God, I think if I was God, I would've chosen the angels to be my plan A on the Earth because they never get anything wrong. They don't have any faults or failings. They ne- never make a mistake. They most certainly don't have a Yorkshire accent. And yet, God in His wisdom, humanity is not plan B. Like, we are plan A for God on the Earth, to be His ambassadors, to be His hands and feet.
BECKY:
And that is just, you know, testament to the mercy and grace of God. And He has called us with a plan and a purpose.
MEREDITH:
Gosh, Becky, that was a perfect way to answer that. Because it's not... I think what we want is for you to... Or, maybe our flesh wants us to, wants to hear from you or hear from God, "Okay, um, check these three boxes and then you'll know it's me." Right?
KALEY:
Right.
BECKY:
Absolutely.
MEREDITH:
Then you'll know this is a word from God, and you can move forward. But you're exactly right. He doesn't want. He doesn't even really need your, um, ability to work for him. He wants you in relationship with him.
BECKY:
Absolutely.
MEREDITH:
And, and out of that relationship flows this incredible purpose-
BECKY:
Exactly
MEREDITH:
um, that is, that is beyond our capabilities.You know?
BECKY:
I think everything has to flow out of intimacy.
MEREDITH:
Yes.
BECKY:
There is no fruit unless there's intimacy.
MEREDITH:
Right.
BECKY:
And so I, I think he's so strategic in how he does that, so that we can't run ahead of his plans and purposes. We can't do what Abraham and Sarah did, where we try and make the promise happen in our own way. Instead, he, he almost gives us, like, a jigsaw piece puzzle at a time.
MEREDITH:
Yeah.
BECKY:
And once we're faithful with that first step he then begins to unfold the next step and the next step.
MEREDITH:
Yeah. And I think oftentimes the way we interpret the-- or at least I do, I'm just s- being honest here. Um- ... I interpret my faithfulness as, "I did it all, Lord. Did you see?" "Did you see that I did it all? Now can you move me to the next step?" When he interprets faithfulness as intimacy, as walking dependently on, like, with him, instead of getting it all right and all perfect. And I couldn't help but think, Becky, as you were even talking through those, I loved the way you outlined what Moses faced where he faced intimidation and he faced rejection, and he faced his own weaknesses and incapabilities.
MEREDITH:
And I think along the road of life, we all have to face each one of those to some degree, and oftentimes those come in the package of other people, right? Where other people say, "Oh, you..." I mean, I'm sure, Becky, I ca- I mean-
BECKY:
Oh, absolutely
MEREDITH:
somebody said to you “Really? Like, you really”-
BECKY:
Absolutely
MEREDITH:
“you really think you can make a difference?” You know?
BECKY:
Without a doubt. And if other people don't say it, you, your own mouth-
MEREDITH:
You've, you're thinking it
BECKY:
should say it about yourself.
MEREDITH:
And so talk to me a little bit about that, because I think that's where a lot of people, and I can even say myself looking back you know, I'm 45 now, and I can see where things stalled out for me because I let those voices get louder than God's voice in my life. You know? And I let it become paralyzing for me and, and convinced myself that, "Oh, yeah, you know, that would be crazy. I'm not gonna do that. That's ridiculous. I don't even know if the Lord's calling me to that. That's probably just me," you know? How did you seem to hold on? 'Cause at, at least from the outside, I, it seems like you've held on to this purpose. relentlessly and not let go in the face of, I'm sure, so much, um, doubt or uncertainty. What are some of the practical things that you did to not let those doubting voices overtake you?
BECKY:
Yeah, that's good. So I think the first one was when the promise first came. So I was just a young teenager when the f- the promise first came about helping vulnerable kids, and if I'm honest, I didn't know what that would look like or where would that would happen. But being a typical teenager, I came home and told everyone in my world, "Thus saith the Lord, I'm gonna work with vulnerable kids."
