WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.559 This is the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, brought 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.719 to you by Living on the Edge. In this podcast, 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.560 you'll hear Chip's teaching unedited and from 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.980 beginning to end. Now here's our guest teacher, 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:16.940 Kyle Eidelman, with a message titled, Win the 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:21.019 Morning. Life is difficult. Life is difficult. 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:23.679 In fact, the Bible tells us that life is difficult. 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:25.839 If anybody ever tries to preach a message that 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.000 doesn't include the fact that life is difficult, 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:30.719 then... They're not preaching the message of 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.500 scripture. Jesus said in John 16, in this world, 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.840 you will have trouble. And he goes on to say, 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.539 I have overcome the world. So there's hope, there's 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:44.640 strength. Like we have confidence in who Jesus 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.219 is, but in this world, you'll have trouble. And 00:00:47.219 --> 00:00:49.500 that word for trouble is the word tribulation. 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:54.740 Meaning that these are not small challenges. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.759 These aren't light. These are things that are 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.600 significant. This is a darkness that is so deep, 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:03.039 it can feel like it's consuming all the light. 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:06.480 That's the word here for trouble. It is a young 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.260 Ukrainian girl stabbed to death on a train in 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:11.239 Charlotte. It's the shooting in a Catholic school 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:13.359 in Minneapolis. It's a 31 -year -old husband 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.340 and father being assassinated while speaking 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:18.200 at a university in Utah. And so what it can feel 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:21.200 like is that every morning we wake up and we 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:23.340 don't know what the headlines are gonna be, but 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:26.530 we know that darkness is waiting. And what that 00:01:26.530 --> 00:01:30.349 means is that we end up carrying some sadness 00:01:30.349 --> 00:01:32.609 and some grief with us that can at times just 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:34.750 feel like it's sitting really heavy on our chest. 00:01:35.650 --> 00:01:39.650 What that means is that sometimes we have to 00:01:39.650 --> 00:01:42.430 fight back anger and certainly confusion. Things 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:44.849 just don't make sense. Things don't unfold the 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:46.609 way we think they should or that would make sense 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:48.450 to us if we were sitting in God's seat, which 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:52.000 we're not. And so we pray and we pray for the 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:53.780 church. The church is called to be a light in 00:01:53.780 --> 00:01:56.680 the darkness. And the way we see it, church, 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:58.739 is that the darker it is, the brighter the light 00:01:58.739 --> 00:02:02.299 shines. The Ephesians says, so we pray, Jesus, 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:06.219 let us be a light. Somehow let us do what you 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:08.780 tell us to do of loving our enemies and praying 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:11.490 for those who persecute us. And so it's a time 00:02:11.490 --> 00:02:13.669 to pray. It's a time to reflect on our own lives. 00:02:13.810 --> 00:02:16.069 I often say at a funeral that this is a time 00:02:16.069 --> 00:02:18.069 when we gently close the eyes of the dead, but 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:21.830 we open the eyes of the living. The Bible says 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:23.930 in Psalm 90 verse 12, teach us God to number 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:26.050 our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:28.490 God teach us to live with an awareness that our 00:02:28.490 --> 00:02:30.650 days are numbered so that we live with an intentionality 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:33.669 about our lives. James 4, 14 says, what is your 00:02:33.669 --> 00:02:35.789 life? You're a mist that appears for a while 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:39.050 and then disappears. And we need to be reminded 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:41.610 of the temporariness of this life. That from 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:45.930 our perspective, the years run together, but 00:02:45.930 --> 00:02:49.189 compared to eternity, none of us are here very 00:02:49.189 --> 00:02:52.270 long. And that's not meant to scare us. The scriptures 00:02:52.270 --> 00:02:54.150 aren't meant to scare us, but they're meant to 00:02:54.150 --> 00:02:56.909 wake us up. They're meant to help us pay attention 00:02:56.909 --> 00:02:59.710 to our one and only lives and understand that 00:02:59.710 --> 00:03:02.310 moments like these matter, that matter. And we 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:05.830 need to look up long enough to recognize that. 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:08.610 That one day we'll stand before God and on that 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:10.270 day, it won't matter what anybody else thought 00:03:10.270 --> 00:03:11.830 of you. It won't matter what your boss thought 00:03:11.830 --> 00:03:14.150 about you or your critics said about you. It 00:03:14.150 --> 00:03:16.210 won't matter how many followers you had or what 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:18.090 your bank account looked like or what car you 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:19.830 drove or house you lived in. It won't matter 00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:22.349 who won the last election. It won't matter what 00:03:22.349 --> 00:03:24.430 grade you got on the exam this past week. Like 00:03:24.430 --> 00:03:26.569 what will matter is your relationship with Jesus. 00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:30.349 And so this is a good time to just pause and 00:03:30.349 --> 00:03:33.930 ask a question. If this is your last day, are 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:36.659 you ready? Have you surrendered your life to 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:38.400 Jesus? Have you confessed that you're a sinner 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:40.780 who needs a savior? Have you believed that Jesus 00:03:40.780 --> 00:03:43.319 died on the cross for your sins, that he rose 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.159 again so that you could have eternal life? Is 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:46.879 that where you have put your hope? Is that where 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.819 you find your confidence? Jesus defeated death 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:53.819 so you can live. That's the platform. And so 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.620 we pray and we reflect on our lives, but we also, 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:58.719 if we're honest, and I think we should be, we 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.400 find ourselves in moments like these and weeks 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:03.439 like these asking questions that have perhaps 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:05.699 always been there below the surface. But when 