Latest / Imagine Media Podcast Network / God’s Goodness | Christian Testimonies, Hearing ... - What If “Permanent” Isn’t the End of the Story? | Jeremiah & Rachel White | Ep. 159

Transcript

God’s Goodness | Christian Testimonies, Hearing ... - What If “Permanent” Isn’t the End of the Story? | Jeremiah & Rachel White | Ep. 159 · Imagine Media Podcast Network

0:00
I would just go to the Lord and ask him, you
0:02
know, do I need to start preparing for this to
0:05
be permanent? And like every time it was just
0:08
like, you know, keep going, keep searching. Hey
0:13
there, welcome to the God's Goodness podcast.
0:15
We are your hosts, Josh and Shelly Hankins, and
0:18
we're here to share real stories of God's power,
0:21
stories of hope, healing and miracles that will
0:24
strengthen your faith. No matter what you're
0:26
walking through, we want to remind you that God
0:28
is good and He's still moving today. Let's dive
0:31
in. What do you do when you've been praying for
0:39
God to change something, but now there's a deadline?
0:42
You believe He can do it, but the date keeps
0:45
getting closer. And what if nothing changes?
0:47
Because it's one thing to trust God when there's
0:49
still time. What happens when you start running
0:52
out of it? Jeremiah White and his wife Rachel
0:56
have lived that question in a way they never
0:58
expected and for them the clock wasn't Hypothetical
1:02
it was already ticking Thank you so much for
1:05
joining us today. Welcome guys. Do you mind open?
1:08
It's not been a nice prayer to welcome the Holy
1:11
Spirit into our atmosphere Certainly or thank
1:14
you for who you are and all that you've done
1:16
Laura asked you bless our conversation As you
1:19
speak through us May we have a full and productive
1:23
Conversation in Jesus name. Amen. Amen Jeremiah
1:28
you have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and
1:31
Rachel you were walking through this alongside
1:34
him But before we get into how serious things
1:36
became take us back to the beginning What was
1:39
life like before this and when did you first
1:42
realized something was changing? so we were newlyweds
1:48
and As soon as we got married we were experiencing
1:53
very intense spiritual warfare. And we knew it
1:57
was spiritual warfare. I think it was like, it
2:00
was immediate and it was somewhat obvious, I
2:03
would say. We were both Christian at the time.
2:07
However, the spiritual warfare was so strong.
2:09
It was almost as though like, had we not known
2:12
God, you would have known it was spiritual warfare.
2:15
Something was going on. Yeah, 100%. It wasn't
2:18
just like normal disagreements or kind of common
2:22
challenges that couples have, but it was just
2:26
a great period of difficulty for us. Considering
2:30
also new marriages, usually you have that honeymoon
2:32
phase where everyone is just lovey -dovey and
2:35
happy. Hardly any fights ever happen. Oh yeah,
2:38
no, we did not experience that at all. That was
2:40
the opposite of what we experienced. Speaking
2:44
of this a few moments ago, like trying to see
2:46
how to map out the story because I didn't have
2:49
any immediate symptoms of schizophrenia or schizophrenic
2:53
experiences or episodes. They were pretty sudden,
2:56
I would say, but they would happen in bursts.
2:58
So I would have an episode and then I would experience
3:02
anything for months and then another episode.
3:07
What was the episode like? Give us an example.
3:10
He would go like really blank. So he would be
3:13
super paranoid. Kind of like he had Alzheimer's,
3:17
like they forget what they're doing in the middle
3:18
of doing something. Yeah, he would forget what
3:20
he was doing in the middle of it. Like I remember
3:22
one day we had been at the DMV and he was just
3:25
really paranoid about, you know, government being
3:28
in a government building and very paranoid, reading
3:32
the Bible, really relating to it. in the worst
3:35
ways, seeing himself as condemned. He was hearing
3:38
a lot of different voices. I know a lot of people
3:41
describe chaos brain, and that's honestly the
3:44
best way to describe it. It was just very chaotic.
3:46
It was like I was living in an entirely alternate
3:49
reality. And that was probably a big challenge
3:54
for you, Rachel, to have your husband, who I
3:56
assume you had a relationship with before you
3:59
were married, to all of a sudden experience something
4:01
so dramatic. a complete shift to who he was.
4:06
Yeah, it was interesting because the way we were
4:08
dealing with our marital problems was not the
4:10
best. So it was kind of strange. I'm like a baby
4:13
Christian. And so I'd been spending a lot of
4:17
time with the Lord. And the way that we were
4:20
dealing with our marital problems was not good.
4:23
And so I did have an idea, or I guess I should
4:26
say, like, I felt like the Lord was telling me
4:29
to really lean on him and to stop fighting so
4:35
hard and that it would all be solved. So I did
4:38
have like a piece about it and it was strange
4:41
because I knew it was spiritual. I didn't think
4:45
that it was this random schizophrenic diagnosis
4:48
that it was something we were going to have to
4:51
deal with. I knew it was entirely spiritual.
