Pivotal Decisions

Summary

Elevation with Steven Furtick: "Pivotal Decisions"

Date: October 3, 2025
Podcast Host: Steven Furtick (with interjections by co-hosts and congregation members)
Episode Theme/Purpose:
In this motivational and faith-building episode, Pastor Steven Furtick explores the idea of "pivotal decisions"—those choices, large and small, that shape the direction of our lives. Drawing from Judges 13–14, the story of Samson’s birth and early life, Furtick unpacks how God works both through wise choices and even our mistakes. He encourages listeners to find purpose in uncertainty and to trust God’s sovereignty, especially when life doesn’t unfold as planned.

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Main Themes and Concepts

1. What Are Pivotal Decisions? (Starts [01:40])

• Not all “big” decisions are truly pivotal; sometimes, small choices have the greatest impact on the direction of our lives.
• Steven Furtick:

  “A lot of the decisions you make, you don't know if they're big or not when you're making them. This is why I need God so much. Because not only can I not make the big decisions right without him, but I don't even know which ones are big unless he tells me.” [02:44]

2. The Difference Between Big and Pivotal Decisions

• People often stress about major life choices (career, marriage, location), but Furtick points out the real pivots are often in the habits and relationships we prioritize.
• Example: Where Steven and his wife got married felt huge at the time, but how they resolved conflict was far more pivotal. [04:01]
• Emphasizes being “planted” before you can “pivot”—using sports metaphors about basketball players.

3. Biblical Example: Judges 13 and the Birth of Samson ([06:57] – teaching begins in earnest)

• Israel’s pivotal moment: delivered into the hands of their enemies, not out of them.
• God’s “pivots”: Sometimes He uses circumstances—including those we’d avoid—to fulfill His purposes.
• Stigma of barrenness and the astonishing promise to Manoah’s wife (Samson’s mother).
• God’s interventions initiate new directions in life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of the Pivot ([04:14], [06:38], [21:13])

• Pivoting isn’t just for athletes; it’s a crucial part of faith.
• “The only way they can pivot is if they’re planted... when I watch them pivot, I notice, whoa, that's pretty important.” [04:38]
• God often redirects us not by changing our location, but by changing our perspective.

God’s Sovereignty Over Decisions ([07:13] onward)

• We are responsible for decisions, but God is bigger than our choices—including our mistakes.
• Steven Furtick:

  “It's not like God is just a synonym for good decisions being in the will of God. I want to ask you this question. Is your view of the will of God big enough to accommodate even your bad decisions?” [08:21]

The Desire for a Plan vs. God’s Actual Guidance ([12:09], [16:02], [18:16])

• Manoah doesn’t ask for the promise, he asks for the plan—a relatable moment for all planners.
• Sometimes God responds to our need for assurance, but delivers something unexpected or incomplete.
• God pivots the conversation: not giving all the details, but focusing on obedience in the present.
• Memorable metaphor: “Sometimes when you pray to God, he's going to pivot... I mean, this angel would have made a great politician or preacher or basketball player. He could have been in the All Star game because watch how quick he pivots.” [20:57]

Trusting When You Can’t Understand (The Parentheses Principle) ([26:04], [27:06], [40:14])

• Manoah wants to know the angel’s name; the answer: “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” [26:53]
• God’s identity and plans are often “beyond understanding”—what can’t be named or explained is often where God is uniquely present.
• Parenthesis Principle: In Judges 14:4, the Bible inserts—“his parents did not know that this was from the Lord.” Life makes sense in hindsight because God is writing in the margins, adding information we can’t see yet.
• Steven Furtick:

  “Everything you can't name, that's God. We've been looking for a name for God... when you get past the point of your ability to reconcile your situation, when you get beyond your ability to work it out, that's where I am. That's where I dwell—in the mystery.” [27:06–27:23]

Human Mistakes Within God’s Plan ([33:34] – [41:57])

• Samson’s poor choices (desiring a Philistine woman) threatened his calling, but the Bible notes, “this too was from the Lord” [40:23]:

  “God wanted to set his people free from the Phoenicians, from the Philistines. And he was going to do it, but he wanted to do it not through a good decision, but through a bad decision. Watch what he does because he's sovereign and almighty… he uses Samson’s dumb decision to deliver a nation.” [41:17]

• God uses even “dumb stuff” to accomplish his will—a point of comfort for anyone anxious about their past or their children’s choices.

The Ripple Effects of Small Decisions ([33:34], [44:19])

• Seemingly minor decisions—whether to speak kindly, be on time, tithe, prioritize family—set a direction for your day, decade, or future generations.
• “It's the little things you do that set the direction for your day and for your decade. And even for generations to come.” [33:27]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:44] On why we need God in decisions:
  Steven Furtick: “A lot of the decisions you make, you don't know if they're big or not when you're making them.”
• [08:21] On God's sovereignty:
  Steven Furtick: “Is your view of the will of God big enough to accommodate even your bad decisions?”
• [16:02] On desiring a plan:
  Steven Furtick: “I need to know the plan. What is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?"
• [21:13] When God pivots:
  Steven Furtick: “The pivot from what you think you need to know to what you really need to know. God, just watch his footwork. See, we always want to see God’s hand, but sometimes you have to watch his feet…”
• [26:53] On the mystery of God:
  Steven Furtick: “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. That's the pivot. That's where you find God, beyond what you can understand.”
• [41:17] Bad decisions in God’s hands:
  Steven Furtick: “He uses Samson’s dumb decision to deliver a nation. Now if he did that for Samson, won’t he do it for you?”
• [44:19] A prayer for redemption:
  Steven Furtick: “God, would you use even the dumb stuff I did to deliver your purpose? This is bigger than me. ... God, use the dumb stuff too. That’s maybe the best prayer I ever pray. God, use the dumb stuff too.”