00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:08.599 certain headlines hit the news, those questions 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:12.080 get louder. Like, how do we make sense of such 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.039 evil? And how do we respond when violence becomes 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:17.300 the answer to disagreement? How do we find hope 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:19.579 when darkness seems overwhelming? Like, how do 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:22.660 we even do that? And so I want to talk to you 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:24.439 about some of those questions because this is 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:26.899 true. And this isn't just true globally. Like 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:29.100 this is true personally. It's not just the darkness 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:31.079 and the headlines. It's like the darkness in 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.560 our hearts and darkness in our homes. And it's 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.339 the darkness when we're in these quiet moments 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:40.279 alone with our thoughts. Life is difficult. That 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:43.600 is actually the first line of the book called 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:45.560 The Road Less Traveled. which according to the 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:47.480 Guinness Book of World Records holds the record 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.500 for the longest time on the New York Times bestseller 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.439 list, The Road Less Travel, last time I checked, 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:57.339 694 weeks. Bestseller for 13 years. Starts off 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:00.879 life as difficult. But in the midst of the difficult 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:04.399 circumstances that we have no control over, in 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:06.300 the midst of the darkness that can seem overwhelming, 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.220 in the midst of grief and fear, the Bible tells 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.980 us God's will is for you to live with joy and 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:15.350 gratitude. How do you do that? Like, I know that's 00:05:15.350 --> 00:05:17.769 what you want. I want that. But it's not just 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:19.870 what you want. It's what God wants for you. 1 00:05:19.870 --> 00:05:25.110 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18 say, rejoice always. 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:28.910 Some translations, be joyful always and pray 00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:30.949 continually and give thanks in all circumstances 00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:34.089 for this is God's will. You wonder what God's 00:05:34.089 --> 00:05:36.779 will is for your life? You lay awake at night 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:38.240 and say, God, what do you want from me? What's 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.740 your will for me? This is my will for you, God 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:43.100 says, is that you'd be joyful, that you pray 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:45.519 continually, you give thanks in all circumstance. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:50.939 And there's always and continually in all circumstances, 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:54.060 not just some of the time, not just when things 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:56.240 are going well and everything's unfolding the 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.740 way we hoped that it would and things just make 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:02.439 sense for us. All of life is up and to the right. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.199 It's like, no, it's always. all the time, in 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:09.019 all circumstances. And so how do we do that? 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:12.060 How do we live with that kind of joy when life 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:14.000 is difficult and we're hit with wave after wave 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:15.720 of difficulties and everywhere we look, we're 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:20.220 reminded of how hard things can be. How do you 00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:21.959 find that kind of peace when maybe you're carrying 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:23.980 a lot of shame and regret and you don't know 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:28.420 what to do about it, but it feels, it just feels 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:32.980 like too much. You just can't go back. and do 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:34.439 things differently. You wish you could, but you 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.420 can't. And now it's like every day, you're just 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:40.699 reminded of the reality of your decisions, what 00:06:40.699 --> 00:06:42.620 it's done to you, the people around you, and 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:47.300 it just all feels like too much. How do you find 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:49.399 victory over temptation where it just seems to 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.399 get the better of you? Like you don't want to 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:52.959 keep doing what you've been doing, but you keep 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.779 doing it. How do you find victory? How do you 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:57.600 intentionally fill your mind with thoughts that 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:59.339 are true and God honoring? How do you overcome 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:01.959 the voices in your head that tell you, hey, it's 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:05.180 too late and things are too dark and evil is 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:09.319 winning? So the answer, I believe, is connected 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.920 to the series we're in called Every Thought Captive, 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:13.819 where the Bible would teach us that either you 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:15.699 take your thoughts captive or they're taking 00:07:15.699 --> 00:07:18.240 you captive. That the way we tear down these 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.439 strongholds in our life is by being renewed in 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:25.959 our minds. That we partner with the Holy Spirit 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:28.899 in experiencing this mind transformation. We 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:30.819 align our thoughts with what God says. And as 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:33.399 we do, he gives us a new way of looking at things. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.480 He gives us a new way of thinking. He transforms 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.060 our minds. And as he transforms our minds, our 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:43.379 lives change. And so what I want to do is focus 00:07:43.379 --> 00:07:45.800 this in a little bit as we get in this series 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.699 and talk to you about taking your thoughts captive 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.160 at a certain time of the day, specifically taking 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.459 your thoughts captive first thing in the morning. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.480 Now, listen, I know some of you are not morning 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.600 people. I get it. Some of you don't, you don't 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:00.819 even, you don't even believe in God till after 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:03.579 lunch. That's sort of how you feel about it. 