Latest / The Daily Word / June 28 – The Lord Stood With Me
Transcript
- Brandon: Well, welcome once again to another episode of the Daily Word Podcast. I hope that you're having an amazing day wherever and whenever you're listening to this. If we have it, Matt, my name's Brandon, and I'm one of the pastors here at our church. And again, we're just so thankful to have you a part of this daily podcast. ⁓ in case you're just joining us or maybe you just need a reminder, the goal of this podcast is to every single day provide an encouragement from the scripture. And also remind you that the secret place is a place where we meet daily and deeply with God and a place where God wants to meet with you. God really does want to speak to you. He wants to lead and guide you and mold and shape you and ⁓ help you in every area of life. And so much of that happens in the secret place. And so we're hoping you're encouraged by by these podcasts, but also that you go take time to listen. And receive from God on your own in the scripture. All right. That being said, today is June the 28th. And our New Testament reading from the ⁓ the life journal reading plan that we use. Here, here's what it is. It's 2 Timothy chapter 4. And there's one little phrase from one verse that I want to share with you today. And I don't know if it'll be encouraging, but I think it'll end encouraging. So we'll see how it goes. But here's what it says. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 17. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Paul writes, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Now you're gonna have to let me tease this out a little bit to help you to see what I'm what I'm seeing and even what I'm feeling right now in this moment. ⁓ I can't explain it other than it's it's the Holy Spirit, but I just I feel Feel in this moment, God impressing upon me this thought, this feeling, this reality. And here's what it is: that even though we have friends and family, brothers and sisters in Christ, pastors, leaders, counselors, therapists, support animals, I mean, you you name it, even though we are surrounded. That much of life We do have to go through on our own. And here's what I mean by that. I don't mean that we're that we're by ourselves. I don't mean that we're on an island. I don't mean that we're isolated. No, the Bible speaks to that. The Bible says in Proverbs 18 1, I believe it is, that he who isolates himself is a fool and he rages against all wise judgment. Bible would say in the book of Ecclesiastes that two are better than one, and three is like a is like a That cannot be broken. No, we need each other. However, the Bible also says that n no man can really know the pain, the feeling, the emotion of another man's heart. In other words, you can't feel what what what I feel. You can empathize with me, you can sympathize with me. But but but but you can't feel feel what I feel. I I experienced this in the last number of years as ⁓ probably more so than my in my in my entire life. I just found myself and and and and my wife and our family just just going through just just some really challenging things. Probably the most challenging things that we've ever been through up until this point of our life. Now it's not surprising because what did Jesus say? Jesus said, Take heart. In this life you will have trouble. I'm he's he's overcome the world and he's with us, but but the reality is that in this life we will have trouble. And man, in that season, I can't explain it to you other than to say there were so many people that were surrounding us. And and yet still what I knew and what I realized was I've gotta internally face this alone. Again, I don't mean I'm isolated and I don't mean that people don't care about me. I mean that the things I'm feeling, the things I'm wrestling with, the emotions, the fears, the questions, I feel all of them in my heart in a deep way that even if I tried to articulate it and explain it, and even if you did your best to empathize and sympathize with me, still you can't feel what I'm feeling. And even if you're feeling what I'm feeling, like there's not a way for us to connect that. It's it's something that I have to between me and God, like I gotta work through this. And and it's interesting how I had moments where I just felt alone. So many people praying for me, so many people surrounding me, so many people encouraging me, so many people, you know, wanting to empathize and sympathize, and and yet still it's like I don't. Like but like yeah but but this is but this is my life and even though you're with me like you're not having to face this like I'm facing it and and so while we're surrounded a lot of our life it is lived. It's it's lived internally like I like but but I gotta face this. And I re read this verse just now, right before I'm I'm pressing record on this podcast, and it's like it just jumped off the page. The apostle Paul writes, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Now he's talking about like physically people who abandoned him and left him. But but but but still we we we we we can translate this to that feeling, that emotion of like, I know people are with me, but still I feel alone in this. I feel like I gotta face it on my own. And the apostle Paul writes, but the Lord stood with me. With me, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. And and I want to remind you today that whoever you are, whatever you're facing, whatever you're going through, maybe it's not for right now, maybe this is for a season that you'll go through at some point. That whatever we go through, there is one who can feel and sympathize and empathize and even know. The feelings and emotions of our heart in an intimate way because he is our creator, and that is God. And when you feel like you are on your own and you feel like you're all alone and you gotta face this thing on your own, let me remind you: while there may be no other human that can that that I can walk through that with you, there is a God. We have a Savior, His name is Jesus. And the Lord will stand with you and He will strengthen you. I don't know who I'm talking to, and I feel like I'm doing more preaching than you know podcasting, if you will. But let me just tell you right now, God is with you. And I don't care what you're facing, I don't care what you're walking through, I don't care who it is that is with you or has left you, or but the Lord will stand with you and strengthen you. We can call upon God. What did Paul say in Ephesians chapter six? Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. God will stand with us and he will strengthen us. Paul writes in verse 16 At my first events no one stood with me, but all forsook me. Yet 17, but the Lord stood with me and he strengthened me. ⁓ I want to remind you today that you can call upon God, that God will stand with you and God will strengthen you even when you feel like You're in it all alone. Maybe you are in it all alone. ⁓ Maybe it's just the internal wrestling matchup. No one can feel this like I'm feeling it, even though they're with me. They can't. What stand with you? God is standing with you, and He will strengthen you. God, today I pray for myself and for everyone who's listening that that reality, that your reality, Lord Jesus. That your reality and the reality that you will stand with us and strengthen us, I pray that would explode in our heart. I pray that every feeling of loneliness and every feeling of isolation and every feeling of I'm in this on my own, that it would dissipate and evaporate and it would be removed right now. And this reality would explode in our hearts that we are not alone. That God, you stand with us. And even if you're the only one. You will strengthen us. You will empower us. You will carry us on and through whatever trials and tribulations we face. I thank you for it right now. I pray, God, that as we call upon you, that your presence and your strength would become ever more increasingly real in our lives in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Hey, today, thank you again for tuning in. And again, let me just remind you that God, He is standing with you today, He is strengthening you. Love you so much. We'll see you tomorrow on another episode of the Daily Word podcast.