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Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---|---| | 01:40 | Introduction to “pivotal decisions” | | 04:14 | “The power is in the pivot” — basketball analogy, small moves create big change | | 06:57 | Transition to teaching from Judges 13 (Samson’s story) | | 12:09 | God’s promise to Samson’s mother and the quest for a plan | | 16:02 | Manoah seeks clarity, “I need to know the plan” | | 18:16 | God answers prayer—but pivots from the expected answer | | 21:13 | The angel pivots the conversation from details to obedience | | 26:53 | The mystery of God: “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” | | 33:34 | The small decisions that shape decades and generations | | 40:14 | Judges 14:4—life’s parentheses, “they did not know this was from the Lord” | | 41:17 | God uses bad decisions | | 44:19 | Prayer: “God, use the dumb stuff too” |

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Actionable Takeaways

• Recognize the pivotal—not just “big”—decisions in your daily life.
• Embrace the mystery: God’s purposes are often beyond your current understanding.
• Trust that God is working, even through your mistakes or circumstances you can’t control.
• When you don’t know the plan, pivot to discern or seek God’s purpose.
• Offer up even your regrets and failures to God, believing He can use them for your good and His glory.

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Episode Summary

Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermon challenges the conventional ranking of decisions as “big” or “small.” Instead, he urges listeners to identify and embrace pivotal decisions—the tiny pivots of attitude, obedience, and faithfulness that shape our lives’ trajectory. Anchoring his message in the story of Samson’s surprising origins (Judges 13–14), Furtick demonstrates how God’s hand is evident not only in our successes but also in our failures, disappointments, and even catastrophes. When life doesn’t make sense and we face mystery or regret, the call is to “pivot to the purpose,” trusting that God uses even “the dumb stuff too.” In moments of confusion, weakness, or missed expectations, there is always an opportunity to say, “This is from the Lord”—and find new direction and hope.

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Shareable Soundbite

“When I don't know the plan, I pivot to the purpose and he's working it all in. God help me make better decisions in the future, but use the dumb stuff too. That’s maybe the best prayer I ever pray.”
— Steven Furtick [44:19]

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For more from Elevation Church or Pastor Steven Furtick, visit elevationchurch.org or find the Elevation App.

Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

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[Steven Furtick]

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[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

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[Steven Furtick]

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[Steven Furtick]

Hey, this is Stephen Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

This is our podcast.

[Steven Furtick]

I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message today. I want to share with you in this Part 2 on the subject of pivotal decisions. I'm going to judges 13. I don't know if I'll get there in the next few minutes. So if you don't know where Judges is in the Bible, you're going to have a good head start. If you prefer to just look at the screen, that's okay, too. I wonder as I get started, how many of you right now are in the middle of making a big decision for your life? Would you raise your hand if you're in the middle of making a big decision for your life and keep it up, what are you going to do? How are you going to do pros and cons? Or you're going to flip a coin if it comes to that, you have a plan for this you're going to do. Ask a lot of people until somebody tells you what you want to hear, like we all do. Just keep asking people until you get the answer you wanted so they can confirm the thing you were going to do all along anyway. Now you wasted everybody's time just asking them stuff that you already knew what you were going to do. What are you going to do? You're going to just stress eat and put it off to the last minute. That's always a good plan. I like that. I like to just watch Netflix instead. Personally. Put it off until the last minute, then make the decision when the pressure is on. The crazy thing is when I say that a big decision. A lot of the decisions you make, you don't know if they're big or not when you're making them. This is why I need God so much. Because not only can I not make the big decisions right without him, but I don't even know which ones are big unless he tells me. Big decisions. We get caught up. Where are we going to get married? Me and Holly spent so many weeks thinking about that. The big decision of where we were going to have our wedding.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

You know what?

[Steven Furtick]

It didn't really matter as much as some other things. What was important about our marriage was how are we going to resolve conflict. Y' all don't want to talk to me today.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Y' all were singing so good.