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:05.459 Like you wouldn't say that out loud, but the 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:07.879 people around you might be like, are you a Christian 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.379 yet? Okay, I'll give you another hour and we'll 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:12.370 see if it cares. in after you have the coffee 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:14.149 because you're just not a, you're just not a 00:08:14.149 --> 00:08:16.509 morning person. So I'm going to talk to you about 00:08:16.509 --> 00:08:17.949 the importance of taking your thoughts captive 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:19.290 in the morning, but I want you to hear me. I'm 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:21.889 not putting it like a time on what the morning 00:08:21.889 --> 00:08:24.689 is for you. It's just whenever you wake up. All 00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:28.589 right. So that might be five something that might 00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:33.669 be 10 something. If it's 11 something, I mean, 00:08:33.730 --> 00:08:37.169 okay. But really what we're saying is what you 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.190 think about when you first wake up has a way 00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:40.690 of determining what you think about through the 00:08:40.690 --> 00:08:43.769 rest of the day. Like your thoughts early in 00:08:43.769 --> 00:08:47.669 the morning have impact on who you are. I don't 00:08:47.669 --> 00:08:49.250 remember where I first heard the phrase when 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:51.629 the morning. I think I heard it from, I know 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:53.950 I heard it from my junior high soccer coach. 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:56.929 He may have been the first person. He would, 00:08:57.090 --> 00:09:00.090 he just took all of it too seriously. I don't 00:09:00.090 --> 00:09:01.269 know if you ever had a coach like this, like 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:03.470 in junior high, where you're like, this is not 00:09:03.470 --> 00:09:06.269 professional soccer. That's not what we're doing 00:09:06.269 --> 00:09:10.470 here. But he coached as if it were. And he insisted 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:12.690 we have our practices before school instead of 00:09:12.690 --> 00:09:16.230 after. And we'd show up half awake and he would 00:09:16.230 --> 00:09:19.470 blow his whistle and yell at us with this annoying 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:22.870 William Wallace -like energy and say, win the 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:25.470 morning. Win the morning, boys, and you win the 00:09:25.470 --> 00:09:29.320 day. Have a sprint back and forth. And look, 00:09:29.340 --> 00:09:31.259 we were tolerating the morning, I feel like. 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:32.639 And I thought we should have gotten credit for 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.460 that. Like we were there tolerating the morning, 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:38.480 but he wanted us to win the morning. And my question 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.019 was always, why can't we win the afternoon? I'm 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:43.340 all for winning. Does it really matter when we 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:47.559 win? And my coach would say, yeah, it does. You 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:49.080 got to win the morning if you want to win the 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:52.899 day. And I think there's a lot of wisdom in that. 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:56.539 And what I discovered is that there's a reflection 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:01.580 of this in scripture. teach and would prioritize, 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:04.980 I believe, how we spend our morning hours, our 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:06.879 time with God in the morning. I did just a quick 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.919 survey of scripture on this. Abraham, Genesis 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:11.919 chapter 22, three and five, rose early in the 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.740 morning to split wood for burnt offerings and 00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:18.600 to worship God. Moses, Exodus 24, Exodus 34, 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:21.940 rose early in the morning to worship God, to 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:24.620 meet with God. Gideon rose early in the morning 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:26.779 to find the Lord's favor, Judges six, Judges 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:29.730 seven. Proverbs 31 describes a godly woman as 00:10:29.730 --> 00:10:31.909 one who rises early and with intentionality. 00:10:32.690 --> 00:10:34.950 Hezekiah worshiped God first thing in the morning, 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:39.009 2 Chronicles 29. Job made it his habit to rise 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:40.690 early in the morning and to pray for his children. 00:10:41.669 --> 00:10:44.009 Isaiah spoke about waking up and meeting with 00:10:44.009 --> 00:10:46.110 God in the mornings, Isaiah chapter 50, verse 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:50.730 four. You read through the Psalms and David uses 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:54.610 this as almost a refrain. In the morning, let's 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:56.190 look at a few of these together. Psalm five, 00:10:56.250 --> 00:10:59.110 verse three. In the morning, Lord, you hear my 00:10:59.110 --> 00:11:02.149 voice. In the morning, I lay my request before 00:11:02.149 --> 00:11:04.649 you. And then here's what happens. Because he 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:06.690 starts his day this way, then throughout the 00:11:06.690 --> 00:11:09.730 day, what's he do? He waits expectantly. Because 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:12.490 he starts his day by praying and laying his request 00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:15.429 before God, it changes the way that he lives 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:17.269 out the rest of his day. Throughout the rest 00:11:17.269 --> 00:11:19.470 of his day, he's living with this anticipation 00:11:19.470 --> 00:11:22.269 of how God's gonna show up because of how he 00:11:22.269 --> 00:11:25.460 started his day. Psalm 143, verse eight. In the 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:27.820 morning, God, bring me word of your unfailing 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:31.019 love. If I put my trust in you, show me the way 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:34.460 I should go. For to you, I entrust my life. God, 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:36.840 in the morning, just give me direction. Help 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.879 me know the path I should take. Next verse, Psalm 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:43.240 59, 16. But I will sing of your strength in the 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.580 morning. In the morning, I will sing of your 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:47.960 love. For you are my fortress and my refuge in 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:51.360 times of trouble. Next one is Psalm 88, verse 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:56.259 13. But I cry to you for help, Lord. In the morning, 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.779 my prayer comes before you. In the morning, in 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:01.179 the morning, in the morning, in the morning, 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.360 I worship. In the morning, I seek your direction. 