1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,680 Welcome to the Prospering Soul Podcast. This limited series is all about how to take care 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,280 of your soul and how to make sure you understand the ways to be healthy and balanced in life. 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:19,120 In this series, John Meadert, lead pastor of Cross City Church, sits down to explain 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:24,720 one of the most important secrets of his own spiritual growth and a detailed explanation 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,240 of how people change. 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,640 This is John Meadert in the Prospering Soul Podcast and we're so glad you've joined us 7 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:39,480 and hopefully you've been with us through these several sessions of the Prospering Soul. 8 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,320 We've gone through all kinds of background. Today we're going to do something a little 9 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,480 different on our podcast. This is actually session eight and I'm calling this a picture 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:52,440 with a thousand words. A picture is worth a thousand words and of course the idea of 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:58,980 that statement is you can look at a picture and it gives you a really great description 12 00:00:58,980 --> 00:01:04,520 that it might take a thousand words to describe. But I'm going to reverse that today because 13 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:09,240 you're probably listening to this podcast while doing something else. You might be driving, 14 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,280 you might be running, you might be a number of things that you're doing and you may not 15 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:18,080 be able to see the picture even though we're going to attach the two pictures I described 16 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:24,540 today to our podcast and you'll be able to look at that. So if you're wanting to look 17 00:01:24,540 --> 00:01:29,680 at those pictures while I talk about them then please find a place to sit down, maybe 18 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:35,240 behind a desk, maybe it's a chair in your home or office or wherever you might be and 19 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,320 just know that we're going to talk through a couple of diagrams that I believe are going 20 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:44,080 to be very, very helpful. Now the reason I love these diagrams is because we created 21 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:51,240 these with the intent of helping people visualize exactly how this thought process works with 22 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:57,120 us and how our thoughts can take us to a good place or a bad place. So the first diagram 23 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:03,880 that I'll describe for you is what I call truth over lies. And if you would imagine 24 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:09,280 with me for just a moment a timeline from the left part of your paper to the right part 25 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,680 of your page and we're going to build a timeline and that timeline will follow the direction 26 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:22,160 of a thought. There are two verses that are at the base of this document or this drawing 27 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:28,800 and this picture will highlight the two verses. In Romans chapter 12 verse 2 is one of them 28 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,320 and here's what it says. It says, and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed 29 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:39,040 by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which 30 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,600 is good and acceptable and perfect. Now if you've been with us you know that this is 31 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:49,240 really a great deal about the way we think because the way we think affects the way we 32 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:55,840 feel and the way we act. And in this verse Paul, the apostle says to the church at Rome, 33 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,560 he says don't be conformed to the way the world thinks. Don't be conformed to the way 34 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,800 they act. They're all natural individuals, natural men, natural women. They're not really 35 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:11,000 spiritual men and women. They don't have the insights that you have from God. They don't 36 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,880 have the truth that you have from God. But rather be transformed by the renewing of your 37 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,800 mind. In other words, let your mind dwell on the truth. And when it dwells on the truth 38 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,160 and by that we can also say dwells on the facts. When it dwells on the truth you will 39 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,240 prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. That simply means that as you think 40 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,480 so are you. And the Bible actually says it in that way too. The second verse that's at 41 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:42,720 the base of this picture is 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 5. And I want to just call 42 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:49,000 attention to one key line of this. It's in the arena of spiritual warfare and it deals 43 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:55,620 with what we think about and whether it's true or whether it's a lie. And it says we're 44 00:03:55,620 --> 00:04:01,980 destroying speculations, that is the what if questions about life, and we're destroying 45 00:04:01,980 --> 00:04:07,500 every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. That simply means that we're pulling 46 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:12,220 down all these thoughts that say God doesn't care about us, God's not going to help us, 47 00:04:12,220 --> 00:04:15,840 God is not going to direct us. We're tearing all that down. But this last line is where 48 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:21,680 I want to arrive at. It says and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of 49 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:26,360 Christ. Now that's the line we want to land at. And the reason we want to land there is 50 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:32,920 because a very key, a big part, a key part of living well and living in health, a key 51 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:40,880 part of balance is thinking well. And by that I mean we learn to think on the basis of truth 52 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:48,200 instead of a lie. Even a half lie or a fraction of a lie that's very small can get us off 53 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:53,840 course if we don't think based on the truth. So really as we think about the timeline of 54 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:58,480 how we move through our soul, our mind, will and emotions, I want you to remember those 55 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:04,200 two verses. And then I want you to remember an acrostic. And it's really simple. It is 56 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:11,760 the word wait, W-A-I-T. It's a word that spells what I do when I don't react immediately. 