← Christ With Coffee On Ice
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I think if we're being honest with each other, there are a lot of things about our everyday lives that we
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don't have to think about that other people do.
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Certain privileges, like three meals a day. Some of us may not have to
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worry about hunger, but other people do. And every act of change begins with a neighbor, with someone saying, we can
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take care of each other.
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Here in food banks and food pantries, neighbors pack fresh food and dignity into every box, moving from farms to families
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through Feeding America's nationwide network.
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So when that box reaches a home, it carries more than food. It carries a promise that together, we can end hunger. Feeding America, led by neighbors Give now
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to end hunger@feedingamerica.org Are you noticing your
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car insurance rate creep up? Even without tickets or claims, you're not alone. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry handles the legwork by comparing quotes side by side from over 50 top insurers so you can confidently hit buy. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Jerry even tracks rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Don't settle for higher rates. Download the Jerry app or visit Jerry AI Libsyn. Today that's J E R R Y AI Libsyn.
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Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee and Ice. I am your host, Ellie Yost.
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It is a joy and honor to
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be here with you guys today. Today is a very different episode from last week's episode. Wow. I was smiling so big, I could barely even talk right. I'm just so grateful to be back with you guys. I feel so much joy doing this every time. Truly, one of my favorite parts of my life is just being able to do this podcast. And, yeah, it genuinely brings me so much joy. I. I don't.
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Well, I don't know.
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I almost just cried just now thinking about that. But I think this week's episode is going to be a lot less weepy. I do really appreciate all of the kindness and compassion and prayers, understanding, validation, all of those things that you guys brought in in last week's episode. And more importantly, over all of those things of, like, you know, what I'm going through is that I was so grateful to see that there were so not grateful that you guys are also going through it, but grateful that it really brought light to some of you guys where you're, like, not alone, you know, if you feel like you're going through something similar. And I saw a Lot of comments like that where you guys were like, wow, Ali, this is actually insane, the timing of this, because I'm going through something so similar with God, and it's been so painful. And, you know, it makes sense because we all have the same dad, that he would be kind of doing the same thing in all his kids in. In different ways. Right? Because he knows what each and every one of us needs. But it makes sense because we all have the same dad who disciplines those whom he loves, which is us. So, anyway, I. I mean, I will say I'm still not out of it, but, like, whatever, it's fine. I'm grateful and I'm expectant for what God is doing in me. And I think I had my boohoo for a while. I did have my boohoo. And right now I'm like, no, I'm deciding to have joy in the midst of it, because there is always a perspective to have in every season. And even the saddest seasons or. Or the most confusing seasons. It actually says, I was reading Ecclesiastes yesterday because I felt the Lord tell me. I thought I was going to be reading Ephesians, but Ecclesiastes kept coming to my brain, and I started reading it, and it was blowing my mind. Because what Ecclesiastes says is that it's actually in our sorrow that we are refined the most. It's the seasons that are the hardest, where we are actually becoming the most like Jesus. It's the most rewarding, fruitful. Like, if there's a season that you want to be in, Ecclesiastes was saying, you actually, that's the season you want to be in is. Is the season of sorrow, which to us, we're like, no. For me, I was like, no, I want to feel happy again. I don't want to feel uncomfortable anymore. God, I'm done with this. Yep, I'm good. I'm in pain. Ouch. You know, like, to us, it's like the best seasons are the ones where we're thriving and we're happy and it feels like everything is going our way and God is finally coming all of these ways. Granted, those seasons exist, but I think those seasons are only sweet because of the seasons of sorrow and sadness and refining and pain. Even though what I've been walking through has been the most exposed I've ever felt, there is still joy to be found in that. And so that's what we're celebrating today. We're just celebrating Jesus today. Okay, we are.
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And.
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And we're celebrating the fact that I think I just made myself the best
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coffee I've ever made.
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And I say, I think, because hopefully I don't take a few more sips of this, and then I'm sick of it. But. Okay, today. Today, everybody. Should I bring my. I feel like I'm screaming at you guys. We do have our Christ with coffee on ice cup back. We have our black font today. Typically, I'm always using my white, but I do. I do really love the black. But it doesn't help that my coffee is so dark today. Okay, so this is what I tried to invent. Invent today. This is what I tried to invent. I tried to invent some kind of mocha coffee. Chocolate.
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Coffee.
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Chocolate. So by doing that, I'm still on, like, my gut journey where I can't have any sugar or dairy or any major carbs. And so that limits me a lot
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with being able to do fun stuff with my coffee.
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But I found this Chocolate collagen protein powder by Vital is the brand, and it's sugar free. There's no sugar in it. And it goes with all the ways of my protocol. Okay, So I was very excited about that. I was like, oh, my gosh. I can actually feel like I'm kind of tasting chocolate for the first time in a month. And then I thought, what if. What if I put that in my almond milk, frothed it up, put a little monk fruit in there, frothed it
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up,
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put some coffee, and then poured that in and then mixed it so
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it's like a chocolatey coffee.
