Girls Gone Bible - God is Kind | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

Hiiiii GGB:) this episode is all about the goodness and kindness of Jesus and how genuinely perfect He is.  we love you guys so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari ORDER OUR BOOK! You can order our new book, "Out of the Wilderness: 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons," here: https://www.girlsgonebible.com/book JOIN US ON GGB+ 🥹❤️  https://ggb.supportingcast.fm  COME SEE US ON TOUR! Tickets are on sale now: https://www.girlsgonebible.com/tour Thanks to our sponsors! Vinted Download the Vinted app for free! BetterHelp https://www.BetterHelp.com/GirlsGoneBible DOSE https://www.DoseDaily.co/GGB Grand Canyon University https://www.GCU.edu QUO https://www.Quo.com/GGB MUD\WTR https://www.MUDWTR.com/GGB

How many coffees do you have a day? I have one curie coffee in the morning and then just one latte in the afternoon, but I'm a little bit like. I'm a little bit like, I don't know. Do you know that Katie Perry's sound that goes, you're like an Indian summer in the... I could never get a hold of Katie Perry's music. It's a one music I can't listen to. I'm a plastic bag. I'm like a plastic bag.

Our algorithms are so different. because my algorithm is like God knows what. Mine is just like TikTok sounds like people doing stupid stuff. Mine are all prank videos. I love the prank videos. Why don't you send me those? I do. I don't open them. Because I don't go on TikTok. You don't open anything. I know my mom says the same thing. I have so many. I want to know how many unanswered text do you have. I answer my text, actually. I'm pretty good. I know you don't, but I actually answer my text. That's good. How do you know how many unread you have? So get out of it and then you just see...

Mine doesn't say it. Oh, yours doesn't say. Mine says 1,930. What the? Like, I don't know. You don't answer... Why don't you answer people? I don't know.

I actually don't know. It's like a thing. I actually don't know and maybe someone can talk. I get really overwhelmed by the phone. How do you know 1,100 people? I don't think I do. I don't know. I have no idea.

Do you have, like, the scammers texting you? Probably. They'll probably take my money, trying to take my coins. Also, thank you for letting me wear this shirt. Take a crew, baby. I'm an outlets girl now. I love going to the outlets. I don't pay full price. You've never paid full price. You've always loved a bargain. I'm such a penny pinch, aren't I? Until you decide that you're not, and then it's full force. I'm just like, why are we paying like a thousand dollars for a shirt? Well, it's crazy. It is. Um, well, you know, when I find something that I like. You wear it every day till it's, I have to wear it every.

You'll be wearing that for the next. I wore this on the Bible study podcast yesterday. I'm wearing it on this podcast today. I'm taking it on tour with us tomorrow, wearing it again, and then I'll give it to you. I'm like a two and done. Like you wear it twice? Okay. Thank you.

Who's that? My mom. What'd you say? It's my group chat fantastic for it. It's me, Julio, and Vilma. the fantastic floor. We have a group chat. And the other day, I texted them and I go, wait, I just thought about something. Do you guys have a group chat without me? And Vimo was like, yeah, but it's only because we don't want to, like, we only say, like, talking, when we don't want

to bother you. And I'm like, how could you say that? If I don't want to respond, I just won't respond, clearly, you know? I'm in a group chat with her family in the, the, it's called Jesus is Lord. So we have a group chat, me, my brother. My mom, Vilma, my sister-in-law, Socrates and Ari, and it's called Jesus's Lord. And it's just Socrates sending memes. God bless America. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. Jesus is Lord. I miss Socrates so much. I love him so much. That man single-handedly changed my life. I love him too. Every time I see him, I go, you are our best friend, Socrates.

And he feels that. Yeah. And other news. Angela and I have been sleeping on the phone every night together. I wake up the other day I woke up and I saw she was still sleeping on the phone and I felt so comforted. And I'm like, if anybody ever knew. So I saw she was still sleeping and I was like, and. Oh, no, and she goes, and, ang, I thought I was dreaming and I thought to myself for the love of God. And I like unmute it. She's really moody when you wake her up.

She snaps back. She pops off. I'm unmute. I unmute it. And I go, Ari, I'm sleeping. I go, I know. I just want to make sure you're there. I'm so sorry.

