Hey guys and welcome back to the salt and not
sweetener podcast I am your host Danielle Townsend
and in today's episode we are gonna talk about
Turning to God and your moments of overwhelm
and your times of hardship y 'all I could not
think about a topic For today's podcast and you
know, I want God to guide what I speak about.
This is his podcast. I'm simply stewarding over
it And when I had come to the conclusion of I
have no idea and maybe I'm just not gonna record
an episode today, I moved a blanket off my bed
and I found this post -it note that I had written
on months ago. And something that was written
on here that stood out to me was it says, it
feels harder and heavier when I am far from Jesus.
Seek him, root myself. in the Lord and that is
the basis of today's message is life is already
hard and heavy it's a lot harder and heavier
when you are far from the Lord and let this be
your encouragement that whatever it is that you're
dealing with right now that is stressing you
out that is overwhelming you whatever thing that
you're dealing with that's making you anxious
depressed sad fearful whatever these emotions
are that you're feeling. It's going to feel heavier
when you are apart from God, when you stop praying
to Him as febrantly, when you stop seeking Him,
when you stop making that intentional alone time
with Him, when you start turning to the things
that you know He tells you to turn away from.
You're putting distance between you and God and
it's going to start feeling a lot heavier. it's
going to start feeling a lot harder because whether
or not you realize that you are starting to pick
it up and carry it yourself you are starting
to rely on your own strength you're starting
to rely on your own thoughts your own reasoning
your own comforts and God did not create us to
do things apart from him and when you lean into
him You're going to find a rest and a peace that
you cannot find in the world And I'm speaking
to y 'all today from experience as someone who
I did it most of my life relying on myself Relying
on my own thoughts relying on my own reasonings
Relying on what my brain and my heart can create
apart from God and you know what that resulted
in overthinking A lot of overthinking. I would
end up thinking of every possible outcome and
every possible solution. I ended up living in
a cycle of fear. I was making my decisions out
of a place of fear. I was making my moves out
of a place of fear. I was more on the defensive.
I was moving out of defense and out of more of
a reactive space than moving by faith. The decisions
I was making was planning according to what bad
things could happen. instead of moving by faith
what God is calling me to do. I ended up with
crippling depression and sadness. There were
days when I would wake up and couldn't explain
why I was sad. I was just sad. Days when I'd
wake up and I was just angry and I couldn't explain
why I was angry. I'd be experiencing situations
I'm supposed to be grateful for and finding joy
in and instead I'm complaining and thinking,
well, this isn't gonna last. The one's the other
shoe gonna drop. There was always some fear or
some negative thought I was feeding into. I ended
up with panic disorder and anxiety. I ended up
as a people pleaser. I ended up putting God on
the back burner. I'm telling y 'all. that when
you turn away, when you are in these hard situations,
that is when you turn to God and someone needs
to hear today that you are meant to do that for
the rest of your life. I cannot tell y 'all how
many conversations I've had where it's evident
that spiritual warfare is going on in someone's
life. Y 'all, I will be the first to say this,
when you start seeking God more, when you start
praying more, when you start reading your Bible
more, When you start denying the flesh the devil
is going to make it so uncomfortable for you
because he wants you to stop The enemy comes
to steal kill and destroy he does not want you
to have a relationship with Christ So when you
are doing the right thing, he is gonna attack
you more than ever He's purposely gonna make
it hard for you to continue He's purposely going
to do that Y 'all when I first surrendered my
life to Christ and I was trying to read my Bible
more I remember there were days when people would
just be like the situation I was in when I was
like in my car and there would be someone around
me just blasting music all day and like all these
things distracting me to where I couldn't focus
and it was triggering anger and it was triggering
frustration times when I was putting my faith
in God and there would be people coming up to
me and straight up speaking death into my Situation
saying God isn't real and God isn't gonna move
mountains and God isn't gonna help you When God
would be telling me hey, I'm gonna do something
amazing in your life I'm gonna restore you and
then I would have a lot of hardships immediately
hit after and my situation would not look like
what God promised. That was an attempt of the
enemy to get me to stop putting my faith in God.
