Transcript

Take it off · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. Welcome, friends.
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My name is Tracie Foster, and I am your host for
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today's episode. And I am so excited about this
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episode. As you are maybe scrolling all the way
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through your TikToks, you are seeing weighted
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vests. And so in this episode, we are calling
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it weighted vest. What's weighing you down? And
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so, you know, I love fitness. I love health.
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I love exercising. I love cardio. I love lifting
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weights. I don't know if there's an exercise
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that I don't like. There's some that I don't
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love, but I will do. And so my weighted vest
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walks in the mornings and it was just a great
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reminder for me. I have a 20 pound vest and I
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was thinking about it like, two miles into it
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and I was like, man, 20 pounds, 20 pounds. I
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would have to put eight of these suckers on to
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mimic the weight that I have lost in my weight
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loss journey. And so my weight, uh, being my
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heaviest to the weight that I am now, I would
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have to put on eight 20 pound weighted vest and
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walk. And that got to me to be thinking like,
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Man, he says that my burden is like, give me
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your burden. And so that's what sparked this
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podcast. And so I want to talk about something
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that hits home. What's weighing you down? Now,
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I'm not talking about your gym bag or your laundry
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that you've been putting off. I'm talking about
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those invisible weights, the ones on your heart,
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the ones on your mind, the ones on your soul.
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call today's episode weighted vest and what is
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weighing you down. And so if you have ever seen
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someone training for with a weighted vest, you
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know, it's not easy. The purpose of the vest
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is to add that resistance to build that strength
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and build that endurance. But in life, we often
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carry weighted vest, not to build strength, but
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because we haven't taken the time to lay the
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weight down. And that's what we're going to unpack
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today. And so invisible weights. And so let's
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start with the visual. So picture someone jogging
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down the street, but instead of their workout
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clothes, they've got a 50 pound vest on, they're
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sweating, they're straining, maybe even just
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struggling to breathe, but no one sees the weight.
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And that's how so many of us are going around
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through spiritually, emotionally. We're walking
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around smiling. Doing our job, raising kids,
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attending church, showing up for others while
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carrying shame, anxiety, fear, bitterness, perfectionism.
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We have Hebrews 12 .1 that says, Therefore, since
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we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness,
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let us throw off everything that hinders. and
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the sin that so easily entangles, and let us
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run with perseverance the race marked out for
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us. It says, throw off everything that hinders.
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That doesn't say just sin. It says everything
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that hinders. So maybe the thing that's weighing
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you down isn't even sin. Maybe it's a story,
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a situation. A struggle? And so whatever it is,
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what is your best made of? For some of us, it's
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guilt, unforgiveness, comparison, control, fear,
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insecurity. And we didn't say, I'm fine. But
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inside, we're dragging a weight around that no
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one else sees. And so guilt, you did something
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years ago and you haven't forgiven yourself and
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you're thinking there's no way that he's going
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to forgive me for that. I did the ultimate sin.
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I did this. And then you have unforgiveness towards
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somebody who hurt you deeply that they don't
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deserve forgiveness. Comparison. You constantly
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measure your worth by someone else's success.
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Control. You've exhausted trying to manage everything.
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You're just exhausted. You can't balance everything,
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but you have to have that control. Fear. Fear
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of failing. Rejection. What's next? I cannot
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deal with another thing. Insecurity. Feeling
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like you're never going to be good enough. And
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so let me be real with you. I carried a ton of
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weight before. Physically, spiritually, emotionally,
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insecure for years. Every room I walked into,
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I questioned if I even belonged there. It wasn't
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until I named the weight and brought it to God
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and found my worth in him that I could finally
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breathe. And let me tell you, freedom feels a
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whole lot lighter. The burden that you weigh
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and that you have to carry with you every day
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whenever you feel like you are not good enough,
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that you are empty and that you're searching
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for love, you're searching for that right person,
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you're searching for all these things. And it's
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so heavy and you're just exhausted and you can't
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even get out of bed some days. There's some days
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that you just, you can't even open your eyes
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and you just lay in bed because the weight of
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the world is so heavy. But we have Psalms 55,
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22. That says, cast your cares on the Lord and
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he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous
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be shaken. But that casting requires action.