It's not me in the morning. You're not going to believe this I have to be. Go. I'm sorry. Don't be sorry. Well, in other news, I have made the World Cup my entire personality. If you guys don't know while Ari uses the restroom, I played soccer for 10 years.

I played from like 4 to 14. It's in my blood generationally. My both of my brothers overplayed. Okay. Both of my brothers played. My dad, my dad played his entire life. And then my dad's dad was like a really, really elite soccer player in Albania. His name is Skinder Halili.

And it's like part of my life that is so, I don't know, it just means so. Is there like a part of your guy's life that you think about? And you're like, wow, this just like made me who I am and it means so much to me. Soccer is like such a huge part of my family lineage. And so every four, and I don't, but I don't watch it. But every four years, like the World Cup is very important to me. And this year, I've watched every game. I'm driving everybody nuts.

I have it playing with me. Spain just be Argentina, I think. Well, you've been gone. I've been talking about the World Cup. Oh my God. Well, you've been gone. I've been driving everybody absolutely insane. So tomorrow, Spain and England play, which is huge.

We'll see who wins. And then by the time this is out, we'll already know who had won. I felt so cool with that Spain jersey on. Yeah. I mean, you looked so cute. You do too. We're coming up to the end of tour, you guys. We have six gatherings left.

We've been on tour for two years through hell and high water, baby. We, we, it is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that has gotten us through to this point. It's raised us. We've become different women from this past year and a half touring. How do you feel like you've changed? Oh my gosh, I'm a completely different person. It's taught me, it's given me courage. It's shown me Jesus's strength.

Yeah. How much he works in you when you're, don't know what you're doing. Yeah. It's just grown me so much. It really has. Oh, man. What about you? Same.

Same with me. I think when tour began, I probably would have described myself as like someone without insecurity. You know what I mean? Like just like so unaware of, I was just so unaware of like so many things that were inside of me. And I think tour brought out so much. Like being on stage in front of people brought out. so much, like just weird insecurities and performance or striving or just like unworthiness and like just wanting people to like you or think you did a good job or genuinely with a pure

heart wanting people to be impacted but in a way that is like harmful to yourself, you know, like feeling like that's your responsibility to carry. So I think, I mean, both of us went through this where we've just, we died so many times. I can't. explain it other way than it was just a continuous death. The GGB tour the past two years, it's going to be like 54, 53 cities that we went to. It's going to, it's literally, there was so much impact, so much transformation, so many healings. I can't even imagine how many people got saved. But for us, what happened was so much, like that was for all of them and what the Lord did in us through tour was just for us.

It was something nobody got to see. Like those big moments on stage where you're preaching and it's powerful, it's really so special and profound and important. But like those moments when we go back to our hotel room where it's just us in Jesus, the moments before when we're so desperate for Jesus, the days afterwards where you're just like winding down and coming down from, you know, a big gathering. It's like, and doing that continuously with all the other stuff we do.

Yeah. We've grown exponentially. And when the tour is over in September, in September, because we really spaced it out, it's going to be like, we'll probably be back. We'll probably do more gatherings. Maybe it'll look differently, but like we'll probably do more gatherings eventually. But yeah, I'm so excited to see what God does after that, you know? It's like a new season we're coming in, too. Yeah. I'm really excited for it. And I think that's when we'll probably do a second. second episode. I know. I'm excited. I am so excited to do the second episode. It's going to be really cool. I was reading James this morning and there's all different kinds of things. I was reading.

What were you reading? Ephesians this morning. Oh, I read Ephesians. The other day? The other day, yeah. Hi. I'm Angie. And I'm Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. We're a faith-based podcast where we talk all things, spirituality, mental health, the Bible relationships. We love Jesus so much. And this podcast is literally just two of your sisters and friends walking through life with Jesus with you. We share a lot of what our lives look like, what our experiences with Jesus, what we've learned, how we've grown, mistakes that we make, things that we realize in hindsight. And so that's what we do here. We forget to introduce ourselves because we're family. And we just love you guys so much.