When you are on the right path, the devil is
going to do whatever he needs to do to convince
you to backslide, to convince you that putting
your faith in God isn't working, to convince
you that seeking God isn't working. And I'll
tell you what, almost every person I have talked
to has found peace. in times of trouble when
they're reading their Bible and spending time
with God. I know that was one of the first things
I noticed when I gave my life to Christ was a
peace that surpassed all understanding. When
a stressful thing would come up, I could give
it to God and walk away entrusted to be taken
care of. I could leave a situation in peace.
When I would start dealing with stress or anxiety
or panic and I would start reading scripture
and praying to the Lord and all of a sudden I
would have peace that made no sense. That. That
is a promise of God being fulfilled when you
seek Him and lean into Him. Think of the story
of Hannah and Penina y 'all. Hannah had been
struggling with infertility for years, Penina
making her feel like crap about it. And when
she went to the temple and overwhelmed, poured
out her heart to God, she left that temple with
a peace. Her situation hadn't yet changed. She
wasn't pregnant yet. Penina wasn't wiped out.
Nothing had changed. Except for her she had placed
her faith in God and she had trusted that she
gave it to him and he was working As followers
of Christ we are able to access a peace in the
middle of the storm But that comes through giving
it to God and laying at his feet and I'm telling
y 'all That when you don't do that when you choose
to lean into the worldly advice When you choose
to go back to the things that bring you short
-term comfort and those quick dopamine hits that
you know God is calling you to stay away from
When you choose to turn on and binge watch those
shows instead of getting into the word when you
choose to go back to that drink or that smoke
instead of praying When you choose to get on
social media and gossip and rant and take your
anger out in those ways instead of Praying reading
scripture taking it to God spending intentional
alone time with him. It feels good in the moment
And then later on your situation feels even heavier
Because whether or not you realize that you're
starting to put the weight and the responsibility
of The problem on your shoulders when you're
meant to be sharing the love of God. He's meant
to be your strength And there's some different
pieces of scripture I want to read to y 'all
today. I'm going to start with Philippians 4,
6 through 7. Do not be anxious about anything.
Button everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made
known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus. Whatever you are
dealing with today that is emotionally compromising
you. that is having you feel overwhelmed in your
intentional time with God tell him about it yes
he already knows but he wants to hear it from
your mouth he wants you to entrust him with it
so go into your prayer closet go into your bedroom
go into your bathroom wherever it is that you
can have intentional quiet time with God And
tell him what is stressing you out. Tell him,
God, this thing is causing me to feel overwhelmed.
God, I don't have the strength to do this on
my own. I don't have the ability to figure this
out. Be honest with him about what it is with
the situation that is stressing you out. Is it
the lack of control? Is it the lack of understanding?
Is it the feeling of injustice? What is it that
is making you feel the way you're feeling? Take
it to him. He already knows that he wants you
to trust him with your problem. And now this
is the key thing to prayer because a lot of us
think of prayer as just asking for something
and just talking at God. Prayer is the way that
we build our relationship. And you should not
just be praying to God when you need something.
You should be praying to Him, telling Him what
you're grateful for. You should be praying to
Him for guidance, for clarity, for understanding,
not just for a blessing. You should be praying
to Him for other people on other people's behalf,
interceding. Praying with God is like talking
to your parents. How can you have a relationship
with someone without intentional alone time with
them, without intentional conversations? So part
of prayer is actually listening, right? So you're
spending this intentional alone time with God.
You're telling him what's on your mind. You're
telling him what's wrong. You're pouring out
these emotions. But then comes a time when you're
supposed to be listening to what he's saying
to you. Is he speaking scripture to you? Is there
scripture that's coming to mind after your prayer?
Is there a past scenario or situation that he's
bringing to mind? A great thing to do after you
pour this out is ask God to guide you. Ask him
to soften your heart and to humble you to his
answer. Pray that you accept God's answer and
that you obey him. Y 'all it was literally just
today that there was a big decision I had to
make. What appeared to be a blessing and an open
door made itself known to me recently and at
first I jumped up to accept it but the more I
was thinking on it the more I was like God I
Although this looks really good in a lot of areas.