57 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:18,760 I wait to react after thinking something through. And the acrostic W-A-I-T stands for what am 58 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,920 I thinking? Now that's a great question to ask yourself. Whenever you have something 59 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,680 happen to you, you learn some information about something, someone says something to 60 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:33,200 you, you see something, you feel, hear something, and your tendency is to respond immediately 61 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:38,760 in anger or frustration or anxiety or fear or any number of those things. And you don't 62 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:44,720 wait long enough to think through whether this is a fact, whether this is truth that 63 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:50,360 you're hearing. You may hear a partial truth and react wrongly on that partial truth. Or 64 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:56,360 you may hear it the wrong way or you may hear an actual lie and that lie carries you off 65 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:03,360 into your emotions and your will, your behavior, and you end up responding that way habitually. 66 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:08,920 And some people really fall into that trap, into that stronghold. So those two verses 67 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,800 guide us in our thinking. Now when you think about those two verses and you think about 68 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:19,400 the acrostic weight, W-A-I-T, then you'll have kind of the mental image of what I want 69 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:25,600 you to see on this map or this drawing, this picture. So let's go back to the center of 70 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:32,320 the picture or the timeline from left to right. On the very far left of this illustration 71 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:41,800 is a statement that says, any situation and any belief. Okay? So you can go upward with 72 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:48,640 that. When you know the truth, the truth will help you move from left to right with correct 73 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:56,800 thinking, correct feeling, correct acting, and correct results. So the truth and deciding 74 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:02,640 what the truth is, is a key component to moving forward. That's why it's so important for 75 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:08,760 us to think through what information we're getting. Think through what someone has said. 76 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:14,840 Think through what a certain circumstance may be indicating to us. Before we start thinking 77 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:20,200 deeply, start being emotionally moved, before we act and get the results of that, we want 78 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,880 to make sure that we wait and say, what am I thinking? So on the positive side, if you 79 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:32,320 take that timeline on the upper part of that, if you think about truth, then you will feel 80 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,120 the appropriate response to that truth and you will act in an appropriate way, which 81 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:42,520 will result in you being of character in that appropriate way. I'll give some examples in 82 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:48,840 a minute. Go back to the left side of that timeline and let's take the downside of that. 83 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:54,480 Let's just say that your first thought that you hear and the first information you get 84 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:59,520 cannot be verified as truth. You've heard a lie, you've been accused of something, you're 85 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:04,120 not really sure if that's innocent or guilty accusation. Maybe someone has instantly said 86 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:10,480 something about you and so you think they have it in for you. So with that faulty thinking, 87 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,440 you're going to move across that timeline from left to right. You're going to think 88 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,560 something that's an error. You're going to feel something that's an error. Then you're 89 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,480 going to act an error. You do that enough, that's who you are. So let's put this in 90 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:29,480 the context of relationships and keep moving across that timeline from left to right. Let's 91 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,760 just say, and I'm a married man, I've been married for more than 40 years and my wife 92 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:39,600 and I have had the whole range of conversations that a couple can have. I can remember times 93 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:47,680 when she said something that I did not fully hear. I thought by her manner and by her tone 94 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:55,600 of voice, it was somewhat disrespectful or somewhat scorning something I was doing. If 95 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:01,880 I reacted immediately, then I would begin to think that she's angry at me or upset at 96 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:06,880 me or disappointed at me. I would begin to feel that she's disappointed at me or angry 97 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:12,800 and I would begin to act in accordance to that, maybe become defensive, maybe even retaliate. 