We're so happy to be here with you. oh my gosh i just loved this so much when i was reading it um as you guys know we follow a god um he's an exclusive god he's a sovereign god there is no other god if you're watching this and you believe in anything other than jesus you put your trust in anything other than jesus we completely understand because we've been there throughout our lives we know what it's like to not know Jesus at all. And we know what it's like to know Jesus and a couple other things and a little new age and a little manifesting and a little whatever it might be. But I think what is most important for us to realize is that the blood of Jesus is the only thing on the earth in the universe that can forgive

sins, that can set people free, that can give people salvation, that can bring any true help or transformation or saving. It's the, Jesus is the only, and Christianity is the only religion in which it's a grace-based salvation, not by works, not by anything you can do. And it's also a faith that's not centered on yourself. It's not that you're a God or that you might become a God. No, it's about a God who loved humanity so much, even though we were unfaithful and disobedient, and a God who, chose to leave like a royal heavenly throne to come down onto earth, take form as a baby, the most humble position that he could take, grow up in obscurity, and then start his ministry. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Start his ministry at 30 years old, spent three years

healing the sick, casting out demons and proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven has come. It's at hand and repent and believe. Turn from your wicked ways and put your trust and faith in a God who loves you more than anything is so close to you. He's not far. And so what we want to say today is anything else that you might be believing in is false. It's wrong. There is no other option. And I wanted to read a little bit of Ephesians. It's Paul writes to the Church of Ephesus and says, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us. in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Jesus chose us, thought about us,

before the earth even was formed. He had every single one of us on his mind. So if anybody is watching this thinking that they could be a mistake, first of all, God doesn't make mistakes. and scripture is very clear that he chose you before any of this was even, but he didn't even build this first and say, hey, that person might be a good addition. No, he said you are the most important thing. And he built the earth for us to be in relationship with him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship and daughtership through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace,

which he has freely given us in the one he loves. The grace of God is found in the face of Jesus. The glory of God is found in the face of Jesus. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him, we are also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him, who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. If you're watching this and you're wondering if God works things out, he works things out better than you can possibly imagine because he works things out, not by your will but by His. In order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation when you believed. You were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who was a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory. This is what's so important. This whole like passage for me really speaks to the adoption that we receive into the family of Jesus Christ, into the family of God. If you're watching this and you're wondering what your life means, what you should be doing,

what it's all about, this is what it means that you have been adopted into sonship and daughtership with Jesus Christ, that you are not only, and it's not something that's fleeting. It's not something that you're given one day and can be taken the next. It says, when you give your life to Jesus, you are marked in it. him. You are in him with a seal. You're sealed. Do you know what a seal is? You seal something shut. The promised Holy Spirit. It is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. So when you give your life to Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. You are sealed. You are marked. You cannot be taken away. Nobody can snatch anybody

out of Jesus's hand. So if you're watching this and you feel far gone, or you feel like you're just being thrown around or you don't know where you belong. Just know you are safe in Jesus. Nobody can take you out of his hand. You are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing can touch you

when you're under the blood of Jesus. Satan will try. He will confuse you. But God will never abandon you. He does not leave us. We can walk away from him for sure. but the second we turn around, what matters the most is how you see Jesus's face when you turn around to see him again. If you've sinned, if you've fallen short, if you've fallen away, and you look back to turn to Jesus, how you see his face is everything.

If you see an angry and disappointed father, it'll show through your life. But if you see a dad who literally with compassion all over his face, a grin and a smile on his face, that's how you live a life of true freedom. That's what he looks like. So anyways. I love that you read that about identity because we question like, why am I this way? And I think what I've learned on, I've learned in this journey is he's so intricate with each and every one of us. He makes no mistakes. So even these little things that we don't like about ourselves, he made you like that.

Yeah. And I always remind myself like that. And it's really helped me a lot to accept myself. because he makes no mistakes when he made us. And he makes all of us so different. We have this beauty standard and society of what we should look like and how we should be and all these things. And it screws you up a little bit.