4:54
And so every time he would kind of go into the
4:58
schizophrenic episodes. There was a lot of repenting
5:02
happening. Honestly, just like a lot of, a lot
5:05
of stuff leading up to an overall deliverance.
5:08
And so I knew it was spiritual. I wasn't as taken
5:12
by surprises as people would think, I guess.
5:15
But yeah, I was shocking nonetheless. And I was
5:17
still scared that. In the back of your head,
5:21
I think you always have that thought, like, is
5:22
this permanent? And so it was, Gary, but I did
5:26
have faith 100 % that we would come out the other
5:29
side. I wasn't aware it was spiritual, which
5:31
did bring me peace. That's good of you to identify
5:36
that and have the peace despite it. I can't imagine
5:40
not having Jesus in your life and then going
5:42
through that. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can imagine that
5:45
would be infinitely more difficult to process
5:49
without the safety blanket of Jesus. Yeah, 100%.
5:53
100%. I mean, it would have been a very different
5:56
experience. Were we not walking with Jesus? Like,
5:59
were we not walking with Christ? Because I would
6:01
have just seen it as permanent diagnosis that
6:03
was something he was going to have to deal with.
6:05
But I remember even when the doctors were telling
6:07
me, it was funny. I was just making sure that
6:09
I wasn't coming into agreement with any of it.
6:12
I mean, I stood on verses, I wish I hadn't pulled
6:14
up, but just knowing that Christ can heal anything,
6:17
you know, he's Lord over death. No part of me
6:21
thought that this was a permanent problem. But
6:24
yeah, I just had faith the whole time, but it
6:26
was definitely scary. I would just go to the
6:28
Lord and ask him, you know, do I need to start
6:31
preparing for this to be permanent? And like
6:34
every time it was just like, you know, keep going,
6:37
keep searching and, you know. It was scary, but
6:40
the Lord just carried me during that entire season.
6:45
Jeremiah, walk us through when you first started
6:48
having these outbursts. You said they were separated
6:51
by a bit of time. Did that obviously increase
6:54
in frequency, increase in duration, increase
6:58
in intensity? Yes. The first episode was, I would
7:03
say maybe lasted a couple of days and then I
7:07
would have random bursts throughout. I think
7:11
it was maybe like, that's like three days or
7:13
so. The second time, I can't recall, but it was,
7:18
I would say very similar. So max three, four
7:21
days. And then the third time, this was a four
7:24
month long kind of, it's like four month long
7:29
experience. It was, it was horrible. Every day
7:31
was absolute hell. It was awful. And. there would
7:37
be times where it would lighten up, and there
7:40
would be times where it was incredibly intense.
7:43
And that four -month experience is when we had
7:48
met Judy. And during that time, and we spoke
7:53
with a variety of different counselors, I was
7:57
doing everything that I knew to do as a Christian,
8:01
but... It was almost as though things were getting
8:04
progressively worse over that four month period
8:06
of time. And then we meet Judy Gregerson and
8:14
Judy takes me through deliverance. Our very first
8:17
session was pretty. It was underwhelming. Yeah,
8:21
it was, it was very underwhelming. I mean, like
8:24
he had said, he'd gone through like a few periods
8:26
of time where it was maybe like three to five
8:28
days. And then the last time we had gotten. into
8:32
quite a big fight. I will say all of this was
8:34
really triggered by, I don't know if I want to
8:36
say like disobedience. It was definitely like
8:38
spiritual things happening that needed to be
8:41
repented of. And it was just this continued pattern
8:44
that we were in. And then towards the end, I'd
8:48
say those four months, it was like, there was
8:50
several times where he'd kind of like come to,
8:54
but really the whole time was just preparing
8:55
us for deliverance. When we finally met Judy,
8:58
which you guys had had her on your show, right?
9:00
Yes, everybody go back and find Judy's episode.
9:04
Yeah, so when we had met her, we were actually
9:10
in Seattle staying at my brother's house, helping
9:14
him move out because he wasn't able to come back
9:16
until we were helping him get out of his house.
9:19
And the night before I found Judy, he had woken
9:23
up in the middle of the night and Like we said,
9:27
this was the end of four months and he was, I
9:31
don't know how else to explain it, besides he
9:32
was entirely blank. It was like, he was just
9:35
a body that could speak. I couldn't remember
9:38
anything. Yeah. He didn't know his name. Yeah.