00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:06.379 In the morning, I'm reminded of your love for 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:09.639 me. In the morning, I ask you for help. How you 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:12.879 start your day, the thoughts you first think 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:15.480 have a way of setting the direction for the rest 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:17.799 of your day. And then ultimately, your days become 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.899 your life. Jesus modeled this for us. In Mark 00:12:20.899 --> 00:12:24.500 chapter one, It's this crazy busy time in the 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:27.159 life of Jesus. Lots happening, lots of crowds 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:30.480 with expectations for Jesus about what he should 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.259 do and what he shouldn't do with his time. And 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:35.659 in the middle of all the craziness, we read about 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:39.340 Jesus in Mark chapter one. It says of him very 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:41.360 early in the morning. How early? Well, it was 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.470 still dark. And Jesus got up and he left the 00:12:44.470 --> 00:12:46.750 house and he went off to a solitary, to a quiet 00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:49.629 place where he prayed. And if Jesus needs this, 00:12:49.710 --> 00:12:52.370 like if he's prioritizing this, if he's intentional 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:54.750 with his mornings, then how much more should 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:58.029 we be with ours? And so it was just really clear 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:01.110 to me that, okay, like this is biblically emphasized, 00:13:01.309 --> 00:13:04.230 this idea of connecting with God in the mornings, 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:07.580 of meeting. God in the morning of taking my thoughts 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:09.720 captive when I first wake up. And then I started 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:13.159 to wonder if maybe science backed this up. In 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:15.299 other words, if this is true in scripture, maybe 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:18.379 it's true biologically. Like maybe this is how 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:21.019 we're made neurologically. That God has wired 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:25.000 us in such a way that our brains are especially 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:30.139 moldable in the mornings. And turns out they 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.610 are. When you wake up, your brain moves from 00:13:32.610 --> 00:13:36.210 delta waves to theta waves to alpha waves. And 00:13:36.210 --> 00:13:37.970 in that time, important things are happening 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:40.590 that determine whether you respond or you react 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:42.570 to whatever happens to you throughout the day. 00:13:42.690 --> 00:13:45.570 Dr. Andrew Huberman, in his research for Stanford 00:13:45.570 --> 00:13:48.629 University, he uses some language I find really 00:13:48.629 --> 00:13:52.009 helpful. He calls the morning hours your neuroplasticity 00:13:52.009 --> 00:13:54.049 window. That you've got a couple hours in the 00:13:54.049 --> 00:13:56.610 morning that are your neuroplasticity window 00:13:56.610 --> 00:13:59.330 because in those few hours, you're thinking, 00:14:00.609 --> 00:14:03.669 disproportionately shapes your brain. It's your 00:14:03.669 --> 00:14:05.889 neuroplasticity window. The first hour or two 00:14:05.889 --> 00:14:09.169 of your day, what you think about has disproportionate 00:14:09.169 --> 00:14:11.730 weight. It has compounding effects on what you 00:14:11.730 --> 00:14:14.789 think about the rest of the day. Dr. Sonia Lupine 00:14:14.789 --> 00:14:17.690 and her research on cortisol patterns talks about 00:14:17.690 --> 00:14:20.409 how our stress hormone levels are naturally highest 00:14:20.409 --> 00:14:22.990 in the morning. It's called the cortisol awakening 00:14:22.990 --> 00:14:26.289 response. And the idea here is that our morning 00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:29.549 thoughts have amplified emotional impact through 00:14:29.549 --> 00:14:31.710 the rest of the day. Like our morning thoughts 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:34.929 set us up for either having a resiliency throughout 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:37.929 the rest of the day or having these negative 00:14:37.929 --> 00:14:40.679 thought patterns for the rest of the day. Psychology 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.399 would call this a primacy effect. Like your first 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.820 thoughts about something, first thoughts about 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:47.679 a person or your first thoughts about the day 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.879 disproportionately influence everything else 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.779 that follows. So your thoughts early in the morning 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:57.639 create neural pathways that are used to process 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.759 whatever else happens to you throughout the course 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:03.820 of the day. Psychologists also refer to the morning 00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:07.360 hours as a time of priming. Like if you ever 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:09.279 put a coat of primer on a wall before painting 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.230 it, You can't see the primer, but it's underneath 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:16.450 what you can see. And if you've ever done much 00:15:16.450 --> 00:15:18.110 painting and you've tried to skip the primer, 00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:21.350 you know it's a bad idea. You pay attention to 00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:23.450 what's underneath what you can see. Even though 00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:25.769 you can't see it, even though people can't see 00:15:25.769 --> 00:15:27.690 how you're spending your morning hours, what 00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:30.590 they can see is impacted by what they can't see. 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:34.549 Think of it like this. Imagine that somebody 00:15:34.549 --> 00:15:37.129 gives you a gift as kind of an old school radio 00:15:37.129 --> 00:15:39.639 that has a... you know, tuner on it that you 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.179 tune into different radio stations. But the way 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:45.879 this radio works is whatever you turn into, tune 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:49.120 into before, you know, 7am is what it stays on 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:52.529 the rest of the day. So whatever station you 00:15:52.529 --> 00:15:55.610 tune into first is what you gotta listen to all 00:15:55.610 --> 00:15:57.830 day long. And you better be like, you could tune 00:15:57.830 --> 00:16:00.090 into some country music and maybe that's nice 00:16:00.090 --> 00:16:02.149 to start your day, but around five o 'clock in 00:16:02.149 --> 00:16:04.490 the evening, you're like, why didn't I choose 00:16:04.490 --> 00:16:06.889 differently? Like whatever you start the day 00:16:06.889 --> 00:16:08.549 with is what you have to listen to all day. And 00:16:08.549 --> 00:16:10.429 in a sense, this is the way our brains work, 00:16:10.549 --> 00:16:13.129 that whatever you tune into to begin your day 00:16:13.129 --> 00:16:15.470 is what you listen to throughout the rest of 00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:17.529 your day. So play this out with me. You wake 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:21.129 up, you immediately, Grab your phone. There's 00:16:21.129 --> 00:16:24.490 a news alert, another tragedy. A political post 00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:27.870 makes you all angsty to start your day. A couple 00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:30.450 of messages from work marked urgent that you 00:16:30.450 --> 00:16:32.649 miss during the night. You've not even gotten 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:35.809 out of bed yet and you're already dealing with 00:16:35.809 --> 00:16:39.850 anxiety and anger and feeling overwhelmed. But 00:16:39.850 --> 00:16:43.409 what really the cost of this is what happens 00:16:43.409 --> 00:16:45.570 the rest of the day. Because it's not just in 00:16:45.570 --> 00:16:48.309 that moment, but now you're setting yourself 00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:51.659 up where, Small inconveniences, you're reactive 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:54.419 to them. They feel like a crisis. Traffic makes 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:56.779 you furious. Your coworker's innocent attack 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:59.980 or comment feels like an attack. And you're reactive. 