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And honestly, it's kind of gas, but I think I put too much monk fruit. Like, it's actually. I think it's too sweet. Chocolate and coffee is the best combo, though. What in the world? What in the world? Oh, yeah. So it's gonna be a good day. It is. It's gonna be a good day because there's joy to be found in Jesus and chocolate coffee. Okay, what are we doing today, guys? Today we're wearing yellow. It's a yellow day. Happy Friday. I didn't even tell you guys Happy Friday yet. Happy Friday. Sorry, my ear was kind of. My ear is itchy, and I don't know why. Is everything gonna be okay? Are you gonna be okay? And so, in honor of wearing yellow,
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I obviously had to use my yellow
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Bible, which I've been seeing go viral. Low key. I've been seeing it on TikTok, and I think it's. It's also Hosanna Revival will sell their Bibles at Altered State if you guys have one of those stores near you. And so I've actually been seeing a lot of Altered state ads of them promoting this yellow Bible. And I just went on Hosanna's website and it's sold out right now. It says coming soon. So the world has gone bonkers about this Hosanna revival yellow Bible. I mean, look at it. It's precious. Are you kidding? So anyway, if you do want to save on any Hosanna revival Bibles, they also have really cute note taking books and calendars and planners. You can always use my code alioost, always, always to save at checkout. It's just my first and last name. But yeah, whenever this comes back in stock, make sure to use my code because I don't think it's going to work at an Altered State, but it
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will work on Hosanna's website.
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So with all that being said, we love the color yellow today. Now, I don't, I don't mean to just like talk about myself the whole time because that's never my goal here on the podcast, but also, I don't know how to express my, well, one, my love for Jesus, my gratitude for Jesus, and genuinely like, how I've been experiencing him, what I've been learning through him, if I'm not also like talking about my life. So with that being said, I don't want to keep harping on like, okay, Al, he's going through a hard season. Here we go. And I know nobody's saying that actually, except for the devil, so I rebuke him in the name of Jesus, goodbye. But I will say that my human nature, my sinful nature has been exposed massively from not okay, whatever, but like, there's nothing about okay when you are going through an uncomfortable time and the Lord is refining you and you are being pruned and stripped and humbled, okay? And there are things about yourself that you didn't know were there or things that you thought you had healed in or gotten better at. And then you're humbled. The Holy Spirit then reveals to you, hey, you're not as strong as you think you are, okay? And you're brought to a place of feeling so uncomfortable, okay? What I've been walking through with God, I've felt a lot of discomfort. And in that discomfort, I think that when we go through any season where we are wildly uncomfortable or all we want to do is cling to comfort, and if you are not somebody who is used to just straight, straight up running to Jesus for comfort. Like, I want to give myself grace because it's not something I've known for the entirety of my life. It's only something I've been practicing over the last few years of how to run to Jesus for comfort before anything else. But in such an uncomfortable season, it really has been revealed to me, like on xl, how sinful my human nature is. Like, my nature sucks without Jesus. And all I've wanted to do is seek comfort. And I'm gonna be honest, I haven't gone to Jesus as my first option for comfort.
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I've gone to people.
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I've wanted to go to food so bad, I did not realize how much I've been using food as a comfort. But this protocol with how much I've been having to like, restrict my diet
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and stuff has really showed me that
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social media, I've been like, doom scrolling so much more in this season of discomfort because I just want to be distracted. I just want to numb. I just want to be comforted. I don't want to feel like this anymore. And I say that to confess that Jesus has not been my first option every single day, going through what I've been going through. And that's been humbling where I'm like, dang, God, I thought I was literally so obsessed and in love with you. And I do still believe that. But I definitely.
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There's opportunity to grow in desperation for
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Jesus, and there's opportunity to grow in
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obedience and, like, loyalty to him.
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And so, yeah, I kind of feel like Peter, you know, when Peter was like, oh, Lord, I would never, I would never deny you. I would never do something like that. I. I am your number one, I'm your biggest fan. And he saw Jesus in the flesh. He saw Jesus in the flesh and saw the way that he performed miracles and walked with him in person hand in hand for three years. And so I can imagine his dedication of being like, okay, Lord, no offense, but like, I would literally never. I would die before I would deny you. And then he did, and then he felt so ashamed that he was capable of doing that. I'm sure that he felt that same kind of shock at himself of being like, whoa, I didn't think I could actually be capable of something like that. But I literally have this sinful nature in me to deny Jesus even when I don't want to. Paul said it best in Romans for
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I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do.