9:41
He didn't know his name. I asked him like his
9:44
name, where he was at. I don't think he knew
9:46
any of it. And so at that point I was like, okay,
9:50
I have to take him to the hospital. So I ended
9:52
up taking him to the hospital and they, immediately
9:56
diagnosed him with schizophrenia. And they were
9:58
just telling me, you know, like I said, they
10:00
were telling me that, you know, this was permanent
10:02
and that it was manageable with medication. The
10:07
whole time I was having the conversations with
10:09
them, I was just praying, you know, asking if
10:11
this was the right thing, if I just needed to
10:15
just give up after these four months. And so
10:18
I remember I had left him in the hospital to
10:21
go grab a change of clothes and I called his
10:23
grandma and we just prayed. and prayed and prayed
10:25
and prayed because they were wanting to keep
10:27
him in the hospital in Seattle. They were trying
10:29
to keep him on a mandatory hold. And so I was
10:33
debating on whether to fight it or not, have
10:35
him come out of the hospital and continue to
10:39
trust the Lord that he would guide us to wherever
10:42
we were needing to go. And so I prayed with his
10:45
grandma. We both were like, no, we need to get
10:49
him out. And so anyways, I ended up going back
10:52
to the hospital. They ended up allowing me to
10:55
take him back home. We really just relaxed that
10:59
day. I called his grandma. We prayed for hours
11:02
and then went to sleep the next morning because
11:05
I had been looking up, of course, I've been looking
11:08
up any and all treatments and solutions to what
11:11
was going on. And I had woken up and I just felt
11:16
like the Lord was telling me to go back to this
11:18
TikTok I had been watching the other day. So
11:21
I go back to the TikTok and I find Jerry Marzinski,
11:25
I think his name is in the comments and I go
11:28
to his website and then I'm looking through his
11:31
website and reading one of his articles and Judy's
11:34
name was at the bottom and I searched her and
11:39
It was like immediately. I knew that was exactly
11:42
Who I was looking for so I contacted her I sent
11:47
her an email She emailed me back immediately
11:49
and then we hopped on a call the next day and
11:52
set up deliverance and went through deliverance
11:55
with her. I told her on the phone. I was like,
11:58
he just accepted. Also, the whole time that this
12:02
was going on, he was still interviewing for jobs.
12:04
I mean, he's brilliant. So he had been interviewing
12:07
this whole time somehow. I don't know, by the
12:09
grace of God, he was interviewing and doing well
12:11
in these interviews. We were hoping for a role
12:14
and we were just in the waiting period to see
12:17
if he had closed it or not. When I talked to
12:21
Judy, I told her that we have 30 days He has
12:25
30 days because I knew within that time period
12:28
he was going to be accepting a role one of the
12:30
roles And so I told her we had 30 days to get
12:34
this Entirely cleared up. I was like I have faith
12:37
not a thousand percent I'm like the Lord led
12:39
me here for you to fix this and the Lord's gonna
12:42
fix it through you and she was like Yeah, she
12:46
was the same that the first time you guys met
12:49
she's like I got to pray about this because I
12:51
don't know if I can help you and God had to speak
12:53
to her. Yeah, I was like, wow. Yeah, I was like,
12:58
God did not leave me here after four months of
13:01
hell. Yeah, for you not to be able to, yeah.
13:05
Wow. So you went the first time and everyone
13:08
is like, I don't know about this. And then tell
13:10
us about like the second and third and follow
13:12
up times. Like what happened after that? What
13:15
progression did you see after meeting with her
13:17
and doing deliverance? Because a lot of deliverance
13:19
is like finding an open door or an agreement
13:22
or something like that So did she like take you
13:25
through history and find any like the traumas?
13:28
Sometimes we have a friend who does block that's
13:31
a Christian therapy and sometimes there's a trauma
13:33
that isn't healed or dealt with and so it gets
13:36
stuck and then your body your body is like reacting
13:39
to it when you know physical or other ways so
13:43
or sometimes it's tied to unforgiveness or disobedience
13:46
or yeah yeah so did you like what did you guys
13:48
learn after you met with her a second and so
13:51
on you know i wish i could say that definitively
13:56
it was this open door or it was this one thing
14:01
that judy said or During the time God spoke to
14:06
me and said XYZ, but none of that happened actually
14:09
it was like the very first time we met it was
14:11
funny because I could barely speak during that
14:14
time like I could hardly talk and the second
14:17
time we've met I think I'd finished the very
14:20
final round of the interview and we were waiting
14:24
to hear back from that job and I think things
14:28
have gotten a little bit better where I could
14:30
finally speak to Judy and Then we went through
14:34
the deliverance process or no, that wasn't the
14:37
second time or the third time. That was the third
14:39
time. I had spoke to her. I think she called
14:43
us. Yeah. And we kind of told her the history
14:46
of what had been going on. All of our marital
14:49
problems, everything we went through my entire
14:51
life. Yeah. Everything. And then the third time
14:55
we went through deliverance, every time we met,
14:58
it just, things got a little bit better. And
15:00
then that third time. things were significantly
15:03
better. She went through full deliverance. I
15:05
mean, she had him do, went through any unforgiveness,
15:09
any soul ties, disobedience, just a full repentance
15:14
and a full renouncing of any agreements. We went
15:17
through. I don't think she missed anything. And
15:20
so after we had gone through deliverance, he
15:22
was still just entirely frozen. Judy and I didn't
15:27
think that it had been successful. we thought
15:30
it would be a process. And then we had actually
15:33
hopped on a call with a mentor later that night
15:37
after we had gone through a deliverance with
15:38
her during the day. And he prayed with us and
15:41
then told us, he's really gifted. He's very prophetic.