There are other areas where I don't know if this
is from you. I don't know if this is what you
have been telling me about and I feel like I'm
acting too quickly and You might actually want
me to go in a different direction and I was really
wrestling with do I close this door and trust
that God will lead me towards the promise or
do I accept this because it's close enough and
out of fear of God not delivering on his promise
is the best way I can word it when I really thought
about it the other option is accepting this door
out of fear that another one will open When I
started praying to God was like God, I don't
want to make the wrong decision I need to hear
from you like I need you to show me I need you
to reveal this to me. I need you to guide me
When I was actually in the bathroom praying that
prayer You know, I just had a moment of silence
and it was like not even 30 seconds later that
he started bringing to my memory a Lesson that
he had taught me just over a year ago about releasing
things to him and trusting him. And in that moment
I knew exactly what he was telling me. And I
knew that he was guiding me to listen to what
he had already been placing in my heart. I had
already known that he was calling me to give
this thing back to him and to trust that he would
deliver on his promise and not to settle in the
situation. and him reminding me of a past situation
where he called me to do that was the confirmation
from him and since then he has given me scripture
to back it up but if I had not sat and listened
and just allowed him to speak back to me and
accepted the way he was speaking to me I would
have said God didn't answer me If I would have
prayed, God, close that door yourself. Do that
yourself. You know what? Interesting enough thing.
I found out that that door was probably going
to close anyway. If I didn't close it, I think
God was going to close that door for me. I do
think he was going to. But I could have been
stubborn and hard -headed and said, I'll only
walk away if you close the door, God. And you
know what? There have been situations, y 'all,
where I've been very hard -headed. but also really
raw and honest with myself, where there were
some things that I could not physically let go
of. And I told God, like, God, if this thing's
removed from my life, I need you to rip it away.
And I know it's going to be painful, but I can't
bring myself to let go of it. And he has answered
that prayer too, and that prayer is painful.
But I'm telling y 'all that part of prayer is
listening and accepting God's answer. Because
what God told me to do at the end of the day
was to deny myself. To trust that he was gonna
pull through and that wasn't exactly easy to
listen to my flesh Didn't want to hear that my
flesh wanted to go through with the door wanted
to walk through the door you have to be okay
with God's answers being no or not yet and Submitting
to them You have to be okay with God not giving
you the full picture for all the answers faith
isn't knowing we walk by faith not by sight faith
isn't being able to see and understand the game
plan faith is trusting god and notice how when
i was reading this in philippians to y 'all it
says that the peace of god which surpasses all
understanding will guard your hearts and minds
in christ jesus when you pray to god and it's
a situation that you're leaving us the majority
of the time it's not an immediate like you say
god i give this to you and it's like 10 seconds
there you get a phone call of like all your situation
is worked out or you get a text or a dm and it's
all worked out oftentimes the first answer you're
going to get from god is a peace when you submit
and surrender it to him and say i can't work
this out i can't figure this out i need you to
work this out and figure this out there is a
peace he'll give you of leaving it at his feet
for you you Just know and believe that he is
working it out and from there on Oftentimes you'll
have the temptation to pick it back up and you
have to make the decision to continue to entrust
it to God But there is a piece that surpasses
all understanding that you will find when you
pray and give it to the Lord Prayer is our relationship
with God. Prayer isn't just a direct line for
help. Prayer is our relationship builder with
Christ. Now I want to read to you on Matthew
11, 28 through 30. Come to me, this is Jesus
speaking, come to me all who labor and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest. I want to pause
this for a minute right here. Come to me Jesus
is telling us to bring our burdens to him That
thing that you're stressed out about that thing
that you're panicked about as I said earlier
y 'all he wants to hear about it He wants you
to give it to him. He's waiting on you to give
it to him He's never gonna be annoyed with you
coming and giving it to him because he is our
strength There is not too much that you can give
to God Give it all he wants your entire life
He wants you to lay your life down. There is
some scriptures reading this morning y 'all 2nd
Corinthians 5 15 He died for all that those who
live should no longer live for themselves But
for him who died for them and was raised again
Jesus literally expects us to give our lives
to him Don't you think that includes our worldly
problems? Remember that when Jesus Christ went
to the cross and raised from the dead he literally
conquered wickedness and evil he sealed the deal
that one day Satan is gonna be Locked away for
eternity in hell like literally gone There is
we are operating out of a space of victory when
we are operating through Jesus Christ So when
you give it to him, it's not it. Is he going
to be able to take care of it? He is going to
be able to take care of it The world has lost
in the grand scheme of things meaning the worldly
ways of solving things. Where is that gonna lead
death separation? And remember y 'all the devil
the enemy wants you to believe In the deception
he tries to convince you that trusting in God
is too hard that it's not working that prayers
aren't being heard that God has left you none
of that is real but the devil wants you to believe
that so that way you may turn to the world turn
to yourself turn to Satan and away from God away
from prayer away from faith I want to continue
reading Matthew 11 28 through 30 says here take
my yoke upon you and learn from me For I am gentle
and lowly in heart. You will find rest for your
souls. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. Jesus
is literally offering for us to give him this
weight that we are carrying, and he will give
us something lighter to carry, which is living
for him, submitting to him, obeying him. And
I'm not saying that it's always an easy thing.
