Motivation vs Discipline: What Really Carries You | JP Dinnell Podcast 105

Summary

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JP Dinnell Podcast 105

Motivation vs Discipline: What Really Carries You

Host: JP Dinnell & Lucas Pinckard
Release Date: September 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, JP Dinnell and co-host Lucas Pinckard tackle key questions from listeners about staying on mission, the interplay of motivation vs. discipline, and how faith and biblical principles anchor their approach to overcoming setbacks, doubt, and the temptation to quit. Drawing from their own training, combat, and life transitions, JP and Lucas break down the real mechanisms by which people keep moving forward—especially when motivation inevitably fades. The tone is straightforward and candid, with JP sharing both SEAL insights and personal stories, supported by practical scripture application.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Staying Focused on Purpose: The Power of Commitment

• Question: What’s a time you struggled to stay focused and how did biblical principles help? ([02:37])
• JP shares that in high-pressure environments like Navy SEAL training or MMA fight prep, focus became real only after making a full commitment.
• Signing up (making it real) increases accountability—not just to yourself but to coaches, mentors, and teammates.
  Quote: “I think that’s the biggest thing that people fail to do, is make a commitment…when you sign up for things, it helps you stay focused and stay on track, because now it becomes real.” — JP ([03:09])
• Biblical principle: Jeremiah 29:11 grounded JP, especially during hardship.
  Quote: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” — JP ([06:25])
• JP recommends reading scripture in context (verses before and after) for a fuller grasp of the message. Jeremiah 29:12-14 became crucial in later years: prayer, wholehearted seeking, and God's promise to listen.

2. Motivation vs Discipline: Where Do They Intersect?

• Question: What’s the difference between motivation and discipline? ([15:29])
• Motivation is emotional, fleeting, and based on feelings or external stimuli. Discipline is the established foundation, a habit ingrained regardless of feelings. Quote: “Motivation fades. Discipline is something that you establish as a foundation and a part of who you are.” — JP ([15:39])
• Discipline enables control over attitude, work ethic, and integrity—these aren’t driven by feeling, but by consistent, intentional action.
• For real progress, discipline has to carry you when motivation inevitably runs dry.

3. Overcoming Criticism, Doubt, and Setbacks

• Question: How do you maintain your mission with criticism, doubt, or setbacks? ([17:55])
• Criticism is inevitable, no matter your actions or intentions.
• Doubt is framed as “little lies from the devil”—everyone experiences it, and overcoming it is essential for growth.
  Quote: “Doubt is going to creep in. Those are little lies from the devil…If you’re on the right path, doubt is going to creep in because the devil doesn’t want you to be doing those things.” — JP ([18:04])
• Setbacks are part of the process in the SEALs and in life. Don’t quit—find another route.
  Quote: “What do you do? Do you sit down and you quit? Or do you keep pushing forward?” — JP ([20:19])
• Faith and biblical grounding (e.g., “Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed” — Proverbs 16:3) help discern criticism from feedback and keep commitments aligned with higher purpose.

4. Perseverance vs God’s Redirection

• Question: How do you know when to persevere versus when God is redirecting your path? ([22:24])
• JP and Lucas stress intentional time with God—prayer, fasting (even simple fasts), journaling, and seeking wise counsel—as ways to discern direction.
• Community confirmation is a sign: asking for prayer and listening for confirmation from trusted people.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 and Matthew 6:33 provide scriptural assurance:
  Quote: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all that you do, and he will show you which path to take.” — JP ([24:09])
• God expects action and commitment—He multiplies our efforts, doesn’t simply hand us results.
  Quote: “God’s a multiplier, not a God that just adds. He multiplies your efforts—He’s not just going to give you things without you putting in the work.” — JP ([25:30])

