Hey guys, and welcome back to the Salt Not Sweetener
podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Townsend, and
I hope that you guys have had a very Merry Christmas.
That is my hope. I know that might not always
be a reality. I think the reality of holiday
situations from personal experience as well as
almost everybody I've communicated with in life.
A common factor with the holiday season seems
to be that's the time when you get together with
people that you don't usually see throughout
the year, right? It's almost like a reunion time.
That's that time when, you know, you normally
aren't with these people, but this is your opportunity
to see these people. Some of the people you're
excited to see because maybe distance or things
like that, you're not able to see them. And some
of the people, maybe you're not very excited
to see. Maybe there's a reason why you don't
see them. the rest of the year. Maybe there's
a reason why there is that distance. And something
that seems to happen at a lot of holidays can
be dysfunction and a lack of peace. And that's
the direction I feel led to go in today, y 'all.
I don't know exactly what is going to come out
of this episode. But there is some scripture
that the Lord has called me to meditate on the
past week, which is Romans 12, 18. If possible,
so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with
all. And as I'm progressing throughout the week,
I'm seeing more how that isn't just a scripture
for me, but that is a word for whoever it is
listening to this episode. And that's what we're
going to kind of pick at today. As you're pursuing
your relationship with Jesus, how do you, so
far as it depends on you, live peaceably with
all? I want to start with sharing some personal
testimony with y 'all. I'm speaking to y 'all
as a former people pleaser to the core. And I
didn't even realize how deep of a people pleaser
I was. And when I've been kind of tracing it
back, I think where it rooted for me, and I believe
this roots for a lot of people and they don't
see it in their own lives, is as a child, I developed
this idea that I could control the responses
and the reactions of people around me. Primarily
adults, right? I had adults around me that sometimes
their emotional responses or reactions were pretty
intense. And sometimes they feel triggered by
something so small. And I started to develop
in my head that maybe if I was just very thoughtful
and very mindful of my steps that they see. I
can avoid these big reactions. I can avoid the
anger. I can avoid the upset. I can avoid the
hurt. I can avoid the pain. Now I want to be
very, very, very clear because I've shared this
in past episodes that I had a lot of self -destructive
behaviors, like as a child, as an adult, as a
young adult, as a teenager with the partying,
the drinking, the smoking, I was really kind
of destroying myself as a way to disconnect or
release. I feel like the adults around me only
knew like a tenth of that, right? Like they didn't
see all the depth of it. And I had developed
a response that I called speak when spoken to.
And I had learned with a lot of the adults around
me that I would only speak to them if they spoke
to me first. I wouldn't go out of my way to start
interactions. I wouldn't go out of my way to
start conversations. And I also learned to respond
with a yes or no behavior, right? Like where
I would just try to be very vague and very quiet.
I wouldn't ask a lot of questions. I wouldn't
give a lot of detail because I had learned that.
in my experience it was random details that someone
would get upset over or it was random details
that would set someone off or it was something
that most people like wouldn't think twice about
that a person would get really angry or upset
so I had learned like if I want to limit that
to the the most I like the most possible limit
I'll just water myself down and be very bland
and be very quiet. And I learned I'll just make
myself completely uninteresting to this person.
And it worked for the most part. But then sometimes
they would actually get upset at me for being
too bland or not being excited or not being happy
or not being any of this. And I didn't pick up
on it back then, but it was something that the
Lord has revealed to me now of even in that time.
when I did everything possible to not frustrate
or upset someone, that would frustrate or upset.
And I hadn't realized that throughout my life,
I was carrying this weight and I was believing
this lie from the enemy because the enemy is
the deceiver. I was believing this lie that I
could control the emotions, the responses, and
the reactions of people around me based off of
how I responded, based off of how I reacted.
And I remember when I gave my life to Jesus and
there was like this every day. I was reading
scripture for like over 12 hours a day and journaling
and reflecting. The Lord was taking me through
heavy pruning seasons. And one of the big things
the Lord had to address with me was my people
-pleasing behavior. That if you all have been
here with me for a while, you know when I got
into New Age spirituality, New Age is like the
people -pleasing of people -pleasing where it's
your belief is your belief. You know, like it's
kind of saying all religions are right and all
beliefs are right and they all mesh together
and like we all go to the same place. And it's
like this weird where you just are constantly
condoning sin and condoning all these things.
