WEBVTT 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:02.980 Okay, back in Cup 9, we talked about a friend 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:05.660 of mine who heard a noise under the hood and 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:09.640 just turned up the radio to drown it out. Which, 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:12.019 let's be honest, that's not exactly a diagnostic 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:14.519 strategy. It's more like denial with a soundtrack. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:17.379 And we've all done some version of that. Something's 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:20.359 rattling or grinding. It clearly sounds like 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:22.780 it's about to become a whole situation. And instead 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.120 of dealing with it, we just make the music louder. 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:28.719 And we hope whatever's happening under the hood 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:32.619 Finds Jesus on its own. That conversation was 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:36.020 about the noises we already know are there. The 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:38.759 things we hear, sense, and recognize, but we 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:42.060 actively try to drown out because we don't want 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.859 to deal with them. But today I want to shift 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:48.240 the picture a little bit. Because sometimes the 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.420 issue isn't a noise we're ignoring. Sometimes 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:56.740 we don't know something's wrong yet. And that's 00:00:56.740 --> 00:00:58.700 where the warning light is an absolute gift. 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:01.439 A check engine light, an oil light, a temperature 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.359 gauge, those things are designed to get our attention 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.239 before the damage becomes permanent. They interrupt 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:11.700 us before the breakdown. So I had a 1978 Chevy 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:13.739 pickup that I drove when I was in high school, 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:16.879 and man, I loved that truck. It was so loud, 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.879 rough around the edges, and had just enough personality 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.879 to make you feel like starting it should have 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:26.129 required a prayer request. and a deacon with 00:01:26.129 --> 00:01:29.409 jumper cables. Sometimes it just required a heel 00:01:29.409 --> 00:01:33.489 for a roll start. But I was young, and by young 00:01:33.489 --> 00:01:36.730 I mean young and dumb. I wasn't rebellious or 00:01:36.730 --> 00:01:38.750 malicious, just the kind of dumb where you think 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:41.569 your vehicle mostly runs on gas, hope, and whatever 00:01:41.569 --> 00:01:44.170 mechanical grace the Lord has provided for that 00:01:44.170 --> 00:01:48.250 particular Tuesday. One thing I did not do very 00:01:48.250 --> 00:01:51.549 well was check fluids. You know, things like 00:01:51.549 --> 00:01:54.359 oil, coolant, transmission fluid. Those sounded 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:56.239 like things responsible adults worried about. 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.659 And I was not yet burdened by that level of maturity. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.739 Well, funny thing about that truck. It did not 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:07.739 have a functioning warning light to tell me oil 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:12.159 was low. So no dashboard mercy there. No little 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:15.199 glowing symbol to say, hey Cody, maybe pull over 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:17.879 before this becomes a whole situation. Nothing. 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:24.189 So I just kept driving. Until I couldn't. This 00:02:24.189 --> 00:02:27.150 was before cell phones were everywhere, and I 00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:29.590 was in a spot that, well, still doesn't have 00:02:29.590 --> 00:02:31.550 any cell service anyway, so it wouldn't have 00:02:31.550 --> 00:02:33.669 mattered. Even if I had a cell phone, it would 00:02:33.669 --> 00:02:35.889 have just been an expensive watch in my pocket. 00:02:37.030 --> 00:02:39.650 That truck ran completely out of oil, the engine 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:41.750 locked up, and I ended up stranded on the side 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:45.110 of the road down 123 in Arkansas, if any of you 00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:49.090 know where that's at. Let me tell you, that's 00:02:49.090 --> 00:02:52.449 a very humbling way to learn that oil is not 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:56.979 optional. Now, none of us enjoy a check engine 00:02:56.979 --> 00:02:59.539 light coming on. When it comes on, we usually 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:01.680 get frustrated or worried, or we immediately 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:04.740 start doing the spiritual math like, Lord, I 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:07.500 have $13, a coupon for Taco Bell, and a deep 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:11.580 desire for this to really be nothing. But here's 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:14.879 the reality. A warning light is a gift. It's 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:16.740 designed to come on before the engine blows. 