Season 2 Episode 9
Title: Stewarding Favor
Guest: Kenzie Hyde
Host: Ebie Hepworth
Episode Description:
In this episode you’ll hear from Kenzie Hyde, all about stewarding favor, being a present friend, and so much more. From the slums of India to the Oval office, The Lord has taken her to some pretty amazing places, you’ll hear how He’s continually opening new doors and leading her to the unexpected. This is a faithful, obedient woman and you’ll be so inspired by her heart for Jesus.
Episode Summary:
Kenzie is currently living in Nashville, but grew up in Connecticut. She grew up in a lot of chaos and brokenness, and shares how she has watched God restore and redeem every part of her life. Abandonment was a huge banner over her life, she grew up searching for a father. Drugs, alcohol, suicide were all things familiar to her family. She was forced to raise her younger sisters at a very young age until she went to college. So much of her life and story told her that she was disqualified and she would never amount to anything, but from a young age the Lord had a hedge of protection around her and she knew that she was set apart and called. The Lord has radically redeemed her story, bringing her to places she never thought she would be. Throughout her life she has watched the Lord use her in incredible ways and take pain and turn them into purpose.
Kenzie shares how throughout her whole life she has been yielded and yoked so closely to the Father, spending time sitting under His voice saying ‘you are chosen, you are equipped’ and its created a boldness and confidence in her. She is coming back to the secret place over and over again to sit under his voice and remind herself that she was called to be mighty. She has seen so much fruit from her life of surrender and yielding to Him- which has taken her to India, a prestigious business school, bethel, and so much more. Her heart has been so open to the Lord leading her to all these seasons.
Kenzie talks about how the Lord has numbered her steps and laying things out for her. She has been expectant of the spiritual adventure he’s taking her on, she is living in expectancy. For Kenzie, the heart posture of knowing the nature of God and seeing the faith stories in the Bible, and it’s shown her how to live in expectancy. She shares what it looks like to stand on the word of God when our lives don’t look like we think it should or see the fruition of what he’s spoken to us. In seasons of waiting, it’s easy to feel like we missed things, we wonder why we haven’t seen his promises come, but no time is ever wasted by Him. Most of her life she’s wondered how she has ended up certain places, and she’s always been able to stay rooted in where he’s called her. By nature we want to know everything, always asking God about all the question marks, and just in the last few years giving up her right to understand things has had a huge impact in her life. A lot of times we don’t get peace until we give up that right to understand, laying down control. When we are washing ourselves in word of God, it becomes our fortress around our mind, protecting us from fear, lies, being influenced by culture, we have to be washed in the word over and over. Ebie asks Kenzie what it looks like to wash ourselves with the Word? It can feel intimidating to people, and Kenzie suggests always going back to the secret place. As we get older, we have more demands, culture screams things at us, we have to prioritize time with Him- journaling, reading scripture, worship, listening to a message, it’s getting to know Him and listening to His voice. We can’t operate in the fullness of who we were created to be unless we know His voice, hearing the words over our life and letting His words wash over us.
They start talking about friendship and Kenzie goes into serving the people around her, championing the friends in her life, calling out who they are. She loves and believes in celebrating people and the gifts in their lives, speaking it over them. It’s something she’s so passionate about because it’s what were called to, iron sharpens iron, were called to champion. Friendships are so important to be pouring into their dreams and visions, because she believes this is what the Lord calls us to do. When we celebrate people and the gift on their life, what that infuses is immeasurable, were actually calling out the destiny and gifts on their life. Jesus had a few that He poured into, choosing people with intention and devoted His life to pouring into them.
Kenzie talks about how she has so many passions in her heart from writing policy, leading in government, and working in social justice. She’s excited to see what the Lord does and how He uses all her passions in different spheres. Kenzie just got back from a trip from Nicaragua, she shares about when we do missions and how we need to do in a sustainable way. When we chose to invest in specific communities long term, the change is incredibly powerful. She’s passionate about seeing missions done in a sustainable way; doing something that can be upheld and long lasting. Creating change that supports people for the long term whether its infrastructure, education, building homes, breaking the cycle of poverty so economies could actually see change.
Kenzie ends the podcast saying “God can use anyone and He wants to qualify the unlikely, there is no part of your story He can’t redeem, restore or resurrect. I really believe when you have the Lord in you, you are set apart. God wants to use you in a powerful way, rewrite your story, change narratives where the enemy has tried to bring discouragement and shame, he wants to use that in a radical way”.