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:03.000 It's because you primed your brain for chaos 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:07.039 at 6 .47 in the morning. Or maybe instead of 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.269 checking the news, you get on. Your phone, and 00:17:10.269 --> 00:17:11.529 the first thing you do, before you even get out 00:17:11.529 --> 00:17:14.549 of bed, you look at Instagram, your friends posted 00:17:14.549 --> 00:17:17.950 their stupid, perfect vacation pictures, and 00:17:17.950 --> 00:17:21.730 you look at the perfect date that somebody else 00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:24.250 went on the night before, and that fitness influence 00:17:24.250 --> 00:17:27.480 you've had. influencer you follow has been up 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.940 for like four hours already. And like before 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:33.359 you've even had your coffee, you're feeling inadequate 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.319 and insecure. And so what that does for the rest 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.799 of the day is it primes it. Like now you're measuring 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:41.140 yourself against others. Your accomplishments 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:45.259 feel small. Your appearance is lacking. And you 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:47.900 spend the day feeling less than because that's 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:50.400 what you primed your mind for. That's how you 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.559 set the trajectory of your thinking to begin 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:55.619 your day. But you think of the flip side of that. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:57.519 Like what if you take your thoughts captive and 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.400 you wake up and before you even reach for the 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.240 phone, you say, okay, God, before I get out of 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.519 this bed, I'm gonna think of three things today 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:06.980 that I have to be grateful for. And you say it 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.799 out loud. And maybe the first thing is I woke 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.299 up. Maybe that's what you go with. I woke up. 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:13.420 I'm thankful that I woke up today. And you pick 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:15.559 a couple of other things and you say it out loud. 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:17.299 And what happens? Well, the rest of the day, 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:20.259 you've primed yourself for some gratitude and 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:22.279 you can notice things that maybe you would have 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.259 missed otherwise. And this time when the traffic 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:27.779 is heavy, you... Find something to be grateful 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:29.700 for. The podcast that you're listening to or 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:32.200 your work is stressful and you notice a coworker 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:33.480 who's there for you that maybe you would have 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.200 missed otherwise. And you respond instead of 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.559 react because you primed your brain to see some 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.140 blessings. This is what it looks like to take 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:43.180 your thoughts captive is you recognize in the 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:47.019 morning what you see, what you look for is what 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:48.900 you're gonna see the rest of the day. The station 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:50.960 you tune into is what you're gonna listen to 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:54.269 the rest of the day. I want you to take a look 00:18:54.269 --> 00:18:58.329 at a parable that I call the parable of the smudge. 00:19:01.210 --> 00:19:04.210 Kristen had always dreamed of visiting the picturesque 00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:07.150 coastal town of Seaview. She'd seen countless 00:19:07.150 --> 00:19:09.910 photos online of its stunning cliffs, pristine 00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:13.009 beaches, and vibrant sudsets. Finally, after 00:19:13.009 --> 00:19:15.529 years of saving, she booked a week -long stay 00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:18.329 at a highly rated Airbnb perched on the cliffs 00:19:18.329 --> 00:19:21.380 overlooking the ocean. As soon as she arrived, 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:23.519 Kristen rushed to the large picture window that 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.859 dominated the living room wall. This was the 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:28.980 view everyone raved about in the reviews. But 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:31.319 as she approached, her excitement quickly turned 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:34.059 to disappointment. There, right in the center 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:37.440 of the window, was a small but noticeable smudge. 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:40.640 She spent the next hour trying to clean it off, 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.000 but it seemed to be in between the window panes, 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:45.920 impossible to reach. For the rest of her stay, 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:48.380 Kristen found herself fixated on that smudge. 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:50.589 When she looked out the window, instead of seeing 00:19:50.589 --> 00:19:53.170 the vast expanse of the sparkling ocean, the 00:19:53.170 --> 00:19:54.950 rugged beauty of the cliffs, or the glorious 00:19:54.950 --> 00:19:57.609 colors of the sunset, all she could focus on 00:19:57.609 --> 00:20:02.450 was that small, blurry spot. Her photos all seemed 00:20:02.450 --> 00:20:04.589 to showcase the smudge rather than the view, 00:20:04.710 --> 00:20:07.230 and the more she saw it, the more she saw it. 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:09.930 She finally shut the curtains so she wouldn't 00:20:09.930 --> 00:20:12.700 have to see the smudge anymore. She spent most 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:15.460 of her vacation indoors feeling cheated and frustrated. 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:18.160 She barely noticed the sound of the waves or 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.700 the fresh sea breeze when she briefly ventured 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:24.180 out. On the last day of her stay, Kristen left 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:27.329 a scathing review. I don't understand why everyone 00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:29.549 raves about the view of this place. All I could 00:20:29.549 --> 00:20:33.130 see was a dirty window. As Kristen got in her 00:20:33.130 --> 00:20:35.809 car to leave, the young couple was just arriving 00:20:35.809 --> 00:20:39.509 to check into the Airbnb. The woman gasped with 00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:42.089 excitement as she got out of the car. Pointing 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:44.490 at the view in awe, she said, Look at that sunset. 