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:20.460 And spiritually, I think we need to learn to 00:03:20.460 --> 00:03:23.550 thank God for the warning lights. Because sometimes, 00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:27.569 the thing that interrupts us is the exact thing 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:32.169 God uses to rescue us. Welcome to an extra shot 00:03:32.169 --> 00:03:33.530 of Grace on the Grind, the part of the podcast 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:34.789 where the mic probably should have been turned 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:37.629 off, but we kept talking anyway. This is a bonus 00:03:37.629 --> 00:03:39.909 space for deeper theology, honest stories, fewer 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:41.669 filters, and a level of caffeinated commentary. 00:03:41.789 --> 00:03:43.750 I should probably apologize for it in advance. 00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:46.789 So grab your coffee, just to keep up, and take 00:03:46.789 --> 00:03:50.680 a breath. Let's get into this. In the main episode, 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:53.400 we talked about the foundations and what happens 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.280 when life puts pressure on what we've built. 00:03:57.240 --> 00:03:59.860 And one of the things I keep coming back to in 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:02.659 this is sometimes God exposes the problem before 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:06.039 the whole thing gives way. That exposure can 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.419 feel incredibly frustrating or inconvenient. 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:12.319 It feels like one more thing you absolutely do 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:15.240 not have time to deal with. But the warning is 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:19.819 not the enemy. The warning is grace. The warning 00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:24.259 light is not what broke the engine. The warning 00:04:24.259 --> 00:04:27.180 light is what tells you something's wrong before 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:31.660 the engine blows. And that's very different from 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:33.579 just hearing a noise and turning up the radio. 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:37.800 This is about realizing God may be kind enough 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:41.480 to show us what we couldn't see yet. Not just 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:45.360 the obvious rattle or the noise we already noticed. 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:48.199 but the deeper issue under the surface of life 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:52.720 that still looks fine from the road. That's really 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.379 what Part 2 has been about. The pressure to produce, 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:58.680 the exhaustion, the panic and waiting, the financial 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:01.339 stress, the discontentment, and the constant 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:03.620 need for more, all of those are warning lights. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.279 They weren't necessarily signs that everything 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:11.399 had collapsed, but they were signs that something 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:17.439 needed attention. That's mercy. God loves us. 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:22.899 He will not just peacefully let us build our 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:26.079 lives on the sand without ever disturbing us. 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.740 He will interrupt what needs interrupting and 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:33.720 expose what is misaligned. He will let that little 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:38.019 light come on and nudge your soul. Not because 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:43.100 he's cruel, but because he's kind. Here's where 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:46.170 we've... have to be honest with ourselves. When 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:48.389 the warning light comes on, most of us do not 00:05:48.389 --> 00:05:51.250 immediately think, praise God, an opportunity 00:05:51.250 --> 00:05:55.569 for diagnostic. No! We think, oh man, how bad 00:05:55.569 --> 00:06:00.310 is this? Or the other one, how long can I keep 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:04.069 driving it like this? How expensive is this going 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:10.230 to be? And if you really are mature, you know, 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:13.860 like those older men that we know, You tap on 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:16.839 the glass, you look at it again, you tap a few 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.060 more times, thinking that somehow that will minister 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:22.279 to the vehicle. Spiritually, we do the same thing. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:25.920 We want relief before correction. We want the 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.480 anxiety to calm down without asking what it's 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.399 revealed. The budget stress to disappear without 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.740 asking what our spending has been trying to comfort. 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.540 We want the exhaustion to lift without asking 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:42.899 why we keep calling an unsustainable pace. Faithful. 00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:47.860 We want the conviction to ease before we let 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:50.199 God deal with what the conviction was pointing 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:53.699 to. But grace does not just clear the dashboard. 