And I had gotten so enmeshed in that and used
to that. And when I started being strengthened
in my faith, I started recognizing, wow, the
Lord is going to call me. to speak the gospel
to other people the Lord is going to call me
to ministry like and that requires me saying
that Jesus Christ is the way the truth of life
I started realizing I was like I'm gonna have
to stand on truths that are gonna make other
people uncomfortable they're gonna make other
people frustrated they're gonna make other people
angry started realizing I was like just being
a Christian and saying that Jesus Christ is the
way the truth of life is going to be found offensive
by a lot of people and that was a heavy weight
for me that was a source of stress and anxiety
at first and the lord took me through a process
of breaking that down and one of the big things
that he had revealed to me is that i cannot control
the way that other people respond or react and
when you truly start to believe that like Not
just hearing it, but when you truly start to
believe that in your heart of no matter what
I do, no matter what I say, people are going
to respond how they're going to respond. That
was a freedom I started walking in that I didn't
know existed. I hadn't realized how many times
just what I posted on social media, the way I
worded something, the outfit I wore, anything
I did. There was a part of me that was taking
into account how are other people going to receive
this? How are other people going to respond?
There was a time in my life when I would have
a post and I would like think it through for
an hour of all the possible ways I could word
it and the ways that the wording could go wrong
and the way it could be misinterpreted. Y 'all,
there was a long period of time where God really
couldn't use me to spread the gospel because
I was so fearful over how other people would
respond. That like being in that constant state
of fear, I wasn't prepared to answer questions.
I wasn't prepared to, you know, go in depth.
I wasn't prepared to be rooted in faith and stand
in my faith and testify. People pleasing, I hadn't
realized that people pleasing idea and that belief
that I could control the other people around
me was really hurting my ability to be used by
God. And the ways that he wanted to use me. And
this was the part of Romans that I immediately
caught my eye when I was reading it this week
was, if possible, so far as it depends on you.
You know, in this, the command that we're being
given isn't try to force other people's hand
and try to control how other people create peace
and try to control what other people do. Because
I felt really convicted, y 'all. There have been
recent times when I have, in all honesty, overexerted
myself in some areas to create peace between
people. Like when I see that there's discord
and things going on, I do believe I was called
to plant seeds. But I had started turning that
planting seeds into trying to kind of like...
force the hand, right? And that's not our role
and that's not our responsibility. And maybe
you listening to this need to hear today to ask
God to help you know when to stop. Ask God to
help you discern when are you planting seeds
and when are you starting to try to force the
harvest and force the situation. But I want you
all to stop and think on this when you're hearing
this today. Is there an area in your life right
now where you are believing that you can control
outcomes that aren't in your control? That you
can control actions and thoughts and feelings
and responses that you can't control? And I want
to take this step even further. Is there an area?
that God has called you to be strong and that
you are watering down, that you are doling down
to keep others around you comfortable? Is there
a step God is calling you to take that you have
yet to take because you're fearful of how the
people around you are going to respond or react?
When I look back, There were so many times where
I knew God was calling me to step out in faith,
but I would delay that response. I would delay
that action. I would delay my responding to God's
call because I was overthinking, well, how are
the people around me going to react? And what
might I lose if people around me don't receive
it well? And this, that this is what I keep being
brought back to is so far as it depends on you.
God is calling us to take, we have to take responsibility
of what areas can we control? Like what areas
in our life can we contribute to peacekeeping,
to showing love, to killing the tension, to killing
the anger. So we've looked at this part, right,
of recognizing that we cannot control other people
and not trying to exert that control. But let's
take a moment to look at the accountability aspect
here. Because we do have an accountability to
take. And I'll share with y 'all a personal example,
a personal testimony that I felt convicted by
with the Lord, right? There was... A connection,
a relationship I had with a person that there
was some tension going on. And I felt like the
majority of the tension was on their part. You
know, I felt like I wasn't doing a lot of wrong
in the situation that caused the tension. I felt
like that was more on their end, right? I felt
like they were more the person with things to
adjust or things to fix. But I hadn't realized
that, you know, they were coming around and trying
to soften the tension. Maybe the root of the
problem hadn't been fixed yet. I'll say that.