But God makes no mistakes when he makes you. What do you think the difference is? Because that's such a good point, that there's so many things about us that are unique, that like God never wants to go away because he made us like that. He loves that about us. what would you say is something that, but then at the same time you give your life to Jesus and everything changes. So it's like an interesting thing. Like he created you exactly as you are because he loves you in your truest form. And at the same time, you give your life to Jesus and there should be full complete 180

transformation. Yeah. So what do you say? How would you tell people like is the difference between the things Jesus wants to keep about you and the things that he wants to be transformed. So it's like that scripture, I cut off every branch that doesn't bear fruit. So anything that isn't of him, he prunes and he like puts us through the refining fire. But he still loves us and he sees us and he knows what we've been through and trauma on that we're like, like he says, we're like filthy rags. Yeah. You know, that's why we beat ourselves up so much about how we are.

and he doesn't expect you to be perfect. And I think that's one thing I'm really learning is when I first came into Christianity, I always felt like I felt like I had to be this perfect robotic person. And it's quite the opposite. I agree completely. And I think it's like, because I'm also trying to learn what are the quirks about me that Jesus loves. Yeah. And then what are things that he wants to change?

You know what I mean? And so I think because I think I went through something similar that you did where I gave my life to Jesus and we started a podcast. And then I'm like, I'm like everybody from the South. You know? I'm like everybody from Middle America. Do not have the sense of humor you have. Do not have that like, you know what I mean? And we both went through that.

We were like, hey, how are you, ma'am? Everything, you know, and it was like. So I think so many people go through that. For sure. And I think we've only just recently, genuinely, only just recently settled into like, no, no, you give your life to Jesus. And it doesn't mean that, like, you have to look like every preacher on the planet. It means that you are displaying fruit. Like, fruit should be evident.

And if there's a part of your personality that is opposing to the fruit of the spirit, right? Like, if you have, like, some people are more joyful and some people are, you know, know, more melancholy in a sense. And some people might say, like, I was just born melancholy. It's just my personality. But I would argue that there's a chance the Lord wants to make you, or like, the Lord wants to, like, give you joy and, like, have you operate out of joy more. But then there's also some people who kind of go, like, who are very, like, challenging and very bold. and they're like, well, that's just how I am. I say everything that comes to my mind and it's okay if it hurts someone's feelings.

And that's not okay either. That's not, you know, gentle or displaying self-control. So it's kind of like things like that. If there's parts of you that are opposing to the fruit of the spirit, then I would say, like, that's something that you need to let Jesus. But if it's things like me and you, how we're just like. shooting the sheep. Sometimes I really be wanted to pop off, though.

I gotta say. Like in what moment? I'm gonna say, would you grow up in Mazadjus? Well, you've been popping off your whole life. And then you can't pop off anymore when someone wants to cut you off at a red light. I know. Tell me about it. I'm like.

I know. And. Okay. And you won. Yeah. And I'm gonna take up my. That you're. that I'm not wearing you right now.

Yeah. You think God have Jesus, because I'm... Can anyone agree? I agree. I agree completely. It's like... Oh, man. I, um...

I don't know, man. I've said this before, but like, you know, I want to be gentle and quiet. I really do, but Jesus made me... Who told you you need to be gentle and quiet? Yeah, but Jesus made me... made me Albanian and from the East Coast. So it's like not easy. Why do you want to be gentle and quiet? Isn't that what the Bible says? No, that's not what it says. I'm just kidding. I'm spreading

misinformation. Sorry. That's not. That's so, you want to be gentle and quiet? I want to be gentle. I can't be quiet. Let's be honest. You are gentle. You're all so fiery and fun and sometimes we can involve with people that make you feel like the things about yourself aren't good. And that happens so much. Like you will start to second guess the things that make you you make you you. And then you're like, wait a minute. Should I not be like this? Because people will try to conform you into what they want, which is also a projection. Anyone who tries to change you, it's just a projection of how they feel about themselves.

That's what it is. A hundred percent. And so you want to be around. It's very important to be around people who love your question. who accept you, who call you higher, but who love. Who love that I've made the world cut my personality, you know? You know, who love that you like to go get four I see, for us, I bowls a day. Anyways, Thomas and his girlfriend are going to church.

God bless you, Thomas. We're going to get you saved, buddy, all right? You heard of Ephesians. Thank you. Okay. Okay. I'm so sorry to doubt your salvation, Thomas. Um, hey.