Because in obeying Christ we're gonna have to
go against the world. The world hates Jesus.
Of course they'll hate us when we're doing things
that Jesus calls us to do. But Jesus assures
us that obeying Him, trusting in Him, abiding
in Him is much easier than doing it alone in
this world, than doing things apart from Him.
Remember the devil hates you. Satan hates you.
We are creating in God's image. We have the opportunity
at forgiveness and eternity with the Heavenly
Father Satan doesn't have that He was kicked
out of heaven because of his pride because of
his ego because he thought he could be like God
Has he repented? Will he repent? No, we know
this from reading scripture So don't think for
a second That those whispers Satan is whispering
in your ear those false ideas of comfort because
we know from reading scripture that he Masquerades
as an angel like don't think for a second that
he cares about you Or that he's trying to help
you Or bring you comfort all he is trying to
do is get you to put your faith in things outside
of Jesus Christ Because that way he can block
you from heaven. He doesn't have to get you to
worship him He just has to get you to turn away
from God He has to get you to turn away from
Jesus and take your faith away from Jesus He
comes to steal kill and destroy God's creations
and you are one of them Don't think for a second.
He has your well -being and mind your eternal
well -being Let's read some more scripture y
'all Psalms we're gonna be in Psalm 91 verse
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him. I
will be with him in trouble I will rescue him
and honor him with long life. I will satisfy
him and show him my salvation y 'all there is
This lie that the enemy loves to tell you The
enemy loves to say God Won't come God won't help
you. God won't hear your prayers. That's too
big for God. God has turned for me. That is a
lie And right here is a promise from God that
when we call to Him, meaning when we call out
for His help, when we go to Him in faith, when
we go to God actually believing that He has the
ability to change the situation, believing that
He will use this for our good, when we go to
Him in faith, He will answer us. And remember
y 'all, we have to listen. There are a lot of
times God is answering, but you aren't listening.
And you're walking around thinking he said no.
When he said not yet, you're walking around thinking
he didn't answer when you walked away before
he could respond. When you tossed up your prayer
and went on your day and started consuming social
media, Facebook, Reels, talking on the phone,
going to work. A lot of us distract ourselves
with work and busy moving throughout the day
when we should be sitting and praying. Did you
walk away before God could respond? Did you start
occupying your brain again? Before you could
receive before you could hear from him as God
says here I will be with him in trouble I will
rescue him and honor him You can be in the lowest
of your low and God will rescue you y 'all. I
have told you about how God restored me I was
in the lowest of my low I was like literally
living in my car in the middle of the desert
with no money to my name My reputation the lowest
had ever been I turned away from God and turned
to new age spirituality And he told me if I put
my faith in him, he would restore me Do you know
how much faith I had to have that he was going
to do that? And he did it I was in the deepest
pit y 'all when I would be reading those Psalms
and say like let's say like my soul is down in
Sheol and he'll save me from Sheol that's how
I felt I felt like I was the lowest of the low
I could be without being in hell and there were
times I was thinking could could God fix the
situation I was like because it he would have
to bring me money in a miraculous way He would
have to do, I don't know, how is it possible
to restore reputation? How is it possible to
do all these things? He did things that I could
not do for myself. He restored relationships
I couldn't restore. He got me jobs I couldn't
get. He got me into places. He opened doors I
could never open for myself or even think to
open for myself. He made things work out in ways
that I couldn't think to make them work out in
million years. I have... Lit modern day living
like testimony to him Saving and rescuing you
when you call out to him in prayer and you listen
to his answer When God said he would restore
me He gave me some things y 'all and I didn't
want to listen to him out first He told me you're
gonna move back to Indiana. I didn't want to
move back to Indiana. I was already in, California
It's a drive through mountains. There were people
I didn't want to see back in Indiana. I didn't
want to go back to my old life. I didn't see
how God would use that obedience to rebuild relationships,
to lead me to my church. That that act of obedience
was actually what he was going to move through.