But they were trying to limit the lack of peace
that was going on, right? They were trying to
like, okay, hey, I know we haven't completely
fixed this problem yet, but let's at least like
be kind towards each other. And I personally,
y 'all, wrote that off because I took it as this
person just trying to dismiss the problem and
dismiss the situation and you know maybe maybe
they were I don't know I I don't know hearts
and I don't know minds but there was a part of
me that was apprehensive to creating peace with
this person because I was like no like if I make
peace right now they're gonna think that I'm
over it and it's okay not to work on this and
it's okay not to fix this and I started feeling
convicted by the Lord the more I was thinking
on the scripture as far as it depends on you,
do your best to live peaceably. And I thought
about it, and I was like, me choosing to show
this person kindness, me choosing to show this
person love, isn't excusing things. I don't have
to say, you know what, never mind. I don't have
to back down on all these things I said. I don't
have to back down on these boundaries that I
stood on. But I should try to show love to this
person. And I had a conviction of just telling
this person, hey, I love you, would make a world
of a difference in the way that we're interacting.
And I listened to that and I told this person
I love them and it immediately diffused the tension.
You know, these boundaries that I set, I haven't
backed out on them. You know, the things that
I said can hold to scripture. Did I say them
in a way that was exactly Christ -like? No, and
I had to repent for that. But that was an opportunity
for me to work through and to utilize. the tools
that God has given me and how to love people
but still stand on business. You know, Jesus
called people to go and sin no more. He would
heal them, but then he would say, but go and
sin no more. In order to show love to people,
Jesus wasn't saying, okay, you can conform to
the world. Your truth is your truth. If this
is how you're feeling, this is how you decide
is best to handle, just do that. Just do your
thing. Now, Jesus would call them to a higher
place. Jesus would call them to grow, to be better,
to do better. But he wasn't doing a thing of
where he's like, but I'm going to make you feel
like crap and I'm going to be mean to you and
petty towards you and all these things until
you do it. His love was unconditional. He loved
them regardless, but his love didn't look like
enabling or encouraging to conform. And that's
what I had seen in that situation, right? Is
where I can show this person love. I can tell
them I love them. I can show them like, hey,
like I'm not stewing and angry. I don't hate
you. I can do that. And still not back down on
the boundaries I know God has called me to establish.
And being rooted in the things I know God has
called me to be rooted in. And that was a wonderful
moment for me. I see that there is an area where
I can do better to create peace. But that peace
doesn't look like going against God's word. And
I had taken a recognition where I was like, I
can't force this person. To be more peaceful.
I can't do these things, but what I can do is
I can pray for them. I can give it to God because
there is a spirit behind different actions. When
I recognize that that spiritual battle is God's
to fight. There's a weight lifted off of the
shoulders. I can tell you that. Maybe you are
listening to this today. And this is just your
opportunity to hear that you can be kind. You
can show Christlike love. You can love someone
and also stand on God's word. You can do both.
Boundaries don't always look like being hateful
and angry. In fact, that's kind of unchristlike,
right? You can stand on boundaries and still
be praying for someone's salvation. You can stand
on boundaries and still tell them that Jesus
loves them. There's something that's been coming
across my social media a lot recently. I find
I keep passing a lot of videos of people saying
the same thing, that they're saying that Someone
who calls you out on your sin and tries to direct
you back lovingly to Christ loves you a lot more
than the person that's enabling you and telling
you to stay in it. It is actually a very, very
loving thing for a brother and sister in Christ
to be like, hey, I see that you're falling away
here and lovingly point you back. When they have
that bigger picture in mind of the walk with
Jesus and you looking more like Jesus and you
living a life submitted to Jesus is far more
important than your fleshly desires or your comfortability.