[Steven Furtick]

And then I started preaching and y' all went to sleep. The big decisions, it's not always the ones you think are big. That's why I prefer the term pivotal decisions. A big decision is not necessarily what city you're going to live in. That's a big one. I get it. But a bigger decision for us was what church are we going to go to out of the church we attended. That's where we made the relationships that were really instrumental. And the will of God was accomplished in our life not by just what city we lived in. It's funny how people will move for a job or. Or they'll move for a school, but they'll put church at the bottom of the list and then kind of find one. But I think the pivotal things are sometimes not what we consider to be the big things. That's confusing. Pivotal. You know what I mean? I guess because it's All Star Weekend, I don't play basketball. I don't even really like basketball. I was always terrible at it. I wrestled a little bit, played a little baseball. But when I watch basketball, I always see them pivot. I always see their Ability to pass without traveling, without getting called. It's all from this foot they pivot on. I'm not going to demonstrate it for you because, again, I'm not very athletic. But when I watch them pivot, I notice, whoa, that's pretty important. The only way they can pivot is if they're planted. I'm going to preach that in about 28 minutes. But hang on, I'm coming to judges 13. I noticed that pivoting is not only for athletes, it's also for politicians. I'll be honest with you, as a preacher, I get it. Because sometimes you get asked the weirdest questions, the weirdest, most unanswerable, most non germane questions. I'll sometimes be doing a Q and A or something and someone will ask me, what kind of horse is Jesus coming back on? There's really no way to answer that without making them look dumb, because it is a dumb question. But I love people and the sheep. I'm like, well, that's a great question. Regardless of what horse he comes on, I think what's important is that we have a sense of urgency. See how I just. Now you don't feel dumb and I.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Don'T have to answer your question.

[Steven Furtick]

So we all win because I know how to pivot. Touch somebody say, the power is in the pivot. Let's go to judges 13. Are you ready? You have some big decisions you're making.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Then you have some decisions you don't.

[Steven Furtick]

Think are very big, but they're pivotal.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

How you start your day.

[Steven Furtick]

That's not a big decision, but it's pivotal how you start your day. It's a directional decision.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Watch.

[Steven Furtick]

Watch me. It's directional. I'm not moving much. It's not a big move. I'm still standing where I was, but I get a completely different perspective when I pivot. The Lord has really been speaking to me. I can tell you want him to speak to you, too. It means that sometimes it's the small moves that set the direction. The small moves that set the direction. Frankly, a lot of the biggest things about your life will be decided outside of your volition and will anyway. God is so much bigger than your decisions. I know you're very successful in your business, but you and I both know that the culmination of everything that happened to you was bigger than. You just made good decisions. I mean, because honestly, you made some really bad ones, too. Even if you didn't, even if you only made good decisions, you wouldn't even have the opportunity to make those decisions. If God didn't position you where he positioned you, God is bigger than my bad decisions. It's not like God is just a synonym for good decisions being in the will of God. I want to ask you this question. Is your view of the will of God big enough to accommodate even your bad decisions? That's what I want to look at. Judges 13 is a passage of scripture that you've never heard a single sermon on before. I polled at least 30 people this week. None of them had heard it. And all of them went to vacation Bible school and grew up going to Wednesday night church. So if they didn't hear it, you didn't either. The Bible says in Judges 13:1 remember, in a pivotal time for the nation of Israel, a pivotal time because they were in a cycle of sin, judgment and deliverance. A pivotal time because they didn't have a king and they didn't really want God to be their king. So God would keep having to raise up different people to lead them and deliver them from the hands of their enemies. The Canaanites and Perizzites and Hittites and the Philistines, the Phoenician people who were good at metalworking. So they always had a lot of weapons and they were moving in on the coast and they were ruling them, but very loosely. This is the pivotal moment for the nation of Israel. The Bible says, again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines. Stop. You always hear about God delivering us out of things, but here your Bible says God delivered them into the hands of an enemy and used their enemy. I don't know if your theology is about to break wide open and something's going to fall, fall out on the floor. Let's get the ushers ready in case your brain just melts right there. But God didn't deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, but the same God who is able to deliver you out of the hands of your enemies. The Bible says, at least the perspective of the writer Samuel was, who we preached about last week, that God delivered them into the hands of their enemies. That's interesting to me. I don't have a category for that, but God is bigger than my categories. I'm learning that he did it for 40 years. And a certain man of Zorah named Manoah from the clan of the Danites had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. Remember that barrenness in antiquity was a signal or a sign of the displeasure of God. It didn't mean the displeasure of God, but they perceived it to mean that. So it brought with it a great stigma. A certain man of Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

The angel of the Lord appeared to.

[Steven Furtick]

Her and said, you are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine, other fermented drink, and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor. My dad was a barber, so that verse offends me because it would have taken money out of my family's pocket. But anyway, here's the reason. The boy is to be a Nazirite. And the Nazirites don't cut their hair, they don't drink alcohol, they don't touch anything dead. That's the basics of being a Nazirite, in case you were thinking about doing it. That's what you would do if you were going to be a Nazirite. He is to be dedicated to God from the womb.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

He will take the lead in delivering.