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This I keep on doing. And it's like this constant battle between our spirit and our sinful nature, where we don't want to do these things, but we do them. And we don't understand why we do them, but we do it anyway. And it doesn't matter how many times. Like I knew, I knew, of course I knew that Jesus would be the only thing that would give me comfort. But for whatever reason, in my human sinful nature, I wanted to just take the easy junk food route like I wanted the cheap stuff instead of going to the very source that would actually refresh my soul, that would actually take the burden away, that would actually maybe not take the burden of what was happening away. Obviously, because he has me walking through this for a reason, but to comfort me in it. Like he is the ultimate comforter. And so I'm like, how have I gotten to this place where I've. I've denied Jesus his comfort and said no, I'd rather doom scroll and, and laugh at my screen on my phone for hours seeking that kind of comfort and fulfillment. And when I'm done, I. I'm. It's all so fleeting. And so as I was reading Ecclesiastes, which I think I would really love to read with you guys today because it is convicting but educating and it really is very relatable. I'd say it's got to be one
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of the most relatable books in the
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Bible, especially for people who are lonely, searching, disappointed, maybe even successful. But the whole book of Ecclesiastes is about how nothing else will actually fulfill us the way that God does, that everything on this earth is so fleeting and that it actually is in our nature for us to try to seek comfort, fulfillment. That cup, right? Like when I first talked about and started first sharing my testimony of how I came to Jesus, that was a cup in my heart that I was trying to fill with all the things of the world. But unfortunately, because we still have that nature in us, it will still be tempting to try to go to other things. Just like just because maybe I'm not going to a whole bottle of wine to comfort me now doesn't mean that I still won't be tempted by other things to be comforted and to feel filled by. I think especially in our generation with social media and everything being at the literal tips of our fingers. I think with our generation, the hardest thing to like resist is distraction. I think the easiest way to just numb out, not have to face the music. We don't have to feel anything or just to simply seek some kind of comfort is through distractions. Like social media and shows and movies. It's just endless the amount of distractions that are available at like that here at Christ With Coffee on Ice. We obviously talk a lot about purpose
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here, about finding the path God has set for us.
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And when it comes to education, that
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path should lead to a future that matters.
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That's why when I heard about Grand
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Canyon University, I was so impressed because they are a private, non profit Christian
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university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona that believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for everyone. GCU is grounded in Christian truth. They are working to empower the next generation to lead with integrity and serve with purpose. And they make it accessible. Did you know GCU has kept tuition at the same rate on its traditional campus for 17 years plus in 2025 alone they awarded over $404 million in institutional scholarships. Whether you're looking for a degree on
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campus or online, find your purpose at GCU, private Christian, affordable nonprofit.
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Visit gcu.edu to learn more. What if my friends secretly hate me? Something bad will happen if I don't do this. Does God really still love me after what I've done? Do you ever have thoughts like these? I'm talking about unwanted thoughts that play
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on loop in your mind over and over. They feel urgent, important, and so real that it can make you question everything.
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Thoughts like that can be signs of ocd, but because OCD is so misunderstood, a lot of people don't even know it can show up that way. OCD is a common, highly misunderstood mental health condition that causes intrusive thoughts and a powerful urge to do something to neutralize those thoughts. Now the good news is OCD is highly treatable with a specific kind of therapy called erp, or Exposure and Response Prevention. ERP helps you learn how to confront
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your fears without engaging in the behaviors that keep you stuck.
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And that's why I want to tell you about nocd. NOCD is the world's leading provider of OCD treatment. All of their licensed therapists truly understand OCD and specialize in ERP therapy. Therapy with no CD is 100% virtual, covered by insurance for over 138 million Americans and includes support even between sessions,
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so you're never facing OCD alone.
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To learn more about starting OCD therapy with NOCD, go to nocd.com and book
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a free call with their team.
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That's nocd.com to learn more and start getting help.
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Ecclesiastes is the story of someone who tried everything the world promises will satisfy
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us and found that none could. Okay, so King Solomon, who is the one that is writing in the book of Ecclesiastes, he had. And he's telling this right? It's. We're gonna read it. But he says that he has money, success, influence, pleasure, achievement, wisdom, relationships. He has everything you think you would ever need to say. Ah, I'm satisfied, I'm so comfortable, I'm happy, I'm fulfilled. And yet what we'll see in the reading is that he, because now he knows the truth, continues to say that it's all meaningless. Not because those things are evil, but
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because they were never meant to carry the weight of being our ultimate source of fulfillment.
