Girls Gone Bible - Wilderness Season | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: August 4, 2023

GGB gang. Our friends. Our family:) Today we dive into the topic of wilderness seasons. Biblical wilderness seasons can be a time of lack, waiting, and suffering. Seasons like this can be very lonely, especially if God appears to be silent. One thing is for sure, God is always in the wilderness with us. We read one of our favorite stories from Matthew 4 about the Holy Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy and then get into our personal wilderness seasons. We also answer your questions (our favorite part, we love you so much) Jesus loves you the most. -Ang & Ari if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/girlsgonebiblepod/support

Girls Gone Bible! Hi guys! What's up? One day we'll get to it. I know, I said to Angela, I said, how can we come on today and not just be cheesy? Yeah, we promised ourselves that we would come on and be normal and just be ourselves,

but we're not there yet. Hi guys! Girls Gone Bible. What's up, Bar? How's your week been? Where were you? I've been with you all week. No, I went to Florida. Yeah, that's right. I visited my family in Florida. How was your week? It was good. It was really fun. I just took it. I knew we were going to be really busy this month, so I was like, I got to get out there and see my family for a couple of days and see the kids, my nieces and nephews

before I can't go out there anymore. What'd you do? Wait for me to get back? Yeah. You guys, I don't know what's going on. I have such a phobia of spiders. All right. No, it's it's no, it's bad to the point where now I feel like I'm being tested. They're everywhere. Like there I was at dinner and I look and there was one hanging by my head at the restaurant. Yeah. Are you joking? No. You are being tested.

So, wait, listen to this real quick. So, I'm in my house. It's 1130 at night. I look in my shoe. I see this big thing. I have a panic attack. I'm hyperventilating and crying. No one's at my house.

Angela always comes to my house and kills the spiders in the middle of the night. She wasn't there. She was in Florida. So I call my neighbor who just moved in. And I call her. I go, hi, I'm so sorry. I don't mean to bother you. This is so embarrassing.

But do you think your husband could come kill this spider? This is why I need a husband. She goes, no problem. She comes over. She gets the spider. She goes, it's a leaf. Wait, she called me first, though. You called me before you called your neighbor. Every time that

I'm in Florida, she calls me screaming about a spider, and I'm sitting on the phone being like, I don't know what you want me to do. You put me on mute, and you laugh, and I'm like, Angela, it's not funny. She's crying, telling me that it's not funny, and I'm like, what don't know what you want me to do. You put me on mute and you laugh. I put her on mute because she's crying, telling me that it's not funny. And I'm like, what does she want me to do? Get the 409 spray. I have to 409 spray the spider death.

What about the first time it ever happened in front of me? And you, she, no, it was really bad. She's gotten better since that time. But the first time it ever happened, she was screaming Bloody Mary at the top of her lungs. And I'm sitting there. As soon as everything comes down, I look at her and I go, babe. You need help? No, I said, you got to pray about it.

She goes, pray about it? I was like, you got to take it to the Lord. But look at you. You've gotten so much better. Oh, yeah. I really have gotten so much better. Anyway, so what are we reading today? Okay, guys.

Today, we are so excited because, well, I'm really excited at least because we're reading one of my favorite stories in the Bible. And it's Matthew chapter 4 when Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. He's 40 days and 40 nights without food. And he's fasting. And basically, today's episode is about the wilderness season and everything that that encompasses and entails and how to get through it. We have questions. And, yeah, let's get into a deep, deep episode. Right?

Yeah. Anything you want to say before we start? No, I'm just laughing because I'm thinking about, because it really is hard to read the Bible. And those kid videos that really describe it and they have the pictures, it's so helpful. I can't even tell you. That's my new thing that I do, by the way. I have always said, if you, before you, if you're not familiar with the Bible, watch, either read a kid's Bible or watch those little things. What were they on?

It was on YouTube. I don't know. We're going to write it in the description. I'll get it, but it's so helpful. Yeah. It basically like summarizes everything. And then it gives you like an outline for when you do go in, you could be like, ah, this and that and whatever. Yeah. So let's get into it. So we're at Matthew chapter four, Satan tempts Jesus. Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Notice that he was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit and not the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry.

Now, when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread. By the way, when he says, if you are the son of God, he means since because he knows that he's the son of God. But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you. And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Note here that Satan is reciting scripture. Jesus said to him, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain Then Jesus said to him, for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only you shall serve then the devil left him and behold angels came and ministered to him so let's break this down i love that story it's one of my favorites so when so the holy spirit is the one that led jesus to the wilderness so we have to understand that the wilderness season, which could be described as a time of suffering or lack or like an absence of God, just a bad time. And it feels like God's not present. God is absolutely present.