00:20:44.690 --> 00:20:46.509 It's even more beautiful than in the pictures. 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:49.720 Kristen glanced into her rearview mirror as she 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:52.500 was driving away, hoping to catch a glimpse of 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:55.819 a spectacular golden sun sinking into a violet 00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:58.819 and pink sky. But she couldn't help but notice 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:02.460 right there on her rearview mirror was a smudge. 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:08.940 The more you see it, the more you see it. Some 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:12.029 of you are just smudged people. like you do this 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:14.190 really well, it doesn't matter how beautiful 00:21:14.190 --> 00:21:16.730 the view is out that window, you're gonna find 00:21:16.730 --> 00:21:19.470 the smudge and you're gonna notice it. And so 00:21:19.470 --> 00:21:21.930 the Bible would teach us that we have more control 00:21:21.930 --> 00:21:24.130 over this than maybe we realize, that if we will 00:21:24.130 --> 00:21:26.750 take our thoughts captive, if we'll look for 00:21:26.750 --> 00:21:28.789 the beautiful, we'll see the beautiful. If we 00:21:28.789 --> 00:21:30.869 look for the good, we'll see the good. If we 00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:33.849 look for the praiseworthy, we'll see the praiseworthy. 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:37.990 And so how you start off each day will largely 00:21:37.990 --> 00:21:41.130 determine what you see during the day. I want 00:21:41.130 --> 00:21:42.829 us to spend a few minutes just looking at an 00:21:42.829 --> 00:21:45.109 example of this from the Old Testament. The prophet 00:21:45.109 --> 00:21:47.029 by the name of Jeremiah is having the worst morning 00:21:47.029 --> 00:21:49.470 of his life. Kind of the worst morning in his 00:21:49.470 --> 00:21:52.390 nation's history. Jerusalem had been destroyed. 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:56.049 People were starving. And he walks the street 00:21:56.049 --> 00:21:58.910 of the once beautiful city and his heart breaks. 00:21:59.049 --> 00:22:02.109 He sees his people, but really he sees God's 00:22:02.109 --> 00:22:05.210 people, the Israelites, rummaging through trash 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:08.529 looking for food. And it's not the way it should 00:22:08.529 --> 00:22:11.000 be. Like these are God's people. Why wouldn't 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.720 God take care of them? Why wouldn't God protect 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:15.279 them? And he smells the stench of death and he 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.259 just, he breaks down and the tears come and he 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:20.619 starts weeping. And as he cries, he hikes up 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:23.119 to this cave that overlooks Jerusalem and he 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:26.240 wants to pray, but he doesn't know how. And we 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.700 have written for us the book of Lamentations 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:33.420 as he processes his thoughts. Lament means to 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:35.819 express grief or sorrow in a passionate or intense 00:22:35.819 --> 00:22:39.720 way, to weep or to wail. And then this is Lamentations. 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:42.259 It's interesting the way the book is laid out. 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:46.319 It's laid out as a bit of poetry. You have chapters, 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:48.680 it's five chapters in Lamentations. Chapters 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:51.619 one and two and chapters four and five are all, 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:54.880 have a similar rhythm to them where he takes 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:58.680 the alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, and each verse 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:02.200 starts with the corresponding letter of the alphabet, 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:04.680 22 letters, and he just goes through in chapter 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:06.819 one, here's all the things I have to lament about, 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:11.160 alphabet, all the, things I have to lament about 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:12.940 chapter two and then the same thing in chapter 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:15.900 four and five. It'd be like us wanting to kind 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:18.200 of make our complaints known to God. And so we 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.220 like, where do I even start? I've got so many 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:23.940 of them. How about A? And A is for anxiety and 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.259 B is for bullying and C is for cancer and D is 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:28.819 for divorce and E is for eating disorders and 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:31.000 F is for financial difficulties and we just work 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.839 our way down. And chapter two, I can do another 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:38.170 round of this and we just go through it. And 00:23:38.170 --> 00:23:40.210 that's how Lamentations is written, but sandwiched 00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:41.829 between chapters one and two and four and five 00:23:41.829 --> 00:23:45.970 is chapter three. And chapter three gives praise 00:23:45.970 --> 00:23:48.410 and thanks to God. And so the whole book is written 00:23:48.410 --> 00:23:50.690 as a bit of an illustration of what it looks 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:56.490 like for us as believers to lament. And the book 00:23:56.490 --> 00:23:59.970 is, of course, bookended with sorrow and grief 00:23:59.970 --> 00:24:02.269 and frustration and confusion and disappointment, 00:24:02.369 --> 00:24:06.190 but it's sandwiched around be joyful always, 00:24:07.049 --> 00:24:09.950 give thanks in all circumstances, pray continually. 00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:13.750 And so there's an important principle in lamenting. 00:24:13.750 --> 00:24:16.710 So when we find ourself overwhelmed by the reality 00:24:16.710 --> 00:24:18.450 that life is difficult, one of the important 00:24:18.450 --> 00:24:20.930 principles for us as followers of Jesus is to 00:24:20.930 --> 00:24:24.809 start but don't stay. This is where you start 00:24:24.809 --> 00:24:28.029 being very honest with God about your fears and 00:24:28.029 --> 00:24:29.970 your frustrations, about anger and bitterness, 00:24:30.109 --> 00:24:32.410 about the hurt that you're carrying. Like you 00:24:32.410 --> 00:24:34.710 don't pretend that everything's fine when everything 00:24:34.710 --> 00:24:37.430 isn't fine. You start there, but you don't stay 00:24:37.430 --> 00:24:39.730 there. David models this beautifully throughout 00:24:39.730 --> 00:24:43.630 the Psalms where he is uncomfortably honest with 00:24:43.630 --> 00:24:47.529 God about how he feels around some of the circumstances 00:24:47.529 --> 00:24:50.049 he's dealing with. He starts there, but he doesn't 00:24:50.049 --> 00:24:54.450 stay there. A term for this would be, in neuroscience, 00:24:54.589 --> 00:24:57.529 would be cognitive repraisal. It's a reframing 00:24:57.529 --> 00:25:00.670 where you recognize the reality of your emotion 00:25:00.670 --> 00:25:03.069 or of what you're going through, but with the 00:25:03.069 --> 00:25:07.079 intent of letting it draw you closer to God. 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:11.000 When you're in a season of lament, it'll drive 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.200 you further away or it can drive you closer to 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:14.839 God. You start there, but you don't stay there. 