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And honestly, you could. You could substitute fulfillment with pretty much any other word. And for me, in this season, it's been comfort. You could fill it with satisfaction. Self worth. The I've made it. What's really awesome about the the book of Ecclesiastes too, is it kind of for me, when I was reading it, it brought all of these things that
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feel so big to me in my
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life and made it go and made it so much smaller than it is. Because I think the truth is of what King Solomon is also saying in this book is that nothing new is under the sun. And so there have been times as I've been going through this refining, pruning era with Jesus that I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm the only person on earth going through. I mean, I'm. That that's how it feels. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily like audibly saying that to myself in my head, but it feels as if I'm the only one that is suffering the way that I'm suffering right now. And not in a selfish, but it's just like you just feel like your world is falling apart.
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You do.
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And it is dramatic. That's dramatic, Ali. It absolutely is. Because it could not be further from the truth. And honestly, there are probably people who are suffering even worse than I. There were so many times in. In what I've been going through, the thought of Jesus on the cross would come to my mind and I'd be
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like, if I can't even go through
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that, like, I am so unbelievably weak
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compared to Jesus, but.
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Right. Because we are. We are so weak without him. And God knew that, which is why we need him. We need his spirit for strength.
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We.
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We genuinely do not have enough strength on our own. We don't. We eventually break that tank will run to e. Life will defeat us every Single time without the strength of God. And so a pattern that we're going to see in Ecclesiastes is also how many times it is said that nothing is new under the sun, meaning no experience. Like what you're going through may be
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hard, it may be new for you,
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but it's not new to God. And there's a part where it says God does the same things over and over again, meaning history always repeats itself. And anything that's happening in history now has happened once before. And there's even a point in history in the future where people won't remember this anymore. But it's just like everything repeats and there actually is no experience that is new. I don't take that as something invalidating where it's like, yes, sorry, nothing like, you think you're in pain. Please, this has happened before. No, it's. If anything, actually it kind of comforted me where I was like, oh, okay, so I'm not the only one that's
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had to go through this.
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And I mean, you read so many stories of people in the Bible and the ways that they were so imperfect and had to, you know, go through so many trials and be humbled by God. And it's like we're the same. They were the same. Like the fact that King Solomon is from thousands of years ago is talking about how the things of this world will not fulfill you. And then what are we still doing in the year 2026, but people are still, including myself, trying to find other things to fulfill them. Even if it's temporarily, even if it's just to stay distracted or whatever. Come. We are still doing it today. We haven't changed at all. Humanity hasn't changed. The nature has stayed the same and the same, like, if only statements that existed thousands of years ago are the same ones that exist now. Well, if only I have more followers.
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If only I was married. If only I got that promotion. If only my ministry grew, if only my books sold.
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If only I was in a relationship. If only I was more successful. If only I was just making a little bit more money. It's always like, if only. And it's been like that forever. That is not new under the sun. And there's a really. There's another really cool just perspective of this book. I promise we're gonna read it. We will read it. I just, I love kind of bringing my thoughts and breaking this down with you guys first.
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But what's really special about the book
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of Ecclesiastes is that it shows, well,
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one God's mercy and his patience with
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us, but he's strategic, okay? He allows this because he knows the results of it. But what Ecclesiastes is revealing is that God lets humanity run after everything else he does. He lets us do that, but he lets us do that because he knows that we will then eventually discover that
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he is actually the only thing that satisfies.
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And so I'm sure as a loving father, it probably burdens his heart so much to see us trying to find fulfillment and comfort in other things. But just like I've been humbled on my face more than once when it comes to this kind of stuff. Is God is the only one who satisfies. And I think he knows that in our stubbornness, we're just. We're gonna. We're gonna run it out until we realize that nothing else actually satisfies. And I kind of learned that lesson all over again. I learned that lesson when I first came to Christ, right when I was. When I was so exhausted of living for the world. And I came to Jesus and I
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realized that he was the only thing that satisfied.
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And now I'm learning it all over again in a different way. There's a different layer to it. But like in the discomfort of his refinement, I do actually still have to run to his feet because he's the only one that also satisfies in the refinement. He's the refiner and the comforter. He's. He's everything.
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He's doing all of it.
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There is no like being refined by Jesus and then running away for a second to take a break and breathe. He is the breath. He is oxygen. He is the refreshment. So it feels kind of. I don't know again, how can these two, what feels like opposite things be true at the same time? But it is.
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It's.
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That's who he is. He's the one that literally crushes us, but then is the very person who refreshes us in the crushing. There is nowhere else to go. He's it. But there's also a really sweet POV that King Solomon brings to this book where he says, he's basically just saying, listen, enjoy your coffee, okay? Enjoy your friendships, enjoy your work, your marriage, sunsets, the gifts, okay? If you are successful in your career, enjoy it. Just don't ask the gifts to do
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what only God can do, which is to satisfy our souls, which is to
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comfort us, to fulfill us, complete us. And so with the example of me doom scrolling on my phone all the time, do I believe that my phone is evil. Not entirely, because if I were to say that, then, well, one, I wouldn't have a job. And obviously, like, what I'm doing is so God led.