98 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:18,320 And if I do that enough, then I fall into the pattern of that's the way I respond when 99 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,340 I'm not really sure what she said. That's the downside of this. So let's just go back 100 00:09:23,340 --> 00:09:27,440 to that moment where she said what she said and I didn't fully understand it. And if 101 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:32,600 I practice the weight principle, what am I thinking? I would pause long enough to say, 102 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:37,520 wait a minute, I think I heard what she said, but I can ask a simple question and say, what 103 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:42,760 did you mean by that? Now, if what she meant by that wasn't negative, it wasn't disrespectful, 104 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:49,200 it wasn't scornful, then I have a whole different set of responses that I can take. Since I 105 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,320 know now that she was not scorning me, that she was not disrespectful in any way, that 106 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:58,480 it was not one of those bad situations, I thought it was, but upon asking further, I 107 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:03,280 realized it wasn't. Now I'm going to think the right kind of thought. Oh, this is what 108 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:07,920 she's communicating. And then I'll feel the right way. Oh, okay, I have a neutral feeling 109 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:13,060 about this. This is not positive or negative at all. This is just let's take the next step. 110 00:10:13,060 --> 00:10:17,240 And then I would act in such a way that's appropriate. And that begins to spell out 111 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:23,240 my character. Now, my character is very different when I respond quickly. And when I respond, 112 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:29,520 when I respond inaccurately or incompletely to what is said to me, when I respond after 113 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,040 waiting that I'm going to be more accurate on the way I'm thinking, more accurate on 114 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:38,600 the way I'm responding and feeling and more accurate in who I am. And that builds a great 115 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:44,880 relationship with someone when we respond with that kind of composure. So the truth 116 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:51,240 over lies is a really, really important diagram that helps us think through our thinking processes. 117 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:56,600 Okay, let me take it back to an actual example. In my life a number of years ago, I've talked 118 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,840 openly about having an anger problem when I was growing up. Part of that is tied to 119 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,600 my own hearing loss. I lost my hearing when I was a young boy, if you haven't heard that 120 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:13,560 story. And in many ways, I felt that that God had not treated me fairly. So I was mad 121 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:21,080 at God. I also had experienced some disrespect and some rejection by people in my peer group 122 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:26,880 and so I was pretty sensitive to that. And so when people looked at me in a certain way, 123 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:33,960 where they made fun of my inability to hear, then I would respond with anger. I remember 124 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:39,760 going to college and I remember seeing a new group of people that I was interacting with 125 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:46,360 and meeting and I saw what I thought was that same old, genuine, high behavior that I experienced 126 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:52,480 when I was a younger guy that infuriated me so much. And I thought I saw that in this 127 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:58,880 group of guys and girls that I was meeting for the first time. And I had to take a step 128 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,840 back. I thought, oh no, it's happening to me again. I'm going to be rejected again. 129 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,960 I have these hearing aids in my ear. They know I can't hear as well as they can. This 130 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:14,200 is high school or junior high all over again. But instead of responding immediately, which 131 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,880 would have been a drastic mistake, I paused long enough to say, wait a minute, let me 132 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:23,760 wait and give them a chance. Let me see if they really are that way. And I entered further 133 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,760 into the conversation and within five minutes I realized they weren't scorning me. They 134 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:32,640 didn't know me. And yet that look that I picked up on was something that took me back 135 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:38,760 to my childhood and a whole series, a whole pattern of behavior that responded to being 136 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:43,160 rejected. I could almost feel the emotions. In fact, I did feel the emotions before I 137 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:49,400 ever really acknowledged that this was a lie. I felt the emotions of rejection. I felt down. 138 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,640 I felt, oh no, I need to just back away and withdraw here. And that would have been the 139 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:59,920 wrong kind of behavior based on the wrong kind of data. I would have let my thoughts 140 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:04,920 go in the wrong direction. Now, on the other hand, because I paused and I stepped into 141 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,080 that conversation, I realized they were very open to a new friendship. I realized they 142 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:15,200 were not ready to mock or to make fun of me. I realized they were curious and they wanted 143 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:20,840 to know, tell us your story. Well, I found a set of friends that continued to be my friends 144 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:27,000 for life as a result of waiting long enough instead of walking away. Okay, so if you follow 145 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:33,440 that timeline, if you will, of that picture, I waited for truth. I said, what am I thinking? 146 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,800 Waited for truth, stepped into the conversation, realized it wasn't what I thought. And so 147 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:43,400 I began thinking well. I began to be emotionally balanced and open to them. And then I began 148 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:48,680 to act that way. I acted as though I were accepted. I acted as though I were a part 149 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:53,640 of the group. And then it didn't take long for me to just become part of that group because 150 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:59,320 I wasn't dealing with that negative energy, that negative emotion when you buy into a 151 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:08,360 lie versus the truth. Now I can go through this in every scenario possible and help us 152 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:14,120 realize that there is definitely a timeline to how we feel and how we behave based on 153 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:20,280 what we allow into our minds to be the truth. That we really have to stop that thought. 