[Steven Furtick]

Israel from the hands of the Philistines, which God delivered them into, so he could deliver them from what was in them that caused them to get in this cycle to begin with. He's going to use this child to deliver them out. I love your word, Lord. Thank you for what you're showing me. This is where it gets really, really, really good. Then the woman whose name we don't know, who's talking to a man whose name isn't given. These unnamed people have a conversation, and the woman went to her husband and told him, a man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God. Very awesome. I'm going to be like, hold up, man coming, talking to my wife. Anyway, he didn't have wings or a heart. How we think God shows up. She's like. I think it was maybe like an angel, because that's how it is when you hear from God. It's kind of like, I think this might. This may be God. I don't know. It looked like it felt like it was different. I don't know. It's just different. I don't know. I'm not sure she's telling her husband because it's always revealed in the context of relationship. I didn't ask him where he came from. He didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, you will become pregnant. This awesome looking man came to my wife and said what? I love the Bible, though. I love the Bible. He said, you will be pregnant and have a son. Now then drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death. Then Manoah, his name means resting place. Prayed to the Lord. Pardon your servant, Lord, I don't mean to bother you. I know you have a universe to run and all that. I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us because I didn't get to see him, let him come again. If you could just send him back for a few minutes, I have a few questions I need to ask him. I need him to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born. I need you to speak to me because you know how. You need God to speak to you and show you how. I want to talk about the plan. That's the first thing I want to mention. The plan. I understand God wants to use me, but I need to know what that's going to look like. I need some details. I need some specifics. I need some marching orders, I need some dates, some times, some instructions. So please Lord, if it's not too much trouble, send that guy back. He said we were going to have a son that was going to change the world and stuff. But I need to hear it for myself. I need to know the plan. Any planners in the house? Thank God for you. Thank God for you. All the people without their hand up always come late and make the worship leaders lead to the first two rows and it's empty and they come crawling in last minute. I don't hate you in the back, but I'm just saying thank God for the planners. But it can become a problem. He said we need to know the plan. If it's going to be this big thing, if you gave us this promise, I need to know the plan. Without a plan, the promise is just abstract rhetoric. Without the plan, I can know God is for me. He wants to use me. I'm spread the gospel. All that sounds good, but just send him back.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

If I could get five minutes with this awesome looking man who was talking.

[Steven Furtick]

To my wife and told her she was about to get pregnant. I need to know the plan. I love the next phrase. Isn't it interesting that the woman wasn't praying to get pregnant when the angel said it was going to happen? I don't know if she gave up. I don't know if she did pray. I don't know if she didn't pray. The Bible doesn't say it doesn't matter. Then Manoah is begging God to show up and speak to him. God, initiates, we respond. God, initiates, we respond. But God heard Manoah. And when Manoah prayed, God didn't say, figure it out yourself and trust me. Instead, he obliged Manoah's need for more information. Let the person next to you know something real quick. It might sound cocky, but tell them anyway. It's true. Say he hears me. God hears me. He hears me better than Siri and Alexa. He hears me, he hears me. He knows my voice. He likes when I call him. When I say help, he says yes before I can even get out my mouth. He hears me. He hears my groans where words don't come. He hears me, he hears my heart in the secret petitions of things people don't know I'm dealing with. He hears me. He hears the unspoken. Did you go to youth group and we used to say I have an unspoken. He hears what I don't say. He hears what's behind what I said.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

That's really driving the behavior. He hears me. He hears my secret frustration that I don't say around people because if I told him how frustrated I was, it would scare him. But he hears me. He hears me when I sing to him. When I tell him worthy is the Lamb of God. He hears me. I know there are better singers than me. I know I don't always sing on key, but he hears me when I sing thank you Jesus. He hears me. It blesses his heart to hear me.

[Steven Furtick]

And the angel of God came again to the woman. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. To the woman. Manoah asked for the visit. And this angel is back out talking to his wife.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Because God is not going to do it like you want him to do it. He's going to want to see.

[Steven Furtick]

Will you trust him? So the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field. But her husband, Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, he's here. The man who appeared to me the other day. Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, are you the man who talked to my wife? Hold on, let me change Manoah's accent. You the man who talked to my wife? She said an awesome looking man came and said she was going to be pregnant. Was that you? The angel said, I am. Manoah asked Him. When your words are fulfilled, I don't doubt you're going to do it. I just need to know the plan. What is to be the rule that governs the boy's life and works? How do we do this? How do we do this? We're in a meeting this week about the church, and I know what I want to see, but I don't know the plan for it. A lot of times when I get in that mode, I start trying to tweak stuff and I start trying to manipulate stuff. I know you don't do this, but I'm a control freak. So I'll be like, well, we could do this, this and this, and it's all good. It's all good. I want you to watch what the angel does. Instead of giving Manoah the plan, which is what he asked for, what do we do with this boy you said is going to be born that's going to do something great. What do I do with this calling? What do I do in this situation? I need to know the plan. I need to know the details. I need to know the agenda. The Bible says the angel answered your wife. So now the angel pivots from what Manoah asked to what he needed to know right now. Sometimes when you pray to God, he's going to pivot. You're going to be like, I need the plan. But God will pivot. I mean, this angel would have made a great politician or preacher or basketball player. He could have been in the All Star game because watch how quick he pivots. We need to know what to do.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

When the boy is born.

[Steven Furtick]

What are we going to do?

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

How are we going to raise him? How are we going to do that?

[Steven Furtick]

How many times?

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Manoah is full of questions.

[Steven Furtick]

Of course he is.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Do we need to put him in a special school? Do we need to get him a tutor? Do we need to teach him karate? Do we need to teach him jujitsu? Should we be straight? Should we be this? What are we doing? What are we doing?