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This is.
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This is the Lord, right? Jesus uses social media.
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He.
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He allowed for technology to be created. And I do believe there's. There's been such powerful, incredible, amazing things
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that come from social media.
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I can totally still enjoy it, but it's the minute that I put it on a pedestal where I'm now seeking fulfillment and comfort from my devices, that I'm in the red zone now. And so what King Solomon is saying is, enjoy the gifts. Just don't worship them. Don't put them in a place that you know that you know that you know that you know that only God can fulfill. We're gonna read some right now, and then I. I think it'd be really fun at the end of this for you guys, all of us, to be so brutally honest with ourselves about the things in our lives that we truly. And if it's blurry, if you kind of have a question about it, it might be a yes. Like, if there's something in your life where you're like, I don't know, it's probably a yes. But if there are things in your life that you know that you know that you know. And if you kind of know, then it's probably a yes that you run to for comfort, identity validation, y'. All. Another thing that I've been doing, which has been so ugly, I have sometimes in this discomfort, I've also been running to my partner for, like, that immediate comfort, reassurance, affirmation. And here's the thing is, again, enjoy our friendships, relationships, yes.
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But in that, even my partner.
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Okay, because this is the great thing
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about being with somebody who's also filled
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with the Holy Spirit, is they have discernment and they know when something's off and not right. But he was like, hey, I'm here for you. And he's been so here for me. Incredible man, in a way I've never experienced it in my life. I can make a whole freaking podcast episode about that, of just how loved I've felt and supported through what I'm going through. Like, genuinely don't know how. I genuinely don't know how I could
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be doing this without him.
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But he's like, hey, I'm not that. Like, there have been times where, in what I've been going through, as things have been bubbling up in me, God has been revealing things.
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I am Being triggered.
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It's been so much easier for me to run first to people. And even in that, like, we have to be honest with ourselves. And there's, there's a little bit more of like, self awareness reflecting, like when I am triggered in this way or when I am feeling this, when I am uncomfortable, when I am anxious, when I am worried. What is the first thing that I do? And then allow the holy spirit to challenge that with a different habit. Okay, guys, I'm just quickly interrupting to give a little story time. So I recently just got a new mattress and then Casper reached out to me and asked me if I needed to update my mattress. But I had already just done that. But I do know somebody very near
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and dear to all of us, actually,
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Katie, my editor, her and her husband were on the market for a brand new mattress. And so Casper was kind enough to send me pillows. So I got all brand new pillows, which I didn't already have. And Katie got a brand new mattress. You guys, we are new women. I couldn't believe Casper's kindness to not only obviously be like, hey, well, we'll still give you other things if you'd like, Ally. But also the fact that they sent Katie a new mattress. And so she's reported back and told me that it is actually changed her and her husband's life.
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She's a huge fan.
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She's been raving about it ever since. And I can also advocate that I have been simply impressed with just their pillows.
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I am dreaming about those pillows right now.
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I can't wait to lay my head on them tonight. So safe to say we're both very big fans when it comes to investing in your mattress or your pillows. Anything that has to do with your sleep, it's worth it. I mean, we spend so much of our life in our bed, actually. And Casper has their 100 night risk free trial. So you can give Casper's mattress a try.
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Risk free.
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Although with 110,000 plus 5 star reviews,
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I'm sure you're going to love it.
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- [31:40]
B
A N D B R A n
- [31:42]
A
c h.com/c WCOI code CWCOI to take 20% off bolandbranch.com CWCOI code CWCOI exclusions apply. But there's three questions that I've been learning to kind of ask myself in moments where I just kind of want to run to all these other things when I'm uncomfortable.
- [32:04]
B
The first question is, what am I feeling right now?
- [32:07]
A
What story am I telling myself, and what am I afraid is true right now? And I think another thing in those moments where I'm I just want to sprint to something else to feel comfortable is I've had to learn the difference
- [32:21]
B
between discomfort and danger.
- [32:23]
A
And I don't know if my nervous system really knows the difference, which is why I'm so quick to like, just run to other things. And so anyway, I don't know if. I don't know if any of that makes sense. I thought it was gonna tie into this well, but ultimately what I'm saying in that too is I've just learned that self regulation is really important. Being able to call out, like, what it is that you're feeling uncomfortable in, whether your nervous system is actually sounding an alarm as if it's danger, and then obviously making God your first place
- [32:59]
B
refuge instead of making anyone else carry
- [33:02]
A
or anything else carry that role. Psalm 62 says, My soul finds rest in God alone. And that doesn't mean that we have to stop needing people or, again, like, enjoying our relationships, but it just allows people to actually just be gifts in our lives instead of saviors. And that goes for anything. I mean, I'm just using that as an example because that's personally what I've been confronted with. But it puts things back into where they were always supposed to be in our lives. And that is also what King Solomon is talking about in Ecclesiastes. It's like, it's not that we shouldn't enjoy these things or, again, even, like,
- [33:40]
B
need the people around us or relationships. We need relationships. We need connection.