And this, y 'all, I didn't expect to go in this
direction, but there is a book that I started
reading this fall. That is called Servant Warfare.
And it's by Steve Sojournan, if I'm pronouncing
his name correctly. And this was an eye -opener
read for me, right? Because when I... really
started stepping into my authority for Christ.
And I feel there are a lot of other Christians
who run into this as well, right? When you step
into your authority in Christ Jesus, when you're
able to start discerning the spirits behind things,
when you're able to start looking at something
and being like, yeah, that is a demonic influence,
that is a demonic oppression situation, whatever
it may be. you immediately want to step into
the, I rebuke and I cast this out in the name
of Jesus. And like you so quickly, I know for
me personally, I immediately, when I would spot
something as demonic, I immediately wanted to
expose it and be like, Hey y 'all ring a ding
ding. This is demonic here. Expose it, cast it
out, cast it down. And I felt like that was me
really being a champion for Christ. Right. I
felt like that was me really. really doing a
big one. And you know what? That is part of our
authority as Christians, right? That is part
of our authority that the Lord has given us is
to trample, to trample on serpents and scorpions
and to in the name of Jesus Christ, cast out
demons. But this was where my mind was opened
that I hadn't thought on it that long. But we
also know from reading scripture that when you
rebuke a demon, when you cast it out, right,
that demon goes about and it goes through the
waterless places and it seeks a new vessel. And
then it comes back and it returns, but it returns
with, I believe it's like seven more, seven more
demons. So you rebuke it from that person, but
then it comes back and it comes back stronger
and it comes back more powerful. The thing that
the Lord has really opened my eyes to is when
you are trying to deliver people, and when you
are rebuking, when you're casting out demons,
if that person doesn't become a space that welcomes
Jesus Christ, that wants deliverance, that sees
that they need deliverance, that sees that they
need a lifestyle change, Sure, that demon's fleeing
for a little bit. That person gets a temporary
relief. But then it's starting right back up.
And the thing that the Lord has been showing
me is how the love of Jesus and opening people's
hearts to Christ is so, so crucial to that. It's
so crucial to someone being delivered, to someone
having a different life. And I was having this
conversation with someone not too long ago where
it's like, yeah, you can rebuke the demon. You
can rebuke all that. But if you're not showing
the personal love of Jesus, if they don't see
that they need to change their habits, if they
don't start seeing how welcoming these things
in is harmful or damaging, they're going to welcome
them right back in. And the thing that this book
had revealed to me. servant warfare was literally
what, what it's called is spiritual warfare from
a servant mindset, from a servant perspective
of this was a man who was a pastor that him and
his church would go throughout the week and just
serve people in the community. And they had little
cards made up that said, hey, we're doing this
thing to just show you the love of Jesus in the
practical way. They're washing people's toilets,
like businesses' toilets. They're putting coins
in people's parking meters. They were just doing
these things that were random acts of love and
kindness. And when people would start saying,
why are you doing this? That was opening up the
door for them to start telling them about the
love of Jesus. And there is actually a story
in here of... There was this lady who was, I
believe she was a tarot card reader. She was
like into the psychic stuff and had a little
business and had ordered for meals, free meals
from the church. And the church came and brought
them to her. And in doing that, and in showing
her the love of Jesus and talking to her in front
of all the other clients sitting out there, multiple
of them that day received the gospel, gave their
lives to Christ. And ended up becoming members
of the church. And the common theme, and there
were many, many stories like that in that book.
The common theme that kept popping up is before
these people were open. to being delivered. Before
these people were open to having, because he
talks about deliverance sessions in this, when
they were literally casting out and rebuking
demons. And there was some very interesting stuff
that I was reading about in there. But before
people would be open to that and recognizing
that they needed that, they first were recognizing
that they needed Jesus, right? They were first
recognizing that they needed Christ. And that
was the mind -blowing thing for me of like, I'm
so quick to rush and try to expose and try to
rebuke and try to get all these people, you know,
delivered, like trying to cast out all these
demons. But if these people don't know the love
of Jesus, if these people don't know that they
need different, then these demons are going to
come back into a well -cleaned up space with
seven more. Big chillin'. And that's something,
y 'all, that the Lord has been taking me through
the past, I would say, especially like six months,
is showing people the love of Jesus. You know,
we're not called to repay evil for evil. We're
not. That's actually what's said right before
the scriptures. Do not repay evil for evil. If
possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably
with all. And I started learning, oh my goodness.