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:59.339 Grace gets under the hood. Hebrews 12 says, For 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:04.240 the moment, all discipline seems painful rather 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.639 than pleasant. But later, it yields the peaceful 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:10.819 fruit of righteousness to those who have been 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:16.589 trained by it. Man, that's good. That verse tells 00:07:16.589 --> 00:07:19.569 the truth. Correction usually doesn't feel pleasant 00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:22.730 in the moment. A warning light does not feel 00:07:22.730 --> 00:07:27.750 pleasant either. It interrupts you. It inconveniences 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:31.110 you. It may force you to stop when you were trying 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:34.990 to keep moving. But later, if we're all trained 00:07:34.990 --> 00:07:38.449 by it, it yields fruit. That's the difference. 00:07:38.529 --> 00:07:41.649 The warning light itself is not the fruit. The 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:44.250 discomfort itself is not the goal. The goal is 00:07:44.250 --> 00:07:48.029 what God produces when we respond to his correction 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:52.170 instead of resenting it. Peaceful fruit, righteousness, 00:07:52.670 --> 00:07:56.670 a life brought back into alignment. That's grace 00:07:56.670 --> 00:07:59.050 that loves us enough to correct us before the 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:01.790 damage goes deeper. So here's the question I 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:03.949 want to leave you with for this final extra shot 00:08:03.949 --> 00:08:07.750 of Pot 2. What did God show you this season because 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:10.259 he loved you? Not what annoyed you or interrupted 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:13.959 your plans. Not what you wish would magically 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:18.480 go away. What did God love you enough to bring 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.519 into the light? Maybe it was your pace, your 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:26.040 spending, how much you tie your identity to producing. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.180 Waiting exposed control you didn't realize was 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:35.039 there, maybe. Or it might be your family, your 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.460 work. or your idea of success had been carrying 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:42.580 the weight it was never meant to carry. Whatever 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:45.940 it was, don't despise the warning light. Thank 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:48.639 God it came on. Then slow down long enough to 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.580 respond. Because a warning light without a response 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:56.080 doesn't help much. That little light on the dashboard 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.879 can glow faithfully all day long. And if you've 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.059 had some vehicles like mine, it did. But if I 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:05.179 just keep driving like nothing is wrong, I can't 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:08.179 blame the light when the engine locks up. The 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:12.299 point is not just notice the warning light. The 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:15.399 point is to let God lead us back to wisdom, repentance, 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:20.139 Christ. And that's exactly where pot two needs 00:09:20.139 --> 00:09:23.100 to end. Not with shame or panic. Not with some 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:25.360 dramatic vow that we're going to fix our entire 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:29.539 lives by Tuesday. Because let's be honest, we'll 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:31.379 make a list of everything that needs to be fixed, 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:34.450 and by next Tuesday, most of us will still be 00:09:34.450 --> 00:09:37.210 trying to remember where we put that list. Part 00:09:37.210 --> 00:09:39.730 two does not end with us becoming impressive. 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:43.649 It ends with us returning to Christ, returning 00:09:43.649 --> 00:09:46.509 from the false dream, from the pressure to prove 00:09:46.509 --> 00:09:49.509 our worth, from the exhaustion we called responsibility, 00:09:49.610 --> 00:09:52.169 and from the version of success that could never 00:09:52.169 --> 00:09:55.590 satisfy. The warning light is not the enemy. 00:09:56.129 --> 00:09:58.830 The exposure is not the end. The interruption 00:09:58.830 --> 00:10:02.370 may be mercy. Because a better foundation still 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:05.809 stands, and his name is Jesus. So if God has 00:10:05.809 --> 00:10:07.830 shown you something this season, don't run from 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:10.629 it. Bring it to him. Let him search, repair, 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:14.450 and rebuild what you finally stopped pretending 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:19.429 is stable. Then keep walking. Not perfectly or 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:22.470 impressively, just faithfully. Thanks for listening 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:25.169 to this extra shot of Pot 2 of Grace in the Grind. 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:27.850 Pot 2 has been about the false dream we were 00:10:27.850 --> 00:10:30.600 sold. and the better foundation that still stands. 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:34.299 Lord willing, in July, we'll step into pot three 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:37.000 and begin looking at what the Bible actually 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:41.120 says about Christ and his church. Until then, 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.220 keep your coffee strong and your faith stronger. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:46.019 And for the love of all things mechanical, check 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:47.919 your oil. We'll see you in the next cup.