BECKY:
Because, because God had spoke it to my heart, I honestly thought it would happen that same year, or at the very least, the next year. Mm. But I actually went through a 13-year waiting- Of just, I was determined I wasn't gonna create an Ishmael in my life. I wanted to wait for Isaac. And so I didn't know what to do, and it was in those moments that I would have sometimes well-meaning friends say, "Well, just book a flight to Timbuktu.
BECKY:
I mean, there's needy kids everywhere. Just go do something." But I didn't wanna rush ahead of the, the plans and the purposes. And so in that season, I spent time first and foremost waiting on God, but secondly, learning from other people who were doing amazing work around the world, and serving them, volunteering for them, because I wanted to learn, what does this look like?
BECKY:
And I've come to discover that God doesn't look for the most influential person in the room or the most financial, uh, like, the wealthiest person in the room. He's not looking for the most academic person in the room. All God is looking for is the most available. The ones who literally just say, "Yes. Here am I, send me”. And so I went on this huge journey where God just began to woo me in a way where saying no to Him became harder. Like, when you fall utterly in love with Jesus, it becomes easier to say yes.
BECKY:
That's not to say it's easy because there are still challenges of faith where I'm like, "Oh, my goodness, Jesus. You're gonna have to come through here because otherwise I'm in big trouble.". Like, taking on yet another center that's gonna cost me yet another million dollars a year that I don't have going spare. In those moments, I can still freak out, trust me. But it's in those moments that I look back to the early days where we had nothing.
BECKY:
We didn't even have a reputation following us at that point, but I had Him, and if we have Him, we have all that we need. It's just a, a case of focusing constantly on Him.. And as long as He is the center of our story, as long as He is the center of our heart and our mind, He'll keep us on the right tracks.
KALEY:
So good.
MEREDITH:
Amen, Becky. That's so good. And I can't help, I just, I wanna, um, I wanna p- challenge our listeners right now, that I want you to think about, well, I know we all have it. We all have that prick in our heart. I can think of the moment, uh, that the Lord spoke to me and told me very clearly what my purpose was, you know, in His kingdom, and what my assignment was. We all have it.
MEREDITH:
And there have been moments where I'd have doubted it and, and gone down other roads and all the different things, but to circle back to the thought of what if- What if you don't? You know, what will be the repercussion of that? What if Becky didn't listen and follow through? Think of all those children that would've missed, uh, being freed from slavery. I even- I was just sitting here reflecting on scripture itself, and what if ... Wild thing. Think about this. What if Noah wouldn't have believed? What if he wouldn't have built the ark? What-
KALEY:
What if they didn't write the letters-
MEREDITH:
Right
KALEY:
in the New Testament-
MEREDITH:
Right
KALEY:
and get them to people that ... It probably took a lot. Of- And, and it was scary.
MEREDITH:
Yes. And it was, and they were-
KALEY:
And-
MEREDITH:
they were doing something that was crazy that had never been done before. You know? And I just wanna remind our listeners right now not to intimidate you, but to say God has such a good purpose for your life, um, to walk closely with you and use you as His vessel. Um, so Becky, you are such a good picture of this. Thank you for reminding, um, us of that today. I want to encourage our listeners, guys, obviously her story is powerful but her teaching is powerful too.
MEREDITH:
And so, um, run out right now and go buy a copy of her book. It's titled, titled Embrace the Journey. Um, and you'll read all about her story, um, which is obviously so inspiring and encouraging and challenging for you, too, to embrace your story, embrace what God's doing- in your life.
KALEY:
Yeah, absolutely. And we also wanna encourage you guys to go visit onebyone.org. If you spell it out, O-N-E by O-N-E.org.
MEREDITH:
Yes.
KALEY:
Um, you can go check out all the ways that Becky and her team are, um, just being the hands and feet of Jesus and learn all about their work there. Um, and lastly, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. Those reviews help ensure this podcast is seen, or rather heard, uh, by new listeners so we can get Becky's story and all the other incredible words that are shared here in front of new people.
KALEY:
All right. That's all for today, friends. Becky, thank you so much for joining us. At Proverbs 31 Ministries, we believe when you know the truth and live the truth, it changes everything.