154 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:24,080 We have to wait and say, what am I thinking? Now I can take this in a number of different 155 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:30,480 directions. This timeline works with almost any temptation as well. As you know, the process 156 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,680 of a thought and the process of a temptation and the process of a sin are the same. You 157 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:40,000 start with a thought in your mind and then you move to the way you feel about something 158 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,800 and then you move to actually how you're going to act on it and you become that whatever 159 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:49,920 it is. Now that's the first diagram that I wanted to tell you about. And that timeline 160 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,720 is a very, very important timeline for us. And you can ask to see this diagram when you're 161 00:14:54,720 --> 00:15:01,320 free to look at it. It's on our podcast site. So please look at that and that will help 162 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,000 you a little bit with some thoughts. Now I want to introduce you to a second picture 163 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:12,640 and the second picture is one not of a timeline but of a pendulum. And we've developed this 164 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:19,680 out of a conversation that I have with my wife and we worked together on this diagram 165 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:28,840 that allowed us to see the swings that take place when mood swings take place or when 166 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:34,080 we begin to respond to certain things in our lives. And it really is a helpful thing to 167 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:40,560 see. So look at this picture, this blank page in your mind if you would for a second, if 168 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:45,920 you're not able to look at the picture itself. And I want you to imagine a pendulum. Now 169 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:51,520 for some of us we would say it's not just a pendulum, it's a plumb line. It is a diamond 170 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:57,920 shape kind of base. It's on a string or a chain. And as you see that in the middle of 171 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:02,760 the picture, I want you to also see the word God who holds us at the top. We're all connected 172 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:11,560 to God at the top. And then at the bottom of that pendulum or plumb line, you've got 173 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,520 the word truth, the truth that grounds us. So at the top of the page you have God who 174 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:21,720 holds us. You see the chain, you see the pendulum, and then at the bottom the truth that grounds 175 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:26,960 us. I intend for you to see the truth that grounds us as a gravitational kind of force. 176 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:34,840 And so in that diagram, if you can imagine the arc at which a timeline or rather a pendulum 177 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:41,320 swings, then you can see that arc beneath the base of that pendulum. And there's a 178 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:47,880 range of healthy thoughts and emotions. You know, a pendulum is something that is designed 179 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:55,560 to swing right and left, right and left. Clocks have those pendulums at the bottom. And if 180 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:01,400 it's in balance, it's an acceptable range of right and left movement, then the clock 181 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:06,880 remains balanced and it helps actually to tell time and it gives energy to the clock 182 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:12,480 to continue on. However, if that pendulum swing is so far to the right or so far to 183 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:17,320 the left, it actually can topple a clock. It can put it out of balance, it won't tell 184 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:24,320 time anymore, it's out of sync with the whole purpose for which it's there. So that pendulum 185 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:29,480 or that plumb line is the picture that we're looking at. You know, we're created to be 186 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:35,720 emotional people. We're created to have good kinds of emotions. We're created to be afraid 187 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,960 when we need to be afraid, even though it shouldn't dominate us. We're created to have 188 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:46,200 patience or kindness. We're created to be glad or excited, to have hope and to be happy. 189 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:52,440 We're created to have concern where concern needs to be expressed. We're created to love, 190 00:17:52,440 --> 00:18:00,200 to rejoice. It's normal to also be sad. There's a whole range of emotions that we have and 191 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,320 that was healthy thoughts and emotions are in that range of the pendulum. Now you know 192 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:11,000 this as well as I do. When the truth grounds us, that our pendulum swings are going to 193 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:19,760 be more and more centered on truth than anything else. Circumstances, things that happen to 194 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:26,000 us, things that people say to us, lies we believe can push us off course and out of 195 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,280 balance. And when that happens, our pendulum swings wider and wider and wider and in doing 196 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:37,440 so it puts us out of balance. So if you would just imagine a short range, a small range 197 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:42,120 that that pendulum is swinging back and forth, an appropriate range with all those good emotions, 198 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:48,320 good thoughts that I've already described. Now imagine that a lie begins to influence 199 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:55,840 that pendulum, a wind or waves that push it off balance. Things said, things done, things 200 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,960 experienced, things feared begin to move that pendulum out of balance, wider to the right 201 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:06,600 or wider to the left. At some point, every one of us is affected by lies that damage 202 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:13,040 us. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3 through 5 there's an amazing description with four 203 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:19,160 words that talk about lies that damage us. And those four words are strongholds, which 204 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:25,840 are basically habitual patterns of sin, speculations, which are the questions what if in worst 205 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:32,000 case scenarios in our mind. Lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God is another 206 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,720 descriptor and that deals with the wrong views of God. God doesn't love me, God doesn't 207 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:42,160 care about me, God doesn't know about me instead of the right view of God. And then uncaptivated 208 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:49,480 thoughts. Now in recent podcasts we've talked about that we are to take every thought captive 209 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:54,200 to the obedience of Christ and these uncaptivated thoughts are thoughts we haven't taken captive 210 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:59,080 to the obedience of Christ. So strongholds, speculations, wrong views of God, uncaptivated 211 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:05,680 thoughts can push us off balance. So go back to that picture again that I'm painting. There's 212 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:10,200 a pendulum at the top, God who holds us, at the bottom the truth that grounds us. It's 213 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:15,280 a gravitation of force that should keep us in the range where we can have healthy thoughts 214 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:21,800 and healthy emotions and build healthy relationships. Everybody is able to be in that range. By 215 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:27,160 the power of God we are able to be and stay in that range almost all of the time. And 216 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:32,160 that lets us build healthy relationships with other people, healthy relationships with God. 217 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:37,720 But once lies begin to dominate us and our thinking, once we allow them into our mind, 218 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,440 they can be old habit patterns like those strongholds describe or speculations of what 219 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:49,320 ifs, the wrong views of God or uncaptivated thoughts we get blown off course and the pendulum 220 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:56,640 swings wider and wider and wilder and wilder and more and more unbalanced. And this is 221 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:03,440 where mood swings take place so easily. On the happy side of that, on the right side 222 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:11,640 of that document, that picture, people can become thrill seeking, fanatical, obsessed, 223 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:16,560 they can experience impulsive behavior. If they're pushed off course in that direction 224 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:22,960 they become reckless. Chemical abuse can take place, they're agitated, sexual promiscuity, 225 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,440 they're seeking the thrill. All those things on the far right side of that pendulum are 226 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:33,160 the result of lies that damage us and complicate some relationships that we're in. Now that's 227 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:39,000 the energetic side. Move over to the non-energetic side, the far left. And those same kinds of 228 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,600 lies, strongholds, speculations, wrong views of God, uncaptivated thoughts, can create 229 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:53,400 in us the mood and the responses of withdrawal, anger, hopelessness, depression, feelings 230 00:21:53,400 --> 00:22:03,120 of worthlessness, denials of reality, bitterness, destructive thoughts, suicidal impulses. All 231 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:10,680 of those are outside the healthy range of thoughts and emotions that build healthy relationships. 232 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:16,080 They're all unhealthy and they're all brought to that place by the swings of the pendulum 233 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:23,840 that create moods that complicate relationships. So this is an incredible diagram to me as 234 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:30,520 it describes what needs to ground us, which is truth, and what can blow us off course, 235 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,440 which are the lies. And the fact that God holds us, no matter where we are on that timeline 236 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:41,520 and where we are on that pendulum, that we have to let the truth he gives us ground us. 237 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,720 That's where healthy relationships are. That's the range of healthy thoughts and emotions. 238 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,440 And every time we ignore that reality, the strong gravitational pull of the truth of 239 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:58,600 God's Word, the strong gravitation of facts to guide us instead of wild responses, when 240 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:03,840 we allow that to happen, we live in a bounce life. But when we don't, we're having the 241 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:09,680 mood swings to the far right or to the far left with all kinds of complications for relationships. 242 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:16,000 We're living in an unhealthy way. Our mental health is compromised and our soul is compromised 243 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,400 in so many different ways. So I want you to have these diagrams, if you will, in your 244 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,840 mind. That's why I say a picture is worth a thousand words. And here I am trying to 245 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:31,040 describe these pictures in far more than a thousand words. But when you look at it, I 246 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:38,320 hope it makes sense to you and I hope it helps you calculate the cost of not grounding your 247 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:45,240 thoughts in the truth and the expense of letting lies damage you and damage the relationships 248 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,680 that you're in today. Of course, our goal in the prospering soul is to help you live 249 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,700 a balanced life with God holding you and with the truth grounding you. And you keep that 250 00:23:55,700 --> 00:24:03,680 in mind as you encounter different experiences, different thoughts, different statements, 251 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,320 different things that happen to you in your circumstances. Keep in mind, you can be grounded 252 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:13,360 in the truth. You can be held by God and stay in that balance scale, which brings healthy 253 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:17,760 relationships. That's my goal for you. We'll talk more about these verses we talked about 254 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:23,120 in the future podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope you stay with us in future 255 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,120 episodes.