Latest / KFM On Demand / Faith Over Fear - Does it Feel Like You Can't Hear God? Practical Steps to Increase Spiritual Sensitivity
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Life Audio.
- 0:03Speaker 2: He says, God will make a move and then you
- 0:06Speaker 2: make a move. And he said, God will never move
- 0:08Speaker 2: out of turn and he will never take your turn.
- 0:10Speaker 2: So it's yours to discern whose move it is.
- 0:16Speaker 3: Welcome to the Faith Over Fear podcast, where we discuss
- 0:19Speaker 3: powerful truths to quiet anxiety and fear, big and small.
- 0:23Speaker 3: I'm your host, Jennifer Slattery, and today's conversation came from
- 0:27Speaker 3: a concern shared by some of you. In episodes, I
- 0:31Speaker 3: often emphasize God's role in our healing journey, which I
- 0:35Speaker 3: still view as incredibly important, but I also recognize how
- 0:41Speaker 3: this has caused some of you anxiety. especially those of
- 0:44Speaker 3: you who feel like you can't hear God, like he
- 0:47Speaker 3: doesn't speak to you or who feel unable to recognize
- 0:51Speaker 3: his voice. And first, I want to say I get it.
- 0:54Speaker 3: I've been there and at times I still land in
- 0:56Speaker 3: that place. It totally sucks on so many levels. And
- 0:59Speaker 3: today I've invited a woman I greatly admire, Susie Larson,
- 1:04Speaker 3: on to discuss that hard, uncomfortable space of longing to
- 1:09Speaker 3: hear from God, but feeling like we can't or we
- 1:12Speaker 3: don't or like maybe we're doing something wrong. Susie, thank
- 1:15Speaker 3: you so much for joining us. Great to be back
- 1:18Speaker 3: with you. Thanks for having me. Susie Larson is a
- 1:21Speaker 3: talk radio host and podcaster with over 17 million downloads,
- 1:25Speaker 3: national speaker and bestselling author. Through her writing and broadcast ministry,
- 1:30Speaker 3: she helps people live with greater freedom, faith and courage,
- 1:35Speaker 3: grounded in biblical truth and God's power to heal, restore
- 1:39Speaker 3: and redeem. Amen. Susie, I know from having heard you speak,
- 1:45Speaker 3: and also reading some of your work, I know you
- 1:47Speaker 3: have a thriving relationship with the Lord and receive a
- 1:50Speaker 3: great deal of healing and comfort from that. But I wonder,
- 1:53Speaker 3: has that always been the case? Can you take us
- 1:56Speaker 3: to a time when you were really desperate for God's answer?
- 2:00Speaker 3: And you're like, I'm just not sure if I'm getting
- 2:02Speaker 3: what I need right now.
- 2:03Speaker 1: Oh, my.
- 2:05Speaker 2: I told you before the show, it's like I have
- 2:06Speaker 2: to pick one. Like, which story should I pick? Because
- 2:10Speaker 2: I've been there so many times. But what comes to
- 2:13Speaker 2: me right now is the time. So I was a
- 2:15Speaker 2: young new mom with three little kids battling Lyme disease. And,
- 2:20Speaker 2: you know, I was still new enough in my faith.
- 2:22Speaker 2: I had come to Christ in eighth grade, but I
- 2:23Speaker 2: was still, I mean, I was just, my faith was
- 2:26Speaker 2: still just barely being formed as a young adult, young wife,
- 2:29Speaker 2: young mom. So much I didn't know. But what I
- 2:32Speaker 2: did know is my friends had health and wealth and
- 2:35Speaker 2: I had neither. And I really didn't know enough to
- 2:38Speaker 2: know that God's no respecter of persons. Like I wondered,
- 2:41Speaker 2: am I a have not? Did you lose my address?
- 2:44Speaker 2: Did you change your mind about me? Did I miss
- 2:46Speaker 2: a step? Because I mean, I had people say to me,
- 2:49Speaker 2: a loving God would not allow this many hard things
- 2:52Speaker 2: to happen to one family unless you're hiding sin. They
- 2:54Speaker 2: said that unless you're hiding sin. So if you want
- 2:57Speaker 2: all this to go away, you better come clean. And
- 2:59Speaker 2: I was so broken that I'm like, well, do you
- 3:02Speaker 2: see something? Cause I, I mean, I'm trying to walk
- 3:04Speaker 2: before the, I mean, I was like, if you see something,
- 3:07Speaker 2: tell me, you know, but it was devastating to me
- 3:10Speaker 2: to be in that season. We came into our marriage
- 3:13Speaker 2: with good credit. We just, we had okay jobs for
- 3:16Speaker 2: young 20 somethings and everything upended. I mean, like I said,
- 3:20Speaker 2: our medical debt was higher than our income. And so
- 3:22Speaker 2: we had bill collectors calling, which is humiliating. It just
- 3:25Speaker 2: was like a dry and weary land where there was
- 3:27Speaker 2: no water. And the heavens seemed silent. And I'd come
- 3:30Speaker 2: into the marriage with a very passionate pursuit of God
- 3:34Speaker 2: every morning in the Word, every morning journaling and and
- 3:37Speaker 2: hearing little impressions and things from God. And so my
- 3:41Speaker 2: relationship with him was first and foremost. I mean, if
- 3:44Speaker 2: people would have defined me, they would have said she
- 3:46Speaker 2: is a passionate pursuer of God. So to land in
- 3:49Speaker 2: that season where our finances have dried up, my friends
- 3:52Speaker 2: were drying up because they were, tired of the chronicity
- 3:56Speaker 2: of our trials, which I don't blame them. I was
- 3:59Speaker 2: tired of it. If I could have escaped my story,
- 4:01Speaker 2: I would have too. But every night I'd beg God
- 4:03Speaker 2: to heal me every night. And it was like, my
- 4:05Speaker 2: words would fall, bounce off the ceiling and fall back
- 4:08Speaker 2: down on me.
- 4:09Speaker 1: And there was just nothing. It was crickets.
- 4:11Speaker 2: And I couldn't figure it out. I'm like, did I
- 4:13Speaker 2: miss a step? Is there some hidden sin that I'm
- 4:16Speaker 2: blind to? And I just prayed again, Lord, if you're
- 4:19Speaker 2: willing to listen to me, if not for me, for
- 4:23Speaker 2: these little boys who need their mother, would you please
- 4:25Speaker 2: heal me? And the Lord thundered in my heart, not audibly,
- 4:28Speaker 2: but he thundered. And it was him because it surprised me.
- 4:32Speaker 2: And it was such brilliant wisdom.
- 4:34Speaker 1: He said, Susie.