When he said he would restore me financially,
I was ready to jump up in labor and get a job
and he told me to wait on him. I didn't know
if that meant he was gonna give me a job, if
there was gonna be money, like what was gonna
happen? And he ended up giving me a financial
blessing through an act of obedience to move
me back to Indiana to then get me a job. God
gave me a promise, but I had to trust in his
guidance. And the only reason, y 'all, why I
knew to wait. the only reason why I knew to move
and to do these things was because I prayed to
him and I waited on an answer and when he gave
me that answer I didn't say but this but that
but that and try to ask him for a new one or
anything I said okay this is your answer and
I'll be so transparent that wasn't always me
At first, when I was hearing from God, I'd say,
but God, I don't like that way. You're gonna
have to do something else. But what about this?
But what about that? And then I had to recognize
that was pride and ego because I was thinking
my way was better than God's. I was trusting
in my understanding and my sight over God's understanding
and his sight, and he sees a lot more than I
see. My restoration, y 'all, my testimonies were
based off of obedience to God. It wasn't anything
I created for myself. I was obeying God and submitting
and saying yes. Was putting my faith in him and
trusting in his planning and his abilities I
Believed his word and the only way I was able
to know his word was I was in his word Some of
y 'all need to hear about the parable of the
sower When God will give somebody a word he will
give you a promise he will say I'm gonna restore
you I'm gonna do this thing. I'm gonna do that
thing the devil best believe that when God gives
you a promise or a word the devil very quickly
tries to come along and steal it away people
who aren't rooted in the word people who don't
know God's word are able to be swayed pretty
quickly all it takes is someone coming around
that sounds a little bit holy and because you
don't actually know what the Bible says you start
believing in half Christian words Or you start
believing the lies of the devil the lies of the
enemy When he comes and says God didn't really
say that you're quick to believe God didn't say
it Or because your circumstances don't immediately
look like God's promise You stop believing in
God's promises y 'all when God told me he was
gonna restore me my life didn't immediately get
better Actually things around me started falling
through more. It looked like I was like cursed
I was like God, are you sure you're gonna bring
me money? Because I'm actually losing money God
are you sure my reputation is gonna be restored
because people are starting to make fun But God
gave me a promise and then my situation actually
started to look worse it looked like doors were
being opened and slammed in my face and That
was the enemy trying to get me to lose faith
and to lose heart that was him trying to steal
The seed before it could take root But it was
able to take root and y 'all know how it was
able to take root when God gave me a word I put
my faith in him and I stayed rooted in prayer.