15:44
Incredibly prophetic. Yeah, incredibly. He was
15:47
like, you know, this is just going to gradually
15:49
clear. He's like, you're just going to wake up
15:50
one morning and you're going to be completely
15:52
free of this. And I think three days, he was
15:57
entitled to act anew. He went entirely there.
16:01
I remember Judy had called us for a follow -up,
16:03
I think the end of that week. She was so confused
16:07
because he was an entirely different person.
16:10
She had never seen who he was or his personality
16:12
or anything. He was just a shell of a human being.
16:16
He was just a shell. When she had called us and
16:21
he was just, we gave her the update. Was there
16:25
something that you felt, Jeremiah, that Indicated
16:29
like was there like a could you feel anything
16:31
leaving you or was it just kind of no? No, it's
16:34
just all of a sudden you could just Be function
16:37
again normal. Yeah There was nothing no dramatic
16:41
moment. I just woke up one day and things were
16:44
better The voice is stopped. I could think clearly
16:47
I Was not constantly living in fear. I could
16:51
finally sleep again. Yeah, just all cleared up.
16:54
I want to take that What stood out to me was
16:58
the three days. And Jesus loves his three days,
17:02
doesn't he? Oh my goodness. Wow. Last spring,
17:10
I came across something I honestly didn't expect
17:12
to pay this much attention to. At first, I was
17:15
just interested in the idea of saving money on
17:17
everyday wellness products I was already buying
17:19
anyway. But then I started noticing people I
17:23
personally know getting paid weekly from a membership
17:25
they were simply sharing with others. That's
17:28
what made me really pay attention. Because it's
17:30
not about stocking inventory, pressuring friends,
17:33
or chasing customers around. It's a membership
17:36
that gives people access to high quality products
17:38
at lower prices. And if you decide to share it,
17:41
there's a compensation side attached to it too.
17:44
After seeing real people get results from it
17:46
consistently, I realized this could genuinely
17:48
become a long -term income vehicle for the right
17:51
person. If you've been looking for something
17:53
simple that actually makes sense in today's economy,
17:56
you should at least take a look at why so many
17:58
people are paying attention to this right now.
18:00
The info's in our about section. Within this
18:14
30 days, right? There was a lot actually that
18:17
happened because when I look back now and Somewhat
18:22
mentioned it a bit earlier, but each episode
18:26
prior to that four months Just links that that
18:29
the four -month link was just that was the very
18:32
different experience I hadn't experienced anything
18:35
that continuous before but every time that Rachel
18:40
and I would get into an argument or that we'd
18:43
have some kind of really bad conversation in
18:46
our marriage. It would trigger the episode. And
18:50
during that time, I was out one day with a church
18:55
friend and we were feeding the homeless and there
18:58
was this homeless guy that I had met. We had
19:03
lunch with this man and he was prophetic. Honestly,
19:07
I'm still not sure to this day, I'm not joking
19:09
if he was human. We're talking to this guy and
19:12
he shares with me that he goes, you're debasing
19:17
her. And when he'd said that I knew immediately
19:20
what he was talking about. He was talking about
19:23
how I was treating Rachel. And he asked me, he's
19:26
like, do you know what that means? And I was
19:29
like, yes, I do. And I don't remember what my
19:32
response to him was. And then he followed up
19:34
with something like, he said something to the
19:37
effect of like, make sure that's cleared up before
19:40
the Lord's armies arrive. That's what he said
19:43
to me. And I was, and I laughed and I was like,
19:46
oh yeah, yeah. Like I thought that he was talking
19:48
about the Lord's armies against Rachel, like
19:51
coming in targets. I was like, oh yeah, she needs
19:53
to change. Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah. I'm definitely
19:57
in agreement with what you just said. And when
20:01
I think about that. I sometimes get a bit bewildered
20:05
because that for me was like, you know, the Lord
20:08
talks about how he disciplines his child and
20:15
to not reject the Lord's discipline. That moment
20:18
was a significant moment because we were transitioning
20:21
out of California during that time. And so after
20:24
we had that conversation, it was like shortly
20:27
after We had left California and that's when
20:30
the like the episode had triggered again. We
20:32
had had another huge argument And so when I look
20:35
back, I wouldn't just say that there was a breakthrough
20:38
in our finances. We just got a new job We also
20:42
finally found where the Lord wanted us to be
20:45
more long -term because we're praying about where
20:47
to live but also our marriage had changed dramatically
20:53
and How I was treating Rachel And also just our
20:58
overall closeness and friendship and affection
21:04
towards one another increased dramatically during
21:06
that time. So there was a lot that happened.
21:09
It wasn't just the transference of location and
21:12
job, but also our marriage changed a ton. Do
21:17
you think that, you know how... And Daniel talks
21:20
about the angel that came to him said he was
21:23
a little delayed because he was dealing with
21:24
the Prince of Persia or a demon that was basically
21:28
in charge of the area of Persia. Do you think
21:31
that demonic warfare where you were, or demonic
21:35
activity rather, was stronger than where you
21:36
moved to? I would say significantly, yes. The
21:40
culture of where you were invited more of this.