5. Managing Fear, Anxiety, and Change

• The reality of fear and anxiety when changing course or recommitting is acknowledged.
• Matthew 6:33 is highlighted as a cure for anxiety; focus on God’s kingdom removes worry over provisions and circumstances.
  Quote: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” — Lucas ([26:20])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Commitment and Preparation
  “Once there was a fight committed to, my coaches’ intensity and intentionality completely shifted…as a coach, it was their job to get me where I needed to be, to go out there and have my hand raised.” — JP ([13:06])
• On Motivation vs Discipline
  “Motivation is an emotion and feeling that can be temporary. Discipline is something that you establish as a foundation and a part of like, who you are.” — JP ([15:39])
• On Criticism
  “Criticism is going to happen…Doubt is going to creep in. Those are little lies from the devil.” — JP ([18:04])
• On God’s Will and Direction
  “He made it very clear when it was time for me to get out [of the SEALs]…I had to trust Him and I had to make that switch. But then I also had to make a commitment to this new path.” — JP ([24:09])
• On Discipline in the Mundane
  “My wife wakes me up with a kiss on the cheek and two Advil every morning…The whole idea of that [SEAL training]…Even when I was young, we’d look at guys like yourself and say, ‘Dude, that’s intense.’” — Lucas ([11:39])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening & Listener Q&A Context: [00:00–02:37]
• The Importance of Commitment & Biblical Foundation: [02:37–06:25]
• Expanding on Verse Significance & Handling Struggle: [06:25–13:06]
• Motivation vs Discipline Defined: [15:29–17:55]
• Coping with Criticism and Setbacks: [17:55–21:26]
• Doubt, Imposter Syndrome and Faith: [21:26–22:24]
• Perseverance vs Redirection – Discernment Process: [22:24–25:34]
• Scriptures for Anxiety & Transitions: [26:05–26:49]
• Closing Reflections & Call for Feedback: [27:16–28:46]

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Tone & Style

• Conversational and frank, with a blend of military precision and genuine vulnerability.
• Heavy on practical wisdom rooted in faith and lived experience.
• Both hosts encourage self-reflection, community, and groundedness in scripture and discipline.

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

• The episode is a succinct but thorough discussion on the mechanics of real-world perseverance—whether in combat, sport, or daily life.
• Provides a framework for how to ground action in both commitment and faith and why discipline, not fleeting motivation, is the key to long-term mission focus.
• Offers specific scriptures and personal practices for discernment, overcoming criticism, and staying the course.
• Invites follow-up interaction and teases future deep-dives based on listener feedback.

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If you’re at a crossroads, finding motivation elusive, or trying to discern the next step, JP and Lucas deliver both the mindset and the methods to get — and stay — on track.

Transcript

[A]

Good morning. This is the JP Donnell podcast, episode 105. I am JP Donnell and as always, I have Lucas with me. So today's episode is going to be a quick hitter. A little tight on time, but I've gotten a good amount of questions recently just about purpose and you know, hey, if you fall off track, how do you get back on track? How do you maintain focus with your mission in life? You know, it's one of the things I talk about at the muster is understanding your mission, knowing your mission, you know, and people have asked me about biblical principles and stuff like that. So what I would like to do is just kind of open it up with a few, just different thoughts and questions that I've gotten and add a couple, you know, just Bible verses to these questions. Lucas. And then we can expand upon those and then depending on the traction that we get off this episode, any other questions that we might get on Instagram or YouTube or Facebook or do we get comments on Spotify?

[B]

We do, yeah. Periodically we'll get some Spotify.

[A]

Not a lot, right.

[B]

Right now most of the Spotify comments are asking when we're going to have BTF Tony on. And that's not me making that up. That's literally probably half of our nice comments that we've gotten.

[A]

Well, it's going to be a heavily ed.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Episode.

[B]

Yeah, we'll have to record that one a couple of weeks in advance so that I can, I can put in all the, the other stuff. You know, when what we used to do, we used to bleep stuff out. I had a recording of like my 3 year old nephew saying, oh, and now that he's like 7 or 8, I have a 3 year old son who I think now we, we can update the. Oh, with. With one from, from our kids.

[A]

I like it.

[B]

That'd be fun.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

So, yeah, that's the majority of the Spotify comments. And huge thanks to all of our listeners who since episode 100 have suggested people for us to interview, books for us to look at questions that they wanted answers. Really the one of the other big things is like the deep dive into the laws of combat, which we've started that series doing those things, which has been a lot of fun and really helpful. So thank you guys for doing that. And you know, if you're a listener, hey, we want the show to be good for you. We want you to be able to get value out of it. And so this is a cool opportunity for you guys to give us feedback so that we can make this what you need it to be so that you guys get the value add, as we say, that you want out of it. You ready for question number one?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

What is the time you struggle to stay focused on your purpose? And how did biblical principles help you get back on track?