- [33:45]
A
We need people, but not in place of God. All right, let's read some of this, shall we? We've talked enough about it.
- [33:55]
B
Let's just read the book.
- [33:57]
A
Okay? I will be reading out of my Bible, of course.
- [34:01]
B
It's my honor to read to you guys.
- [34:03]
A
But if you do have your Bibles near you, I would highly encourage you to read along. I feel like the Word is the
- [34:10]
B
most impactful when we can tangibly, physically see it and. And read it and feel it and take notes.
- [34:18]
A
My Bible is the NLT translation that
- [34:20]
B
is the new living translation. So if you don't have the same, that's all right, but it might sound a little different.
- [34:27]
A
Okay.
- [34:28]
B
Ecclesiastes, chapter one, verse one. These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything is meaningless, says the Teacher. Completely meaningless. What do people get for all of their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome, beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, here's something new, but actually it is old. Nothing is ever truly new. We don't remember what's happened in the past and in future generations. No one will remember what we are doing now. I, the Teacher, was king of Israel and lived in Jerusalem. And I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God had dealt a tragic existence to the human race. I discovered everything going on under the sun. And really, it Is all meaningless, like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. I said to myself, look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them. So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all of this is like chasing the wind. The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
- [36:23]
A
Okay, so that was the first chapter. And I just want to stop for a second and say that. I know that that all sounded really depressing, that sounded really sad. Because up until this point, okay, if
- [36:34]
B
this is our first impression of Ecclesiastes,
- [36:36]
A
if you've never read it, sounds like homeboy is like, yeah, life means nothing. Life is meaningless.
- [36:43]
B
You could learn everything there is to learn. You could have all the wisdom in the world.
- [36:48]
A
And it sucks, actually.
- [36:50]
B
The more you know, the more sorrowful you'll. You'll feel, the more grief. Okay, right. Because he says, the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
- [37:00]
A
To increase knowledge is only to increase sorrow. So there's.
- [37:04]
D
It's.
- [37:05]
A
He's saying there's no benefit to knowing more because you're just going to get more sad. And the more that you try to do in life and the more that
- [37:11]
B
you learn about the world, the more
- [37:13]
A
you realize that God actually dealt us a very hard life because it's meaningless.
- [37:20]
D
Okay?
- [37:21]
A
Now the real message that we should
- [37:24]
B
be taking away from chapter one, there's
- [37:25]
E
a lot in there.
- [37:26]
A
Okay? That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. You could read one chapter out of the Bible and you're just sitting for weeks on it. But the overall message of what we
- [37:35]
B
should be taking away from chapter one
- [37:37]
A
is that what King Solomon is saying is if God is not at the center of life, what actually gives life meaning? Like, what is the very thing that gives life true meaning? What is the thing that gives life breath, air? Like, when I think of that, I'm like, what is it that gives life its color? Because life outside of God is meaningless. And that's what King Solomon is explaining at the beginning of this.
- [38:09]
B
This book.
- [38:10]
A
And I think what makes this so powerful is that this isn't just coming from anybody. This is coming from King Solomon, who, I mean, he stated in here he is actually the wisest king of that time in Israel. Okay? He's like, I'm the smartest one. No other king before me has been
- [38:30]
B
as wise as I am.
- [38:31]
A
And one of the wealthiest people who ever lived. That's what makes this so powerful, is this isn't just coming from anybody. This is coming from a person. And we will continue to see that as we read who has had it all. And so if there's anyone who would have found fulfillment in life outside of
- [38:48]
B
God, it would be Solomon.
- [38:49]
A
And what he's saying is, he's saying. He's not saying that life has no purpose. He's saying life is empty without God. Anything we try to do without God is empty. And it's interesting because we get to
- [39:03]
B
see the way that Solomon starts looking
- [39:06]
A
at life, quote, under the sun. And he's making observations about the fact that like generations come and go, we're remembered for a little bit, but eventually
- [39:15]
B
we won't be remembered anymore.
- [39:17]
A
The things we do today, no one will ever remember. The sun rises and it sets, and then it keeps doing that.
- [39:27]
B
The wind blows in circles.
- [39:29]
A
Rivers flow into the sea and then back. Everything seems to keep on repeating. And so I think what he's reflecting on is the fact that the world keeps moving, but the human heart keeps
- [39:43]
B
searching and never stops.
- [39:45]
A
This is exactly why people can reach a goal. Just as an example, this is exactly why people could reach a goal that they have been working for, dreaming of for years. And then when that day finally comes, it's not long that they then start
- [39:59]
B
to feel restless again after. And then he moves on to say
- [40:03]
A
that even wisdom didn't fully satisfy him. Solomon gained incredible understanding.