Like the problem isn't just that these people
need delivered, that they need these demons like
rebuked. The problem here is like they need to
accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
So that way the deliverance sticks. Then deliverance
isn't going to stick if they don't desire to
live like Jesus. And I started recognizing that
speaking in hate. in anger and saying like expose
just the kind of constant exposure and frustration
and harsh language isn't the way that jesus spoke
to people he spoke to people with love he spoke
to people with kindness but he never went against
god's word you can speak with love and kindness
and not be going against god and not be watering
down the gospel we have like this misunderstanding
I don't think there's a better way to word it
in this generation where people think that if
they water down the gospel or leave out parts,
it'll win more people over. It'll be better received.
But that's not what we're called to do. We're
not called to shift or change God's word or to
water down God's word. But I'm telling y 'all
today, and I know from experience every time
before I gave my life to Jesus, when people would
come at me and say, what you're doing is wrong
and wicked and evil. When people would speak
at me in anger and frustration, I wanted nothing
to do with Jesus. I wanted nothing to do with
Christianity. I wanted nothing to do. And they
actually made me want to bury myself deeper in
what I was doing. It actually made me want to
stray further away from Christianity. And of
course, now I can see that, you know, that was
me being hurt by people, not by Jesus, not by
the church. At that time, my only example of
Jesus, my only example of the church was the
people who were coming towards me. And all the
people I was seeing were people where I was like,
well, this just feels angry and hateful. Y 'all.
The Lord has really been changing the way that
I view discipleship making and deliverance. And
the root of it is love. And I feel like there
are other people who need to hear this today
is love and kindness. You know, the people who
were able to plant seeds for me. When I look
back. And I didn't see it in the moment. But
these were people who I knew that they disagreed
with when I was a new ager. I knew they disagreed
with when I was a tarot card reader. I knew they
disagreed with these things. But they were the
first people that they weren't like, they continued
to show me love regardless of their disagreement
with what I was doing. They never said what I
was doing was okay. They never said that what
I was doing was fine. They never said anything
that contradicted God's word. They listened.
They would ask me questions of why I did what
I did. I want to be so clear that they never
conformed to it. But they also showed me a love
and acceptance that made no sense to me. Like
when they would find out I was needing something,
they'd be so quick to give it to me. They would
just talk and give me advice and show me love
in ways that had been so long since I've seen
that love. Because there was nothing I could
give back to them. They were showing me love
and kindness just to do it. And when I started
giving my life to Christ, and when I started
giving my life to the Lord, I was able to look
back and be like, man, that was Jesus. Trying
to get to me through these people. And it actually
encouraged me when I was looking back and reflecting
on conversations. To deny the flesh in some areas.
I'm telling y 'all. That if we want to bring
people closer to Christ. Like if we want to.
