So the Lord's been working on my heart about realizing the
circumstances in life that cause us pain.
It's always an act of Him to get deeper inside of our hearts, to
show us what's inside of our hearts.
The Bible says the issues of life, they flow from the heart.
And oftentimes when we experience trouble and trials
and tribulations and struggles and all these things, we
automatically go to fixing the circumstances that are causing
our pain. What is it outside of me that's
the problem that I need to stop, that that needs to be abated.
Cease and desist these issues, these people, these problems,
this, this, all these things outside here that we're going to
be able to fix how we feel if we fix these things out here.
And while that might work for a season, it doesn't solve the
root of the issue. Every time we run up against
problems, struggles, stripes, the Lord is showing us something
that's inside of our hearts that he's trying to touch, that he's
trying to deliver us from a wrong identity.
He's trying to make right a shadowy place in our hearts.
He's trying to light up something we're holding on to,
that we need to let go of, something we're letting go of,
that we need to hold on to. But it's, it's rarely ever about
the circumstances outside of ourselves.
It's always about our hearts. Our God is a very, very intimate
God. And intimacy doesn't always feel
good. It's not always roses and
butterflies and all those woo woo good, good feelings.
And it's not sometimes there's tears and brokenness and
lamentations and crying yourself to sleep and waking up in tears.
Sometimes that's what intimacy is.
Sometimes intimacy is showing your darkest, darkest things you
believe, and that's the kind of intimacy that the Lord wants to
partake with you in. Because in those dark places,
when His love comes in, when His goodness comes in, it doesn't
matter anymore what the circumstances outside of you
are. Something inside of your heart
has been touched by His love, and that has a greater impact
than than altering the external circumstances of life.
Whenever something comes up, whenever something, as they say,
triggers you, instead of trying to get that thing outside of you
to stop, pick up that thing that is being triggered.
Hold it up to the Lord and say, look at this, Jesus.
Look at this thing that's coming up in me.
Look at this rage that's coming up in me, this bitterness that's
coming up at me. Focus on this with me, Lord.
I want to. I choose to take my eyes off of
what's happening around outside of me.
I refuse to give Satan any of my energy, any of my pain, any of
my sorrow, any of my frustration.
I'm not giving him credit for nothing.
I'm like, look at this bundle of bitterness, Jesus.
Look at it with me. Tell me what it is.
Speak to it man. When we do that and we start
seeing that the things that trigger us in our lives are
really about us and not about the circumstance or the trigger
itself, it revolutionizes your person because you can't live
from the outside in. You have to live from the inside
out. And it really is self deception
to think we live from the outside in.
We cannot. We cannot live that way.
And so next time some strong emotion comes up, instead of
pointing outside of yourself, instead of trying to solve the
problem by changing the circumstances, look at it with
the Lord. Be honest with Him about it.
Tell Him exactly how you feel. He's not easily offended.
Ask His love to come in and touch those places.
Surrender it to Him. You know it doesn't always
change the circumstance, but it does change your heart and
little by little, that change of the heart changes your
circumstances of life. The issues of life flow from
your heart and when your heart changes, the issues in your life
change. See, I have found in life over
the years that He sows his best seeds in the darkest soil, those
ancient paths that build humility into the soul where you
really get broken. You get so deeply broken when
you let the Lord into those places and follow Him in the
day-to-day, moment to moment of your life.
Being real honest with Him, really, really honest and giving
him every thought and every feeling.
Not blaming the enemy, not blaming your spouse, not blaming
your Mama, not blaming your kids or your finances or the economy
or the woo woo weirdo stuff that's out there.
When you start getting in there with the Lord and taking
everything that is happening inside of you and giving it to
the Lord, all that pain, that is an ancient path of deep
humility. Deep humility that cannot.
It is incorruptible. It's that place that Jesus's
heart is. It's incorruptible because
that's what He did. That's who He is.
That's who He was when He was here.
It's what He demonstrated. It's literally taking the heart
of the Lord and living from that place.
He sows His richest seeds in the darkest places.
It doesn't feel like it when you're going through it.
It does not feel fruitful when you're going through it, but
trust and believe that if you hold on to the Lord in those
dark and dreary and depressing and destitute and desolate
places, if you look to Him day by day, little by little you are
growing into a mighty oak of righteousness.
And the day will come where you will look at where you are.
And you'll be like, I don't know how I got over.
I don't know how it happened. Because he sews in darkness.
Darkness was under his feet. Thunderings and lightnings and
hailstones and coals of fire. Which one of those things is
pleasant? Which one of those things feels
good? None of those, none of those
things feel good. OK, but in that spot, probably
where some of you are right now, they hold the highest potential
for growth. It holds the highest potential
for your betterment. It holds the most potential for
your deep and unwavering loyalty to the King of Kings.
It is our soul that does that work.
It is our heart that does that work.
That's the that is the the place of his, of his interest, of his
being. Where he sews the most is in
that broken. He doesn't despise that.
He does not despise it. Don't think, oh, I got to get
this right so that I can be close to Jesus.
I can be a good Christian. No, no, no, no, no.
If you're in a dark place, that's OK.
Make it a productive dark place by leaning into the Lord and
giving him your everything moment by moment.
Give it all to him. Don't blame Satan.
Don't do don't do that stuff. He doesn't get any credit.
He's a he is. He is a open show.
We shake our head at him and say wow, this was the one that
deceived the world. No, no, no, no, no.
All those adversarial circumstances, they are here for
your betterment. They are here to drive you into
the cross. They are here to take out the
the weak places of your foundation.
They are here to deliver you, to deliver your heart from having
mixed loyalties. It is deliverance.
It doesn't feel good, but that's OK.
That's OK. You can be honest about those
things with him. The path of humility is an
ancient path and it comes with lamentation.
It comes with trembling and fear and not seeing the whole
picture. But that's OK.
The Lord never gives up. He's not a quitter.
It's us who quits. And if you just hold on, you are
going to see miracles. So don't give up.
Keep going, keep trusting Him, keep listening to His voice,
keep holding on to the hem of His garment, because you will
overcome, because He has already overcome.
Music. Music.