[Steven Furtick]

The angel said, just tell your wife right now, don't drink anything or eat anything unclean. That's all you need to know right now. The pivot from what you think you need to know to what you really need to know. God, just watch his footwork. See, we always want to see God's hand, but sometimes you have to watch.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

His feet, because sometimes he wants to set a different direction to say, you're not even looking at the right side of this. Watch the pivot. When he pivots, you have to be quick to go with him and say, God, I don't want your hand, I want your face. I want to know you. I want to seek you. I want to seek you. I want to feel you. I want to know you. I want to have you.

[Steven Furtick]

I want to understand what you know.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

I need to understand. I wonder, is God trying to pivot your prayer life? Is God trying to pivot your strategizing? Is God trying to pivot? Because you're always trying to look for him in logic.

[Steven Furtick]

You're always.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

You're always trying to look for them in analysis and in calculation. But God is spirit, and you can't get the Spirit through strategy. You have to come to God like this. You have to come to God with open arms, open hands, and an open heart.

[Steven Furtick]

It's the pivot. It's a funny thing about a pivot, though. It's a small move, but it sets a completely different direction. Manoah, you can't handle the plan right now. You can't. My word is a lamp unto your feet, a light unto your path. The funny thing about pivot. I've been doing this all week, just studying this sermon, trying to get God to show me different ways to see situations that to see his will and what I think is his will and what I thought was his will. I thought he was always doing this, but sometimes he's doing that. They get this promise, this is from the Lord. He didn't realize that at first, but he starts to sense that this may be God. This may be God. Because it's too big to be anything I could do. I don't have a plan for it. I don't have a context for it. I don't know. This may be God. This is the Lord. This is from the Lord. This gift set. I have this talent, this child I'm raising. This is from the Lord. This is from the Lord. Since it's from the Lord, then I need him to show me how to do it. But sometimes he won't answer the question I ask. Instead, he will give me the wisdom I need because he knows a better question. My faith is not a formula. I'm not good at pivoting with my feet. I don't do it a lot. That's why I had to practice it. And I'm still not very good at it. But I want to get good at it with my faith. I want to learn to pivot. This is where it happens for Manoah and his wife. You're going to see it in the text, it's just going to blow up when you see it. It's going to help you understand why you've been trying to classify everything in your life. This is good and this is bad, and this is God, and this is the devil, and this is it, and this is that. And you keep trying to do that, but it doesn't work. Here's why. Manoah said to the angel, we would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you. We want to cook you a goat. I make a delicious goat kebab and I would like you to stay and eat it because it's hospitality, it's appropriate. We appreciate you coming by to encourage us, so stay. We're going to do it and appreciate the worst. The angel of the Lord replied, even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. I'm not going to do it your way. You're dealing with God now. You're not going to do it like you do it with humans. It's going to be different. It's going to be different terms. It's going to be a whole different thing this time. It's not going to be all up here and what you think you should do. It's going to have to come from a different place. This is the pivot. This is the pivot. He said, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord, See the pivot, it's not about this, it's about this. I wonder if we would start deflecting some of the stuff in our life and say, this is from the Lord.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

This is not from me. So I need God to do it through me. I cannot do it by myself.

[Steven Furtick]

This is from the Lord.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Somebody shout, this is from the Lord. But if you prepare a burnt offering.

[Steven Furtick]

Offer it to the Lord, I love this in parentheses. Manoah did not realize it was the angel of the Lord. Maybe then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, what's your name? So we may honor you and your word comes true. He replied, this is the most anointed verse I've read in the last five years. Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. That's the pivot. That's where you find God, beyond what you can understand. Everything you can name, that's not God. Everything you can explain, that's not God. Everything you can figure out on your own and you can make it work, and you can do it.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

It'll work for a little while.

[Steven Furtick]

But everything you can't name, that's God. We've been looking for a name for God. That's why we need so many. And that's why he had to tell Moses in a very special way. I am. Because I need to leave room for you to know that when you get.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Past the point of your ability to reconcile your situation, when you get beyond your ability to work it out, that's where I am. That's where I live.

[Steven Furtick]

That's where I dwell in the mystery.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

In the uncertainty, in the tension. Beyond your understanding. We keep trying to find God in our logic, but he is not found with logic. He is beyond your logic.

[Steven Furtick]

Then Manoah took a young goat together.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

With the grain offering and sacrificed it.

[Steven Furtick]

On a rock to the Lord.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Since the word came from the Lord, I'm going to make the offering to the Lord. Since my breath came from the Lord, I'm going to offer it back to the Lord. Since this situation came from the Lord, I'm going to need the Lord to deal with it.

[Steven Furtick]

I can't do it on my own. The Lord did something amazing while Manoah and his wife watched as the flame blazed up from the altar toward the heaven. The angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. He was not found in the logic. He was found in the flame, not in figuring it out, but in the fire of sacrifice and needing God. That's where you're going to find him. That's where you're going to get it.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

That's where you're going to unlock it. That's where it will be unleashed.