- 4:35Speaker 2: If I healed you, would you praise me? And I said, well,
- 4:38Speaker 2: till the cows come home, you wouldn't be able to
- 4:39Speaker 2: shut me up. I mean, I would tell everyone. And
- 4:42Speaker 2: then he thundered again.
- 4:43Speaker 1: Why is that?
- 4:44Speaker 2: Would you praise me because I sent my one and
- 4:47Speaker 2: only son to die for you so that you could
- 4:49Speaker 2: live forever with me or simply because you got your way?
- 4:53Speaker 2: And in a moment, Jennifer, my life passed before my
- 4:56Speaker 2: very eyes. And I realized how transactional my relationship with
- 5:00Speaker 2: God had been. Like he was a means to an end.
- 5:04Speaker 2: I mean, all I knew was I had so many
- 5:06Speaker 2: needs and he was the solution. As young Christians, that
- 5:09Speaker 2: is how things start because you don't fully understand unless
- 5:12Speaker 2: you're just completely baptized in his love and then God,
- 5:15Speaker 2: you know, teaches you things way ahead of your time.
- 5:18Speaker 2: But I saw on my best days, it was earning.
- 5:23Speaker 2: On my worst days, I was hiding. And it was
- 5:26Speaker 2: filthy rags, just like the scripture says. And instead of
- 5:30Speaker 2: wanting out of that crisis, I wanted to be right
- 5:33Speaker 2: with God. I literally rolled out of bed. I tore
- 5:35Speaker 2: my shirt. I had boxers and a t-shirt. That's what
- 5:37Speaker 2: my jammies were at the time. I tore my t-shirt
- 5:40Speaker 2: just in repentance and grief. And I got face down.
- 5:44Speaker 2: I said, God, if you never heal me, I will
- 5:47Speaker 2: hate it, but I love you. And you've been my savior.
- 5:51Speaker 2: You are my Lord. I'm going to follow you on
- 5:53Speaker 2: your terms, not mine. And the Lord gave me, I
- 5:56Speaker 2: got my journal out and wrote this poem. If it's okay,
- 5:58Speaker 2: if I share it, because it really was, it was
- 6:02Speaker 2: an equalizing moment and it changed the way that I
- 6:04Speaker 2: walk with God. And it goes, I hope I can remember,
- 6:07Speaker 2: it goes something like this. I've walked through many storms.
- 6:09Speaker 2: My prayers were filled with tears. The enemy was so big,
- 6:13Speaker 2: confirming all my fears. To a distant God, I would
- 6:17Speaker 2: ever cry. Just wanting an answer, always asking why. Yet
- 6:21Speaker 2: heard I not from him, nor his angels singing. It
- 6:24Speaker 2: was all that I could do, his robe to keep
- 6:26Speaker 2: on clinging. Then suddenly one night I beckoned him to be.
- 6:30Speaker 2: So real that I could feel him. He finally spoke
- 6:33Speaker 2: to me. Said he, my daughter Susie, I love you
- 6:36Speaker 2: with my life. No more would I ever hurt you
- 6:38Speaker 2: than be the cause of your strife. You see, it's
- 6:41Speaker 2: not my hand that's delivered all this pain, but it's
- 6:43Speaker 2: true my hand is there to hold yours in the rain.
- 6:46Speaker 2: It's something how men see me according to their need.
- 6:49Speaker 2: Instead of praise and faith, they ask and beg and plead.
- 6:53Speaker 2: I am a God who doesn't change with time nor
- 6:55Speaker 2: change I with the season. I don't have to explain
- 6:58Speaker 2: myself nor give you detailed reasons. I've given all that
- 7:02Speaker 2: I could give when I gave to you my son.
- 7:04Speaker 2: I emptied out myself for you as if you were
- 7:06Speaker 2: the only one. But what I do, I do for
- 7:09Speaker 2: you because I want you to grow. It's in faith, praise,
- 7:12Speaker 2: and trust where you'll find you are strong when demands
- 7:16Speaker 2: are replaced by a faith-filled praise song. It is there
- 7:19Speaker 2: you'll find peace where there once was strife, and it'll
- 7:22Speaker 2: be just enough to have me in your life. And
- 7:25Speaker 2: I can't explain it, but that was this moment of
- 7:28Speaker 2: reckoning for me because I was pounding on his chest.
- 7:31Speaker 2: And hear me now, God will take you. If you're lamenting,
- 7:34Speaker 2: you're crying out, he will take you. Just don't turn
- 7:37Speaker 2: away from him. Wrestle within the embrace of him. But
- 7:40Speaker 2: I just was so hurt, so disappointed, and I couldn't understand.
- 7:44Speaker 2: And when he spoke to my heart like that, it
- 7:47Speaker 2: was like some of the encounters you see in scripture
- 7:49Speaker 2: where men go face down. I saw him as the
- 7:52Speaker 2: holy God that he is. the worm that I am.
- 7:57Speaker 2: And I realized, wow, his mercy is so much greater
- 8:00Speaker 2: than I know, his patience, his kindness, and he's up.
- 8:03Speaker 1: To something good.
- 8:04Speaker 2: That was a hard moment, but a very important one
- 8:07Speaker 2: and really changed how I walked.
- 8:09Speaker 1: With God after that. Wow.
- 8:11Speaker 3: There's so much I want to, first of all, that poem,
- 8:13Speaker 3: that was powerful.
- 8:15Speaker 1: That was beautiful. Holy Spirit, powerful.
- 8:18Speaker 3: When you begin, I was thinking of a lot of
- 8:21Speaker 3: our listeners, they've come from religious abuse. They've come from trauma.
- 8:28Speaker 3: They have, a lot of them have chronic illness. So
- 8:31Speaker 3: what you said, I think really resonates. And I hear
- 8:35Speaker 3: that from people, this idea where sometimes in Christendom, we
- 8:39Speaker 3: received the message. We don't recognize it's prosperity gospel, but
- 8:42Speaker 3: we received the message again and again, You're doing something wrong.
- 8:47Speaker 3: So figure it out so that you can have a
- 8:49Speaker 3: relationship with Jesus Christ.
- 8:51Speaker 2: And it's cruel theology. I mean, A plus B does
- 8:54Speaker 2: not always equal C. And that has so infiltrated the
- 8:57Speaker 2: narrative that what happens when A plus B, when the
- 9:00Speaker 2: formula doesn't work, what happens?
- 9:02Speaker 1: You know what?
- 9:02Speaker 2: You're judged for your pain instead of Jesus led with compassion.
- 9:06Speaker 2: He saw the crowds and led with compassion. And do
- 9:09Speaker 2: you think some of those people in that crowd maybe
- 9:11Speaker 2: got themselves into trouble?
- 9:12Speaker 1: Yes.