- [40:10]
B
But then he says, to increase knowledge only increases sorrow. And that's because the more clearly you see the brokenness of the world, the more aware you become of how much is actually wrong.
- [40:21]
A
That is, the one thing about having your eyes opened by the Lord is. Is then seeing how genuinely broken we are and the entire world is, because there's just so many things that we insist on doing without him. And you just begin to realize, like, life isn't fair and people suffer. So many things are out of our control and we can't fix everything. Okay, let's go to chapter two. So I said to myself, come on, let's try pleasure.
- [40:52]
B
Let's look for the good things in life. But I found that this too was meaningless.
- [40:57]
A
So I said, laughter is silly.
- [40:59]
B
What good does it do to seek pleasure? After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness.
- [41:09]
A
In this way, I tried to experience
- [41:11]
B
the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. I also tried to find meaning by building huge Homes for myself. And by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water. To irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines.
- [41:51]
A
I had everything a man could desire.
- [41:53]
B
So I became greater than all who lived Jerusalem before me. And my wisdom never failed me.
- [41:58]
A
Anything I wanted, I would take.
- [42:00]
B
I denied myself no pleasure.
- [42:02]
A
I even found great pleasure in hard
- [42:04]
B
work, a reward for all my labors.
- [42:07]
A
But as I looked at everything I
- [42:08]
B
had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless, like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness. For who can do this better than I, the king? I thought wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark. Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. Both will die.
- [42:34]
A
I said to myself. Since I will end up the same
- [42:37]
B
as a fool, what's the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless. For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the foolish. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. So I came to hate life. Because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. I came to hate all my hard work here on earth. For I must leave to others everything I have earned.
- [43:03]
A
And who can tell whether my successors
- [43:04]
B
will be wise or foolish?
- [43:06]
A
Yet they will control everything I have
- [43:08]
B
gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless. So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all of my hard work in this world. Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it. This, too is meaningless. A great tragedy. So what do people get in this life? For all their hard work and anxiety, their days of labor are filled with pain and grief. Even at night, their minds cannot rest. It's all meaningless. So I decided there's nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from Him. God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This too is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
- [44:01]
A
Now, this chapter. Okay, we're moving on to chapter three. Is one that. It's my favorite.
- [44:07]
B
Okay. Oh.
- [44:11]
A
A time for everything.
- [44:13]
B
For everything there is a season.
- [44:16]
A
A time for every activity under heaven.
- [44:18]
B
A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all of their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart. But even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor. And for these are gifts from God. And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose is that people should fear Him. What is happening now has happened before. And what will happen in the future has happened before. Because God makes the same things happen over and over again. I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even in the courts of law are corrupt. I said to myself, in due season, God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds. I also thought about the human condition, how God proves to people that they are like animals. For people and animals share the same fate. Both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless. Both go to the same place. They came from dust and they return to dust. For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals go down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life and no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.
- [46:40]
A
I love this chapter. And it honestly, it brought me a
- [46:44]
B
lot of comfort with what I have
- [46:46]
A
been going through is just. I feel like the overall message of
- [46:51]
B
what I get after reading Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes is that God is sovereign over every season of your life, whether you understand it or not.
- [47:00]
A
I love the part where it says
- [47:01]
B
there is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to uproot.
- [47:08]
A
And I think the reality of what
- [47:10]
B
King Solomon is saying in that part
- [47:12]
A
is like, life isn't lived in one season forever, which should absolutely give us hope. Like, there is a time for everything. And I think, like, the truth is sometimes we could think like, okay, well, if I'm following God, I will always feel joyful or like, life will always feel joyful because I'm following God.
- [47:31]
B
And that couldn't be further from the truth.
- [47:34]
A
God's plan for our lives is joy, but also grief. His plans for our life is gain, but also loss, celebration, and waiting. He plans for beginnings, for our lives and ends. But every season has a purpose.
- [47:52]
B
One of the hardest lessons in life
- [47:54]
A
is realizing that just because a season
- [47:56]
B
is painful doesn't mean that it's actually wrong. A season of loneliness isn't necessarily punishment. A season of waiting isn't necessarily abandonment. And a season of pruning, hello, is it necessarily failure? Sometimes God is doing his deepest work in the seasons.
- [48:14]
A
We'd rather escape, right? Which is what we were saying at
- [48:17]
B
the beginning of this episode.
- [48:18]
A
We would much rather escape this season, but this is actually the time that
- [48:22]
B
God is doing the deepest, most restorative,
- [48:26]
A
transformational works inside of us. And verse 11, it says, Yet God
- [48:32]
B
has made everything beautiful for its own time.