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You just can't talk about the weight. You've
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got to take it off. And so why we get used to
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carrying it. And so have you ever worn something
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uncomfortable for such a long time that you stopped
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noticing how comfortable it was? Maybe it's a
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new pair of shoes that rubbed your heels raw
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and it hurt for a little while because a blister
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was forming and you kept walking and kept walking
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and then like, well, it's not that bad. And then
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eventually you're like, your foot goes numb and
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then you get home and you take off your heel
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and then you have this hugest blister and then
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the burning and just that God awful pain just
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happens. That's the same thing that happens whenever
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we have emotional weight. We normalize dysfunction.
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We say things like, that's just how I am. You
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know, I'll deal with that later. It's not a big
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deal, but it is a big deal when it's stopping
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you from living with peace, purpose, and joy.
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It is the freedom in Galatians 5 .1 that says,
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it is freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
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firm and then do not let yourselves be burdened
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again by the yoke of slavery. Jesus didn't die
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on the cross so that you could live chained to
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fear, shame, or anything else. He didn't set
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us free so that you could pick up another burden
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and call it normal. But here's the kicker. Oftentimes,
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wearing a weighted vest makes you look stronger,
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you think. We think that if we keep going, no
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one will see us struggling. But strength is not
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in hiding your struggle. Strength is surrender.
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And so taking off your vest. How do we get this
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vest off of us? Unclip it and throw it away.
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Let's get practical. If you're thinking, okay,
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Tracy. I'm tired of carrying this vest. Now what?
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Here's some three steps to drop the weight. So
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one, identify the weight. Be honest with yourself
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and God. Write it down if you have to. Pray.
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Ask God to reveal what is weighing me down. And
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guess what? He'll answer. Two, take it to him.
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take it to God. Matthew 11, 28 through 30 says,
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come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
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and I will give you rest for my yoke is easy
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and my burden is light. This isn't just a nice
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verse. It is a daily invitation. Trade your burden
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for his peace. And so, as you know, I'm a huge,
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huge advocate for writing it down. And so in
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my line of work, I don't have really anybody
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to talk to. I can't come home and talk to my
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family about my day. I have restrictions and
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regulations that I can't talk about really anything
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to anybody. And so I carry 120 people's burdens,
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150 people's burdens every week. But for me,
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I get to unload that and unpack that daily. I
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get to take that to God and pray over other people's
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burdens. And I get to take that to him and say,
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what do we do with this? You are the ultimate
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physician. You are the one that is giving us
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wisdom and guidance and making our steps and
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our path straight. What do I do with this? And
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I get to lay that down. And so I'm refreshed
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and renewed every day before I get to go do another
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day. And I get to then unload my weight with
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him. on the daily, all throughout the day, because
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he says my burden is light and I do heavy lifting
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and I do enough cardio. I don't need other people's
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stuff weighing me down. And so I give it to the
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guy that has the answers. And three, take one
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step of obedience. One step, not a mile, not
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a quarter mile, just one step. And so maybe that
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one step. It's going to be really hard because
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maybe it's forgiving somebody. Maybe it's calling
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and getting counseling. Maybe it's about having
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a really hard conversation that you know the
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person needs, but they're not ready to receive
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it. And you don't know how to approach it, but
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you know that that conversation has to be had.
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Maybe it's a simple rest, like for real rest,
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not scrolling rest. like Sabbath rest, like a
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legit rest. And so friend, whatever you've never
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meant to carry in that vest forever, you were
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never meant to carry it. God wants you light,
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free, joyful, and bold. He wants you to run your
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race, not weighed down, but wide open to his
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grace. And here's the truth. You can't be full
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of purpose when you're full of pressure. You
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can't follow Jesus when your shoulders are all
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hunched over with a load he never asked you to
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carry. So today, take off the weighted vest.
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You don't need it anymore. And so I would love
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to pray for you. Dear Heavenly Father, thank
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you so much for today. Thank you so much for
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these listeners. Thank you that the burdens that
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we are carrying, that we give it to you, that
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you are the burden lifter, that you are the chain
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breaker, that you are the Prince of Peace for
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everyone listening who feels like life is just
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too heavy. I pray that you meet them where they're
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at. Help them identify what is weighing them
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down and give them the courage to release it
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to you. Remind them that in you, there is freedom.
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There is rest. There is joy. There is love. There
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is peace. Thank you so much for being our strength
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whenever we are weak. In Jesus' name, I pray.
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Amen. Thank you so much for spending this time
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with us today on fostering faith. And if this
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episode spoke to you, share with a friend, tag
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us on Instagram, leave a review, message me.
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I love hearing how these episodes affected your
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week, touched your heart. Until next time, let
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go of the weight and live light in the love of
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Jesus. We love you guys. Have an amazing week.