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Run your own race · Fostering Faith

• 0:02
  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. And so in today's
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  episode, we are going to be talking about something
• 0:07
  that has been a common theme in our office. And
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  so run your own race, embracing failure and letting
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  go of comparison. Hey guys, my name is Tracy
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  Foster. I'm with Fostering Faith. And today we're
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  going to be talking about something that I think
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  that we all struggle with. And we struggled with
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  it at some point, if we're going through it right
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  now, the failure of failure and constant temptation
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  and comparison of ourselves to others. It's easy
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  to scroll through social media and see someone
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  else's highlights and reels and immediately think
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  that you're not measuring up. And why am I not
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  there? Why am I not doing what she's doing? Why
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  does she have a bigger house than me? Why is
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  her husband perfect? Why is her skin so beautiful?
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  Why does she have a six pack abs? And I don't.
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  Why does her kid's mind? Why is her kid's rooms
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  clean? All these things can go be going through
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  our head whenever we're doom scrolling. But here's
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  the truth. God didn't create us to run someone
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  else's race. He has uniquely made you for just
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  as time as now. And so for each of us, we need
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  to focus on what that is and we can find true
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  freedom in that. So maybe you have recently faced
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  a setback. Maybe you're feeling stuck. Maybe
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  you're thinking, why am I not further along?
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  Or perhaps you're just caught up in a comparison
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  trap, believing that someone else is success
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  and there's no room for you in that space. If
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  that sounds familiar, I want you to stick around
• 1:09
  because I think this episode is for you. If you
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  know someone that is struggling with comparison
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  and really needing some help. Send this podcast
• 1:17
  over, you know, and by sharing and subscribing
• 1:19
  and sharing this podcast, it helps us grow. It
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  helps us move on from hundreds to thousands to
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  a hundred thousands of listeners and maybe millions
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  one day. God will allow us to reach those that
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  need to hear us. And that's what we're going
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  to be happy with. So let's dive in and talk about
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  why it's okay to fail, but why it's okay to be
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  exactly where you are right now. And so let's
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  talk about the danger of comparison. And so comparison
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  is one of the enemy's most favorite tools. It
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  whispers to you that you're not enough. And what's
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  worse is that we're often compared behind the
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  scenes and moments to someone's highlight reels.
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  And so while we're scrolling on Instagram, we
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  see the 30 second reel of them on vacation, them
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  doing their favorite workout, but we missed their
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  300, 600 pound life. We missed the debt that
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  they went into to go on that vacation. We missed
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  the fact that they are spending eight hours filming
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  for a 30 second TikTok or reel or YouTube short
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  or whatever. We see their perfectly filtered
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  life on social media and we assume, we assume.
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  And so we know what assuming means. And so that
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  makes you a rear end and me too. And so if we
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  have it all together, but what if we don't see
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  the late night tears, the prayers, the struggles?
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  And so the Bible warns us against comparison.
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  And so Galatians 6, 4 through 5 says, each one
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  of us should test our own actions when they take
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  pride in themselves alone without comparing ourselves
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  to someone else for each one should carry our
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  own load. This verse is so beautifully powerful
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  because it's a reminder of our journey is our
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  own. God doesn't measure our success by how we
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  stack up against others. He looks at your heart.
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  He looks at our faithfulness. He looks at our
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  willing to keep going. He has created you beautifully
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  for the race that he has put in front of you.