And he's probably the one who led you there. So we have to be careful not blaming everything on the devil because God needs us in the wilderness. That's where we grow. That's where our character is developed. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. So we have to remember, too, that the devil will always go to our weaknesses. He's going to find those little, you could be the most righteous, least sinning person of all time, but he's going to hit you where you're weak and what you need.

Like he hadn't eaten in a long time and he was hungry. And that's the first thing he says, command that these stones be made of bread. And remember, when we're weak, that's an opening. Right? It's an opening because we're not ourselves when we're weak. Exactly. So that's the time when you're most vulnerable. Right.

And you need to pray the most and you need to rely on him the most. He's relying on him the most. So when he says to him to make the stones become bread, he's tempting Jesus to do a miracle outside of God's will. And Jesus replies to him. By the way, three times he's tempted, three times he responds with scripture. And that's why they say we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle with powers and principalities. And the way we fight is through the word.

Yeah. And then the devil took him up into the holy city and said, throw yourself down. For it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you. So I say this all the time. If Satan knows scripture, we've got to know scripture. There's no way he can know it better than us. It's really, like, serious. One of the most valuable things i've learned this year yeah he relied on scripture yeah temptation yeah

that's how i always and this one um man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god something personal is i had been struggling with something um for a while a couple years ago ago. And after I read this story and I heard this man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Every time I had this thought, this thing, every time it came up in my mind, I would say out loud, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I fought it. That's how I fought it. Whenever I heard this, I was like, that's my ticket. That's how I'm going to fight these thoughts to like, you know

what I mean? And how did that make you feel when you would do that? Would it completely change everything? Yeah, it would. Sometimes I was weaker than others. And sometimes it was like, I was right there and it was good. You know what I mean? Um, and then Jesus said to him, you shall not tempt the Lord or God. Don't ever test God. You know what I mean? That's like Satan, of course, he wants us to test and doubt him and be like, did he really say that to Eve? He said, did he really say that you shouldn't eat the fruit off the tree? Remember, when anything comes in doubt, it's not from God.

So true. What did you say? When it comes with confusion, it's from the enemy. Yeah. When it comes with peace, it comes from God. Jesus. Exactly. And then the devil took him up on a high mountain and said, all these things I will give you if you'll fall down and worship me. You know how they say the devil usually doesn't come with red horns and a thing. He comes as everything you've ever wanted. That's right. And he's telling Jesus, I'll give you everything you'll want.

And he's basically offering him a crown without the cross. And that is a lie. And he offers that to us all the time. And it's a lie. Yeah. And then Jesus, for the last times, he goes away with you, Satan, for it is written that you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. And then the devil left him and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

You know what I love so much about this story? There's nothing. It just reminds me like there's nothing more powerful than getting in control of your life and being like, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. You cannot have my mind. You cannot have my spirit. You cannot have my heart. You know, like there's nothing more powerful than that, than knowing them when that temptation

comes in, you know, because you have your armor on and being like the way with you, Satan. I love that. Away with you, Satan. That's one of my favorite. We should start saying that every time. Every time we're anxious. Away with you, Satan.

I know that's funny, but, like, seriously. It's true. It's the greatest. It's so true. So a lot of this was about, you know, temptation. But, like, the wilderness season is, can be hard. And it happens, you know, I know for me, I feel like I'm in a wilderness season is can be hard and it happens. You know, I know for me, I feel like I'm in a wilderness season like every couple of years in my life. But we I mean, through answering questions, we'll talk about everything.

But I really I believe that the wilderness season is so crucial to our character development. And in the wilderness season is like when God breaks things off of us. You know, it's like that's where he does the refining. And it's painful. But like, you know, what is there's a scripture that's like he refines us like gold and like silver. Like it's really painful. It's like iron sharpening iron that doesn't that's painful. It sounds painful because that's what it is.

Like you have to experience a little pain to have that growth. Yeah. You know, it's funny because I always would be like, why me? Like, why did why did these things happen to me? You know, like all my trials that I went through as a kid and my hardships. And I was always so ashamed of it, too, like growing up in a rough city and not having Christian married parents and all this stuff. But now it's like I'm so proud because I have empathy. I've experienced so much loss. I've experienced heartbreak. I know what it's

like to have nothing. So it's like I have the empathy to be able to help others and to relate and to have compassion. So whenever you, you know, if you grew up not in the best family or, you know, you're going through something really rough, it's going to be something so great to your testimony that you'll be able to stand tall and help others. I'm glad we went through some stuff. Absolutely. I'm so great. We say this all the time. We're so grateful for every trial we've ever been through because it's made us who we are. I wouldn't have the things about myself that I'm proud of had I not gone through the hard times in my life. And I just think it's really important to know, too, that whenever God is elevating you and whenever, you know, good things, big things are going to happen in your life, like it's going to be followed by being tested. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I remember being in church and I was on my hands and knees.