- 9:13Speaker 2: And he's still led with compassion. A good father brings
- 9:16Speaker 2: correction as well. There's times we need it. But the
- 9:19Speaker 2: idea of A plus, like you're guaranteed this is the
- 9:22Speaker 2: formula to a good life. I mean, how many godly
- 9:25Speaker 2: parents have prodigal children? I mean, God's the best father
- 9:29Speaker 2: there was, and he's got prodigal children. How many people
- 9:32Speaker 2: ate right, did right, and still got sick? And so
- 9:34Speaker 2: when we are in this place where I can control
- 9:37Speaker 2: my destiny, And if you're suffering, it's your fault is
- 9:41Speaker 2: opposite of what the Lord wants from us and for
- 9:44Speaker 2: us in community.
- 9:45Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 9:46Speaker 3: And the other thing, two other things that I thought
- 9:48Speaker 3: of as you were sharing your story and then as
- 9:50Speaker 3: you were just talking right now, when I hear your story, really,
- 9:53Speaker 3: those people just did not have emotional capacity. No.
- 9:56Speaker 1: So it wasn't about you.
- 9:57Speaker 3: It was about their discomfort. with their own emotional, spiritual
- 10:02Speaker 3: bypassing and numbing. I feel like sometimes that can be
- 10:04Speaker 3: helpful to recognize that. And then when you talked about, there's.
- 10:09Speaker 1: So much Susie, wow.
- 10:10Speaker 3: When you talked about him thundering in your heart and
- 10:14Speaker 3: I just got this idea of, I know for some
- 10:17Speaker 3: of our listeners, they get stuck in this spiral in
- 10:19Speaker 3: their thoughts. And I think that just complicates being able
- 10:24Speaker 3: to hear from God. And so I love how he
- 10:27Speaker 3: didn't do it right away. It sounds like he had
- 10:29Speaker 3: a lot of wrestling. And I think that's important maybe
- 10:31Speaker 3: for us to discuss as well. But that he found
- 10:35Speaker 3: a way to break through. That was his work for you.
- 10:39Speaker 3: And then when I heard you talk about, really, it
- 10:42Speaker 3: sounds like he flip the switch to relationship.
- 10:46Speaker 1: Like he's like, yes, I see your needs.
- 10:48Speaker 3: These are valid and I want to hear them, but
- 10:50Speaker 3: there's something deeper I need you to connect with.
- 10:53Speaker 1: Would you say that's accurate? 100%.
- 10:55Speaker 2: And I would like to back that up with Psalm 103.
- 10:59Speaker 2: I've prayed through the first five verses for years on
- 11:02Speaker 2: a regular basis.
- 11:03Speaker 1: Bless the Lord, O my soul. Bless the Lord.
- 11:06Speaker 2: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits.
- 11:08Speaker 2: He forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, ransoms
- 11:12Speaker 2: my life from the pit, crowns me with loving compassion,
- 11:15Speaker 2: satisfies my desires with good things.
- 11:17Speaker 1: And my youth is renewed like the Eagles.
- 11:19Speaker 2: A couple of verses later, it says he revealed his
- 11:22Speaker 2: deeds to the people of Israel, but his.
- 11:24Speaker 1: Character to Moses.
- 11:25Speaker 2: And it's almost like the psalmist is saying they never
- 11:28Speaker 2: got past transaction, but Moses went from God's hand to
- 11:32Speaker 2: his heart.
- 11:32Speaker 1: I want to know you God.
- 11:34Speaker 2: And so the Lord met with Moses face to face
- 11:36Speaker 2: is with the friend. And it's like the rest of
- 11:38Speaker 2: the psalm is almost saying, if you want to know
- 11:40Speaker 2: his heart, keep reading because then it goes on to
- 11:43Speaker 2: say what God is like, slow to anger, abounding in love.
- 11:46Speaker 2: He doesn't punish us as our sins deserve. In fact,
- 11:49Speaker 2: as far as the East is from the West, he
- 11:51Speaker 2: removes our sins from us. And I think if you
- 11:53Speaker 2: have a hard time hearing from God, immerse yourself in
- 11:57Speaker 2: that Psalm and get to know what God is like,
- 12:00Speaker 2: because they lead the heavens poor for speech. God is
- 12:03Speaker 2: always speaking. You will go through silent seasons. And I
- 12:06Speaker 2: wrote a book about that. And what do you do
- 12:07Speaker 2: about that? And if you can't hear what he's saying,
- 12:10Speaker 2: remember what he has said. Because he said some things
- 12:13Speaker 2: and the silent seasons, they teach us and train us
- 12:15Speaker 2: some things. But there are times where it's unnecessarily silent
- 12:19Speaker 2: because you got too much noise in your life. You're
- 12:21Speaker 2: listening to too many voices. You're scrolling and eating and
- 12:24Speaker 2: drinking and all this stuff because you're numbing your pain.
- 12:27Speaker 2: And I would say when you numb your pain, you're
- 12:30Speaker 2: also not going to feel your spiritual hunger. And I
- 12:32Speaker 2: think far too many, Jennifer, feel like God is holding
- 12:35Speaker 2: out on them when really they're holding out on God.
- 12:37Speaker 2: And I don't mean that in a shunning, shaming way.
- 12:39Speaker 2: I'm saying been there, done that. But I'm saying if
- 12:42Speaker 2: you clear the playing field a little bit, if you
- 12:44Speaker 2: maybe quit the indulgences that are numbing you and weakening
- 12:48Speaker 2: you and keep coming back going, I'm drawn near to you, Lord,
- 12:50Speaker 2: because you said if I draw near, you will draw near.
- 12:53Speaker 2: You said the heavens speak. You said my sheep hear
- 12:56Speaker 2: me and they know my voice. I'm camping in your presence.
- 13:00Speaker 2: I need a word from you and be willing to
- 13:02Speaker 2: make space and open up the word. And I would
- 13:05Speaker 2: say spend time in Psalm 103 because when you get
- 13:08Speaker 2: to know what God is like, you will discern when
- 13:11Speaker 2: a voice comes, is that God or is that the
- 13:13Speaker 2: enemy or is that my own flesh?
- 13:15Speaker 3: Well, that's some powerful, powerful things to think about. We
- 13:18Speaker 3: are actually going to take a break to listen to
- 13:20Speaker 3: our sponsors. When we get back, you touched on something
- 13:22Speaker 3: important I would like us to discuss, kind of the
- 13:25Speaker 3: balance between we absolutely need scripture, but a lot of
- 13:30Speaker 3: people might say that's the only way God speaks to us.
- 13:34Speaker 3: So I'd like you to address that when we return.
- 13:37Speaker 1: All right. And we're back.