I continued to read my Bible I continued to get
to know God more I know God more a lot more now
than I did back then because I continued to be
in scripture. I continued to pray I continued
When God gave me those promises, it was months
before I saw a lot of things pick up. There's
some things, y 'all, I'm still weighing on. It's
been years. But I still have faith. And I'm not
saying that faith wasn't a tap. It was. That
faith hasn't always been perfect. But a big sign
of my faith is I still am not trying to create
for myself in that area. I'm still waiting on
God. And someone needs to hear today, do not
lose faith in the promises from God just because
your surroundings don't match up with it. There's
a reason why scripture says walk by faith, not
by sight. You have to have faith in what God
says over what you see around you. If you trust
in what you see around you, you're never going
to move by faith. You're never going to see the
promises of God. Because things happen in the
spirit before they happen here in the physical
where you can see it. Haven't you noticed that
right before breakthroughs and blessings happen,
there's a lot of warfare? You notice there's
arguments, fallouts, breakdowns, all these different
things? Because things are happening in the spirit
before we see them in the physical. Meaning the
devil is seeing them too. He knows you're about
to receive that blessing, and he's trying to
get you to fudge it up. He's trying to get you
to move out of position. He's trying to get you
so, like, ungrateful. in a negative space that
when the blessing comes you don't see the blessing,
but you pass it up. He wants you to get so fearful
that you move before God, that you settle, that
you do that thing that God's telling you not
to do. I want to read a little bit more scripture
to y 'all in Psalm 91, y 'all. This is verse
11, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder. The
young lion and the serpent, you will trample
underfoot." You know what I thought about reading
that scripture? I didn't plan to read that scripture
to you all today. That is the scripture that
the devil read back and twisted to Jesus when
he was trying to tempt him in the desert, in
the wilderness. When Jesus Christ went into the
wilderness, y 'all, he had just gotten baptized.
He had just heard John the Baptist. Like John
the Baptist said like proclaim him saying like
this is the person I've been waiting on he had
gone baptized and God Had spoken to him and said
this is my son with who I am. Well, please He
had just heard from God that God was pleased
with him. God had just claimed him as his son
He had just stepped like taking a big step into
his ministry Right and right there in the moment.
So you would think because God just gave him
that promise and that beautiful thing a lot of
us would think okay things are going to look
really good things are going to be really easy
now right wrong immediately after that where
was Jesus led he was led into the wilderness
into like the desert area for 40 days to fast
which to us would be being led into a struggle
period Right after God blesses or get right after
God gives you a word and says I'm so happy with
you I'm so pleased with you and you're led immediately
into a struggle bus season a wilderness season
Where Jesus was without? He no food no what fasting
40 days And while he's out there in the middle
of nowhere The devil comes and tries to tempt
him You know saying If you're really the son
of God turn the stone into bread When he knew
he had a command to be when he knew he was supposed
to be fasting the devil trying to tempt him to
break his ass To disobey what God had already
told him to do. He's like now You shouldn't live
on bread But you should live on the word of God
someone needs to hear that today Put aside the
fleshly things that are bringing you comfort
and turn to the word of God That is what you
should be feeding on right now When you're going
through it mentally emotional, you should be
feeding on the Word of God not AI Not tick -tock
not Facebook Not listening to other angry people
agree with you about being angry. You need to
be in the Word of God But see this was something
that the devil tried to tempt him with the devil
tried to get Jesus to off himself To throw himself
down to put God to the test He was saying throw
yourself down from this mountaintop from this
cliff side Because doesn't scripture say that
like he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways On their hands
will bear you up. Let's you strike your foot
against a stone and Jesus remember He had respond
back and I'm calling this remember y 'all so
bear with me if it's if the words are scrambled
but jesus said back to him you shall not put
the lord your god to the test that was the devil
trying to get jesus to step out of god's will
to harm himself to hurt himself to test if god
was actually going to show up or not the devil
was trying to twist scripture because does the
bible say that he will command his angels concerning
you yes it does but what is the context You guys
need to know the Word of God and the context
There are so many people who are tricked out
of their promise who have peace and lose their
peace are tricked out of their peace are Tricked
into picking something back up are tricked out
of putting their faith in God because they believe
in the manipulated Bible verses Because they're
not rooted in the Word, because they say, well,
God knows my heart. Well, I have discernment.
I don't need the Word. No, the Word actually
strengthens discernment. You're following your
heart. Let's be real, and the heart is deceptive.