I'll never forget this moment. It was when I was in the darkest place and with tears coming down my face, I was like, please help me. Sister Ann. Sister Ann. She came and sat next to me. She held my hand and I just said, why? Why is this happening?

And she looked at me and she goes, get excited. I'll never forget that. She said, get excited because you're about to be elevated in the best part of your life. And were you? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I know.

I'm telling you, I was the same way of being like, why me? Why me? And it's a completely like victim mentality is the worst thing you can ever do to yourself. But I will say I understand because when you don't know the truth of the word and about who God is and why he does the things he does and lets us go through this stuff, you will say, why me? If you don't have that experience. You will say, why me, if you don't have that experience. I know now, for example, the most recent wilderness season type of thing that happened. I was in a situation just recently where my living situation was being disrupted and it was a really hard time. And it was like, you know, weeks to months of hardship and awkwardness. And I it was really weighing down on me a lot. And I had to, to like get up. I had to move. I had to do all this stuff. But throughout it all, as painful as it was and as much anxiety as I was having because so much, it was just very chaotic. I knew I kept saying to myself during it, like, this is necessary right now. I don't know what God is doing exactly,

but I know he's doing something because nothing changes if nothing changes. He needs me to move. And if he didn't do all this or create all this or none of this happened, I probably wouldn't have moved because I had no reason to. I don't mean just move like living situation wise. I mean, even in general, like just move out of position, out of what you're doing. Go ahead. No, I was going to tell you how well you handled that whole situation because most people would have absolutely, I mean, she's just telling you a

little bit of it, but she really did go through a big battle with that. And because you have God on your side and you know you, the way you handled it, and then look at what happened because you carried everything with such grace. You remained so calm. Everything came to you so effortlessly. The place, everything. I mean, it was it was such a good testimony to have faith. I thank you. I will say that like that was probably one of the most graceful wilderness seasons I've ever had.

graceful wilderness seasons I've ever had. Because just again, like, don't be discouraged if you're early in your walk and things you hear us talking about how how it's easy with Jesus, it's graceful with Jesus, like it's not always like that. But with experience with time, with a constant surrendering to God, you start to like, have an awareness that he is working and it is going to be okay. And you get stronger and you're able to handle things better. Like, I know for this situation, I was able to just really stay calm through a lot of hard stuff and be like, and it did work out. Like, I just listened to him and I was like, all right, God, this is weird what's happening. But, like, where do you want me to go? What do you need from me?

And, yes, everything came just the way I was supposed to. And I am in a much better situation because of it. Yeah. And I could have easily in that situation been like, why is the devil working like this? Why is he doing this to me? But I stayed calm and I said, all right, God, I don't know what you need from me or what you're trying to teach me or what you're trying to get out of me. But like, I'm here with you and we'll do it together. It's just crazy how when you, your state of mind, when you really trust him, how different things are. I truly believe that is why I went through the biggest

storm of my life this past year. The way I handle things, I can't even imagine living the way I used to, like with my mindset. I was someone who most of my life, I lived with a sick feeling that sat right here. I don't know if you know or if you guys know what that feels like. But it's that constant anxiety, worry feeling like all day. I don't know how I live like that. And you want to know why I lived like that? Because I was dependent upon myself. I thought I could do it.

And when you depend on yourself and not God, it's a really scary, bad road. You cannot rely on yourself. So I spent, yeah, I spent my whole life just depending upon myself. I can do it. I got this. No, you don't got this. You don't. And I swear, and it's funny, I really feel like, I don't know if you agree with me on this, but I feel like God's already pre-seen everything. So he takes you through tests. Sometimes you feel the test. If you feel the test, it's okay.

He's going to retest you until you win it. And now that I look at my life, I can see he kept testing me and I kept feeling and falling. I'd get back up and I'd keep trying. And I think this year I finally passed. My girl, I know you did. I am like when you tell me about the time where you still like what you just described about how you struggle to handle things. You are so like you really just take things on the chin and you handle them so well.

And you're so like you're just a rock for yourself and for everybody around you. And it's through the grace of God. It's by having Jesus in your life. It is. And I'll tell you, you, when I went through such a bad time, I was just like, I'm not going to lie. I was like, I don't know what I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know. I can't know what I'm going to do. I don't know. I can't see my way out of this. But I know that that you would not put me through such a storm if you didn't have

a purpose for me, if this wasn't for a reason. So I'm going to hang on. I'm going to be so relentless in my prayer and in you. And so I like we always say, like I ran to God like my life depended upon it. Depend upon it. Depend upon it? Depended on it. Come on. I ran to God like my life depended on it. Yeah.