21:43
I would say so. There was something very unique
21:46
about, we were in Orange County. And the amount
21:49
of warfare they were experiencing in Orange County
21:50
was insane. It was irregular. Uh, I don't know
21:54
what it was, but I think it was just also, I
21:58
mean, we just got married. We were really building
22:01
the foundation of, I mean, of course our marriage
22:04
and our family overall. So I think that was also
22:07
an element as well, but we were really, really
22:09
hungry for the Lord during that time too. So
22:12
I think there were just a lot of things that
22:14
were. Certainly coming against us as we continue
22:18
to get closer to God and It continued to I mean
22:22
it continued to progress until we had met Judy
22:25
the deliverance happened, but I would certainly
22:27
say so and have you Utilize this experience to
22:32
help other people yet. I Think it's pretty much
22:34
isn't it like then this just happened like you
22:37
just got healed like within months ago Yeah,
22:40
yeah Yeah, it was When was the, was it August
22:47
that we had met Judy? No, I think it was June.
22:52
Maybe it was June because I think you had an
22:54
episode with her in July. Oh no, it was definitely.
22:57
Oh no, our episode was in July. So you were after
23:00
that. Oh yeah, it was June. Your episode with
23:02
her was after that. Anyway, so still, Josh is
23:08
giving me looks like they still could have helped
23:10
people in the meantime. So have you gotten the
23:14
hell out of anybody? It could have been three
23:15
days later, we know. So have you been, like,
23:18
obviously, God gives us adversity so we can,
23:22
you know, come closer to Him. Well, He doesn't
23:24
give it to us, but it happens, and so we can
23:27
draw closer to Him, and then it can help others
23:30
in the long run. So have you had that opportunity
23:33
to help anybody with this yet, or are you just
23:36
getting started? No. I would say, you know, when
23:39
you read, The Old Testament is actually funny
23:43
because the Lord had me start reading the Bible
23:48
in chronological order. But as I was reading
23:51
the Bible, it has gone and still is going along
23:54
with every phase of deliverance that we have
23:58
been in personally with what I'm reading. And
24:02
we're definitely in the phase now. And it's gotten,
24:06
of course, a million times easier and lighter.
24:09
But we're definitely in the phase now of continuing
24:12
to renew our minds after being fully delivered.
24:17
And we've been meeting with a lot of mentors.
24:19
I mean, we still meet with Judy and just continuing
24:23
to get support. But I can tell that we're preparing.
24:26
We're definitely in a season of renewing our
24:29
minds and just preparing for what's about to
24:32
come. We just keep calling it like the waiting
24:34
period and just taking advantage of it and continuing
24:38
to learn and really be united in our marriage
24:42
and grow closer to the Lord and get more knowledge.
24:46
And so I know that that time is coming. We've
24:49
done a few podcasts, but we're definitely preparing
24:52
to to help people. When you guys. So this is
24:58
kind of a fresh healing. Is there any part of
25:00
you that still has like a kind of like a hiccup
25:02
reflex? Where you're waiting for the hiccup to
25:05
continue even though you're done with the hiccups?
25:07
Does that make sense? Yeah, well guess Like are
25:11
you waiting like is there any part of your brain
25:13
that's like this is gonna happen again? No, I
25:16
will say there are times when like I don't know
25:19
what God did to my memory, but I Can't fully
25:23
remember everything that I experienced during
25:25
that four months of those four months. I just
25:28
remember it was horrible. I remember some parts,
25:31
but it's strange. And now I can't relive it.
25:33
I can't relive the experience, which is amazing.
25:36
But I can recall certain moments that were really
25:39
difficult, but it feels very distant in my mind
25:43
as well. I mean, although it happened fairly
25:46
recently, it feels like it happened years ago,
25:49
but it doesn't feel like it will happen again.
25:51
No. Well, that's good. Yeah, that's awesome.
25:54
And so this happened, you were healed in time
25:56
for the job to start and get settled in the new
25:59
house. Is that accurate then? Yeah, I think that
26:02
he had gone through deliverance. Actually, I
26:04
think it was the day before deliverance that
26:06
he had gotten the call that he had got the role
26:10
here in San Francisco. Yeah, and then I was even
26:13
more ambitious on the timeline telling Judy that
26:19
we really only have 30 days now. Didn't you have
26:24
to move while he was still kind of out of it
26:25
too? I remember, right? Yeah. Yeah, we had to,
26:30
we moved from Seattle to San Francisco. Yeah,
26:34
but at that time he was entirely healed. Oh,
26:37
by the time we moved? Really? Yeah. You're such
26:43
a man. I love it. He remembers things the way
26:46
I do. I need my wife. Yeah, he had been entirely
26:50
healed. Cause remember when we called Judy? After
26:53
the deliverance after those three days, we were
26:56
in Seattle Yeah, so then we ended up coming here
27:01
within three days we had found the house which
27:05
was a miracle because everyone had been telling
27:07
us and we also felt like the Lord was telling
27:09
us to not worry about finding a house at all
27:12
and He's a spreadsheet person. I'm a list person.