- 13:47Speaker 3: So Susie, I'm sure you've heard this before. People like, oh,
- 13:50Speaker 3: I remember there was one Christian communicator maybe 10 years
- 13:53Speaker 3: ago that was just slammed because she would share her
- 13:56Speaker 3: interactive relationship with the Lord a little more publicly. And
- 14:00Speaker 3: the narrative that I think muddles everything was that God
- 14:07Speaker 3: only speaks through scripture. So can you talk about that
- 14:11Speaker 3: balance between needing to immerse ourselves in scripture like you emphasized,
- 14:16Speaker 3: but also being open for maybe more creative interactions?
- 14:22Speaker 2: Boy, you know, he's the same God yesterday, today and forever.
- 14:25Speaker 2: And he spoke very creatively in all various sorts of
- 14:28Speaker 2: ways in scripture. And that idea that he only speaks
- 14:31Speaker 2: in scripture is a theology of thought that I just
- 14:34Speaker 2: wholeheartedly disagree with. So we'll have to just agree to
- 14:36Speaker 2: disagree whoever stands on that, you know. If you want
- 14:39Speaker 2: to live with that, you can. I've seen too much.
- 14:42Speaker 2: I've heard too much. You'll never, ever convince me that
- 14:45Speaker 2: he doesn't impress upon our hearts. I mean, there have
- 14:47Speaker 2: been times where God has spoken to my heart and said,
- 14:51Speaker 2: this isn't going to turn out the way you thought.
- 14:53Speaker 2: I just want you to know I'm with you. I'm
- 14:54Speaker 2: going to take care of you. And the next day
- 14:56Speaker 2: it didn't turn out the way I thought. I mean,
- 14:59Speaker 2: I remember we live in Minnesota and the 35W bridge
- 15:02Speaker 2: crashed down.
- 15:03Speaker 1: You know, into the river.
- 15:05Speaker 2: And I remember hearing a story of two young men
- 15:07Speaker 2: who were on a worship team heading to the same church,
- 15:10Speaker 2: taking different routes. Both of them were late for worship
- 15:13Speaker 2: because both of them felt led by the Lord, take
- 15:15Speaker 2: a different route, even though it's going to make you late.
- 15:17Speaker 2: They took a different route, got to church, only to
- 15:19Speaker 2: find out that the bridge had collapsed. There are a
- 15:22Speaker 2: gazillion stories of people getting a prompting from the Lord.
- 15:25Speaker 2: And I feel like, you know, it's like what you
- 15:27Speaker 2: look for, you'll find. And so, but you know what?
- 15:29Speaker 2: The word of God is living and active. So if
- 15:31Speaker 2: you're just looking to the word and Enjoy it because
- 15:34Speaker 2: the word is living and active, but I won't stop
- 15:36Speaker 2: there because the spirit of God is alive in me.
- 15:39Speaker 2: And the scripture says he confides in those who fear him.
- 15:42Speaker 1: Jeremiah 33 says, call.
- 15:45Speaker 2: On me and I will answer you and tell you
- 15:47Speaker 2: great and mighty things that you do not know about the.
- 15:50Speaker 1: Times to come. I want to say it's Deuteronomy 29, 29.
- 15:53Speaker 1: I think it is.
- 15:53Speaker 2: It says the secret things belong to the Lord, but
- 15:56Speaker 2: the things he reveals to us belong to us and
- 15:58Speaker 2: to our children forever. Like there are treasures to mine.
- 16:01Speaker 2: of things that God wants to reveal, but we can
- 16:04Speaker 2: take it to an extreme. And I write about that
- 16:07Speaker 2: in my book where when you have people say, God
- 16:09Speaker 2: told me, God told me, and they are the authority
- 16:11Speaker 2: and the corner on.
- 16:12Speaker 1: God told them. I'm cautious with that. And some are abusers.
- 16:16Speaker 3: Like some of our listeners have had that abuse told
- 16:19Speaker 3: that way.
- 16:20Speaker 1: Yes.
- 16:20Speaker 2: And there's a story in the book about a friend
- 16:23Speaker 2: of mine who endured that. And I too have had
- 16:25Speaker 2: people say horrendous things to me as if they're.
- 16:28Speaker 1: Speaking for God.
- 16:29Speaker 2: But Old Testament, you look at how many times people
- 16:33Speaker 2: put as surely as the Lord lives, either at the
- 16:35Speaker 2: beginning or the end of their sentence, either before they
- 16:39Speaker 2: did something really stupid or after they did something like that,
- 16:41Speaker 2: as if tacking as surely as the Lord lives endorses
- 16:45Speaker 2: what they've done somehow. So even in the New Testament,
- 16:49Speaker 2: you've got Jesus walking with the disciples and he says,
- 16:52Speaker 2: who do people say that I am? And just my
- 16:54Speaker 2: little side note, he wasn't insecure or having an identity
- 16:57Speaker 2: crisis like, am I coming on too strong? Do you
- 16:59Speaker 2: think people like me? He was using it as a
- 17:03Speaker 2: teaching moment. And Peter was walking on his heels, staying
- 17:07Speaker 2: so close. He was walking with the Lord. And he said,
- 17:10Speaker 2: you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.
- 17:12Speaker 2: And it so stopped Jesus in his tracks. He turned
- 17:15Speaker 2: around and said, Peter, you did not come up with
- 17:17Speaker 2: this on your own. The God of heaven has revealed
- 17:20Speaker 2: this to you. But minutes later, when Jesus starts talking
- 17:23Speaker 2: about Jerusalem, that he's got to suffer and die.
- 17:27Speaker 1: Who is it?
- 17:28Speaker 2: It's Peter that runs ahead, stops him and says, no,
- 17:30Speaker 2: it'll never be Lord. He says, get behind me, Satan. Well,
- 17:33Speaker 2: how do you go from a divine revelation to a
- 17:36Speaker 2: devilish one in moments?
- 17:37Speaker 1: Well, fear.
- 17:38Speaker 2: And so just because maybe you've had some credibility with
- 17:41Speaker 2: someone at some point, it doesn't mean they're always right.
- 17:44Speaker 2: You know, it doesn't mean they're always going to be
- 17:46Speaker 2: spot on. We have to own our faith. We've got
- 17:49Speaker 2: to cultivate a life that listens to what the Holy
- 17:51Speaker 2: Spirit is saying. And sometimes the way he talks is
- 17:54Speaker 2: an inner wince. If you have Christ in you, you
- 17:57Speaker 2: should be bothered by your sin. And if you're not,
- 17:59Speaker 2: I would question if you really did have an experiential
- 18:03Speaker 2: faith transaction with God where you're like, I'm trusting Jesus.