And I kept seeing small little victories that he would do for me during my storm. And I was like, OK, I got to keep going. So through that pain and through the tears and through that paralyzing, just agonizing pain that you're in, when you are in that, that is the time to run to him the most. And he is there through the broken heart. I'll tell you, that's when he really you will feel will feel his presence when you are so brokenhearted. So yeah. That is so true. I love that so much that that's when you're, you said when you're closest to him is when you're so brokenhearted. I know through my own life, I remember one time I was going through a really hard situation and I was in so much pain and I had been so far from God for a long time

and I entered back into his presence because I needed him. I was desperate for him. When everything is good and peachy, like, I'm sorry to say, but you feel like you don't need God when everything is perfect. You know what I mean? I think the worst thing for your spiritual life is contentment, to like be content and like idle and like lazy in your spiritual life, because I don't have to pray. Nothing bad is happening. You know what I mean? So sometimes God will shake things up and disrupt it to be like, hey, hey, don't forget

who's like, you know, in charge of all this. You need me. And in the, I remember when I went through something so painful, I was crying to God and being like, anything that brings me back to you like this is worth going through. Yes. Like just to feel your presence, just to be reliant on God, like you would think that it would feel almost like weak, but his strength is made perfect in our weakness. So we should rejoice in our weakness because he's able to come and like, make up what we don't have. And I just know for me, like, it feels so good the times that I go through something hard that brings me back to him like that. I know. Sorry. I know. It's, it's so true. He really does. He has you in his righteous right hand amen true he sure does god all right um

should we do you want to read a question and and we just talk about it yeah oh i saw a question that was like what how do you wait how do you wait for god um in the wilderness season and i wanted to make a couple of points about that. First, I wanted people to know that in the Bible, there's a story about how the Israelites were supposed to take a two-week trip, and it took them 40 years because they were not relying on God. They were not waiting for His word and for His go and for His voice. And so we can prolong our wilderness season by a lot if we're not submitting to God. Another thing is we're big on waiting on God. Like I don't want anything before it's my time.

I don't care if it's the shiniest, most beautiful thing of all time. If it's not what God wants for me, I don't want it. If he doesn't want it for me, it's because I'm not ready. Why would I want it if I'm not if he doesn't want it for me it's because I'm not ready why would I want something that I'm gonna fumble as soon as I get it and that's not and that's some please listen to her when she says that that because that's a hard one like understand that if he takes something away it's because he has something better or he's gonna bring it back alive right and he would never withhold something from you that is meant to be yours or that would make you happy. Like he's such a good God. He's such a sweet God that like he wants us to be so

happy and have everything we've got. He wants that for us. But it's not possible because we must grow. We must change. We must evolve. And you can't just get everything you want. And so he would never withhold something or take something away that was meant to be yours, you know? And yeah. And you have to understand he really does. He sees things we can't see. He hears things we can't hear some, you know, so. Yeah. And another, another thing is like here in Matthew four, when Satan says to Jesus, if you're the son of God, throw yourself down. He was basically like urging because Jesus was going to die for humanity, right? Eventually on the cross. Satan wanted him so badly to speed up the process and do it right there.

So like if he did it right there, we wouldn't have the cross. So it's just an example of why we wait for God we wait for his for his word and for his going and what he wants for us because we don't want to do things prematurely it's not a good idea his plan is perfect his timing is perfect and I know we hear it all the time but just try to understand that he really doesn't mess up like if anyone knows what's up it Like, if anyone knows what's up, it's God. If anyone knows what to do and when it's the good time. Come on, somebody. Come on.

Come on, somebody. So we go to one potter's house and our pastor, Tore. We love him so much. He's like our, he's incredible. But he's always like, come on, somebody. And whenever we say anything at home, we're like, come on, somebody. That's funny. Anyways. No, we at home, we're like, come on, somebody. That's funny. Anyways.

No, we, listen, at the end of the day, the Bible is real. It's live and it doesn't, it does not lie. And we have to believe everything it says. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. For I know the plans I have for you,

not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. For walk by faith, not by sight. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. The Lord will fight for you. He, oh, I said that wrong. The Lord will fight for you. You shall hold your peace.

In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. I love that. I'm telling you guys, write everything she just said. In Jesus' name. I love that. I'm telling you guys, right? Everything she just said, maybe we'll put it on the screen. Like, you have to write that down. And if you say that over yourself constantly, that is your weapon. That is the armor.

That's all you need. You don't need sage. You don't need Palo Santo. What's Palo Santo? Smells good. It's like energy clearing. I don't know. You don't need any. You certainly don't need a, you don't need Palo Santo. What's Palo Santo? Smells good. It's like energy clearing. I don't know. You don't need any.

You certainly don't need evil eye bracelets. Let me tell you, I grew up in a family where the evil eye thing, like it's in our culture, it's very prevalent. I felt convicted by God. I was wearing a necklace with like 15 evil eyes on it. And one day I had the strongest conviction from God. I was wearing it and I was on my knees praying. And all I heard was, take the necklace and throw it away.