[A]

What is a time? Well, there's a lot of times, unfortunately, struggled to stay focused on my purpose. You know, when I was going through buds to become a Navy Seal, to be honest, it was really easy to stay focused because I had made a commitment. And I think that's the biggest thing that people fail to do is make a commitment. Like, hey, I want to do this. This sounds like a good idea. But they don't make a commit commitment. It's the same in my mind thought process of, hey, you want to run a race, Sign up for the race. You want to do a Jiu Jitsu tournament? Sign up for the Jiu Jitsu tournament. It's when you sign up for things, therefore, making a commitment, it helps you stay focused and stay on track, because now it becomes real. Yeah. You know, whenever I was fighting amateur mma, you know, I was training, and I would train hard because I think having those skill sets are important, and I enjoyed it, and I had really good coaches that pushed me hard. But there was a difference of the output and intensity I would put in and focus and discipline and just daily actions and commitment, those things would change and elevate once I had a fight, committed to and it would change for my coaches once my coaches knew I had a fight, committed to their level of coaching and intensity that they would deliver for me and hold me to a higher standard would also elevate and change once there was a fight committed to that.

[B]

Is this the. When everybody talks about the difference of fight camp and that fight camp is a totally. Like, the schedule's different, the diet's different, the structure's different, all of those things. So that's kind of what you're talking about.

[A]

Everything, you know, and even, like, the backpacking trip that I just got done with with Pastor Tyron, Pastor Chris, and Mike Mitchell again, you know, as you're getting closer to that, you know, it's committed. Hey, flights are being booked. You know, you're buying the meals and the gear and the hotel, it's getting booked, the rental cars. But, like, when all those things start getting booked, it changes the way you think about those things.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I think the biggest thing is you have to make a commitment. And then, you know, the part of the question was, how do biblical principles Help you get back on track. For me, you know, I was raised in the church. Raised in the church. Raised, you know, knowing that, hey, I need to be spending time with the Lord. I need to be reading my Bible. And for me, one verse that always stood out was Jeremiah 29:11. For I know. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. And I'll read the whole. The whole verse. It goes into more. But as I've gotten older and just, you know, since I went to pursuit and I've served at different pursuits, like, I really encourage people, like, when they're reading that verse or any verse in general, I can't remember who said it. At a pursuit, it's, hey, if. Or I think it maybe it might have been like Stephen or Isaac or Josh on a Jesus and jiu Jitsu episode. When we're reading a verse, they're saying, I really like to read the verses before and after. To give you a little more context.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I think you've also mentioned that as well. Which, you know, singling out a verse is always great.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, for having that verse as a reference or something that might encourage you or that you can use to encourage other people. So for me, Jeremiah 29:11 was always really important.

[B]

Is it just because it has your name in it? I used to like a bunch of stuff from the book of Luke.

[A]