- 18:06Speaker 2: Because when you bend the knee to Jesus and you
- 18:08Speaker 2: trust him, his payment for your sin, his spirit takes
- 18:11Speaker 2: up residence in your soul. And let's say you watch
- 18:13Speaker 2: a movie that you've watched a hundred times before and
- 18:16Speaker 2: suddenly you're like, that's not that funny.
- 18:18Speaker 1: That's the Lord.
- 18:18Speaker 2: Your tastes change or you feel this little inner wince
- 18:21Speaker 2: and that's course correction. That's the Lord speaking to you.
- 18:24Speaker 2: It's not always with words, but it's impressions and it's
- 18:27Speaker 2: a knowing. I'm walking in a different way now. I
- 18:30Speaker 2: think it's just like one of the greatest privileges of
- 18:33Speaker 2: our life. If you're the only one talking in the
- 18:35Speaker 2: conversation with you and God, you're missing the best parts
- 18:38Speaker 2: of the conversation.
- 18:40Speaker 3: Yeah, I actually feel really strongly right now that some
- 18:43Speaker 3: people listening have not taken that step. And so I
- 18:47Speaker 3: believe God speaks to everybody, all humanity. He's always drawing us.
- 18:51Speaker 3: But there is a special ability to hear, to communicate
- 18:54Speaker 3: with the Holy Spirit when we've chosen to align our
- 18:58Speaker 3: lives with him. So would you mind for those right
- 19:01Speaker 3: now who are like, I've never actually taken that step,
- 19:05Speaker 3: but I'm wanting what I hear Susie has.
- 19:07Speaker 1: Would you mind presenting that?
- 19:09Speaker 3: The way to salvation and intimacy with God for those listeners. Great.
- 19:13Speaker 2: I'd love to do that. The thing is, you can't
- 19:17Speaker 2: jump high enough to save yourself. So love came down
- 19:19Speaker 2: to set you free. When you hear someone say, I
- 19:22Speaker 2: think I'll be in heaven. I try to live a
- 19:24Speaker 2: good life. They don't know what they're talking about. And
- 19:26Speaker 2: they mean well, but they don't know because you have
- 19:29Speaker 2: to have had a sinless life. Because eternity, heaven is
- 19:33Speaker 2: a pure, spotless place for pure and spotless people. The
- 19:37Speaker 2: only person who walked this earth in a pure and
- 19:40Speaker 2: spotless way is the Lamb of God.
- 19:42Speaker 1: It's Jesus himself.
- 19:43Speaker 2: And the Bible says, for God so loved the world
- 19:46Speaker 2: that he gave his one and only begotten son that
- 19:49Speaker 2: whoever would believe in him will not perish, but have
- 19:51Speaker 2: everlasting life. So you have to get to a point
- 19:54Speaker 2: where you go, I'm a sinner.
- 19:57Speaker 1: I need a savior.
- 19:58Speaker 2: Some people break it down like this, A, B, and C. A,
- 20:01Speaker 2: I acknowledge I'm a sinner. B, I believe that the
- 20:04Speaker 2: Lord Jesus came, he lived and he died and he
- 20:07Speaker 2: rose again. He died on the cross for my sins
- 20:09Speaker 2: and was resurrected on the third day. And C, I
- 20:12Speaker 2: confess him as Lord. I mean, really, and it's not
- 20:16Speaker 2: a formulaic prayer because you can check the box and
- 20:18Speaker 2: not have anything happen if you don't mean it. You
- 20:21Speaker 2: literally have to come to a place of sincerity to say,
- 20:25Speaker 2: not only do I want my eternity secure, I want
- 20:27Speaker 2: to know that if I die tomorrow, I wake up
- 20:30Speaker 2: and I see Jesus face to face, I want to
- 20:32Speaker 2: walk in his presence as I live here on earth.
- 20:35Speaker 2: I mean, one of my guests said, I don't remember
- 20:36Speaker 2: which one, but they said, if you can imagine a
- 20:38Speaker 2: heaven without Jesus, you're probably not going to be there. Because,
- 20:41Speaker 2: I mean, Jesus is everything. The Father is everything. The
- 20:44Speaker 2: Spirit is everything. And another analogy, picture this huge chasm.
- 20:49Speaker 2: On this side of the chasm, you're a spiritual orphan.
- 20:53Speaker 2: In your eternity, if you reject what Jesus did for
- 20:56Speaker 2: your sin, there will be hell to pay. there will
- 20:59Speaker 2: be a day of account where you face God because
- 21:01Speaker 2: the cure came. You had a terminal illness and the
- 21:05Speaker 2: cure came to earth and you can opt out to say, nope,
- 21:08Speaker 2: I don't want that.
- 21:09Speaker 1: I reject it.
- 21:10Speaker 2: In which case there will be a judgment day when
- 21:13Speaker 2: there will be health to pay. And then you will
- 21:14Speaker 2: live eternally separated from God. And you picture this chasm.
- 21:18Speaker 2: When you trust Jesus, he literally, the scripture says, transfers
- 21:21Speaker 2: you out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom
- 21:24Speaker 2: of his dear son. And suddenly you, You go from
- 21:26Speaker 2: spiritual orphan to spiritual heir. You're grafted into the family.
- 21:31Speaker 2: You're grafted into the royal family. You become a citizen
- 21:35Speaker 2: of heaven, a citizen of the kingdom. And no one
- 21:38Speaker 2: can snatch you out of God's hands. No one can
- 21:41Speaker 2: gossip enough about you to make God change his mind
- 21:44Speaker 2: about you. You get a place at the table of
- 21:46Speaker 2: grace because of grace. And so another passage, Ephesians 2, 8, 9,
- 21:50Speaker 2: for by grace, you've been saved. through faith, not of yourself.
- 21:54Speaker 2: It's a gift of God, not a result of works
- 21:57Speaker 2: or anything you do. So no one can brag about
- 22:00Speaker 2: being saved. If you ever see someone who's prideful because
- 22:03Speaker 2: their eternity is secure, I would question if their eternity
- 22:06Speaker 2: is secure because we're beggars, we were orphans and we
- 22:10Speaker 2: trusted Jesus and he put us at the royal table.
- 22:13Speaker 2: And there are gonna be days you forget who you are.
- 22:15Speaker 2: There's gonna be days you act in ways that are
- 22:17Speaker 2: beneath you. And thank God he doesn't yank you from
- 22:20Speaker 2: your place at the table.
- 22:21Speaker 1: When you have air amnesia, he just course corrects.
- 22:24Speaker 2: He just brings you back to himself and he leads
- 22:27Speaker 2: you with love and purpose and power. This will, if
- 22:30Speaker 2: you're hearing this, do not neglect the voice of the
- 22:34Speaker 2: Lord speaking to you because today is the day of salvation.