Where does the evil eye come from? I think it's like a European or like Eastern. It's like the evil eye for protection. I truly believe that it lets in goofy spirits. Like I don't think it's, it's, I know it's not good. Nothing can protect you except Jesus. It's all, it's a witchcraft. It's a lie to divert our protect you except Jesus. It's witchcraft. It's a lie to divert our attention from the true protector and the true provider, and that's only Jesus.

So we don't want any of that stuff. Bible. All right. You want to read a question? Oh, somebody asked, how do we have faith in our decision-making? Well, like we said, we have scripture, we have prayer, and we have wise people around us. And then we'll have a peace in our hearts. Remember we went through this recently?

We had a meeting and it came with such peace. We knew it was from God. So then with all that, with praying, with reading scripture, with speaking to people like the closest people around you, you then have that peace in your heart and then you leave it to God because at the end of the day, it's on him and he will orchestrate everything in your life. You don't have to obsess. You don't have to worry. You give it to God and he will take care of the rest. So true. People ask too a lot, like how, how do you surrender to God? We got that so many times. This is how I think you surrender to God. You say it with your mouth that, God, I surrender this to you, whatever it is, myself, my career, my relationships, my finances, my everything,

my health, my mental health. I surrender it to you. I give it to you and just keep saying it over and over again. You come into agreement with God. And then afterwards you work with him, not against him. If he's, you know what I mean? If, if he's telling you, if you ask him to help you with, um, your finances, but then you go and you're just like blowing a bunch of money, you're working against him at that point. So you say it with your mouth, you declare it, you, you say it out loud and then you work with him. You know, does that make sense? Yeah, no. Angela, you actually taught me that because I had such overbearing, obsessive

thoughts. I couldn't surrender. That was one of my biggest things. Every day I was like, alright, let's try again. Because I would get on my hands and knees and be like, I surrender to you. I give it to you. I give it to you, God. This is too much of a burden for me. I give it to you. I give it to you, God. This is too much of a burden for me.

I give it to you. And sometimes you'll mess up. Sometimes you'll start obsessing and overthinking and trying to control it on your own. But just every time you do that, no, no, no, no. That's not a thought from God. I rebuke that. I give it to you, God. Amen.

Yes. And he will take care of it. He will. So true. it to you, God. And he will take care of it. He will. Even if he doesn't right away, you stay patient and you trust him with all your heart. Keep pursuing him and keep getting close to him, draw near to him and he will draw near to you. I love that so much. Somebody said, how do you get through the feeling of abandonment, not feeling God's presence? So I'm really big on this not feeling God's presence thing because I went through a time where my pastor in Florida, I called him and I said, Socrates,

I'm doing everything right. I am not doing anything sinful. I'm not opening the door to anything. I'm praying. I'm in the Bible. I've never been doing more. Why don't I feel close to God? Why am I not having Holy Spirit goosebumps? Why am I not having encounters with the Holy Spirit? Socrates says to me, Angela, it doesn't matter how you feel. How you feel is a lie. The enemy can influence how you feel, but it's not actually, it doesn't actually matter because God is within you all the time. You are one. He is in you. We abide in him and he abides in us. So regardless of how I feel any given day, it can be so discouraging to not feel God. But you have to remember that just because you don't feel him doesn't mean he's not within you because he is. So don't rely. That

feeling is a lie. You rebuke it in the name of Jesus and let it go and be like, I don't care if I'm not having crazy encounters with him right now. I know that he's within me. It says it in his word and I, it's his promise. And I stand on that promise. Oh, that's beautiful. You know? Yeah. I've had many of those times actually where I felt so far from God.

Um, and I will say that sometimes too, when you feel far from God, how do I put this? You know how when we feel like we're not doing right, it furthers us away from God? Because I have felt like sometimes when I am far from God, it's because I'm not exactly doing something right. Well, I have not been doing something right. Yeah. You know what I think that is? I think that's shame. That's putting a block between you and God.

Like, I think that the devil wants us to feel shame because it puts a block between us. We can't enter into his presence feeling shameful. It shies us away from him. Like, he tells us, come boldly to the throne of grace and so what i think you're describing and i've trust me i've been there where you're you're messed i was even talking about how i'm doing everything right and i don't feel him you're saying when you don't feel him because you feel like you're doing wrong it's the shame it's the shame it's keep it it put a wedge between you guys and the devil he he knows that that's what that's you're not going to feel worthy to go we're not worthy but like he tells us to come into his presence regardless of being worthy or

not so you have to remember even then to release the shame and be like i might not be doing everything right but he still wants me anyways yeah you know yeah i have been praying for an answer and god has not answered yet i've've had this happen to me so much. I would say that is the key to faith. Trusting when you don't have the answers, trusting when you don't understand, trusting when you were hoping for the exact opposite thing to happen and it didn't. Yeah, that is the key to faith. to happen and it didn't yeah that is the key to faith um yeah I mean wait on God he knows what he's doing trust in his time and like I said for I know the plans I have for you there are plans not to harm you like you have to just trust in him and when you don't have the answers you just