[Steven Furtick]

I wish I could preach about Jesus.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

For 30 seconds right now. Because, see, all my hope is in his blood. All my faith is in his cross. All my righteousness is in his sacrifice. When the flames went up.

[Steven Furtick]

The revelation came through. Manoah was like, I think we just saw God. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again, verse 21 to Mano and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. We're going to die. He said to his wife. We've seen God. But his wife answered, if he meant to kill us, if God was out to get you, you'd be God. That's how I know he still has.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Mercy for my mistakes, because I already made enough. If he was going to squash me for screwing up, I'd be a bug on this stage.

[Steven Furtick]

If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would have done it. He wouldn't have accepted the offering. He would have wiped us out. He wouldn't have shown us all these things. He Wouldn't have shown you all these things. He wouldn't have seen you through all these things. Look at all he has shown you. Look at how many times you were off the path. Somehow he got you back. Look at all the times you were going this way. He just turned stuff around just like you couldn't do it. And you were making all these plans for it. But it was the pivot that brought you back. The woman gave birth 24, to a boy. Oh, I forgot to tell you this and named him Samson. I forgot to tell you the guy that got the haircut you remember because we always want to remember people by their worst decisions. But Samson, the strong one who was bench pressing 305 in seventh grade, Samson, this is how it started. A lot of people didn't know that because all they ever saw was his head in Delilah's lap. But it was decisions. It was decisions. It was decisions. You have a destiny, but you get to make decisions. God is sovereign, but you're responsible. How you process your desires and your decisions right now is really critical. She has a baby. She names him Samson. And the Lord blessed him, grew biceps, triceps, lats and delts. It's about all the names of the quadriceps, calf muscles. That's about all I know. The Lord blessed him and the spirit of the Lord began to stir him. While he was in Mannadai, he was in this place. Now he's growing up and it's going good. God's hand is on this boy's life. He's a star football player. He learned to ride his bike at the age of three. Good things have happened. Then the pivot, then the pivot. Now if you just watch my feet and don't think about it, you go like, well, what's the big deal about the pivot? Well, see, you don't really know how big the move is until you walk it out. If I walk this way and if I kept walking that way, it would be a different completely. If I walk this way, all I did was this. It's a small move, but it sets the direction. That's what's happening in your life when you decide how to speak to people. When you decide whether you're going to come back next weekend to church, it's a small decision, but it sets a direction. When you decide, am I going to tithe and put God first? Oh, yeah, I'm going to put tithing in the sermon series. I'm going to put it in because it's a decision.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

It is the will of God for.

[Steven Furtick]

You to put him first. When you decide, I'm going to do that. It sets a direction to seek God first. When you decide, you know what? I'm going to text my wife. I'm going to text her and tell her I'm going to be home at a certain time and I'm actually going to be home at that time. It's a little decision, but it sets a direction. When you set a direction, I can count on you, and you're going to.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Do it when you show up and eat with your family.

[Steven Furtick]

That's not a big decision. We want big decisions, big things from God.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

No, no.

[Steven Furtick]

It's the pivotal decisions.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

It's the little things you do that set the direction for your day and for your decade.

[Steven Furtick]

And even for generations to come. Now it's all going good until one day. Chapter 14, verse one, says Samson pivoted and went down to Timnah. Went down to Timnah, not very far from where he was living at the time. But when he got there, he saw a young philistine woman who was he supposed to deliver his people from? Now he's in love with what he's called to defeat. He has a desire. Have you got some desires that don't look anything like Bible verses? Just at least one or two. I do. He saw this young woman. This is not Delilah. That's the only woman we ever talk about in Samson's life. Combed his hair and set him up and got his eyes gouged out. That's in chapter 16. We're not even close to that yet. This is just his. This is just his pivotal moment. Some of you are in a pivotal moment right now, deciding things. He came back and said to his father and mother, I have seen a philistine woman. Oh, by the way, the key verse in the book of Judges says many, many different times. I don't know how many, but it Sundays at least three times. They did what was right in their own eyes. Samson says, I saw with my senses. I. I saw my senses, my feelings, my emotions. I saw a philistine woman in Timna. Now get her for me as my wife. His father and mother replied, think how heartbreaking this is. He's on the path. He's growing. He's being blessed. The spirit of the Lord is stirring him.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Oh, it's just like I thought it.

[Steven Furtick]

Was going to be. I graduated college, I got the job, I did the thing. Then all of a sudden, life will just pivot on you. The kid was so cute until they started saying Words so cute. Until they started saying mine. Not just with children, but things in our life that all of a sudden is headed this way. It's headed this way, just like I said. Oh, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

I hear you.

[Steven Furtick]

Proverbs 3, 5, 6. In all your ways, acknowledge him. I didn't drink the fermented drink like the angel said. And I didn't eat the unclean food. He's doing right. All of a sudden, Samson said, I saw something in Timna. Whoa, come back. Now watch this. The destiny of the nation is threatened by Samson's bad decision. The parents are like, please, please make a better decision. Please quit hanging out with those friends. Please. I'm telling you, it's dangerous. I'm telling you it's wrong. The Philistines were known for child sacrifice. The Philistines were known for worshiping other gods. The Philistines were known for very abusive practices that were contrary to the word of God. His father and mother replied, isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people?