No. Yeah. No. This is something that my parents always, like, would read to us and speak over us, you know, in Jeremiah 29:11 is for I know the. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans. Stands for good and not disaster. To give you a future and a hope. That was always instilled into us. And that's the NLT version. And so I would always think about that as I was, you know, going through training and knowing that, hey, I really, truly felt that God had designed me for that season of my life to become a Navy seal, to go through training, to make it through training, and to go do whatever I needed to do. So even during the very hard, difficult times of Navy SEAL training, which is buds, and also sqt, and also the training in a platoon to, you know, that workup cycle to get you ready, I always knew, like, hey, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. And if this is what I'm supposed to be doing, then that means I'm also supposed to endure these hardships. I'm supposed to endure these pains, these stresses, you know, the nights of little sleep and, you know, waking up just Exhausted and, you know, your body aching and all those things, it's like, all right, cool. Guess what? My dad did the same thing when he was working to provide for my family. My mom did the same thing. Like, my grandparents did the same thing. My aunts and uncles who had served and were currently serving in the military had done the same thing. So for me, I'm like, okay, I'm no different, no better, no less than any of them. Like, this is what God designed me to do. Cool. Guess what? This is just part of the process. So when you. When you know that you're walking down the path that God designed and intended for you, then you also have to understand that he knew all those things that were going to be coming against you. Like, okay, cool, long nights, hard days, physical, like, suffering, mental suffering. Like, these things are just going to happen in life. But since I've gone to pursuit and served that pursuit and, you know, trying to become, you know, more knowledgeable with the Bible, I really, really love verse 12, 13, and 14. And I think that has helped me the last couple years also, just with my focus and maybe, like, proper direction. And so verse 12 says, in those days when you pray, I will listen. So for me, what I get from that is, am I actually praying enough? Am I spending time praying? And what types of prayers am I praying? And then verse 13 says, if you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. That's a truth and a promise, which is awesome if you think about that. It says in the Bible, if you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. And then verse 14, I will be found by you, says the Lord, I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of. Out of the nations where I sent you, and I will bring you home again to your own land. So I've always really enjoyed 29, 11 and then the last couple years just really enjoying verse 12, 13 and 14. For, you know, the. The truths and the promises that are in the Scriptures. So just understanding the Bible more has helped, you know, get me back on track as well. And, you know, for. For me, it's just understanding, like, okay, hey, what you're going through right now. God knew that you were going to go through those things. He knew that those highs. He knew the lows, he knows the sufferings, he knows the victories that you're going to, that you're going to have in your life. So the other part of it is just not getting too wrapped up in the moment and just being like, oh, I Can't believe that this is happening. This is absolutely horrible. Okay, Is this part of the process? Yes or no? And if I believe yes, it is, then cool. I'm gonna endure it, and I'm gonna know that this is just part of it, and I'm gonna push through. And then that also reminds me, like, hey, when I'm getting distracted or losing focus, that those are attacks and that I need to be more steadfast in my focus and my work ethics and get back to doing the things that I should be doing.

[B]

100%, man. You know, those verses, like, what we see in a lot of the things that the prophets say and a lot of the things that we see in Paul's encouragements are so good for us to hang on to. Because, like you said, the idea of pushing through buds seems like an impossibility to me. Right. Especially now on the cusp of 40, even though I think Tony Cowden was telling us that they've adjusted the age now to, like, oh, you can get into buds at 42. And I'm like, why?

[A]

Why? Who did. He didn't say. They're not buds. It's selection for.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Army.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Buds is cut off at. It was 28, and there was a few guys that got age waivers up to 32.

[B]

That's ridiculous. Even still. That's ridiculous.

[A]

I know. Guys, I went through buds at 32.

[B]

That's. That's crazy.

[A]

It is absolutely unreal.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

My wife wakes me up with a kiss on the cheek and to Advil every morning.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like, the whole idea of that.

[A]

A big fan of the Tylenol arthritis.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Right on top of joint warfare. And yes, of course, super krill and all those things, but using code JP Pod20, you can save 20%, all that stuff. But, like, those. The. That seems very daunting, even, you know, when I was young, like, we would look at. At guys like yourself who went through that stuff, and we're like, dude, that's. That's intense. That's the most intense thing ever.

[A]

And it was.

[B]

No doubt about it.

[A]

I'm not. Definitely not downplaying bugs, but.

[B]

But everybody's got their stuff in proportion, right? And that's the thing, is that they're. You know, for you, pushing through buds was not a thing because your motivation was there and your discipline was there. You know, for fight camps, that wasn't a thing. For a lot of folks, those things seem like impossibilities. But those verses, like, you know, Jeremiah 29:11, like Ephesians 2:10. Those things really keep people focused on, you know, and grounded. I did have a question about.

[C]

Yeah, go ahead.

[A]

I was gonna say one thing that I didn't elaborate on. I think maybe another episode we could really dive deeper into. Yeah, I think we could actually do a whole episode on this. But one of the things I said I want people to think about from a leadership aspect is once it was time for me to have a fight, and I was committed. My coaches, intensity and just. What's the word I'm looking for? Intentionality.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Completely shifted as well, because it's, like, cool. Now they are, as my coaches. Jake Underwood, Zach Underwood, Joe Pass, Eddie Urich, those guys that were my coaches, and Dave Ferguson. Rest in peace, miss that guy. Those guys would shift the way they thought about me, the things that they had planned for me. It was. It was like, all right, cool, he's in training camp. And as a coach, it was their job to get me where I needed to be, to go out there and have my hand raised.