- 22:38Speaker 2: I spoke at a retreat years ago and I got
- 22:40Speaker 2: a letter two weeks later and these women wrote me
- 22:42Speaker 2: this letter who said that it was like an aunt
- 22:44Speaker 2: and a sister and a friend had prayed this girl
- 22:46Speaker 2: into this retreat. She kind of went kicking and screaming.
- 22:49Speaker 2: but her heart was moved by the messages. At the end,
- 22:51Speaker 2: I presented the gospel. She sincerely gave her life to
- 22:55Speaker 2: the Lord. Two weeks later was killed in a car accident.
- 22:58Speaker 2: You don't know how many days you have left.
- 23:01Speaker 1: And you know what?
- 23:02Speaker 2: Jesus could come at any time. And he wants a
- 23:05Speaker 2: bride living, expectant and ready for his return. If you
- 23:08Speaker 2: receive him today, the spirit of God, literally there will
- 23:11Speaker 2: be a supernatural transaction. You're moved into the kingdom. His
- 23:14Speaker 2: spirit takes up residence in your soul. Then I would say,
- 23:17Speaker 2: start reading the Bible ferociously. Get into a Bible-believing church.
- 23:22Speaker 2: Activate your prayer life and bend an ear and listen
- 23:25Speaker 2: for his voice and just cultivate intimacy with God. Your
- 23:28Speaker 2: Christianity isn't a bunch of committees and a bunch of activity.
- 23:32Speaker 2: Your Christianity is living loved, living in intimacy with God,
- 23:35Speaker 2: and then just doing the things he tells you to do.
- 23:38Speaker 2: And the thing is, when you receive him, you will
- 23:40Speaker 2: have purpose. You got breath in your lungs, there's purpose
- 23:43Speaker 2: in your steps until he returns. And it'll change everything
- 23:46Speaker 2: for you. You suddenly, it's almost like a civilian who
- 23:48Speaker 2: joins the armed forces. Well, now if someone comes against
- 23:51Speaker 2: that person, they come against all the armed forces. They
- 23:54Speaker 2: got the weight of the armed forces in their defense.
- 23:58Speaker 2: It's that and better because you're a citizen of the
- 24:00Speaker 2: heavenly kingdom. So I pray with all my heart. Let's
- 24:04Speaker 2: just pray right now. If you're ready, let's pray. Dear Jesus,
- 24:07Speaker 2: I am a sinner and I need a savior. I confess,
- 24:13Speaker 2: I believe.
- 24:15Speaker 1: That you were Lord.
- 24:16Speaker 2: I believe that you came to earth and lived a
- 24:19Speaker 2: sinless life and you died a brutal death on the
- 24:22Speaker 2: cross for my sin. I believe that your death on
- 24:25Speaker 2: the cross paid for my sin, but then you rose again.
- 24:29Speaker 2: And the Bible said, you made a public spectacle of
- 24:33Speaker 2: the powers that oppose me. You rose again so that
- 24:37Speaker 2: I could be free. So I acknowledge that I'm a sinner.
- 24:40Speaker 2: I believe that you are Lord and I confess you
- 24:43Speaker 2: as my Lord. Come into my life. Be my Lord
- 24:46Speaker 2: and Savior. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me of
- 24:50Speaker 2: all unrighteousness.
- 24:51Speaker 1: Heal my soul.
- 24:52Speaker 2: Make me whole and fill me with your Holy Spirit.
- 24:55Speaker 2: Thank you, Lord, that I'm saved. I am an heir
- 24:59Speaker 2: and I will walk in your presence as I live
- 25:01Speaker 2: here on earth. I will live expectant for your return.
- 25:04Speaker 2: And when I see you face to face, I will
- 25:06Speaker 2: be like you, for I will see you as you are.
- 25:09Speaker 1: My eternity is secure in Jesus name. Amen.
- 25:13Speaker 3: Amen. Well, we need to take another break, which is
- 25:16Speaker 3: actually perfect timing for listeners. You can reflect on what
- 25:21Speaker 3: Susie said and really sit in. If you said that
- 25:24Speaker 3: prayer with her right now, I encourage you to reach
- 25:26Speaker 3: out to me through my website, through social media, reach
- 25:29Speaker 3: out to somebody that can walk beside you in that.
- 25:33Speaker 3: When we return, Susie, I want to circle back to
- 25:37Speaker 3: that wrestling season when you weren't hearing God, because I'm
- 25:42Speaker 3: interested to know what God does, his work in our
- 25:47Speaker 3: soul to kind of remove the barriers that make it
- 25:50Speaker 3: hard to hear him. So we'll be back in just
- 25:52Speaker 3: a minute.
- 26:00Speaker 1: We're back.
- 26:01Speaker 3: And as you were talking about the wrestling before, and
- 26:04Speaker 3: what I perceived from that as a season of where
- 26:07Speaker 3: you didn't, whether you heard him or didn't know if
- 26:10Speaker 3: you heard him or not, So I'm wondering, what does
- 26:12Speaker 3: God do in our souls through that wrestling to maybe
- 26:18Speaker 3: remove barriers we don't know that are hindering our ability
- 26:21Speaker 3: to hear him? You know, when you walk through these
- 26:25Speaker 3: silent seasons, I think I would do the work to
- 26:28Speaker 3: make sure there's nothing that you're doing to hinder your
- 26:32Speaker 3: own ability to hear him. And don't hear me say
- 26:35Speaker 3: that like your suffering is your fault or your silent
- 26:38Speaker 3: season is your fault. But in Psalm 139, it says,
- 26:40Speaker 3: Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me
- 26:43Speaker 3: and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me
- 26:45Speaker 3: that offends you and lead me in your everlasting way.
- 26:48Speaker 3: I've heard so many stories of people saying they thought
- 26:50Speaker 3: they were in a dark night of the soul where,
- 26:53Speaker 3: you know, God wasn't speaking. But when they prayed that prayer,
- 26:56Speaker 3: the Lord showed them you're holding bitterness against so-and-so. You
- 26:59Speaker 3: need to forgive so-and-so. Or I've asked you to obey
- 27:02Speaker 3: me a month ago and you've been ignoring me.
- 27:05Speaker 1: There's a book.
- 27:06Speaker 2: It's called Christ the Healer. And it's a hundred years old,
- 27:09Speaker 2: but it's still, I've read a lot of books on healing.
- 27:11Speaker 2: To me, it's the most biblical book I've ever read
- 27:13Speaker 2: of making a biblical case to believe for miraculous healing.