00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:18.079 With God's help, you ask him to show you a different 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:19.680 way of looking at things. You get a different 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:23.240 perspective. And so you begin with some honest 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:27.559 questions, but you're not just rehearsing your 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:30.980 lament, you're releasing it to God. You're not 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:32.920 just focusing on your problems, but you're focusing 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.079 on his promises. And so that's what Jeremiah 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:37.680 does. He sits in a cave, looks down at the ruins, 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:40.299 and in the middle of these really dark circumstances, 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:42.480 here's what he does. Listen, he makes a choice 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:44.039 about what he's gonna think about. That's what 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:46.640 we read in verse 21 of chapter three. He said, 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:50.880 yet this I call to mind, despite all these A 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:53.799 to Z things that aren't going my way, this is 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:56.019 what I'm gonna call to mind, and therefore I 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:57.900 have hope. Because I'm gonna be intentional with 00:25:57.900 --> 00:26:00.579 my thinking, I'm gonna find some hope. And so 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.160 when you're lamenting, you have to be intentional 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:06.079 about what you're gonna call to mind. And that's 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.680 what Jeremiah does. And we see three things that 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:12.200 he calls to mind. First, God's compassions never 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:16.460 fail. Verse 22 through 23. Because of the Lord's 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:20.759 great love, we are not consumed. For his compassions 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:25.460 never fail. They are new every morning. That 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:27.900 every morning, God will show you his compassion 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:31.450 and his mercy. You have to look for it sometimes 00:26:31.450 --> 00:26:34.009 and pray that he'll show it to you, give you 00:26:34.009 --> 00:26:37.650 eyes to see it. The word new here is like new 00:26:37.650 --> 00:26:40.829 of a different kinds. It's like, it's not like 00:26:40.829 --> 00:26:44.230 saying, well, we had eggs for breakfast today. 00:26:45.089 --> 00:26:46.829 We're having new eggs for breakfast tomorrow. 00:26:46.950 --> 00:26:49.210 It's like we had eggs for breakfast today and 00:26:49.210 --> 00:26:51.089 tomorrow we're having waffles. It's like, it's 00:26:51.089 --> 00:26:53.990 new of a different kind. And the idea here is 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:57.950 that each day, God will show you some way in 00:26:57.950 --> 00:27:00.089 which he is redeeming, restoring, rebuilding, 00:27:00.410 --> 00:27:04.309 way that he's working, but you need him to help 00:27:04.309 --> 00:27:07.430 you see it. And so you say, God, it makes no 00:27:07.430 --> 00:27:10.150 sense to me. I don't understand what's happened 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:12.809 or why it's happening. I don't sit where you 00:27:12.809 --> 00:27:15.730 sit. So tomorrow morning, when I wake up, would 00:27:15.730 --> 00:27:17.650 you help me see that you're compassionate and 00:27:17.650 --> 00:27:19.990 merciful? Would you let me see that your mercies 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:21.890 are gonna be new tomorrow? That there's gonna 00:27:21.890 --> 00:27:24.269 be a new way that light shines into the darkness 00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:26.880 that I can't see from, where I sit today, but 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.779 tomorrow I'll be able to see it. That each day 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:32.160 his mercies are new. Each day his compassions 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:37.500 are new. And so as you go through the lament, 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:40.619 you just remind yourself that each morning his 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:43.859 mercies are new. His compassion is new. The word 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:45.640 compassion here carries with it this idea of 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:49.700 tenderness. Verse 32, if he works severely, he 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:52.740 also works tenderly. It's not always the way 00:27:52.740 --> 00:27:55.720 we think about God. But Jeremiah understood in 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:58.819 that moment, the tenderness of God. His mercies 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:01.619 are new each morning. Secondly, Jeremiah tells 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:03.759 himself, here's something I'm gonna call to my 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:06.720 mind, that great is his faithfulness. I'm gonna 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:10.359 speak that out loud. I'm going to take the thoughts 00:28:10.359 --> 00:28:12.220 I have captive and I'm gonna replace it with 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:14.960 this thought, that God is faithful. Lamentations 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.200 3, verse 23. Great is his faithfulness. Even 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.000 when you can't see it or feel it, even when you 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:23.759 don't understand. how the situation is unfolding. 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:27.319 The sovereignty of God is at work. He is always 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:30.519 faithful. He won't let you down. Third thing 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:33.180 he says is, I'm gonna call to my mind, the Lord 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:36.220 is my portion. The Lord is enough for me. Verse 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:38.579 24, I say to myself, the Lord is my portion. 00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:44.880 Therefore, I will wait for him. I'm not gonna 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:48.039 put my confidence in anything else. I'm gonna 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:50.460 put my confidence in him. And so when life is 00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:53.559 difficult, what do you say to yourself? Jeremiah 00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:55.359 says, here are the three things I say to myself. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.539 Here are the three thoughts that I am constantly 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:01.500 thinking. God's compassions never fail. Great 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:04.960 is his faithfulness and he's sufficient for me. 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:07.420 So can I just challenge you starting tomorrow 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:10.420 to have a little bit of a morning routine. Now 00:29:10.420 --> 00:29:13.480 look, don't be... Getting this thought in your 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:15.880 mind that it has to be an hour long. Maybe you 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:19.140 do that, good for you. But the duration is not 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:22.019 nearly as important as the consistency. So what 00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:23.700 if you just for 10 minutes in the morning say, 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:25.359 okay, I'm gonna be intentional to think through 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:29.880 some of these things. Consistency is more important 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:32.259 than the duration. And I would just tell you 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:34.400 a couple of things. So if I could challenge you 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:36.000 with number one, do not check your phone. Don't 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:38.599 check your phone in the morning. The research 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:40.380 is just really clear on this, that when you get 00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:42.779 on your phone, as soon as you wake up, you skip 00:29:42.779 --> 00:29:45.259 the theta and alpha and you jump straight to 00:29:45.259 --> 00:29:47.920 the beta phase, which means you're awake and 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:51.000 alert, but you're now already in a reactive response. 