I cannot tell you all how many people I see that
say, I don't need the Bible. I don't need to
read all that. God will guide my heart. The devil
will be whispering in your ear the whole way,
too. How do you know the difference? You need
to be rooted in the Word. God's Word is how you're
able to hold things up and see things that sound
holy that aren't from God. And because Jesus
was constantly in prayer with the Heavenly Father,
because he knew God's voice, because he knew
the context, because he was rooted in Scripture,
he was able to decipher and discern that to be
a lie. You need to know the context. I cannot
tell y 'all how many people for example quote
Philippians 4 13 which says I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me you see how
many athletes put that on their face how many
people put that in their bios and they take that
as I can do anything like I I can do anything
if if I have God if I'm praying to God I can
do anything anything I set my mind to I'll be
able to achieve I'll be able to accomplish when
if they read the context they would see what
Paul was actually saying and right before that
Paul says I have learned to be and I'm just quoting
off memory all I have learned to be content in
all situations in the hills and in the valleys
Paul's talking about how he's been in situations
where he has had nothing and still moved by faith
in times when he has had everything and still
moved by faith And that he can do all things
through Christ who strengthens him meaning it
doesn't matter if he has nothing to his name
It doesn't matter if his situation looks dry
pointless if he's up against a Appearing to be
undefeatable person if he's up against the Goliath
if God is on his side He will be able to achieve
it if God has called him to it if God's hand
is in the situation Saying despite his circumstances
even if it looks Dire and unwinnable if God has
decided the situation is a win. It will be a
win That's not saying if you have decided you
want it and you have decided this way. It's if
God has Christ strengthens you when Christ is
supporting that right? Just for an example of
a situation God isn't going to support. God isn't
going to strengthen. For an example, He's not
going to strengthen you going into a marriage
and taking someone's husband or taking someone's
wife. You're going to have to do that one on
your own, buddy. If God has called you to teach,
but you decide that you want to be an influencer
or a singer, you're going to be doing that on
your own strength. You want to toss away a blessing
God has given you. You want to toss away a promise
God has given you. You're going to be doing that
on your own strength. So many people twist Philippians
4 13 to I can do whatever I want if I pray to
God You have to know the context the devil will
be quick to flip scripture and take it out of
context to trick you out of your spot You need
to know the Word of God Psalm 56 verses 3 through
4 This is the last scripture I want to mention
today y 'all when I am afraid I put my trust
in you and God Whose word I praise and God I
trust I shall not be afraid What can flesh do
to me? When I am afraid I put my trust in God
meaning when I am fearful when I don't know the
outcome when I don't know what to do When I am
scared, when I am put in a position of fear,
I'm going to turn to God. I'm going to pray about
it. I'm going to seek His will. I'm going to
get in the Word. And God, whose Word I praise.
Some people are going to hate to hear this today,
but you need to hear it anyway. You have to accept
every word of God, not just what makes you feel
good. Denying the flesh goes for all the flesh
not just bits and pieces of it I know so many
people that are down to say okay can't gossip
can't lie can't do all these things But the second
it comes to fornication the second it comes to
sex outside of marriage. They don't want to hear
it anymore The second it comes to looking at
people lustfully the second it comes to forgiving
your enemies They don't want to hear it or they
want to pick and choose which enemies they only
want to forgive the enemies from 25 years ago
They can't forgive the enemies that made themselves
enemies yesterday. You have to accept all of
God's Word, not just part of it. You have to
praise His Word. Now I'm not saying to idolize.
We should not be idolizing the Bible. That should
not be above God. But the Bible was a gift given
to us from God. This is the living breathing
word of God This is God God is the author of
the Bible and the people who wrote the different
books were the Transcribers people who heard
from God and wrote down his word people who saw
moves of God And wrote it down for us You cannot
be a Christian love love Jesus follow Jesus But
not love the Word of God. Jesus is literally
the Word made flesh And God I trust I shall not
be afraid when you put your faith in God he will
take that fear away from you Now it may try to
creep back up but when it creeps back up you
put your faith in God again You give it to God
again. If you have to lay it down at the altar
50 times, you keep laying it down at the altar.
Remind yourself of who God is. Get in the Word.
Remind yourself of what God is capable of. Read
about how He did it with the Israelites in Egypt.
Read about how He delivered on His promises.
