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When Life Throws Punches: A Faith-Fueled Comeback · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

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  Have faith. Let it begin. When it starts right now.
• 0:06
  Welcome to Have Faith. Let it begin. Here's your host, Angel Santana.
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  Ariel, can you say, have faith? Let it begin. Let it begin? Let it begin. Say, have faith.
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  Let it begin. Let it begin. No. No? No? Okay.
• 0:26
  Hi, Noah. Noah! Noah!
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  Happy birthday, Noah!
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  I'm feeling busy.
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  This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it try.
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  This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it try.
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  This little light of light, I'm gonna let it try. Let it try.
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  Let it try. Let it try. Yeah.
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  Dang, I'm so excited. But I have one question.
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  What's your question? Are you going to be a pastor or a minister?
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  Good question. I don't know, but it is all in God's hands. Good morning.
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  You're listening to Have Faith Let It Begin, and it starts right now.
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  Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Have Faith Let It Begin.
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  Hard to believe that we are in the final stages of February.
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  March is right around the corner. Thank gosh, you know, because when March comes,
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  you know you only have a couple, you know, about 30 days left before spring should arise.
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  Don't forget, March 8th, I will be performing two sermons that day One in the
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  morning and one at night for the Lenten series So I will keep you abreast of
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  everything that's going on and keep you informed So,
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  when is enough enough?
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  We've done episodes like this before When is enough enough?
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  When can you sit back and say, okay I have been put into a corner I'm in a boxing match, right?
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  We're in a boxing match. Let's break it down. We'll use an analogy.
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  You are fighting the good fight. And your opposition...
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  Is life. And life is just beating you down.
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  I mean, it is taking you to the corner and it is just pounding on you.
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  You are getting hit with uppercuts, jabs.
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  I mean, at this point, you almost feel like the life is going to hit you with
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  a headbutt, which is illegal, but it feels like it's coming.
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  Maybe they snuck an elbow in or two and you
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  got blood coming down off of your side of your face and you're
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  just sitting there going my gosh where's my defense your
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  hands are up but they're still getting through you look
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  over into your corner and the guy that's or
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  the girl you know who's who's your coach has the
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  flag or not the flag sorry he has the white towel and normally when a white
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  towel is thrown in that means automatic tko technical knockout but he's just
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  standing there with the with the towel up debating if he should throw it in
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  yet you're there They're getting pounded, pounded.
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  You know the fight's over, and then you look to your left.
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  And you see the only coach, the only person that can make a decision.
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  And that's our Heavenly Father. Then you look up at the referee.
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  And yet again, it's our Heavenly Father. You see that your coach and the referee
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  are our Heavenly Father.
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  And they look at you. And without even saying a word, you can hear the words through the eyes.
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  Don't give up. This is just about to end. you are going to come back with fury.
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  I'm about to provide you with the greatest amount of energy and you will bounce
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  back from this corner and you will push, shove, uppercut life back to its corner.
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  You can't knock out life. Let's just be real.
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  Life truly can't knock you out either. But this is a fight that goes on continuously.
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  Continuously, round by round, you feel like you've won some, lost some.
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  For me, I feel like I have lost many rounds recently.
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  The rounds of patience, the rounds of anger, the rounds of uncertainty.
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  The rounds of happiness, the rounds
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  of discouragement, and sometimes the beginning rounds of depression.
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  When is it time to bounce back? When is it time to take the punch,
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  block the punch, hit the jab, and push life back into its corner?
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  I wish I had an answer for you.
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  But I know what works for me.
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  Talking about it, sharing in my misfortune, sharing with each and every one
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  of you, the stress, the anxiety, frustrations, the feeling of being overwhelmed. Oh yeah. It's there.
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  And just yesterday, I had to go to the church. I had to prerecord a sermon for
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  college because I can't be there in person.
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  I set everything up and the internet goes out. I can't even perform what I want to perform.
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  So I'm in the house of God. I don't want to get frustrated, but I just, I give up.
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  I say, you know what? Forget it. I'll just go home and record it there.
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  As I'm setting up, I'm taking down and getting ready to leave.
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  I make sure I turn off the sanctuary lights and I know where my bags are.
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  So when I grab my bags in the dark, I start to proceed downstairs.
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  And before I do that, I run right into a chair that I didn't know was put right
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  in the middle of the path, scraped up the knees, almost fell to the ground yet again.
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  Should I get mad? Should I get frustrated?
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  What is my response at that point?
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  I make it down the stairs, I get into my truck, and I immediately call Verizon, who is my carrier.
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  Get on the phone with somebody, they tell me that they don't see any problems,
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  and immediately, just like any technology, it's always that quick fix.
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  Oh, this is not a problem, you just shut it off and turn it back on again. That didn't work.
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  Oh, we're going to take the battery out, and we're going to do this, and that didn't work.
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  Finally, they reset the whole machine and do a factory reset,
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  reprogram the whole thing. And sure enough, it started to work.
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  Only 20 minutes later to not work. And then they tell you they're going to call
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  you back in two hours, which they don't.
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  Last night was the first time in a long time that I just finally said something
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  that I've always preached and I never practiced for myself.
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  I just said, God, I'm done. I got to leave it at your feet. I can't take any more. I'm done.
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  And I got to be honest, I got a good night's sleep last night.
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  Now, where are we at this morning? I don't know yet. But I will tell you this.
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  When you give everything to God and tell him you just can't take much more,
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  and you can't take any more, actually, so far, I've woken up with peace.
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  So far i've woken up with A clearer mindset,
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  and Tomorrow i'll let you know how it pans out Because I got to get my internet
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  back up and running Number one number two I've got to go set up at the church And then at 3 p.m.
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  Eastern time today I've got to deliver the sermon live on zoom To my college.
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  Let's hope and pray Everything pans out Let's hope and pray that my frustration
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  anxiety and aggravation slowly disseminates.
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  Let's see what happens. Where are you in life?
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  Are you backed up into the corner? Is life beating you down?
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  Are you ready to look over to the corner and ask for the towel to be thrown in?
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  Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Adjust.
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  Let It Begin.