[B]

Yeah. And the other thing is. And I think, you know, with the fighting analogy, people can understand it, but if we look at. A lot of people have played team sports.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[B]

And like, when you were in high school, you. You have practices all throughout the summer to get ready for it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You change the way you practice when you know that you've got a game.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And then even then, like, it's more like you're talking about. It's more intentional, it's more intense because you're trying to figure out your opponent. Like, that is a switch that. That flips with fight camps, too. Is that, like, now you know who you're fighting. So now there's an extra element of film study. It's not just like, you against the other squad or you against yourself now. It's you against, like, this guy. What's your game going to be for this? How are they going to try to counter this? And so there is a depth and an intensity there. And the same thing whenever you guys are doing workups, like, you know who your enemy is going to be. I know Roman mentioned this whenever they were talking about preparing for fighting a near peer force. Is that the intensity and the emotions of those guys in, you know, in those Rangers units changed completely because they knew, hey, you know what? This is just. This isn't going to be us going up against people that we should have the advantage over. Like, we're going to have to figure out how to do some stuff old school in order to try to make this Happen. I'm curious about this. This is a question that I've heard a few times, and it is, what's the difference between motivation and discipline? Because I do think in things like buds or in things, you know, whenever we face certain challenges in life, whether it's a family challenge or whatever, like, my motivation may be I want to take care of my family, but that motivation is only going to take me so far to a point where, like, either I'm fatigued or all of that. Where does discipline come into play? And our motivation and discipline, the same thing or two different things.

[A]

Say that one more time. So, difference between motivation and discipline.

[B]

Is there a difference between motivation and discipline? Do they go hand in hand or when does one stop and the others start?

[A]

Well, I think they definitely go hand in hand, but motivation fades. Discipline is something that you establish. You know, I can be motivated, I'm motivated all the time by different things, like different ideas, emotions. I think the difference is motivation is an emotion and motivation is an emotion and feeling that can be temporary. Discipline is something that you establish as a foundation and a part of, like, who you are. And it requires a lot of discipline to do the right things. You know, one of the things that I talk about when I'm working with different companies through Echelon Front is there are going to be things that happen in your life that you can't control. What can you control? Well, you can always control your attitude, your work ethic, your integrity, and your discipline. And in order for me to control my attitude, my work ethic, and my integrity, it requires a lot of discipline. And that's why, you know, it can't be this emotional, temporary thing if I'm trying to control my emotion, because my emotions are dictated by the things around me. And so I have to be very intentional and say, all right, if I'm going to be in control of my emotions, if I'm going to detach from my emotions so that I'm not emotional, that requires discipline, because that's a hard thing to do. Not losing your temper. All like all these other things are difficult. And your emotions are going to push you. They're going to drive you to do good things, but they can also push you and drive you to do bad things. And that's why you have to be in control of your emotions and not be emotional. Now, we're not saying be void of emotions, but you can't be emotional, and that requires discipline.

[B]

I think that's a big thing that a lot of people need to hear is because we oftentimes like, oh, what's your motivation? What's your motivation? What's your motivation? It's good to have a motivation to do things. It's good to, you know, sign up for the. The jiu jitsu competition so that you take it seriously or the, you know, whatever that competition is. Right. It's good to do those things. But if. If you're hoping that your motivation on its own will carry you through without the discipline, you've. You've sold yourself up a creek without a paddle.

[A]

It's just not going to happen.

[B]

So question number two. How do you maintain your mission when facing criticisms, doubts, or setbacks?

[A]

How do you maintain your mission when facing criticism, doubt, or setbacks? Well, I mean, criticism. Criticism is going to happen. It does. You know, that's what's crazy. It doesn't matter who you are, how good of a human you are, you're always going to have people criticizing you. Doubt is going to creep in. Those are little lies from the devil. You know, I remember Jocko and I were talking about something one time, and he was sharing a story about him and Seth. Him and Seth were talking about something. Then Jocko's. Jocko just replied back to Seth. He said, the devil is a liar.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because Seth was, like, doubting some of the things that he should do. And Seth was a brilliant, capable human. I mean, he was very brilliant, very capable. And setbacks are going to also happen. So what do you do? Well, okay. For me, going back to my foundation of my faith and saying, okay, hey, I. I made these commitments. These are the things that I feel that I should be doing. I prayed about it, maybe I fasted. You know, one of the things I love, Pastor Tyron, you know, who's a guest with us a few weeks ago, actually, man, more than a few weeks ago. That's crazy.

[B]

We got to get him to come finish his story.