say it's okay God I trust in you I trust in you I trust in you. I trust in you. I trust in you. So good. So good. I've been struggling lately with the temptation of wanting to be an unhealthy relationship. Here's the thing about temptation. First of all, temptation itself isn't sin. You know, it's funny about reading this about Jesus. We were just at church the other day and the word was about how temptation in and of itself isn't sin it's the acting on the temptation

that is um and so if Jesus was tempted so will we be yeah um we can't get away from it and it's actually that's that's kind of like where we build our character and our like relationship with God is when we're able to resist the temptation. So you struggling with the temptation of wanting to be in an unhealthy relationship is really normal. A lot of people experience it. That comes based on your childhood and your trauma and things that have happened to you. But just know, I mean, I don't know where it is in Corinthians, but it's kind of like a passage of how God describes what love should be.

And it's love is kind, love is patient, love does not envy, it does not boast, it is long-suffering. Like, that should be a guide of what your relationship should look like. And being unhealthy is not what God ever intended for you. And I know that might be hard because sometimes toxic, like that's, I mean, it's like an epidemic of people wanting to be in a toxic relationship, but it's not good. And at some point, like you have to have the maturity, the spiritual maturity to be like,

that's not what God wants for me. So I'm going to actively stay away from that. But what I will tell you is congratulations that the fact that you took the first step to say, I'm in an unhealthy relationship. I don't know how to get out of it. you took the first step to say i'm in an unhealthy relationship i don't know how to get out of it that is the first step you know sometimes we just don't know better with how we grew up and being addicted to narcissism and things like that um and so you should really give yourself some grace and give a pat give yourself a pat on the back because

that is the first step to getting through that and getting over that. It's really so true. Yeah. How to encourage someone who is dying and scared because they don't think they're good enough to go to heaven. So the thing about going to heaven is that we, your friend doesn't, we should all worry about being a good person, and being a good person is obviously so important, but we need to remember that Jesus died on the cross and rose again three days later for our sins. None of us can be perfect. That's why he had to die. And Jesus, we are saved by grace through faith, by the grace of God through the faith in Jesus Christ. So we are not saved by our works. We're not saved because of the things we do.

We are saved because Jesus, God sent his one and only son. So your friend needs to understand that as long as they receive Jesus in their heart and they give their life to him, they surrender their life to him, they are good. You know what I mean? And they have nothing to worry about. And I think that while we're here, we've been wanting to do this for a while, but we really want to give people, anyone who's watching who haven't yet come to Christ, an opportunity to do that and say a little prayer with us. There's never a bad time today. Right now is a great time to receive Jesus.

All you have to do is say a prayer and believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth. And I just want whoever is listening to know that Jesus loves you so much. God loves you so much. There is a God who has been waiting for you your whole life, however long it's taken, who's been knocking, who's been there. Every time you've ever felt alone, you were never alone. He was always waiting for you. And it's not your fault that you were distracted. It's not your fault that you were sinning. It's not your fault.

Like, he knew that it was going to happen and he loves you still. And so, if anything, there's nothing to lose and there's so much to gain. So I really think that whoever wants to say this with us, I'll put it on the screen and we'll say it. And, you know, just say it with us. Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior.

In your name, Jesus. Amen. I really hope whoever said that prayer with us right now understands that you just did the best thing you could ever do in your life. Advice for how to keep trusting God when you keep getting let down over and over again. Well, first, let me just tell you that there is purpose in your letdown. I know we talk a lot about it. And I think oftentimes God will leave you to no options so that when a miracle does happen, you'll know it. Yeah. I think, too, what can help in that situation is because I mean, I've talked to a lot about things in my life and there's a lot that I haven't talked about and there's things within my family that are difficult and there's things, you know, like I can talk about the victories in my storms and in the things that have happened in my life. But the truth of the matter is there's

things in my life that have been ongoing for a long time anyone else might think that you know these prayers are falling on deaf ears because i uh are they coming back void because why is it still the same yeah why does it get worse sometimes yeah yeah um like he's answering some of my prayers but he's not answering this one i don't know the answer to that and i wish that I could tell you. I wish I could tell you why some prayers get answered and why some don't. All I know is that I think it's Hebrews 4.15. It's that we do not have a high priest that cannot sympathize with us,

meaning that our Lord Jesus, he can sympathize. He hurts when we hurt. He cries when he cries. He laughs when we laugh. When we laugh, like through the pain and through the trial, like he sympathizes with us and he doesn't want us to see us going through these things. But some things are necessary. Some things are unexplainable. And that again is where faith comes in. And and the truth is like what is faith if it's not tested how do you know you have faith when it's not tested it's true and sometimes god will send you these long things to produce long suffering in you um because otherwise like you can't you it's so hard because i know people go through such hard things that's the thing i never want

anyone to be like oh really it's's just that easy when you're suffering. You know, like some people have family members that are sick or that are not well. And it's just, I don't know. I know. I wish I had the answers. It really is tough. People are watching people have cancer. I went through it.