I want to know about you. I want to know about you. Tell me the most traumatic thing that's ever happened to you. I want to talk about, what's your background? We're not going to do that, dude. I have questions. No, we're going to talk about Jesus. Okay, we're going to talk about Jesus.

I'm not going to tell me all. Salisiana. It's Brazilian. You were not a Brazilian. I would talk about my background if I wasn't something other than what? I want to know about you. I want to know about you. I want to know what makes you tick.

When you slurp in the morning, that's what makes me tick. It's, I don't even do that anymore. What about this? I'll just, I'll tell everyone what a good friend you are. No. Oh my gosh, no, you are. Hey, look at me. The other night, look at me.

Oh, by the way, Ari and I are at the point in our friendship. We're not like sisters like, we're sisters in Christ. No, we're siblings. As in like, if we compliment each other, it's disgusting. I just don't. When I compliment you, you get so uncomfortable. You have no idea what to do.

Well, you, like, when it's like a real friend, like, you just like. We don't have. No, we hug. You're like bros. No, we are like bros. But we can't, when you compliment me, I don't even believe you. When I go to hug you like this. That's not true.

Okay. So whenever Ari, whenever I'm crying, it's not that I don't want to be hugged, I just need a minute. I actually probably, I don't think I want to be hugged. Like Ari likes to be hugged when she's crying. I don't because I want to like experience the moment with the other person. Like I want to keep crying. For some reason when someone hugs me, I just stop crying. I actually don't need to talk.

If someone could just hold me like a little girl. Yeah, while you cry. It will heal me in that moment. Really, see, I just want to talk it through, whoa, look at, you know. Oh, yeah. Oh, me. Walk me like a baby. And when I'm like, and then so when I'm crying, Ari's initial response is immediately hug, but it's, it's an Ari's hug.

It's an art hug. She puts her whole body like around my head. I'm like nursing her. So like my, no, actually. So my initial response is just to go like this, to give me space to keep crying. And then eventually that was a funny season. So much fun. I love crying.

I don't cry anymore. I'm healed. We're healed in Jesus' name. Look. Which are my favorite animal? I like lions. What's my favorite color? Hmm.

Depends on the day. What's my favorite food? Hmm. Depends on the hyperfixation. Uh, what's my favorite movie? Um, probably manhunt Osama bin Laden. Where have you seen God's kindness recently? The season that was my breakup.

Okay. Why? How do you feel like you're growing? How did it grow me genuinely? I mean, I could go down a whole list. I think one of the things that I learned the most, the most, I think, is what I learned, honestly, is I've, I leaned on people more than I ever had in my life. I realized that you have to develop, you need to have relational equity in your life, not in a bad time. Because when like hard stuff hit in my life,

the amount of people that I had around me, the amount of love that I had, the amount of support that I had, I could not have even, like, predicted that. And so just like with Jesus, like when I hit a bad time, it was, when I hit a bad time and I was struggling in my mind, which led me to like, just like struggling my, I couldn't do the things that I once did. I couldn't hear God the way that I once did. I was so consumed with like grief and hardship and all the things. During a season where I was so.

hard to feel God, hear God, see God. I was so grateful to rely on the friendship I had created with God. I had relational equity with the Lord. I was able to every single day, I didn't have big prayers. I had really quiet prayers like, I remember who you are. You'll do it again. You've done it before. You'll do it again. I remember. I remember I just, I would keep saying to Jesus, I remember, I remember who you are. I remember what you've done and I know you'll do it again. And much like with Jesus, I had the same experience with people. Relational equity with people is what I was able to, that I created throughout years of my life,

pouring into relationships, which led me to a hard moment where so many people were able to be there for me. And it was that relational equity that I had. formed not in a bad time. You cannot wait for things to be bad to set up support in your life or to seek Jesus. Most of us do wait until we're desperate, but it's so good to have relational equity with God and relational equity with people so that when push comes to shove and you need that, you have that. And so that's what I think I learned the most. I leaned on people in a way I never would have. I had so many friends. I had you. You held my arms. up like nobody's business. I had pastoral covering for the first time in my life, and that was