- [48:36]
A
I think even in that it's. It's so simple, but like realizing that it says in its own time and
- [48:42]
B
not immediately, which means we will probably be having to practice patience and trust
- [48:48]
A
and faith in him as he makes
- [48:51]
B
things beautiful in its own time.
- [48:54]
A
And then the part where he says
- [48:56]
B
he has set eternity in the human heart.
- [48:59]
A
This means that humans, each and every
- [49:01]
B
one of us, instinctively know there has to be something more than this life. So we are all longing for meaning, purpose forever and home. Nothing on earth completely satisfies because we were created for eternity with God.
- [49:18]
A
Isn't that insane? Like, that's why we all instinctively, like, it's just in us that we crave that kind of home that like forever and that Explains why success, no matter who, the never in the history of mankind has success ever fully satisfied somebody,
- [49:45]
B
or relationships or money, right? Anything.
- [49:48]
A
We will never feel fully satisfied in anything we try because we were literally
- [49:55]
B
created with eternity being planted in each
- [49:58]
A
and every one of our hearts to
- [49:59]
B
be fulfilled by God.
- [50:00]
A
We were literally made for something bigger. And we all kind of feel that, that we were made for something more. And I just, I can't put my finger on it. I just feel like no matter what I do, there's gotta be more. There's gotta be something more. And then again, I like that Solomon has continued to just add this perspective of like, but don't get it twisted, like, still enjoy life, right? God has given us this life to also enjoy.
- [50:27]
B
We are to rejoice, do good, enjoy
- [50:29]
A
our work, and receive God's gifts with gratitude. And this is important because Christianity isn't
- [50:35]
B
just supposed to be about, like, being miserable until we go to heaven. And there are pockets of Christianity, I
- [50:41]
A
fear, where that is a little bit
- [50:43]
B
more normalized, you know, to just be miserable until we get to heaven.
- [50:46]
A
And then, and then life begins. It's like, no life can start now. Like, heaven is here and it's called, he's called God, it's the Holy Spirit. You know, heaven is, is already planted in our hearts.
- [51:00]
B
It's Jesus.
- [51:02]
A
So I think the big takeaways, if we're, if we're going to separate, like chapter one, two and three, the big
- [51:09]
B
takeaway from chapter one is nothing under
- [51:11]
A
the sun satisfies, period. Chapter two is pretty much supporting chapter
- [51:17]
B
one, where Solomon is saying, pleasure, success,
- [51:19]
A
and achievements just aren't enough. And then Ecclesiastes 3, I would say, is trust God in his timing and
- [51:26]
B
he is ultimately the one that's in control.
- [51:29]
A
Even if you don't understand why you're
- [51:31]
B
in the season you're in.
- [51:34]
A
I don't know, I feel like we ping ponged a lot in this episode. We kind of went all over the place. But, but like I said, I do think it would be really productive for all of us to be honest with ourselves and with God, you know, because it would also be a really beautiful
- [51:49]
B
moment of just honesty and confession to
- [51:52]
A
him, of being like, yeah, I, I think I've been putting these things above you. I think I've been prioritizing these things. I think I've forgotten the truth of what you tell us, that you are the only one who can actually fulfill us, God. And we can, we can still mess that up as believers, even when we know the Truth. We can still kind of get that twisted sometimes where we forget that God is actually the only one that can satisfy us and fulfill us. And so, yeah, let's make lists of things where you're like, yeah, I definitely seek comfort in that. Or I seek validation from these things. And sometimes I run way too quickly
- [52:26]
B
to other people than God, you know,
- [52:29]
A
and then the other takeaway is just remembering that, like, there's a season for everything, and that means that they will come and go, and we have hope in that. And also, you're not alone, because nothing is new under the sun. So what you're going through is not unique. It's not. Not important, but it's not new. And it's not something God hasn't already walked his children through before.
- [52:55]
B
Again and again and again and again through the generations and through history of thousands of years.
- [53:01]
A
Okay, anyway, I'm gonna stop talking. Hey, guys. Love you.
- [53:03]
D
Love you.
- [53:04]
A
Thanks for listening to me yap this week. Happy Friday. I hope you guys have a beautiful week this week. I'm proud of you. Thank you for being here. Can we also just do something really cool today? Could we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Could we walk more like Jesus, talk more like him, be more like Jesus? Did I say that right?
- [53:23]
B
Okay.
- [53:25]
A
I think I. I think this coffee
- [53:28]
B
is getting to me.
- [53:29]
D
I don't.
- [53:29]
A
I don't know if I'm.
- [53:30]
B
I'm Englishing right anymore.
- [53:33]
A
Okay, I'm gonna go have some lunch. I love you guys. Same time, same place, next week? I'll see you guys next time.
- [53:40]
B
Bye.
- [53:41]
E
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D
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