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  And so it's not about what Susie's doing, what
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  Sally's doing, what... all these people are doing
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  because they're them and you are the race of
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  one person. And so we are keeping our eyes on
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  Jesus. We're running the race that he has set
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  in front of us. And we're not looking to the
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  left. We're not looking to the right. Whenever
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  you're in the gym and you're looking at someone
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  doing bicep curls and they're like, oh my gosh,
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  they're on 45s or on guys are like, oh, they're
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  on hundreds. And I'll pick up a weight that you
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  were never meant to carry. And you end up hurting
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  yourself. You end up then straining a muscle
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  or what happens if you're on the treadmill and
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  you look over and someone is just like jogging
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  and jogging and they. But knowns to you, they've
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  been training for years and they're on their
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  seventh marathon, but you think that you can
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  keep up with them and it's your second day at
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  the gym. So you crank up the treadmill to 7 .2
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  and you're looking over and you fall off the
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  treadmill because you are trying to run a race
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  that you were never meant to run. That is in
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  their lane and not yours because your eyes was
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  fixed someplace else other than Jesus besides
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  what was right in front of you. And you will
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  fall and you will fall flat on your face and
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  he will let you. He will allow you to do your
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  own will. because he allows us to fail. He allows
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  us to fail, fall flat on our face. And so whenever
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  we look up, he grabs our hand and says, let's
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  do it again, sis. Let's do it again my way. And
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  so God will allow you to fail if you want to
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  do it your own way. And so what about if we redefine
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  failure? And so let's talk about failure. That
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  word can feel so heavy if you are a competitive
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  person, if you are a type A anal retentive person.
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  But let's challenge the way that you think of
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  it differently. And so a lot of times whenever
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  we're going through life, we can have a different
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  perspective. And so we can look at things in
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  a negative light or we can look at things in
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  a positive light. I was listening to something
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  several months ago and it was like the. The difference
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  between anxiety and excitement. And so whenever
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  they were interviewing Olympic athletes that
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  were going to go down this like slalom, they
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  were like, oh my gosh, are you so nervous? And
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  they were like, no, I'm excited. And so it's
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  the same, you know, adrenaline. It's the same
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  dopamine. It's the same chemicals that are going
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  through your brain. But one positive spin is
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  I'm so excited to be doing this. I have trained
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  my whole life versus I am so nervous to fly down
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  this hill at 100 miles an hour and do whatever.
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  And so you can have a positive perspective or
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  you can have a negative perspective. And in the
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  Bible, we can see so many stories of people who
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  failed and failed big, but God isn't done with
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  them. And so you think of Peter, you think of
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  David, you think of Moses. Peter denied Jesus
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  three times, but later God used him to preach
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  and lead thousands of people to Christ. Failure
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  is not the end of Peter's story. It's not the
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  end of your story either. And so what was it?
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  Benjamin Franklin that invented the light bulb
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  said, I just figured out 3000 ways not to invent
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  a light bulb. And so instead of thinking of 3
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  ,000 failures, he thought of 3 ,000 ways not
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  to do something. And so we have Romans 8, 28
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  that says, and we know that all things works
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  for good for those who love him, who have been
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  called according to his purpose. That means that
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  even in your failures are not wasted. God can
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  take your broken pieces, your addictions, your
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  drug problems, your gambling, your pornography,
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  your... And he can take all of those broken pieces,
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  that story, and weave them into something beautiful.
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  So instead of seeing your failure as defeat,
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  you can see it as a lesson, as a stepping stone
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  towards your growth. Because it's not about the
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  mountain to mountain. It's about the valleys.
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  Because we learn more in our valleys than we
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  do in everyday life. And so we learn and we can
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  see more in the valleys. And we can see on our
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  mountaintops and the pruning and the molding
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  and just how he lets us shine through the valley
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  moments in our life. That's whenever we become
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  close to him. That's whenever we have to lean
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  on him for our strength because we have no strength.
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  We have nothing to give. And so we are fully
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  dependent upon God in our broken mess. And so
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  it's not about failing. It's about leaning into
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  what you can learn not to repeat again. It's
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  about, oh, I've learned not to do this again.
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  I've learned. And so it's about being corrected
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  in those moments. and celebrating the progress.
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  And so let's talk about celebrating your progress.