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:53.940 In other words, it's triggering a stress response 00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:57.799 in you. And so unless you wanna start your day 00:29:57.799 --> 00:30:01.000 off, primed for distraction and stress, don't 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:02.539 do it. Like maybe do, like maybe that's what 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:05.059 you want. You're like, you want people to look 00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:06.740 at you and say, you know what I like about him? 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:09.500 Always distracted. It's my favorite thing. He's 00:30:09.500 --> 00:30:11.099 never quite paying attention and he's always 00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:13.220 a little stressed out. Like if that's what you're 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:15.440 going for, do it. Then just get on your phone 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:17.119 as soon as you wake up. It's a good way to do 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:19.420 that. But otherwise, like just. Don't do it. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:21.500 Stay off your phone for that neuroplasticity 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.059 window. And then just develop a morning routine. 00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:27.500 Look, use Jeremiah as an example of this. It 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:29.900 can be different, but what's he do? He starts 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:32.039 with lament. He starts there, but he doesn't 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:34.420 stay there, but he does start with it. David 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:36.519 does this in the Psalms again, where he says, 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:38.599 hey, here's some heavy things. Here's some challenges 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:40.500 I've got to deal with today. Here's some people 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:42.420 who are against me. Here's some circumstances 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:46.059 I wish I could change. But then he turns the 00:30:46.059 --> 00:30:48.869 corner. and reframes those things, which is number 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:50.450 two, taking your thoughts captive, where you 00:30:50.450 --> 00:30:52.829 say, this is all true, God, but here's what I'm 00:30:52.829 --> 00:30:54.970 gonna call to mind. Yet this I call to mind. 00:30:55.470 --> 00:30:57.630 And then you declare those three truths over 00:30:57.630 --> 00:31:00.930 your life. God's compassions never fail. They're 00:31:00.930 --> 00:31:02.690 new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. 00:31:02.730 --> 00:31:05.190 I can count on God today. The Lord is my portion. 00:31:05.410 --> 00:31:08.589 He's enough for me. And then you pray and you 00:31:08.589 --> 00:31:11.170 read some scripture. You spend a few minutes 00:31:11.170 --> 00:31:13.190 in prayer, spend a few minutes in God's word 00:31:13.190 --> 00:31:17.490 before engaging in the demands of your day. Because 00:31:17.490 --> 00:31:22.490 life is difficult. I would love to say that it's 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.809 gonna get easier, but there will be more to lament. 00:31:26.549 --> 00:31:29.730 Pain and suffering will continue to show up uninvited. 00:31:30.369 --> 00:31:33.369 Economic uncertainties will come. Family dynamics 00:31:33.369 --> 00:31:37.049 are fragile. Everything's maybe okay today, but 00:31:37.049 --> 00:31:40.210 tomorrow it might be different. Lamenting will 00:31:40.210 --> 00:31:43.769 be a part of your story and my story too. But 00:31:43.769 --> 00:31:46.839 we are chapter three people. We're chapter three 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:50.839 people, that in the midst of it, we praise the 00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:53.440 Lord. In the midst of it, we remind ourselves 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.799 of God's faithfulness and his compassion and 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:59.119 sufficiency. When Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica, 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:01.680 stood and she made her first public comments 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:06.420 after her husband was murdered, she whispered, 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:08.640 if you heard her comment, she whispered a short 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:12.299 prayer that the microphone picked up right before 00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:15.509 she began. This young widow and mother of two 00:32:15.509 --> 00:32:21.289 whispered, Jesus, fill this room before she spoke. 00:32:22.569 --> 00:32:25.130 And so in her moment of greatest darkness, when 00:32:25.130 --> 00:32:26.490 she could have said anything, when she could 00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:28.410 have cursed the darkness, no one would blame 00:32:28.410 --> 00:32:32.250 her. She said, Jesus, fill this room. She could 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:35.009 have invited bitterness into the room. She could 00:32:35.009 --> 00:32:37.930 have allowed fear to fill the room. She could 00:32:37.930 --> 00:32:42.269 have whispered revenge, fill this room. But this 00:32:42.269 --> 00:32:45.450 young mom in her deepest grief invited the presence 00:32:45.450 --> 00:32:49.930 of Jesus. As you begin your day, can I just challenge 00:32:49.930 --> 00:32:55.190 you to whisper those same words? Jesus, fill 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:58.349 this room. Life is difficult. Darkness is real. 00:32:58.430 --> 00:33:03.069 Grief is heavy. Jesus, fill this room. Let's 00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:06.289 pray. God, we don't want that prayer to just 00:33:06.289 --> 00:33:10.390 be this like, metaphorical prayer. Like, would 00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:14.390 you fill this room right now? Jesus, would you 00:33:14.390 --> 00:33:19.109 fill this room with your presence? Jesus, would 00:33:19.109 --> 00:33:20.690 you fill this room with your peace? And would 00:33:20.690 --> 00:33:23.490 you fill this room with your power? Jesus, we 00:33:23.490 --> 00:33:27.710 ask that you would fill this room. Would you 00:33:27.710 --> 00:33:30.170 fill it with your hope? Would you fill it with 00:33:30.170 --> 00:33:31.990 your grace? Would you fill it with your mercy? 00:33:32.309 --> 00:33:33.930 Would you fill this room with your compassion? 00:33:35.410 --> 00:33:38.599 Jesus, please fill this room. Would you fill 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:41.539 it with forgiveness? Would you fill it with your 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:45.559 tenderness? Would you fill it with second chances? 00:33:47.619 --> 00:33:53.099 Jesus, fill this room. God, I pray that you would 00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:54.880 fill this room so that there's not any space 00:33:54.880 --> 00:34:03.180 left for fear, bitterness, revenge. No more space 00:34:03.180 --> 00:34:05.720 left for shame and guilt. Your presence would 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:08.980 so fill this room that all of that just has to 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:14.800 leave. So, Jesus, would you fill this room? We 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:20.639 love you. It's in Jesus' name. Amen. This is 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:23.579 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Friend, 00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:26.079 for over 30 years, Living on the Edge has been 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:29.239 committed to one mission, helping believers understand 00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:32.650 what it truly means to follow Jesus. 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