I watched people die. I went through so much loss. And you can't. It's really hard when you're in the middle of it. You can't even. It's really hard to just say, okay, I trust God, but, yeah, you just. You have to. You have to.

It really is because without trusting God, you're down a really dark path. Yeah, it's funny. I wrote down something that I was feeling. I was like, once you realize that you can push through and go through hell and get to the other side, hell can't taunt you anymore. So true. Like, now when things happen to me, I'm like, my... And that's the great thing about trials, too, and storms and wilderness,

is your skin becomes so thick each time that you're just you're a warrior. Like that's how we have to be in this world. We have to put on our armor. We have to be warriors in this world because life gets tough. It gets tough. So true. And that's what I mean, too, about life experience. You start to realize the tricks of the enemy and why he does what he does and how he does it.

And then, yeah, and it honestly almost becomes like a fun game where you're like, I don't think so. Not today. I see exactly what you're doing and it's not going to happen. I'm not going to let it get me down. And I think, too, it's so important to ask God in in the wilderness season and whatever season you're in to be like, what do you want me to learn here? That's the most important thing you can do do you know how proud god is like when we ask questions like that show me reveal to me what you need from me what you want me to learn why because you're bringing me through it for a reason god does not do anything by accident or by coincidence or for no reason no he's too cool and intricate hi ggb gang this is and and ari and we have a question for you guys do you

want to make a podcast spotify's got a platform that lets you make one so easily and then you can distribute it everywhere and even earn money all in one place for free it's called spotify for podcasters and here's how it works spotify for podcasters lets you record and edit podcasts right from your phone or computer so no matter what your setup's like, whether you're at home or in the studio you can start creating today Then you can distribute your podcast to Spotify and everywhere else podcasts are heard With Spotify for Podcasters you can earn money in a variety of ways including ads and podcast subscriptions

and best of all it's totally free with no catch ever since we discovered spotify for podcasters you guys it has changed the game i mean we're able to do video podcasts without just having to do audio podcasts and we're able to do q and a's and polls at the end and it has just brought us so close to you guys and really created a community feel so we really recommend that you give it a try download the spotify for podcasters app or go to www.spotify.com slash podcasters to get started we love you god bless you well and you just remember when you're like we said when you're in these weak moments it's an opening it's an opening to be vulnerable you're not yourself and when the enemy can get into your head, he can separate you.

And when he separates you, he separates you from God. So we have to be so aware of that. I say all the time, God, the enemy doesn't care about, like, when he attacks us and if he attacks our job or he attacks our relationship or our mental health, he doesn't actually care about that stuff. He doesn't care about us enough to care about that stuff. The one thing he doesn't care to take your job away. He cares to make you doubt God and take away your faith in Jesus. That's all. That's his aim. That's his goal. This all the other stuff is just a byproduct of it.

And all it takes is one thought. Yeah. Starts with a thought. It's a seed. And yeah. And yeah, that's why it's so important to stop that stuff before it happens and stop those thoughts and take control of it someone said when everyone is outcasting you because of your mistakes what do you do when someone's outcasting you from your mistakes yeah from like past mistakes i would say you say the heck with you and you get them out of your life because anyone that can cast you away and leave you when you're down bad should never be even in your corner as a friend or anything. And that's the one thing I always say to you. It's just such a low-character thing, really.

It is. And if it's because of mistakes and past mistakes, let's get one thing straight. God did not send his son to condemn the world, but to save it. So if Jesus himself didn't come to condemn the world, how dare we think that we can condemn one another? Yeah, that's wild. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. It's harder to pray while I'm in a depression and anxiety tips. Yes, I completely understand this. The minute I made prayer and scripture like a part of my lifestyle,

that's really when my life changed. See, and Toray said this, and I loved it. He said, I have my daily routine. If I get out of my routine, I don't feel spiritually the same. And it's so true. I made it my lifestyle. Even if I'm a little tired, I wake up in the morning. I sit down.