27:16
So we were like, there's not, God's not going
27:18
to be able to surprise us with that house. And
27:21
we ended up getting a random, well, I ended up
27:25
randomly messaging this house that had been put
27:27
up on Facebook marketplace. And we were only
27:31
looking on Zillow, but I had seen it randomly
27:34
pop up on my Facebook. And so he had messaged
27:37
us. He had only had the listing up for maybe
27:40
an hour. and we just happened to be in the area.
27:43
We walked into the house and just like immediately
27:45
knew this was exactly where we were supposed
27:47
to be. And it was like $3 ,000 under what we
27:50
were, like under $3 ,000 a month less than what
27:53
we were planning on paying in San Francisco.
27:54
So it was truly a miracle. Wow. That is incredible.
28:00
Yeah. It was really, really cool. Wow. And then
28:03
started his role and he's just been... It's been
28:06
kind of crazy after the deliverance. Everything
28:09
just kind of fell into place. That's pretty incredible.
28:12
You guys have had such a whirlwind adventure
28:15
in such a short amount of time with, I would
28:19
say, something that's very disparaging in the
28:21
middle. To have a new marriage and to have such
28:25
a complicated diagnosis to be placed upon you.
28:29
And being a baby Christian too, on top of everything.
28:33
This diagnosis being man -made without understanding
28:36
any spiritual ramifications, just throw drugs
28:39
at it to suppress it, instead of coming to the
28:41
Father to remove the blight. It's incredible
28:44
that you guys have made it where you've made
28:45
it, that you trust God the way you do, and it's
28:48
clear that you have His favor. It's clear that
28:51
you are doing something, whether you acknowledge
28:54
it or not, you were doing something that has
28:56
caught His eye. and that he is blessing you mightily.
29:00
Thank you. Yeah, it's been crazy. No pun intended,
29:03
right? That's good. Yeah, it's been crazy. I
29:09
would say very humbling. It makes you understand
29:13
how little you're actually in control. It's no
29:17
small experience to just not be able to use your
29:20
mind. That is a very, very different experience.
29:24
So... Yeah, yeah, it's very, very humbling. I
29:30
had a headache for four straight days. It got
29:33
so bad, I was basically bedridden. That's when
29:36
I tried the X39 patch for the first time. And
29:39
within a short time, I noticed a difference in
29:41
how I felt overall. Now we keep using X39 for
29:45
energy, recovery, and soreness. What caught my
29:48
attention is that it's not a supplement or stimulant.
29:51
It's a patented, light -based wellness patch
29:54
designed to support your body's natural repair
29:56
processes. If you've been putting off trying
29:59
X39, check out our link in the about section
30:02
and finally look into it for yourself. What words
30:04
of encouragement would you offer at this point
30:06
in time to someone going through something as
30:11
wild as the ride you guys went on? If they're
30:14
in the thick of it, what do they need to know?
30:16
During that time, I really was thankful to God
30:23
that we were able to experience the fullness
30:26
of the body of Christ. Where during that time
30:30
we had so many people come alongside us and support
30:34
us from our church and just believers literally
30:38
around the nation. And it was incredibly strengthening
30:43
to us. And so my first encouragement would be
30:46
to go join a local church and position yourself
30:52
to be around those in the faith because being
30:56
alone is not a solution at all. That's where
30:59
the enemy wants you. Yes, 100%. And if you're
31:04
experiencing schizophrenia, that is also where
31:07
that takes you. And so pursue the opposite. Pursue
31:12
community in Christ and don't give up. That's
31:17
literally it. Those two things. Those two things.
31:21
Don't settle. Don't settle. Keep believing. Now,
31:25
at the time, did you give up? Because clearly
31:27
Rachel did not. Oh, yeah. I had entirely given
31:31
up. I had given up. There could only be so many
31:34
times because I wasn't a baby Christian and I
31:36
was doing all the things that I knew to do. I
31:39
was fasting. I was praying. I was reading scripture,
31:41
of course. And there are only so many times you
31:44
can hear like from those who are obviously trying
31:48
to be supportive, like, oh, just, you know, make
31:49
sure you're reading your Bible. It's like, oh,
31:51
great. Imagine if I weren't doing that. That
31:53
would be awesome, right? I mean, I'd have some
31:56
kind of direction, but all of the encouragement
31:57
that I was getting during that time were things
31:59
that I was already doing, and that was incredibly
32:01
frustrating. And then when I would pray and I
32:03
would ask the Lord to speak to me, He would just
32:05
tell me things I didn't want to hear. Like, He
32:08
would tell me often to stop complaining, and
32:10
that was the worst because... It's like, I don't
32:13
have anything other to say than complaints. I
32:16
don't have anything else to say other than complaints.
32:18
So what do you want me to say? It was just funny.
32:23
Yeah. Well, what you focus on grows. So neuroscience
32:27
is catching up to things what you focus on. So
32:30
obviously community is very important and that's
32:33
how we plug in so that we have. we have that
32:36
person in our corner to help fight with us. It's
32:38
another gift that God has given us as each other.