absolutely truly what carried me. I had Darren and his wife, Alex, who walked with me through so much. I think something I think about and talk about a lot is like we started the Bible study podcast kind of like around a time where, you know, things weren't easy. And one of the most healing things for me. First of all, I've grown exponentially being on that podcast with Darren where Darren teaches and I sit and I listen and other people get to hear the word from a pastor because as you and I know, like there are so many people who don't have pastors. They don't go to church. They don't have like and like this podcast is so incredibly important. And even that podcast is important. But having a pastor in your life that knows you, walks with you, knows your patterns and

speak into your life is so important. But then at the same time, pastors are really busy. Pastors don't have the luxury to meet with every single person in their congregation. They don't have the, usually they don't have the time or the capacity, especially if it's a big church to know everybody intimately or to spend hours upon hours upon hours. And for me, I was able to sit with Darren, a pastor who's also like a genius in biblical theology. So I was like learning from him for hours at a time and also being strengthened. Like I would sit on that podcast, not in a good spot. But like my inner man was being strengthened so much because I was sitting around believers hearing the gospel for hours at a time. So during like the God was just so when you ask like when have you seen the kindness of God?

That's an example for me. that he gave me that little place, that little podcast in my life during a time where like I needed so bad to just hear the things of God. I needed to hear about him. I needed to remember him. And so, yeah. For someone that's going through a breakup right now, what advice would you give them on how to move forward and heal?

For anyone who's going through any sort of hard time, anything, a breakup, which they're like some of the hardest things you can ever go through. But I'm also, we're also sensitive that there's like a lot worse things that can happen. There's a lot scarier tragedies that can happen in the world. And so all I would say is what heals is Jesus plus time. You cannot, and for people who say time heals all wounds, no, it doesn't. Because there are people who are 30 years down the road still incredibly hurt from and operating out of trauma and pain that happened a long time ago. So it's not time without Jesus. But then even if you have Jesus, things take time. And so that's what I would say to people. It's Jesus first and it's

time to heal. You need to give yourself grace and the space and the ability to just say one more day. If I can get through today and make it tomorrow, that is a major success. To look at just the day before you, just the five minutes before you, just the hour, just the work shift that you have to go to before you, just the hour long podcast that you have to film before you, just that like family event that you feel like you can't get through. It's just minute by minute, moment by moment healing constantly bringing everything to the feet of Jesus. There's so many things you guys that we try to do in our own might, in our own minds, in our own strength. this is your reminder to do the things you did at first. You pray, you read the Bible, even when you don't want to.

Even when it doesn't, you have to understand that healing does not take place like this. And even the peace of God that we talk about, yes, sometimes it comes over you like a blanket. And sometimes it's something that quietly creeps in over time. Sometimes it's something that has taken place that you're not even aware of at times. But you have to trust when you're doing spiritual discipline. When you're staring at the face of Jesus, when you're in the word, when you are bringing your cares and your concerns to him, something is taking place. And you have to have faith in that, even if it's not happening automatically. So we're here to encourage you that like you just keep going.

You put one foot in front of the other. You seek Jesus with all your heart and you simply give yourself time. Eventually, you notice shifts. eventually the things become smaller and Jesus becomes bigger. Eventually, things are less triggering. Eventually, you have longer stints of not thinking about something. And again, but that doesn't just happen because there are people who suffer forever from things that happen. Jesus first time second, that's my remedy.

Yeah. I love that you talked about people because that's why he, He works through people to heal. Yeah. And I think one of the biggest things we tend to do during breakups is self-isolate. I remember when I was isolated in my house, just the mental torment that would replay in my mind that I should just give up. That where I was was the best it was ever going to be. And just being in that dark apartment just isolated with the mental torment in my mind, I just, even when I,