I read a chapter in my Bible. I pray. It's something that I must do in my morning routines now. Why? Because it's going to keep the depression away. It's going to keep the obsessive thoughts away. If you knew how much peace I have in my heart that I never thought it was even imaginable for me to have without medication. I don't need any of that. You know why? Because I have God. Yes. I have God. And because I make it my lifestyle and I'm so relentless with it,

And because I make it my lifestyle and I'm so relentless with it, it keeps this peace in my soul and my heart. And I truly believe that is the cure to anxiety. And people may fight me on this, but this is coming from someone who grew up in a family with a lot of mental health issues. Somebody said how to have faith and believe when you're being being spiritually attacked so it's kind of the same thing but i was thinking that so you need to understand that the wilderness is a blessing and wilderness in and of itself has a negative connotation but i wrote down that the hebrew word for wilderness does not actually have a negative connotation it means the place where you would meet God. That's where you find him. He's literally waiting in the wilderness to be like, what's up?

I've been waiting for you. And this is where we're actually going to do a lot of stuff together. Yeah. So and so many people give up during the wilderness season because they have no idea that that's the goal. That's where, you know, the good stuff is going to happen. So I would just encourage you to take heart and, and just, just really just rest in the fact that like, this is meant to happen and it's okay. And it's okay to feel pain and it's okay to go through hard stuff and have anxiety. Angela's so right. You made such a good point because I will tell you I had so many nights where

I just almost threw the towel in I was like I can't do it I I truly cannot take another minute of this pain but because I was a fighter and I fought through it and I was so relentless that is when he will say you passed the test my daughter or my son and then that is when the miracles you watch the miracles just happen in your life i i wanted to read this thing by um christine kane christine kane said sometimes when you find yourself in a dark place you think you've been buried but you've actually been planted um through the wilderness like we said earlier don't let the enemy take your joy you know today's the day that the lord has made and we will be glad and rejoice in it be encouraged we just want to encourage you guys to take heart and be be be bold and and rely on

god yeah when you have a relationship with God and a good established one, it becomes so much easier to stand up and be strong and fight these battles that come all of our ways. We all have battles. Life is not an easy road, but with these tools that we're giving you and with God, it becomes a whole lot easier. I think it helps, too, when you remember who, because I think that we forget the sovereignty and the power of God. But, like, if you remember that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings. You know the story about how the disciples were in the boat and Jesus was asleep on the end. He is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings. You know the story about how the

disciples were in the bow and Jesus was asleep on the pillow and there was a really bad storm happening and the waves were really high and they were all really scared and Jesus rested and then he fell asleep and the disciples go to him and say, how are you asleep? Like in the middle of a storm. And he says, oh, you have little faith. Like, how can you, you know what I mean? Being like, how, right? Oh, you of little faith. And then it says in the Bible, it says, and then the wind ceased and the storm calmed. And then the disciples said to themselves,

who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? So understand that when the wind and the sea obey Jesus, whatever you're going through, whatever storm, whatever wilderness season must obey him as well. Never forget that's who he is. He is the almighty, all powerful Lord of Lords. Like don't forget, it's really insane. It's really powerful. And it's, it helps a lot to understand that we are so small and minuscule compared to our big, big God. But again, his strength is made perfect in our weakness, and we're so lucky. It really is so comforting to know that our only job is to just trust him

and let him take care of the rest. Right, and answer his call when he calls. Yes. That's literally, I feel like so many times he's like, you guys are doing a little too much. You guys are doing a lot. You're trying to control a lot. Why don't you just relax and let me handle it?

Yeah, that was the biggest thing with us. We're super control freaks. Yeah. We want to control everything and make sure everything's good. We're not in control. And I don't want to be. No. I'm like, I am chilling out here not controlling anything.

Literally. I truly, these days, cruise through life. Cruise. I'm not even kidding. I cruise through life just being like, well, wherever it takes me. Not saying that I don't work hard or live with intention. Of course I do. But I just, no matter which way God takes me, I'm like, okay, we're going here now.

Oh, you don't want this in my life? Well, all right. This isn't the way for me? Well, all right. This isn't the way for me? Well, all right. When you have the tools, it becomes so much easier to handle the wilderness. Yes, and you have purpose through the wilderness, too. Like, that's where you find your purpose. Yeah, there's purpose in the storm.

Yeah. Get excited. Get excited. I'm serious. Get excited through the wilderness because literally such incredible things are going to happen afterwards. I promise you. Like miracles are going to happen. That is the whole point of the storm.

Yeah. And the wilderness is because get buckle up because some really great stuff is about to happen in your life. Receive it. Receive it in Jesus' name. Receive it. Say, I will have miracles after this storm. I will. There is a reason for it.

I am growing through this wilderness there's purpose in it and God is in the wilderness with me I am a soldier and I will fight through this and I will get through whatever storm comes my way it's a couple of Jesus freaks we love him so much because he's worthy

to be loved I love you I love you so much and we love we love you guys so much We love you guys so much. We love you. Keep reading the Bible. Rejoice in the wilderness. God is with you even when you feel like he's not. I promise you he's with you.

He's with 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. In Jesus' name. Love you guys so much. God bless you.