point people to the cross if we want to get better
at discipleship making if we want people to want
Jesus one of the best ways one of the best actions
we can take is by showing them the love of Jesus
and I've said this in that past episode love
you cannot show it and give it until you have
experienced it right And I want to be so clear
that like, although today I'm able to talk about
forgiveness and love and kindness and peace,
I had to first receive it. I will be the first
one always to tell y 'all that I'm not speaking
to you as like from some mountaintop of I've
never made these mistakes or I made them and
I'm like better now and I'm just. preaching and
teaching. No, I'm actively working through this
and learning this because I am an imperfect person
who falls short. And the only reason why I know
the forgiveness of Jesus is because of the many
times I have had to experience the forgiveness
of Jesus. How many times I've had to go to him
in repentance since giving my life to him and
say, I have fallen short here. I did this. I
did that. Please forgive me. And experiencing
the forgiveness where Jesus is ready to forgive
me. Where he's ready to make peace. I had to
experience that so many times before I was actually
ready to extend that to other people. And it
was by seeing and experiencing how Jesus forgives
me that I was able to see how I can like be forgiving
of other people. Now I want to be so clear to
differentiate this. Like I can't, Jesus's level
of forgiveness and my level of forgiveness are
like different weights. Obviously my forgiveness
is I'm foregoing people to God of where it's
like I, any need for a lick back, a get back,
vengeance to make you feel some type of way,
any of that, I'm letting that go. And whatever
consequence, if there is anything like that,
I give that to God. And I'm trusting in God's
ability to divinely handle it. I understand that
vengeance is not mine. Vengeance is the Lord's,
right? And that is my forgiveness. My forgiveness
is foregoing someone to God. I personally do
not have the capacity to like forgive sins and
like the entry of heaven like Jesus does, right?
So I felt the need to differentiate that. My
forgiveness is I forgo someone to God. I'm not
holding on to something that I'm never meant
to hold on to in the first place. Vengeance is
not mine. Vengeance is the Lord's. Now Jesus,
when we put our faith in Jesus, We're able to
receive the forgiveness of sins, right? Because
he paid the debt. He went to the cross. So when
our faith is in Jesus, when we go before God
one day, inevitably fall short. Every single
one of us has fallen short. Jesus says their
faith was in me. They're covered. And we literally
are able to access heaven. I feel like people
know this, but I feel the need to say it anyway.
Whether or not we forgive someone does not determine
whether or not they go to heaven. I could be
holding someone unforgiveness the rest of my
life, and if they have put their faith in Jesus
Christ, they're going to heaven, baby. Their
faith is in him. Their heart is with him. Whether
or not I choose to forgive someone does not determine
whether or not they go to heaven, whether or
not they see salvation. I just felt the need
to kind of differentiate that. My forgiveness
is a different type of forgiveness from Jesus.
But my forgiveness can look very similar to the
way Jesus forgave in ways, right? Because I've
experienced how he's done it for me. Most of
my life, I had fallen short. Most of my life,
I had been angry and rejected him. lived in the
flesh and did all these things, believed the
lies of the enemy, did all these things that
didn't serve Jesus. I went against him every
day of my life. I betrayed and denied him every
day of my life. But then one day when I saw the
truth and I repented, he was ready to forgive
me. Like he was ready to, I love you. I've been
waiting for you. And him showing that to me has
opened my mind up that I can show that to other
people too, right? And there's the scripture
that I want to read to y 'all. Again, in Titus,
Titus 3, where it says here, starting in verse
3, for we too were once foolish, disobedient,
deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures,
living in malice and envy. hateful, detesting
one another. But when the kindness of God, our
Savior, and his love for mankind appeared, he
saved us, not by works or righteousness that
we had done, but according to his mercy. And
y 'all, I remember when I first repented. To
give my life to Jesus. And I felt a peace. And
I felt a weight lifted off of me. And I was reading
scripture. And they were talking about offerings.
And I remember having this thought of thank you
Jesus for coming here. And making it to where
I just have to put my faith in you. Because I
don't have the money for a goat or a cow or a
cattle. I can't drive to a temple and do all
that. I started thinking I was like glory be
to God. That we can repent and be forgiven like
that. That it's not a works -based thing. And
you know, I want to circle this around to that
person that I felt the Lord calling me to show
love to. I shared that testimony with y 'all
earlier of just telling them I love them. Is
I had been holding into my heart, a part of me
was refusing to interact or be kind or show love
to this person because I was like, they haven't
changed yet. And I felt convicted of the Lord
saying, But my being kind to them or my showing
the love of Jesus to them shouldn't be dependent
on their works because I'm not deserving of it
either. And this was something, honestly, I really
struggled to fully grasp or understand. I know
that there's more that the Lord is going to reveal
to me on this topic throughout my life, but it's
crazy the understanding I have of it now versus
just a couple months ago. But from a humble space,
when I remind myself that I'm not deserving of
the forgiveness I receive from Jesus, I'm not
deserving of the love or any of these things,
yet I still receive it anyway, that allows me
to show that and share that with other people.