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  Instead of people being so negative, like I have
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  weight loss clients that come in every month
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  and their goal is to lose 10 pounds, but they
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  lost seven. And so they like berate themselves
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  that they didn't lose the 10 pounds, but they
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  didn't celebrate their success. They didn't celebrate
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  their success of losing seven pounds, feeling
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  great, sleeping well, being in the gym five days
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  a week. And so the non -scale victories, they're
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  just completely negating and they don't celebrate
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  their progress or are patients that are completely
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  so depressed that they don't celebrate the fact
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  that they took a shower that day, that they got
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  up, that they showed up for their kids, they
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  showed up for their family. Sometimes taking
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  a shower can be a huge win. And so celebrating
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  your progress is such an important thing. Whether
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  it is small, whether it is big, celebrate your
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  progress. Those snowball effects, those mailbox
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  wins are so important. And so now I want you
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  to pause and think about how far you've come.
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  Seriously, take a moment. Maybe you've grown
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  in your faith. Maybe you're learning to love
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  yourself more. Maybe you're overcoming something
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  that you felt was literally impossible. But that
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  progress matters. That progress shows you that
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  you're one still alive, that God brought you
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  out of that, and he will continue to guide you
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  and allow you to progress if you follow his ways.
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  And so we can get caught up in the we haven't
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  done and we forgot to celebrate what we have
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  done. But one practical way to shift your perspective
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  in this is journaling. Write down three things
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  that you're proud of just this past week. Pause
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  the episode and write down three things that
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  you were proud of this week. I made it to the
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  gym. I woke up on time. I wasn't late. I didn't
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  cuss. I didn't roll my eyes. I actually opened
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  up the Bible app. They don't have to be huge.
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  Maybe you can handle a stressful situation calmly.
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  Maybe you reached out to encourage someone. Maybe
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  you took time just to sit and do nothing. Maybe
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  you sat down with your family and watched the
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  TV versus being a helicopter mom and doing all
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  the things. You sat down and watched the basketball
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  game. You sat down and you allowed yourself just
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  to breathe. our progress is. That is a win. And
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  so celebrating God's small victories, he sees
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  every step. He sees every prayer. He sees every
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  effort that you are putting into something that
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  is so important to you. So let's be people who
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  celebrate progress and not perfection. You're
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  never going to be perfect. I will never be perfect.
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  The only perfect person that lived died on a
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  cross for you. And so it's about not celebrating
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  the perfection because you will never be. And
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  if you try to be, you will be let down every
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  day. And why strive for something that you can
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  never get? But let's celebrate that progress.
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  Waking up in the day can be something to be celebrated.
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  The fact that you can walk is something to celebrate.
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  And the fact that you chose one Oreo versus a
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  row of Oreos, make sure that you write that down
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  as a win. And Habakkuk 2 .2 says, write it down
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  plain as day. And so someone can take it and
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  run with it. I am a huge fan of journaling. I
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  have said it time and time and time again. And
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  so it doesn't have to be lengthy. It doesn't
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  have to be, you know, like philosophical and
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  poem and like lines and all the markers and all
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  the highlighters and it doesn't have to be all
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  that. Just write it down. And that way you can
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  see the pros and the cons. And oh my gosh, I
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  did this and I did this and I did this. And that's
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  going to make you more happy. That's going to
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  produce more dopamine and that's going to produce
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  better outcomes because you can see it down written
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  on paper. And so whenever you do that, you can
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  see, man, I'm good at this. I'm good at this.
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  maybe I just should focus on running my own race.
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  And so the Bible tells us in Hebrew 12 .1, it
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  says, let us run with perseverance the race that
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  is marked set out for us. And so notice that
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  it says the race marked out for us, not someone
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  else's race, not the race that we think that
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  we should be running, but the one that God has
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  specifically designed for each of us. You were
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  uniquely made just for a time as this, as it
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  says in Esther. And so I did a video like all
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  that on YouTube and like TikTok a while ago,
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  because we had the chance and opportunity, as
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  I said in my last podcast about you were made
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  for just a time as this. And so he has made a
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  race specifically for you. He's given you the
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  shoes. He's given you the running gear. He's
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  given you the endurance, the stamina. He's given
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  you everything that you need to be successful.