I think about that moment, my heart just even thinking that someone is actually going through that right now and just fighting through that and finding community, even being so courageous to go to church by yourself. Totally. I remember sitting there on Sundays and just by myself and in time, God brought the right people into my life. But it's just that little push of having the courage to go to church by yourself, having the courage to introduce. yourself, saying yes to things, being in community, pushing through the pain to just reach out, to have faith, to just say, help me. Being dependent on God moment by moment, cry, grieve, let it out. That is not weakness, it's strength. One thing I'm really realizing is just the power of prayer. I have James open right now, and I was reading this morning, are any of you suffering from

hardships. You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call on the elders of the church to have them pray over you. I've been struggling with joy a lot. I've been struggling with weariness. And I have been so persistent in prayer. That's why I love the story of Hannah. She was so fervently praying. And she didn't stop until she got an answer from God. And I've just really been praying and not only praying, but having people. pray for me. I kind of got in a moment of like desperation again where I was like hungry. Like and I kind and now that I'm, it kind of felt good to be in that place of hunger again. And I, because I was just, I told you guys a couple of episodes that I was feeling just really

tired in my soul. Like, and you could see it in my eyes and I just wanted to feel alive again. And so I, it like sparked that faith in me to get hungry again and reach out to people. And I started to do these prayer nights and just have people pray for me over the phone. And I'm telling you, the power of prayer is so powerful and it works. And if we believe in a God that hears us, then we have to come together as a community and pray over one another and pray fervently, like, and pray for others. And it works. And I can't believe how free I've been feeling lately. Yeah. The joy has come back. And so the power of prayer. is everything. It's everything. It's everything. And guys, we're here to remind you. And before we go,

we're going to pray for you guys too. Just that like your inner man gets strengthened and that like, we'll pray for that afterwards. But yeah, how you overcome challenges, you just keep going. You have to just keep going. And you have to want to overcome. It's that hunger and that fight that activates faith. If we didn't get to those low places of suffering, it wouldn't create a hunger in our hearts. Yeah. But just know that you will get on the other side of it. It will get better. And God sees you and he knows what he's doing. And he will never withhold something that is meant for you. And so you have to just rely on this more than the heartbreak. Relie on this more than the chaos and the torment that's going on in your mind and just keep resting in other people, let them hold you,

let them carry you, and just keep healing. Because on the other side of what you're going through is going to be just richness and beauty and radiance and life and harvest. And you will thank him later for all of the pain and all of the heartbreak is who you will be as someone that you won't even be able to recognize in the very best way. And if you're facing a situation that was like your biggest fear, like if your biggest fear came true, what a gift. What a gift that if your biggest fear happened to come true and you survive it, which you will, you get to move through the rest of your life going, the thing I was afraid of most happened and I'm still standing and I'm still here. and I'm still pursuing Jesus.

And like what I can say of like the hard times that I've been through throughout my life, throughout my faith journey, you know what I feel on the other side of it? I have a race to run. I have a race to run and I need to finish well. There is a hill, a mountain that I must die on. And that's like all I can think about now. I want to go so fast after the things of God. I'm so grateful for the days that were hard.

I'm so grateful for the moments I didn't have joy. I'm so grateful for the moments where I was in a lack of faith, in a lack of trust, because coming on the other side of it, I'm like, yeah, I never want that to happen again. And it might, right? But I know now how to get through it. And by going through that, I just realize that the most important thing that we do is finish the rest of our lives, loving Jesus and being faithful. What it matters to us the most is not the hard times that we go through, but that through them we stay faithful.

We still stay loving Jesus. That doesn't mean that you have to be perfect or that every moment you're on fire or that every even season you're on fire. But it means that when you come out of it, you realize that the goal is that you die on the hill that is Jesus Christ, the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. You died staying faithful. You die. and your last words are find me faithful Lord find me pure find me holy find my heart undivided that's like genuinely coming out of that season coming out of like darkness and hardship that's all I think about and I think what a gift what a gift like for the moments I didn't have joy

because Ari can tell you guys I value joy more than anything I wake up every day so grateful to be alive when I feel good because I'm like there was a period I didn't there was a period I couldn't feel joy there was a period that everything was hard and so every day that I wake up and things are okay and the sun is shining I have that much more of an appreciation like someone asked me the other day what's your five year plan I'm like I don't care like I literally I don't know I want to love Jesus I want to spend time with people I love and that love me yeah and I want to be healthy and I want to have joy, you know, and I want to help people. And I want to preach the gospel.

And yeah, there are things, but like genuinely all that matters is that we're faithful and that we're in love. And so coming out of that season, I hope that just encourages somebody that, like, yes, things are hard. And I'm not, I'm not like diminishing that for you at all. But eventually, I promise you, if you keep fighting time and Jesus and time, if you keep, keep going, you're going to get to a place where you're going to go, that was a close call. Let me finish this race. And it's going to give you such an appreciation for the things of God because you're going to be like, oh, yeah, this is what truly matters.