Read about what He did for Joseph. Read about
what Jesus Christ going to the cross did for
us. There are so many examples in the Bible of
God and his promises and how he keeps them and
Someone needs to hear this today. What can flesh
do to me? That's what we just read and God whose
word I praise and God I trust I shall not be
afraid. What can flesh do to me? You need to
start walking around with that energy if God
is with me what can be against me? Weapons may
form, but those who have their faith in God,
weapons that form will not prosper. God never
promised a weapon wouldn't form. Nowhere in the
Bible does it say that when you're reading scripture,
when you're putting your faith in Jesus, when
you're denying the flesh, it's going to get easier.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say the worker is
going to stop. But you do read to not be afraid
of men. Don't fear the one who can kill the body
fear the one who can kill the soul and the body
you fear God over your men Says here what can
flesh do to me if God is with you who can stand
against you? If God has decided you're gonna
win in that situation sure the weapons inform
the devil might try to get in your head He might
try to delay you He might try to backtrack you
of God has already anointed you for the situation.
You're putting your faith in him You're doing
what God calls you to do. You're playing your
you're playing by God's rules those weapons forming
aren't going to prosper and there's a real temptation
when you're doing it God's way to stop the devil
will do that he will try to get you to think
well you've already done God's way this far enough
let's do it flesh for a little while let's do
it worldly for a little while that is a lie straight
from hell do not give the devil an inch nowhere
in scripture does it say when you check all these
boxes as a Christian the warfare is going to
stop nowhere does it say that but what are the
different verses we read today talking about
how when you face that warfare there is a rest
and there's a peace and God will fight your battles
you need only be still I'm telling y 'all today
that your problems are going to feel heavier
the more you distance yourself from God, from
His Word, from communication with Him. But when
you lean into Him, despite the opposition, you
will find a peace. You will find victory in Christ
Jesus. And I know the flesh may be telling you
to lean away, to lean back to your old comforts.
Go back to those things that you usually turn
to, whether it's crashing out, lashing out, posting,
whatever it is. Listen to Jesus instead. You'll
never regret listening to God. You'll never regret
waiting on God, because He will do exceedingly
and abundantly ever better than you could create
for yourself. And then some. But you will always
regret not trusting God and not moving on Now
I pray that this episode blessed y 'all and I
want to remind you so heavily guys I am NOT Speaking
this to you from some mountaintop like I'm set
apart from all of this I am able to speak to
y 'all about this with such enthusiasm and authority
Because I have experienced this most of my life
I Was relying on myself instead of God. I know
firsthand what the warfare is like when you're
relying on your own strength I Know firsthand
the temptations to go back. I know firsthand
what it's like to stumble and backslide and have
to repent I know what it's like to believe the
lies of the enemy and start doubting God. I know
what it's like to start getting angry and thinking
God isn't working in your situation. I am not
speaking to you all as someone who is better
than or hasn't experienced this or has gotten
around it. I'm speaking to you all as someone
who has and I have stumbled and I have tripped
and I have had moments where I've seen through
the lies of the enemy and gotten to bypass that.
Glory be to God. I've also believed the lives
of the young me, stumbled, and had to look to
God to help me up. I'm speaking to y 'all as
a sister in Christ that is lovingly trying to
help you through this season. And I pray that
God is speaking through me today, that the Holy
Spirit is speaking through me today and ministering
to you in ways that you didn't even realize you
needed ministered to. I pray that whatever it
is you are carrying, you give it to God, and
that you too experience the peace that surpasses
all understanding, and that when you face the
next hardship, the next storm, you remember the
peace that God gave you. you remember the tactics
of the enemy and you choose to put your faith
in God and I do pray that your scripture reading
increases that you are rooted in the Word and
that you memorize scripture and that you have
it hidden in your heart so that way when the
devil comes and tries to manipulate scripture
you know the context you know God's will you
know what God's Word says and these out of context
quotations These twisted words aren't going to
trip you up for nobody. And I just want to thank
y 'all for listening to today's episode. And
I pray that it blesses you. And I do ask you
to hit subscribe wherever it is you're listening
to this podcast. Share it. Share this podcast
with your friend, your family member. Share it
on social media. Share the podcast with whoever
it is that the Lord is putting it on your heart.
to share this podcast with. And I will see you
guys next time. This was the Salt Not Sweetener
podcast. My name is Danielle Townsend and I am
so grateful that you chose to listen today. God
bless.