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  He has laid it out on a table in the midst of
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  your enemies. And he's designed you perfectly
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  for the time that you are here right now. And
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  so maybe you're feeling like you're ready. is
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  really slow right now. Maybe he's telling you
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  to walk and you're like, oh my gosh, let me go.
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  Let me go. Let me sprint. Let me run. Maybe it's
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  your waiting season, but that's okay. Trust that
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  God is working. Even whenever you cannot see
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  him, he is moving mountains. He's setting up
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  because your God is such a meticulous God. The
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  details that he does and orchestrates because
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  he knows your tomorrow. He knows your next week.
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  He knows your month. He knows your five years
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  from now. And so we have to trust in him. And
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  so that is what faith is. If he gave you the
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  blueprints for your life, that would just be
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  you walking in. already mapped out plan that's
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  not walking by faith. And so we walk by faith,
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  not by sight. And so whenever we're tempted to
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  look at someone else's success, choose instead
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  to cheer them on and be like, oh my gosh, their
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  race is, it fits them so well. There's room for
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  all of us to thrive because we all have something
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  specific that God is trying to do in us. And
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  so as we wrap up today, I want to remind you
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  that you are exactly where you need to be. You're
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  not exact. You are where God knew you were going
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  to be. There's nothing that you have done that
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  surprised him and you're not behind and you're
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  not failing. You're growing. You are maturing.
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  He is allowing the dead leaves to fall off of
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  you so you can be pruned. Failure isn't your
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  identity. Comparison doesn't define you. What
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  defines you, and I tell my patients this all
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  the time, you are not a disease, you are not
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  a diagnosis. The things that you get to say about
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  yourself and the labels that you get to wear
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  are what God has called you, loved, chosen, and
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  you were called for a purpose. You are a child
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  of God. You have a heavenly father that loves
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  you. No matter what you've done, what you think
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  you failed at, what season that you're in, you
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  are loved. And there's nothing that you can do
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  to make him love you more. There is not one more
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  sale. There's not one more million dollars. There's
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  not one house that you can sell, not one car
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  you can sell. one more scripture that you can
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  read, that he would love you more. You were made
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  perfect, and by his grace and by his mercy, you
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  are loved. And so I would love to pray for you.
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  And so if we bow our heads, dear Heavenly Father,
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  thank you so much for today. Thank you so much
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  for yesterday. I want to thank you for each person
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  listening to this today. Help us release the
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  burden of comparison and embrace the grace that
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  we have set before us. Teach us to see our failures
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  as opportunity, as growth, and remind us of how
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  far we have come, and that we may trust your
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  timing and celebrate our progress and our wins.
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  making in our lives you're making a difference
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  thank you for changing our hearts thank you for
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  renewing our mind thank you for everything that
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  you've done in jesus name i pray Amen. We hope
• 12:48
  that this message has encouraged you. Thank you
• 12:50
  so much for spending your time with me. I know
• 12:52
  this episode could encourage someone. It's just
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  that one person, not the 99, not the million,
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  just the one. And so if this episode has encouraged
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  you, I would love to hear about it. Share it
• 13:00
  in the comments, share it with a friend. I want
• 13:01
  to take this moment to thank you and reflect
• 13:03
  on one area that you see your growth in. Share
• 13:06
  it with me, share it on social media, put the
• 13:08
  hashtags in fostering faith podcast. And allow
• 13:10
  others to see your testimony because we go through
• 13:13
  trials, not for us, but to help others. And so
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  it's about a testimony. And so God has brought
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  you into a time like this to share what he has
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  done, what muck and what mud he has pulled you
• 13:22
  out of. Share that story. Embrace the race that
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  he has put in front of you. And so until next
• 13:27
  time, keep running your race. You're doing better
• 13:29
  than you think you are. And have an amazing week.
• 13:31
  Bye.