32:40
But being married, the way Rachel stuck to you
32:43
instead of saying, nah, this isn't for me, you
32:47
know, she stuck to you. And it reminds me of
32:50
I had fasted for 40 days. My wife did not elect
32:53
to join me in my fast or I didn't, no food fast.
32:57
So I saw a great transformation through it. Shelly
33:00
saw a great transformation through me from it.
33:03
So much so when I was finished, she was motivated.
33:06
She wanted to fast and she asked me if I would
33:07
fast with her. And I was like, I don't know.
33:09
You didn't fast with me. But I eventually said,
33:11
yeah, sure, we'll do it. And I'm thinking like
33:14
10 days, 20 days, something again. And she's
33:16
like, four days. It's like, well, that's something.
33:21
And I went in the kitchen and God loves to tell
33:24
me things in the kitchen. And so he pressed upon
33:26
me in the kitchen. that four days was like 40
33:30
days for a married couple because a married couple
33:33
was 10 times more powerful than a single person
33:36
and so we were exponentially more powerful and
33:39
so when you tell me that your wife was praying
33:43
was in your corner she did not fail you even
33:45
though you gave up that she did not that you
33:47
guys are still a sizable force in the eyes of
33:50
the enemy because she would not break the covenant
33:53
with you. And I think that speaks volumes for
33:55
her character, baby Christian or not. It speaks
33:58
volumes for the heart that she has for you, the
34:00
heart that she has for God, that she was willing
34:04
to fight the fight for you because you couldn't,
34:08
right? She carried you through this fight. And
34:11
I think... She needs to have a little bit more
34:13
credit for the strength and fortitude that she
34:15
had to go through such a thing. And no, this
34:18
isn't a plug to say women are better than men.
34:19
This is literally saying that she in that moment
34:22
was exactly who God created her to be for you.
34:24
And she fulfilled her role. Amazing. And I just
34:28
want to, I can't stress that enough, how important
34:30
the marriage is and how important you have to
34:32
take care of each other and how, whether she
34:34
realized it or not as a baby Christian, that
34:36
she took that so seriously that as a result,
34:39
God has shown you favor. 100%. I could not have
34:43
made it through that period of time without her.
34:46
She was incredibly strong, not just towards the
34:50
end and finding some resource to help us with
34:54
connecting me to Judy, but throughout the entire
34:58
time. I mean, there were many moments where I
35:00
couldn't sleep and she would stay up with me,
35:04
help me go to sleep, pray over me, read scripture.
35:08
I mean, she was... Taking care of me full -time.
35:11
It was a full -time like hospice center in our
35:15
house during during that during those four months
35:18
I don't know I'm just getting this like it like
35:20
this mental image of her like King David as Being
35:23
a woman after God's own heart and I just want
35:25
to impress it upon you Then she is very special
35:28
to him. Obviously. She's not David She's not
35:31
a man or a king, but she is a queen in the eyes
35:33
of the king And so I just want to press upon
35:36
how important how valuable she should be to you
35:39
Thank you. Nice work, Rachel. Thank you. I want
35:44
to say thank you so much. And I wanted to go
35:47
back to the question you had asked previously
35:50
about what can you tell people that are in this
35:53
situation. And I'll say this, is that one thing
35:57
that people really need to learn and study is
36:01
how to plead your case in the court. of heaven
36:05
and to learn to go before the throne boldly.
36:09
And you can always plead on your spouse's behalf.
36:12
And when God says that he made you one, he's
36:14
not joking at all. You can go before and plead
36:18
your case. That was actually what I had done.
36:21
I believe it was the night that we had gone to
36:24
the hospital. That night we had been taking,
36:27
you know, time alone with the Lord. The night
36:29
that we had actually taken him to the hospital,
36:31
because I think it was like two in the morning,
36:32
I had just felt like I was supposed to go to
36:37
the court and just leave. And so I'd done that.
36:40
I'd been in prayer for like however long. I just
36:43
was pouring my heart out to God, like, we can't
36:45
do this any longer. And I was just telling him
36:49
exactly what I told Judy, like, we're on a timeline
36:51
and I know you know that. So I think that There's
36:55
so much power in prayer that people really are
36:59
missing, especially with just social media and
37:02
all the distractions. The time alone with the
37:05
Lord is really important, but just remembering
37:07
to cover your family and your spouse with the
37:10
blood of Christ and pleading on their behalf
37:13
and interceding is something I would think is
37:17
the most important thing I got out of the whole
37:19
experience. I've read a lot of videos on social
37:22
media with ex witches and they couldn't like
37:25
if they were trying to say a curse or spell or
37:27
something over a Christian that they couldn't
37:30
because that family had the blood of Jesus prayed
37:33
over them and so that's super super important
37:36
in the spirit because you can't get through with
37:39
the blood of Jesus 100 % Yeah, actually before
37:43
I became Christian, I was very new age I was
37:45
very into the occult and so it was kind of strange
37:48
I was entirely like new to the spiritual realm
37:52
I just definitely didn't understand it and I
37:54
you know, obviously wasn't walking with Christ
37:56
But the verse that you know, we brought on that
37:59
against flesh and blood is very real It reminds
38:03
me of me with Josh when we met I knew Jesus,
38:07
but I didn't have a relationship with Jesus until
38:10
after we started dating and were married. And
38:13
then that changed everything. So the husband
38:17
is very important in his influence. So thank
38:20
you, Ben. Obviously the wives are too. I think
38:25
if we're, you know, cleaved together. That it's
38:28
very important. I love that you give me a nod
38:30
But if we're gonna be fair if we're equal heart
38:34
parts of the same whole then you were literally
38:36
equal in every aspect of the other and you are
38:39
strong when I am weak and I am your strength
38:41
when you are weak and when I am sick you are
38:44
healthy and vice versa and I think that's the
38:47
whole dynamic that God was Envisioning when he
38:50
created us in that moment, right? He we are made
38:55
man and male and female in his image Right. So
38:57
he has the characteristics of both male and female.