- 27:17Speaker 2: But in there, he talks about walking with God is
- 27:19Speaker 2: like a chess game. He says, God will make a
- 27:21Speaker 2: move and then you make a move. And he said,
- 27:24Speaker 2: God will never move out of turn and he will
- 27:26Speaker 2: never take your turn. So it's yours to discern whose
- 27:28Speaker 2: move it is. And I love that so much because
- 27:31Speaker 2: there's times when the silence is, God's waiting for you
- 27:35Speaker 2: to do the very last thing he told you to do.
- 27:37Speaker 2: And so for me, I like to really search out,
- 27:39Speaker 2: is there anything that I am missing? And there are
- 27:42Speaker 2: times where you, like even Paul said, my conscience is clear,
- 27:44Speaker 2: but it doesn't mean I'm innocent. You know, David said,
- 27:47Speaker 2: cleanse me from presumptuous sins. Show me the things that
- 27:50Speaker 2: I cannot see. So I'll start there. And if there's
- 27:53Speaker 2: nothing the Lord is showing me, then I pick up
- 27:56Speaker 2: old journals and I pick up the word. And I
- 27:58Speaker 2: just remember what he's told me. I think journaling is
- 28:01Speaker 2: so important, especially writing down the promises that God has
- 28:05Speaker 2: highlighted for you. And I just sit with those things.
- 28:08Speaker 2: I've been through some pretty significant silent seasons.
- 28:12Speaker 1: And I'll wrap with this.
- 28:13Speaker 2: In Streams in the Desert, there's a story, and I'm
- 28:16Speaker 2: paraphrasing it because it's been a little while since I've
- 28:17Speaker 2: read it, but I love it so much. There's a
- 28:20Speaker 2: woman who had a dream. And in the dream, there
- 28:22Speaker 2: were three women kneeling before Jesus. And in the dream,
- 28:26Speaker 2: the woman who's having the dream is standing with an angel.
- 28:29Speaker 2: And the angel says to her, watch what Jesus does
- 28:31Speaker 2: with these women and tell me what you see. And
- 28:34Speaker 2: the first one, he goes up, they're all kneeling down
- 28:36Speaker 2: and he rustles her hair and he holds her face
- 28:39Speaker 2: and he speaks tenderly to her. The next one, he
- 28:41Speaker 2: doesn't do that, but he kind of just pats her
- 28:43Speaker 2: on the head. The third one, he looks away and
- 28:45Speaker 2: walks away. And the woman says, well, the first one
- 28:48Speaker 2: is all in believer and he's so proud of her
- 28:50Speaker 2: and he's affirming the way that she lives for him.
- 28:53Speaker 2: The second one is kind of one foot in and
- 28:55Speaker 2: one foot out. And third one is squandering her calling.
- 28:58Speaker 2: And he says, you couldn't be more wrong. He said,
- 29:00Speaker 2: the first one is a brand new believer and is
- 29:02Speaker 2: very dependent on on outward signs of affirmation and confirmation.
- 29:06Speaker 2: The second one is maturing in her faith and God
- 29:09Speaker 2: is teaching her and training her to obey even when
- 29:14Speaker 2: she doesn't sense or see or feel a confirmation. And
- 29:17Speaker 2: the third one is being raised up for greatness and
- 29:20Speaker 2: basically being weaned off all of the need. And that's
- 29:22Speaker 2: that we can live forever that way, but there are
- 29:25Speaker 2: seasons where you go, I'm putting a flag in the ground.
- 29:27Speaker 2: I'm gonna stand on the promises even if they don't
- 29:29Speaker 2: feel true. And that just put fire in my belly
- 29:32Speaker 2: just because I thought, I've been through those seasons.
- 29:35Speaker 1: So that helped me a lot.
- 29:37Speaker 2: So I first would search my own heart and say, Lord,
- 29:40Speaker 2: show me if there's any on-ramp I have given the
- 29:43Speaker 2: enemy to block my capacity to hear you, any disobedience,
- 29:47Speaker 2: anything in my life. And if there's nothing there, then
- 29:51Speaker 2: I do the James 4.7, submit to God, resist the devil,
- 29:55Speaker 2: and he will flee. And submit to God is a
- 29:57Speaker 2: military term. It means get back in rank. So Okay,
- 30:01Speaker 2: I haven't sensed anything that I'm out of rank. And
- 30:03Speaker 2: so I'm in rank. So I'm going to use the
- 30:05Speaker 2: authority you've given me. And I'm going to tell that devil,
- 30:07Speaker 2: get out of here. You don't get to interfere with
- 30:10Speaker 2: my time with God. And I take that authority. And
- 30:12Speaker 2: then if I'm still not hearing anything, I put on
- 30:15Speaker 2: worship music. I read through my old journals. I read scripture.
- 30:18Speaker 2: And I know this too shall pass. And when you
- 30:21Speaker 2: stay the course in those seasons, what I have experienced
- 30:25Speaker 2: is when the season passes, there's just a wave of refreshing.
- 30:28Speaker 2: where suddenly the word leaps off the page and you
- 30:31Speaker 2: understand that you've been in a training time. So that's
- 30:34Speaker 2: just been my experience in those tough seasons.
- 30:37Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 30:37Speaker 3: I think also, and we gotta wrap this up, but
- 30:40Speaker 3: I wonder if sometimes comparison can get in the way.
- 30:45Speaker 3: Like I'll share for me a lot of times how
- 30:47Speaker 3: God will speak. I will just get an intense emotion.
- 30:50Speaker 3: Like usually it'll be like deep, deep compassion that just
- 30:54Speaker 3: comes out of nowhere. And there's like a knowing of
- 30:57Speaker 3: somebody else's pain.
- 30:59Speaker 1: I guess. Wow. That's not audible. Like there's no words there.
- 31:02Speaker 1: I don't need words.
- 31:03Speaker 3: So talk to me about comparison, like, okay, well, maybe
- 31:08Speaker 3: Susie got a visual here.
- 31:10Speaker 1: I didn't get a visual. So I must be a
- 31:12Speaker 1: lesser Christian. Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, dear.
- 31:16Speaker 2: I love that you asked this because that, you know,
- 31:19Speaker 2: Scripture says when you compare, you're just not wise. And
- 31:22Speaker 2: I think it was Oswald Chambers who said, let God
- 31:24Speaker 2: be as original with others.
- 31:26Speaker 1: As he is with you.
- 31:27Speaker 2: I love that he speaks to you through that emotion
- 31:30Speaker 2: because Jesus led with compassion. That's what moved him when
- 31:33Speaker 2: he saw the crowds. And quite honestly, there's times that's
- 31:36Speaker 2: how God speaks to me where I'll have a supernatural
- 31:38Speaker 2: love for someone.
- 31:39Speaker 1: I don't hear any words or any direction, just a deep,
- 31:42Speaker 1: deep love.