[A]

I know, I know, I know. I apologize. Is. He always talks about, like, hey, if you have some decision that you need to make in your life, you should be fasting.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Now, it doesn't have to be some crazy, extreme fast, but it's a fast of something to help you use that time to focus on the Lord, you know, and it's just about that commitment that you made. And so I looked up some different verses, and one of them that I like is, commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed. Well, the key word in that is commit. Commit your actions to the Lord. So if you commit these things to the Lord, and you stay disciplined and steadfast with that. That will help you when you're facing criticism. Like, okay, hey, I'm being criticized from a friend or a family member or a colleague or a boss or just some idiot on social media who just feels like they need to, like, voice your. Their opinion. Because there's just some angry people on social media that just want to say hateful things for no reason. So if I have committed these things that I'm going to do to the Lord to honor him, to glorify him, then okay, cool. If somebody has some criticism, is it countering what I'm. My commitment to the Lord? Okay, cool. Then I'm not worried about that criticism. There's a difference between criticism and feedback and advice. And so you have to also be able to discern between the difference. And then doubt is. Doubt's going to creep in. If you're on the right path doing things that you should be doing, doubt is going to creep in because the devil doesn't want you to be doing those things. And setbacks are just going to happen. You can't expect life to be perfect. You know, there is setbacks in the SEAL teams. All the times when we be planning missions, executing missions, it's going to happen. It's okay. When these setbacks happen, what are you going to do? Do you sit down and you quit? Do you just stop moving forward or do you find another route? Do you keep pushing forward? And, you know, one of the things that my grandmother always instilled into us was, you know, reading the Bible, knowing the Bible so that those words can be in your heart, so that you can fall back to those 100%.

[B]

I think one of the things about doubts and setbacks in particular, and we've talked about this a little bit, is that imposter syndrome, and that any successful person has likely experienced that at one point in their life. And the reason that I mentioned, the successful person, partner, we've talked about the variances of success and what that looks like is because a successful person finds a way to overcome that doubt that they shouldn't be here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then the people who kind of like, level out or whatever, they. They don't, they don't find a way to, to overcome that doubt because they're, they stop right there at the, at the commitment that the, the thought of, you know, not being able to overcome or that they shouldn't be there or whatever ends up being the, the ruling thing. Last question for, for this part of the Q and A, how do you know, when it is time to persevere in a mission versus when God is redirecting your path. So this is perseverance versus redirection. How do we know when it's time to keep pushing forward?

[A]

How do you know when it's time to persevere in a mission versus when God is redirecting your path? Man, that's a good question. I think you have to go back to what I was just talking about with what Tyron was saying, is taking some time to fast and spend some time with the Lord, because if you are intentionally spending some time with the Lord, he's going to reveal himself to you. And you have to be open to different things that are put on your heart. And then you just. You have to. You know, sometimes maybe it's journaling them out, maybe it's writing them out on a whiteboard or, you know, maybe, you know, one of the things I know some of the different guys from Pursuit will do is like, hey, can you be praying for this? I'm not going to give you specifics, but if God puts something on your heart, can you pass it along to me? And so that could come from, like, confirmation. And I know you and I have done that with each other. Like, hey, this is kind of something I have going on. Could you be praying? If God puts something on your heart, let me know. And if you don't give me a bunch of details, but I'm praying about something gen generally, and then God puts it on my heart and I say, hey, Lucas, you know, this is one of the things that kept popping up when I was praying for you in your current situation. And that has alignment with the things that somebody else has been telling you and. Or God's putting putting on your heart, then that's confirmation of, like, okay, cool, I'm going to stay true to what I'm doing, or I'm going to shift focus to what I think I should be doing over here. You know, And I know when we first started the podcast, we talked about this verse. Proverbs 3, 5, 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all that you do, and he will show you which path to take. And that's the part that I really like. Seek his will in all that you do, and he will show you which path to take. It was very clear for me to join the military and become a Navy seal. Very clear. And then God made it very clear when it was time for me to get out. Even though that was the hardest decision I had ever had to make in my life at that time. It was very clear and, okay, cool. You know what? I had to trust him and I had to make that switch. But then I also had to make a commitment to this new path. And that's the other thing that I think a lot of people might struggle with, is, okay, hey, I'm shifting direction. They shift direction and then they don't re. Engage with the same amount of energy and focus and drive on this new task, and then they get lost and. Or they lose the opportunity, you know, because God's not a puppeteer. He's expecting you to go out there and do work. I heard this. I don't know if this is a biblical thing, but I just really like this saying. And you can digest this or you can counter it, or you can tell me it's wrong, but it was for me, I just like the mindset of it, of like, hey, it means I have to go do the work. It says, God's a multiplier, not a God. Multiplies, doesn't add. Now, I know he adds stuff to our lives and brings things in. But the way the concept, the principle was, hey, if you're God's going to multiply your efforts, he's not just going to give you things without you putting in the work.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Do you agree with that?