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?

[Steven Furtick]

But Samson had already made his decision. Now, this child, I'm just thinking, is a parent who had so much promise, so much potential, needs a haircut. But even that's intentional. Now he's making the dumbest decision he could possibly make. To run to what he's supposed to be delivering the people from. They can't convince him. Now, this is where it gets tricky, because it's hard enough to make your own good decisions. Then you start throwing in the decisions that other people make that you can't affect or control no matter how hard you try. Everybody who writes parenting books, I want to give them just one bad kid and see would they still write it the same way? Because all this. 7 Ways to Raise your kid from the book of Ruth, Whatever. They'll give you one demon child with a strong will, and you will burn your own book. Get out of my face. Because some stuff you can't control. Hello? He was determined. He was already gone. So they went with him. This is the pivotal moment of my message. This is the part God showed me that got me so excited. Because everyone in here knows what it is to have the plan you made in your head, the model you had that doesn't match the life you're living now all of a sudden. Samson, whose name means son, Samson who is radiant, Samson who is blessed, Samson.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Who is strong, Samson who carries the expectation of the deliverance of the nation on his shoulders, is making a dumb decision. It doesn't have to be a kid and it doesn't have to be a spouse. It doesn't have to be a relationship at all. You are to going going to go into some situations in your life that you will pray about, plead about and plan about, and none of it will work. You will be faced with the question.

[Steven Furtick]

Now what do I do? I want to suggest that when this happens, that you consider the parentheses. There's a little thing Samuel will put into the record. He was writing this record long after the events had happened. All Samson's parents knew was, this is trouble. If he marries her, it's going to lead to all kinds of clashing values.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

If he goes through with this.

[Steven Furtick]

That's all we know when we're in.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

It is our plan.

[Steven Furtick]

But watch how the text pivots a parenthetical insert. Have you studied any grammar books lately? The parentheses is when you want to put something in the sentence, but the sentence makes sense without it. But you add it in to give additional information that might be helpful to the person reading it. But the sentence would make sense without it.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

But the Parentheses in Judges 14:4 says, his parents did not know that this.

[Steven Furtick]

Was from the Lord. They knew Samson was from the Lord.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Because the angel spoke it and her womb was barren. So the only way it could have happened was that it was from the Lord. But now they have to look at a disappointment.

[Steven Furtick]

Look.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

It's no problem to look at your gifts, your blessings and your strengths and say, this is from the Lord. I praise you for another day. How great and mighty you are, and I lift your name on high. But this. Have you ever had to walk through a situation where you thought, really, God this? I didn't drink any wine and I didn't eat any unclean foods and I did everything the angel told me. And now this. You're really going to let this break out in my life?

[Steven Furtick]

The author said, yeah. This was from the Lord because he.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Was seeking an occasion.

[Steven Furtick]

The Hebrew really means he was picking a fight.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

God wanted to set his people free from the Phoenicians, from the Philistines. And he was going to do it, but he wanted to do it not through a good decision, but through a bad decision. Watch what he does because he's sovereign and almighty, and the Lord is his name. He is beyond understanding and his ways no man can fathom. Watch what he does. He uses Samson's dumb decision to deliver a nation. Now if he did that for Samson. Won't he do it for you?

[Steven Furtick]

Won't he use this, too? The more things I can look at my life and say, this is from the Lord. Look, he didn't give me my verse again.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Verse four is so good.

[Steven Furtick]

And it's in parentheses because the sentence will make sense without it. But your life will not make sense without this. Are you trying to make sense of it? You need to put a parentheses on it and be like, there's something the author knows that I don't know yet. And he who began, I'm looking for.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Whoever God gave me this sermon for.

[Steven Furtick]

Because it couldn't have just been me.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Touch somebody and say, put a purpose on it. Put a purpose on it. When you find yourself beyond your understanding, you have to pivot to the purpose. God, I don't like this right now. I don't get this right now. I can't explain this right now. I can't rationalize it right now.

[Steven Furtick]

Now.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

But if you started it, you'll finish it. There is power in the pivot. There is power in praise. And there is a purpose in your situation. There's a purpose in it. God is trying to pick a fight with the devil, and he wants to break some things free and shut some things down and get some things through. And he's going to use the devil. This, too.

[Steven Furtick]

This is from the Lord. I'm making a decision right now, a pivotal decision.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

I'm going to turn from facing this.

[Steven Furtick]

And I'm facing this. I'm going to turn from what I.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Don'T understand to the God who, according.

[Steven Furtick]

To the mystery of his will, has.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Predestined, according to his good pleasure, that all things work together for his purpose. I'm serving the God who could take an instant instrument of death called a Roman cross, hang on it, and then get down in the ground and come forth. Talking about, I am resurrection power and I have the keys of death, hell and the grave. I hear the spirit of God saying, put a purpose on it. I know you're going through some pain, and I know your past was kind of rough and you made a lot of mistakes, but put a purpose on it.