- 31:43Speaker 2: And then I do the next thing I sense that
- 31:45Speaker 2: he wants me to do. And so I think we've
- 31:48Speaker 2: got so much to just learn to live like deeply
- 31:51Speaker 2: loved children of God. We have to learn to live
- 31:53Speaker 2: loved and trust that he's going to speak to us
- 31:56Speaker 2: in a way that we understand. And start to love
- 32:00Speaker 2: your story and love your relationship with him and love
- 32:02Speaker 2: the way he communicates to you because he knows what
- 32:05Speaker 2: you need to hear. He knows how you need to hear.
- 32:08Speaker 2: And he's that meticulous and that miraculous. But when we
- 32:12Speaker 2: look to the left or right, we're setting ourselves up
- 32:15Speaker 2: for discontentment and for deception and discouragement.
- 32:18Speaker 1: All the disses, you know?
- 32:20Speaker 2: So refrain from that as best you can and enjoy
- 32:23Speaker 2: the Lord. And one quick last thing I'll say about
- 32:26Speaker 2: this is, um, A.W. Tozer, he's one of my favorite
- 32:29Speaker 2: dead guys. There's a few of those guys that I love.
- 32:31Speaker 2: But he wondered, if God is no respecter of persons,
- 32:36Speaker 2: why do some people go on to do amazing things
- 32:38Speaker 2: in the kingdom and others not so much? So he
- 32:41Speaker 2: studied biblical history and world history up to the point
- 32:43Speaker 2: in his life. And what he learned is the differences
- 32:47Speaker 2: could not have been more stark. You know, one was black,
- 32:49Speaker 2: one was white, one was rich, one was poor, educated, uneducated.
- 32:52Speaker 2: There was all these differences in the sampling of people
- 32:56Speaker 2: that he just looked into their lives. But he said
- 32:58Speaker 2: there was one common denominator in all of their lives
- 33:01Speaker 2: of these people who went on and did amazing things
- 33:03Speaker 2: for God. And he called it spiritual receptivity. He said
- 33:07Speaker 2: they oriented their life towards God to such a degree
- 33:10Speaker 2: that they made listening for his voice the most important
- 33:13Speaker 2: thing about them. And when he spoke, they did something
- 33:17Speaker 2: about it. He said, spiritual receptivity.
- 33:20Speaker 1: That is the thing.
- 33:21Speaker 2: And I couldn't love that more. And that's why to me,
- 33:24Speaker 2: it always goes back to intimacy with God. It's not
- 33:26Speaker 2: what you do. It's who he is and who you
- 33:29Speaker 2: are with him. And from that place, then you live loved.
- 33:33Speaker 2: You live out of the overflow. You're not living to
- 33:35Speaker 2: prove anything.
- 33:37Speaker 1: I love that.
- 33:37Speaker 3: And I especially love that you emphasized learning to live loved.
- 33:41Speaker 3: And that's one thing your content does consistently. You don't
- 33:45Speaker 3: shy away from the struggles, from the trauma, the difficulties.
- 33:48Speaker 3: And I want to tell listeners about your latest book,
- 33:52Speaker 3: More Than You Can Imagine, What God Does When You
- 33:56Speaker 3: Trust Him. Susie Larson invites readers to deepen their faith,
- 33:59Speaker 3: strengthen their trust, and live with greater confidence in God's promises.
- 34:04Speaker 3: Through personal stories, biblical truth, prayers, and reflection questions, she
- 34:09Speaker 3: explores what it means to build an inner life anchored
- 34:12Speaker 3: in God's goodness, faithfulness, and love, drawing from her own
- 34:16Speaker 3: health journey family experiences, and stories of everyday believers. She
- 34:21Speaker 3: offers hope for those facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty. She
- 34:24Speaker 3: explores God's healing presence, his power to restore broken stories,
- 34:29Speaker 3: and his invitation to live with courage and trust, blending testimony, scripture,
- 34:34Speaker 3: and practical application. The book encourages readers towards spiritual renewal
- 34:38Speaker 3: and a deeper, more vibrant walk with God. And I
- 34:41Speaker 3: want to close with this. I really want listeners to
- 34:44Speaker 3: to hear this. I want to circle back to your
- 34:46Speaker 3: original story when you were wrestling and broken and discouraged
- 34:52Speaker 3: and feeling disconnected from God.
- 34:54Speaker 1: How many, so that was how many decades ago? Three
- 34:58Speaker 1: decades ago. Okay.
- 34:59Speaker 3: Three decades of pushing through, of wrestling authentically, of pursuing God,
- 35:04Speaker 3: even when it was hard and maybe felt like it
- 35:06Speaker 3: wasn't working. And now, back to how I introduced you
- 35:10Speaker 3: on the show, you are doing mighty work for God's kingdom.
- 35:13Speaker 1: Not just because of your numbers, actually, Susie.
- 35:16Speaker 3: It's more because you are authentically showing what it looks
- 35:21Speaker 3: like to walk out faith, living loved and living authentic
- 35:25Speaker 3: in our struggle.
- 35:26Speaker 1: Amen.
- 35:28Speaker 3: I believe you are breaking shame for a lot of
- 35:31Speaker 3: people and, and while God is using you to break
- 35:34Speaker 3: shame and to pave the way for exactly what, what
- 35:37Speaker 3: your book is intending to do, bring freedom to others.
- 35:40Speaker 3: And so I thank you very much for sharing. I
- 35:44Speaker 3: know it's a busy season for you for sharing your
- 35:46Speaker 3: time with my listeners. I hope they hear that you
- 35:49Speaker 3: by the Holy, well, let me rephrase it. God brought
- 35:52Speaker 3: you here for them. so that they can experience increased
- 35:56Speaker 3: intimacy with him. So I thank you for that.
- 35:59Speaker 1: Honored.
- 35:59Speaker 2: And that one person, if you said yes to Jesus,
- 36:02Speaker 2: let Jennifer know, because it's the most important decision you'll
- 36:07Speaker 2: ever make and the most expensive miracle that God paid for.
- 36:10Speaker 2: And you're worth it to him. So thank you so
- 36:13Speaker 2: much for having me today.
- 36:14Speaker 1: It's an honor to be with you. Amen.
- 36:17Speaker 3: To my listeners, thank you for listening. I hope this
- 36:20Speaker 3: conversation encouraged you. If you haven't already done so, I
- 36:23Speaker 3: encourage you to subscribe to this podcast. Then you won't
- 36:26Speaker 3: miss a single episode. Make sure to rate it and
- 36:29Speaker 3: review it. That encourages me and it also helps others
- 36:32Speaker 3: to find our content. Until next time, may you live
- 36:35Speaker 3: as one who truly has been set free.