Live Free with Josh Howerton - Becoming Jesus-Shaped | Ep. 223 | Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

How do you define good? God’s definition of good is anything that shapes us to look more like Jesus. His love will never leave us and He will walk with us through the pain of “not good” things. When we remember that, we can respond with gratitude and joy in any circumstance. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's daily drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. This Christmas, we want to invite you and your family to join us for our candlelight services on December 22nd through 24th at any of our six locations. or for church online. For more information, visit latepoint.com. Church slash Daily Drive.

And now, let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up, everybody? Thanks for hanging with us today. Before I get started, I have to give a shout out to my daughter Jody and my granddaughter's Hayden and Bryce who were all celebrating their birthdays today. That's right, all three,

born on the exact same day. I think God knew I was an airhead and I needed only one day. to remember, but they are incredible women who are making a difference in this world. I'm so grateful for them and so proud of them. Happy birthday. Hey, we've been spending some time this week talking about how God can take all the tough stuff that happens to us, all the ugly stuff, tragic stuff, painful stuff, and bring about ultimate good. And we've been hanging in the promise of Romans 828 and 29 that says, and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God

and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, he chose them to become like His son. So God's definition of good is whatever shapes us into the image of Jesus, and he will use whatever this sometimes unfair life throws at you and me to accomplish that. We talked earlier this week about how God enrolls us in character development school, and he will use pain and suffering to shape all kinds of good things on the inside of me and you. We talked yesterday about how suffering draws us into a deeper dependence upon God,

how it can expose some counterfeit gods in our lives, gods that we run to that really can't do anything that's truly good for us. It can also serve as a wake-up call to come back to or to come to a daily relationship with Jesus Christ. All of that is God's definition of good. I'm also learning something else that is good. suffering has this way of producing deeper levels of gratitude and joy. We're seeing that in our good friend Sherry. She has stage four cancer, been battling for a decade, been on a bunch of different experimental

drugs and treatments, and all the side effects that come with them. But, man, she's happier than she's ever been in her life, and she's not afraid to die. She has real friends today that are like family. She has this deep, deep, deep peace. I mean, she's amazing and inspiring, and her suffering has enabled her to shift her focus. And she just chooses every day. I'm going to move away from a sense of entitlement. I'm going to move away from any kind of cynicism to a heart that's filled with deep gratitude and hope.

She just regularly practices gratitude and chooses joy. Y'all have probably seen the diary of a dog and a cat. It's a classic. The dog's diary goes like this, 8 a.m. Dog food, my favorite thing. 9.30, a car ride, my favorite thing. 9.40, a walk in the park, my favorite thing. 10.30, got rubbed and petted, my favorite thing.

12 o'clock, milk ball, it's my favorite thing. 1 o'clock, plate in the yard, my favorite thing. 3 o'clock, wag my tail, my favorite thing. 5 o'clock, dinner, my favorite thing. 7 o'clock, got to play ball, my favorite thing. 8 o'clock, wow, watch TV with the people. My favorite thing. 11 o'clock sleeping on the bed, my favorite thing.

The Cat's Diary Day 983 of my captivity My captors continue to taunt me With bizarre little dangling objects Today I was almost successful In an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet As he was walking

I must try this again tomorrow But at the top of the stairs You really can choose, man You can shift your focus Martha Snell Nicholson was an amazing poet who went through four incurable diseases, 35 years of unspeakable pain in her life. An amazing poem writer, and she wrote an old poem,

kind of a spoken word piece that I ran across not long ago, and it goes like this, pain knocked upon my door and said that she had come to stay, and though I would not welcome her but told her go away, she entered in like my own shade she followed after me, and from her stabbing, stinging sword, no moment was I free. And then one day another knocked, most gently at my door, I cried, no pain is living here, and there's not room for more. And then I heard his tender voice, it's me. Be not afraid. And from the day he entered in the difference it has made, for though he did not make her leave,

my strange and welcome guest, he taught me how to live with her. Oh, I had never guessed that we could dwell so sweetly hear, my lord and pain and I, within this fragile house of clay while years slip slowly, by. Man, it's so good. I'm learning that gratitude never comes from avoiding tough things, but from finding God's unfailing love in the middle of tough things. When you go through a season and you actually practice gratitude, when you lean into God through all of it, you find him to be utterly good and strong and loving. You experience this unexplainable peace, and your doubts about his faithfulness disappear. And that's working all things together. for good. So I pray today you'll choose gratitude and joy and let him start producing some good stuff

deep within you. He wants to and he promises that he will. See you back tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe. Church slash Daily Drive.