[Steven Furtick]

God, would you use even the dumb stuff I did to deliver your purpose? This is bigger than me. This is bigger than what I feel right now. This is bigger than what my mind can fathom. This is bigger than what my heart can know. This is bigger than my senses. This is bigger than this setback. This is bigger. This is bigger. This is bigger. He called me. He chose Me. And I'm going to trust him that this is from the Lord with a parenthetical insert. The NIV Translation Committee decided to let us know that there are some things that don't make sense in your life. But the parentheses, that's where you see the purpose. You just have to pivot and trust that it's there even when you can't fill it in yet. I don't have to explain why people in this room had children, die, husbands that left them, addictions that were passed on to them. I'm not talking about whether God did that or not. We know that humans make decisions, but God is a bigger God than you've given him credit for. And he's above every human decision. God is bigger than human decisions. If Samson didn't marry that woman, the one he wasn't supposed to marry. Yeah, I know it's crazy, because we teach if you make good choices, God can use your life. I'm saying this too was from the Lord. He was looking for something. He's looking for something he can work through. And he'll even use the dumb stuff. Because if he didn't marry this woman when he was going down to get her and to pay the dowry for her with his parents and killed the lion and ripped the lion apart and then came back by after he came back for the wedding and saw honey in the lion's carcass and gave the honey, which he wasn't supposed to do because he wasn't supposed to touch anything dead, and gave it to his parents and licked some, and then went to the wedding and sat around the table with 30 boys talking about, I have a riddle for you. Out of the strong came something to eat, and out of the eater came something to eat. And out of the strong came something sweet. If you can solve my riddle, I'll give you 30 sets of linen clothing. But if you can't solve it, you're going to give me 30 sets of clothing. The boys got to his wife, and they were like, tell us the riddle or we're going to kill your whole family. Then she was like, tell me the riddle, Samson. Tell me the riddle. Then he said, okay, well, I'll tell it to you, but don't tell it to them. But then she told it to them, and then they solved the riddle. And then he had to go to asherah to kill 30 men and beat them up and kill them, to take their clothes to bring them back because of his dumb decision. But that's what set him on a course to be Able to have an opportunity to then go back home. After the wedding, he went back home and he was so mad at his wife for betraying him, he went back home and didn't even stay with her. By the time he got back, she had been married to another man. Because his father in law betrayed him. Because he figured you'd never want to marry her now after what she did to you. But he came back and got so mad that he took 300 foxes and.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Tied their tails together in pairs, lit them on fire and set them loose.

[Steven Furtick]

In the Philistine fields.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

And when they tore up the fields, the Philistines were mad. But Samson killed them because he was strong.

[Steven Furtick]

Now he never would have killed them.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

If they hadn't hurt him. He never would have been hurt by them if he hadn't made the wrong decision. It goes to show that God is using everything. If he never would have set the foxes loose, they never would have come to Judah and tied him up and tried to deliver him so he could break them free and kill a thousand of them with the jawbone of a donkey. If it never would have happened the way it happened, it couldn't be what it is. So stop looking at what it was and ask God what he wants it to be. God wants to use the dumb stuff too. You can't control it anyway. The spirit of the Lord is on you. The spirit of the Lord is on you. If the lion comes to attack you, he will give you the ability to rip it open. Because the spirit of the Lord is on.

[Steven Furtick]

And it's a pivotal decision you make when you find yourself in these disappointing situations where it seems like you can't win. Whether I'm going to believe there is a bigger picture or if I'm going to minimize God's presence to the level of my understanding right here, right now, let's turn it around. And instead of trying to tell God what's best for us, instead of trying to do what's right in our own eyes, let's turn it around. Instead of groveling in the guilt of things that are already over. I'm telling you, God uses the weirdest things about you. God uses that big nose you hate and that little habit you have. He uses that because when he delivers you from it, you could be a testimony. And he's going to use that too. This is from the Lord.

[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

How?

[Steven Furtick]

I don't know the plan. But when I don't know the plan, I pivot to the purpose and he's working it all in. God help me make better decisions in the future. But use the dumb stuff too. That's maybe the best prayer I ever pray. God, use the dumb stuff too. Father, I bless and honor your great name today as together your people offer you the reverence of our attention and our affection. I don't know what they did. I don't know what was done to them. I don't know what they can't control. That's going down to Timnah today to make a dumb decision. I declare over their life that this is from the Lord. Even if you didn't cause it, there is nothing you can't use with everyone standing, no one moving. You can pivot when you're planted. You can pivot when you're planted. When you know that he spoke it, you could be assured he will perform it. God is trying to turn your attention to something greater than your pain, greater than your insecurity. This is from the Lord. It's easy to say that when you're holding Samson, harder to say when you can't control him. But Samuel will put it in parentheses to let us know. This is what makes life make sense. That this is from the Lord. There's something bigger. I can't tell you what it is right now, but his name is beyond understanding. Father, thank you for your sweet Holy Spirit that gently reminds us of your love and compassion and concern for us. I pray now that in this moment you would administer the gifts of healing the portion of joy that belongs to your children but has often been robbed. We come against the thief now who has come to cause them to face in the wrong direction. We turn our eyes on you. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us LevationChurch. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.

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[Podcast Co-host or Congregation Member]

Running the vacuum.

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[Steven Furtick]

This is an I Heart podcast.