And going back to our root topic today, doing
your best to live peaceably with others includes
showing the love of Jesus to them, whether or
not they deserve it. Because you don't deserve
it, and I don't deserve it. When we live in Scripture
as our truth, we're operating as Scripture as
the truth, none of us deserve it. Not a single
one of us, our salvation, our entry into heaven
cannot be bought by works. Our works do not buy
our way into heaven, so that way no man may boast.
Our works do not buy the love of the Heavenly
Father. And when we're striving to live a life
Christ -like, we need to stop ransoming our love.
We need to start saying, I'll only show you love
or only show you if you meet these certain requirements
or do these certain works. And again, I don't
know how many times, but I'll continue to reiterate
this skill. Love doesn't mean putting down boundaries.
Love doesn't mean access. And I do encourage
you. To pray that God shows you the ways that
you can love people better. If you're needing
a new topic to Bible study on, I encourage your
next one to be love. How to show Christlike love.
How to be forgiving. What ways can you grow in
that? And if you're sitting here listening to
this and thinking, I already love people super
well, or I already do this, there's nowhere to
grow. I want to lovingly, lovingly, Discourage
that thinking. Because there is a pruning that
can be done. As long as we are walking here on
this earth in these bodies, there is more that
we can learn about the Lord. And there is more
that we can improve in and grow on. We're not
perfect. We all fall short. And we're continuing
to go through a growing and learning process
every day. So I want it in the most loving, loving
way because I have been in that position. I have
had moments where I'm like, God, I've showed
the love to these people in every way I can think
of. I've done this in every way I can think of.
I don't know what more you want from me. And
then usually he'll let me kind of settle and,
you know, get back in his presence and get emotionally
sorted. And then he'll show me exactly the thing
that I'm needing to heal and work on. Usually
when I feel an apprehension or I immediately
want to wall up to something like that, there's
an unhealed pattern or thought or behavior that
I'm protecting or defending. So in the most loving
way, I just want to say there is an area that
you can be expanded on. And I do encourage you
to pray to the Lord to help you expand that.
I know there's probably some more he's needing
to show me. We're working through it this week,
obviously. I thought I did so well at making
peace with people until the Lord revealed to
me I can be doing better. I thought I was doing
so good with deliverance and rebuking until the
Lord showed me that there was a whole aspect
of it I was missing. I thought I was doing so
good with standing on God's truth until I was
put in situations where I recognized I was watering
down Scripture. I pray that this episode just
helps you today in how you interact, in how you
show the love of Jesus, in how you take accountability,
and maybe helping you to stop taking accountability
for some things that aren't yours to take. You
know, I feel like that was a good part, the first
part of this message. That there are some areas,
there are some weights that we're carrying that
God never meant for us to carry. There are some
responsibilities that we're bringing along with
us that aren't ours to bring along. And when
we start identifying this is an area that should
be left to God, it's crazy the freedom that we
can step into and move through. I pray that this
episode... blesses you and helps you and that
you're guided in this season I pray that my testimony
however sometimes honestly y 'all it can be sometimes
embarrassing to share some of these testimonies
because I'm like I feel like that's a really
obvious thing to fall short on but I feel like
me being vulnerable and sharing this with y 'all
it keeps me humble but I really truly hope that
it also It helps y 'all to see that like I'm
moving through this process too. I'm in the boat
with you. Like although I'm speaking about these
things, like these are things that I'm moving
through and learning through and that you see
that like I'm also just moving through it and
walking through it and that I fall short too.
And I hope that it helps you in softening your
heart and just accepting some of these things.
I pray that y 'all have a wonderful day. Please
subscribe wherever it is you're listening to
the podcast. Like, subscribe, share this episode
with someone you feel maybe needing to hear it.
If you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to share
it with someone, share it with them, and I will
see y 'all later. God bless.