[B]

Oh, 100%. Right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

If we look all throughout Scripture, one of the things that happens is that God demands obedience. And that obedience to him is when we see this in the life of King Saul in First Samuel that, you know, Samuel says to King Saul, obedience is better than sacrifice. Saul disobeyed God and was like, no, but I was going to sacrifice all these animals. I was going to do all these great things. And Samuel's like, God doesn't care. God wants your obedience. He doesn't care about your sacrifice.

[A]

That's good.

[B]

And. And yeah, that's the thing, you know, God counts our faith as righteousness and delights in our obedience.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Another verse to go with that for our listeners. But seek first the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything that you need. Matthew 6:33.

[B]

It's one of my favorites.

[A]

Is it?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I love that verse.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

That is under the. That's right. As Jesus begins to talk about worry and anxiety and all of those things, and he starts with that. Matthew 6:33 is the cure for anxiety. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these Things will be added to you. And then he talks about all the things that we worry about, all the things that we. That we would be anxious about.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And so he prefaces it by saying like, hey, listen, if you seek first God's kingdom, all the stuff that you worry about will be there. And here I'm going to list all the things I know that you're worried about. Your clothes, your food, your shelter.

[A]

Like, all that stuff that aligns with. I know this is a quick episode and we're getting ready to close it out, but all the things we talked about. Because if you're committing things, there's a little bit of anxiety and fear. Like, wait, hold on, I'm. Wait, I'm doing this now. Or I'm switching. And then if I'm switching focus. Okay, I'm trusting you, Lord. And then. But now I also have to commit to this new thing. There's a. There's a lot of fear and anxiety that can creep in when. When those things happen.

[B]

100%. Well, thank you guys so much for listening to the episode, for liking subscribing, for sharing a little stuff here on Instagram. If you are checking out our Instagram page, go to now podcast. You can also find me at Lucas Pinkerton jpjpdel with two N's and two L's, but go. And there's a little like, share button that's on there now.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's awesome.

[B]

Yeah. So what that does. It won't pop up on your feed, but it will suggest our stuff to anybody who you are friends with. So, yeah, it will. It will pop up now in their feed if you share it because it shows that there's a shared interest there. So do that. That would be incredibly helpful for us. You guys know all about first in nutrition and what they're doing with us on the path. Printing Jesus and Jiu Jitsu, little cattle co, all of them. And a big thanks as always to the folks that keep us covered and help us recover. It's Jocko Fuel and Origin. If you go to jockofuel.com and use code JPPOD20, you can save 20% on everything there and everything that you're looking at the center screen that you see in front of us with the hydrates, the goes, all that stuff and the joint warfare, the krill oil, all that stuff we talked about that keeps us from having to take too many Tylenol arthritis in the morning.

[A]

Did the joint warfare was clutch. This last week on the backpacking trip.

[B]

My, my wife, she is she made the joke the other day that the way she gets me to do something now, like if I'm reading or something, she can't hear me. She just puts a little bit of krill oil and joint warfare and she's like, come on, old man. And I just follow her and wherever she goes so that I can. I can get us my little treat to keep my. Keep me working.

[A]

That's awesome.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Well, cool. Appreciate all of you guys listening. I know this is a short episode. I apologize for that. But I wanted to get some thoughts out there and honestly help us with the direction of the next episode. Based off your comments questions about this episode, if you would like us to dive into some of these things a little bit more. And just remember when you're listening to this episode, if you are listening to it on the Friday that it came out, you only have 96 days left in the year 2025. So I hope you're going out there. You're doing all the work that is needed to put in the effort to build your legacy and to never settle. This has been the JP Danel PodC cast episode 105.