39:00
So he's whole without that, but we're whole with
39:03
it. What a journey. That's so cool. They say
39:10
that the people who came from new age to Christianity
39:13
are really dedicated when it comes to the spiritual
39:18
warfare and things like that, because they already
39:20
know, you know, it can be a powerful space to
39:23
fight battles. They tell you about the armor
39:26
of God in church, but then they don't tell you
39:28
how to fight in the spirit. And so that's where
39:30
we learned about that. Fighting in the spirit
39:33
was outside of the church, oddly enough, because
39:36
of the podcast. So it's really cool how God keeps
39:39
revealing these things that are important that
39:42
we all need as believers to understand better.
39:46
So I appreciate that. I was watching a podcast,
39:50
John Bevere's podcast the other day, and there
39:52
was a girl that had come to him for healing and
39:54
he had asked her what verse she was really standing
39:57
on. And that's so important. Like if you don't
40:02
have a verse that you're really meditating and
40:04
standing on, you have to get one. You have to
40:08
get one. And I would say that's for every single
40:10
phase of life, but especially if you're experiencing,
40:12
you know, something as crazy as schizophrenia
40:14
or any type of spiritual warfare. But even in
40:18
your everyday life, you need to, you know, always
40:21
have his word on your heart. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
40:25
Couldn't agree more. That's paramount to a Christian.
40:28
What was your verse that you held on to? This
40:31
was one I remember standing on. I think this
40:33
is probably. The last one that I was really meditating
40:37
on before deliverance and after was that all
40:41
authority in heaven and on earth has been given
40:43
to me. And just remembering that Christ has authority
40:47
over death. That was something I kept remembering
40:51
was that Christ has authority over death. So
40:53
he certainly has authority over schizophrenia
40:56
or any type of mental illness, any type of physical
40:59
illness. There's nothing that... he can't heal,
41:03
you know, leprosy. And another verse that I stood
41:06
on too was the verse where he called us to, what's
41:13
the one who killed the sick? Where he's commissioning
41:16
the apostles to heal the sick, raise the dead,
41:19
and do his work throughout the nations. Yeah,
41:22
those two were big ones. Just remembering the
41:25
authority that we have in Christ. and really
41:27
believing it, really standing on it. I think
41:30
that's a part where most Christians fail inadvertently
41:33
is that they keep asking Jesus or God to do something
41:37
for them. He's already given the tools to do,
41:40
you know, it's like, Hey, Lord, I really need
41:41
help with this. He's like, why gave you the toolbox
41:43
and all the tools? I don't know what you really
41:45
need me to help you with, you know, just turn,
41:48
just turn the wrench to the right. He's given
41:52
us the tool holes and when we ask him for the
41:54
tools, he's like, what are you talking about?
41:55
They're right in front of you. I just want to
41:57
thank you so much for being open, vulnerable
42:00
as you come onto our show today. I know that
42:03
admitting any kind of mental illness is difficult
42:05
for a lot of people. I know that it's taboo for
42:09
a lot of Christians to mention that they might
42:11
have a weakness or any kind of illness because
42:14
for some reason we like to wear the mask that
42:17
there's nothing wrong. I absolutely love Rachel
42:21
how you stood by him honoring your vows honoring
42:24
your covenant and as a result God has shown favor
42:28
upon you that he has shown you ways to come around
42:31
it to overcome it and to push through it and
42:34
you know if I could I could pray that Jeremiah
42:36
will always look at you as the rock in your marriage
42:39
that Jesus comes first but you are what keeps
42:42
him upright And I hope that he continues to treat
42:46
you well and that he has a chance to pay it forward.
42:50
Yeah, he definitely has. Thank you. Thank you
42:53
so much. I appreciate that. Before you go, if
42:58
this episode encouraged you or made you think
43:00
of someone in your life, share it with them.
43:03
You never know how God might use one story at
43:05
the right moment. Thanks for spending this time
43:08
with us today. And don't forget. God is always
43:11
working, miracles still happen, and your story
43:13
matters too. We'll talk to you next week.