I was thinking about this the other day that like when you're married, Ari and I aren't, but when you're married, I imagine, and I've heard this for married couples that like, when you go through life married, you have to continuously be falling in love with. a new person because people change so much. Imagine if you're married to someone for 50, 60 years, how many times in their lives they have become a different person. They've grown. They've evolved. They've changed. So you have to continuously get to know a new person, obviously your spouse, not like a new person, but like you have to get to know a new version of your spouse. You have to fall in love with a new version. You have to adapt and change with them and learn to like

admire things that are changing. And I feel like it's the same thing with Jesus. He never changes, but seasons do. And what I've learned is that, like, I had to learn how to love Jesus in new ways. I related to him in different ways. I needed him in different ways. I had to enjoy him during really difficult, hard situations. And so I'm constantly getting to know him in a new way because I'm changing. And so I just think instead of going through seasons that, because I feel like when people go through seasons where they're like, I don't hear God, I can't see God, I don't know God. What if you're just meant to get to know him in a new way? What if he's showing you something new? Because you've changed, you've grown, or you're meant to grow it and be different.

And he's just inviting you into a new space, into a new season where you're loving him and learning him differently. When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it a an opportunity for great joy. That's how much of a blessing troubles are for you. Consider it a great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. So when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. I can't imagine not going through any type of suffering. Even when we started tour, I would come back to the room and be like, if I never went through that, how would I have been able to see these people where they're at? How would I be able to relate?

Like, you have to understand it is such joy that we go through these things. I know it doesn't feel good. But I promised the character it produces in you is something that it just would not produce if you didn't go through these hardships. I want to pray for you guys. I want to pray, Lord Jesus, we just lift up every single person. and watching Holy Spirit of the living God, I pray, Lord, that you would meet them wherever they are. Jesus, I thank you for your nearness. I thank you that you wanted to be as close to us as truly possible by giving us your spirit as a seal of our inheritance, marking us by filling us with

your spirit. So, Lord, I pray for every single believer who's listening that you'd fill them with your spirit, Lord. And if you're listening, you can say, God, fill me with your spirit. baptize me in your Holy Spirit. And Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that you'd strengthen their inner man. God, I pray that dead and dry bones would come to life in Jesus, mighty name. I pray that people who have felt stagnant and alone and scared. I pray Jesus that you would comfort them, that you'd encourage them, that you'd speak truth and life over them. The opposite of depression isn't happiness, but Lord, it's life. So we speak the life of the spirit of Jesus. into every single person listening and watching.

And Lord, I pray in Jesus' name by the blood of the Lamb and the power of the Holy Spirit that you would strengthen their inner man, that they would rise up in power, Jesus, that they would pursue the things of God with all their hearts. Lord, I pray that they'd pursue holiness and righteousness and purity with all their might. I pray, God, that they would invite the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, that Lord, you would conform them into the image of God back into Christ's likeness. And God, I pray, whatever's been hindering them in their walk with you, whatever distractions might be coming up, the phone, social media, whatever it might be, Jesus, that you would

remove everything that hinders them, that they would shake off, throw away anything that hinders them, any sin that is in their lives. God, I pray that you'd empower them to walk away from it, to drop it, that you'd heal them, Lord and that they would rise up, that they would rise up like warriors, warriors in Christ, Jesus, that you would renew their strength, they would mount up with wings like eagles. They'd be strong, alive, awake, full of life in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you guys so much. We love you. Whatever you're going through right now, you will get through it. There is a harvest when you don't give up. Keep growing. Keep fighting. Keep being.

in community, keep crying, keep healing. I don't know what led us to this, talking about healing and suffering. Take it from two girls who have had many trials and many sufferings and have gone through heartbreak and hardships. And we truly wouldn't be the woman we are today without all the hardships, without the heartbreak. You know, we talk about it all the time. And so just know that you're not alone. You're not alone. And we've been through it too. And you will get through it. and we are so proud of you. We love you guys so much. You are our people.

We love you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Shalom, shalom. I love you.