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42. Stop Trying to Change Yourself! Holy Spirit–Led Transformation for Discouraged Believers · Believe & Become | Ministry, Biblical Encouragement, God's Will, How to Change, Holy Spirit

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Today, we're sharing something you might not want to hear. The truth is, no matter how hard we try, we can't truly change ourselves. We've all been there, we've all done it. We've all worked so hard and then ended right back in the same place. Here is the truth. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can offer true transformation. He is the one who changes us from the inside out. So today we're offering hope for you to find the lasting transformation that you desire so you can get off the hamster wheel of trying harder. This is gonna be a good.
• 0:35
  Speaker B: If you're tired of leading others while secretly battling doubt, discouragement and mental warfare,
• 0:40
  Speaker A: and you want practical tools to renew your mind and walk boldly in your
• 0:44
  Speaker B: calling as a leader, you're in the right place. Welcome to Believe and Become.
• 0:48
  Speaker A: We're Josh and Karina, your spirit filled coaches, here to help you overcome those limiting beliefs and lead others confidently.
• 0:55
  Speaker B: If you're ready to hear God's voice more clearly, just step into your purpose and find joy and strength in the everyday silence.
• 1:02
  Speaker A: Those Bible app reminders judging you from your lock screen and let's jump in.
• 1:13
  Speaker B: Are you feeling stuck? Unsure of where God is leading? You're worried that there's something wrong with you because you just can't seem to hear him clearly?
• 1:20
  Speaker A: We spent years stuck in patterns of frustration and disappointment because we just didn't have the clarity or the courage we needed to step forward. We felt like we needed God to part the sky and tell us what to do. We knew God had more for our lives, but we didn't really know who we were in Christ or believe it enough to step into it.
• 1:38
  Speaker B: Friend, you don't have to stay stuck. You were made to hear God's voice. We invite you to come and learn the simple process we use to overcome the limiting beliefs holding you back and hear God clearly for your next steps.
• 1:53
  Speaker A: When we were able to see ourselves as God does and break free from the enemy's lies, our lives changed completely. Where we once walked in fear, fear and discouragement, now we walk in victory. Instead of waking up depleted before the day even starts, we wake up ready to walk in the fulfillment of our calling.
• 2:12
  Speaker B: So head right now to joshandkarina.com coaching and get started on your path to freedom.
• 2:19
  Speaker A: Well, welcome to this episode of Believe and Become. We are so excited to talk to you about this topic because we have both struggled with cycles of trying harder and ending back up in the same places and feeling like we're never going change so true. And so today we're just really excited to talk to you about what it looks like to get out of that cycle of stuckness. Discouragement is just a lie of condemnation. It says, you're never going to change. You're always going to be this way. You can't do this. You'll never be good enough. On and on and on. But when we realize that we are incapable of actually changing ourselves, we really have two options. We can give up, Right? Oh, well, I guess I'm just. This way. This is how I am deal with it. Or we can surrender to the Holy Spirit, and His grace is what actually empowers us to change. And, you know, I used to read the Bible and I would think that all the negative stuff was about me. Right? Like, all of the, like. Right. Like, all of the, like, you're gonna go to hell and you suck and, you know, whatever. That's not really in the Bible, but let me try that again. Yeah, Karina. Standard. All of this stuff that was like, you know, this sin, this is the things you're not supposed to do. Like, it always just felt like, oh, my gosh, that's me. And granted, I was very sensitive to. I wanted to please God. I wanted to make him happy. So every little thing felt like huge sin. And Romans 8 talks about the mind ruled by the flesh. And I would read it and I would be like, oh, my gosh, this is me. I'm ruled by the flesh, right? Like, I just want to be a good Christian. I just want to make God happy. But then I just missed verse nine, which says, you, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And so it's so sweet how we always have that balance in scripture of this is what it looks like to live a life that doesn't please God. But that's not who you are anymore. And so for me, it was really important to grab hold of that. That's not you. You used to be that way. And maybe you still struggle with some of those things, but that's not who you are. There's no identity in that anymore. When I changed my mind and began to identify with the truth in scripture that the Spirit lives inside of me, I am holy. I am the righteousness of Christ. Then I saw that my actions could be governed by the Spirit because I belong to the Spirit.
• 4:46
  Speaker B: I had a similar experience of just trying. How long did I try? I tried years and years and years to change to change my behavior, to change my attitudes, the way I perceived the world. And it felt impossible. I mean, I would make a little bit of progress for a week or two or a month if I was doing really good, and then fall back into old ways. And it was really frustrating. It was really discouraging because I didn't have the power to do it within myself. And I love. There's a quote from somewhere that willpower is kind of the starter, but we need the engine of the Holy Spirit and His grace to truly transform. And it was once I started to yield to his process and, and really just follow him, spend time with him. That's the key. We have to spend time with Jesus and allow him to do that transformative work. And we have to get changed from the inside out. He changes our thoughts, he changes our beliefs, and then all of a sudden that flows out into the rest of your life, into your behavior, which is the part that we're all. I don't know why, but we're all laser focused on. My behavior's not right. Well, there's usually something underlying that that is causing that. And so we have to get to the root of the issue. And that's what God, our perfect Holy Spirit, our perfect life coach, he knows the root of the problem, and he loves to just drill down and get to that and rip it out. He does it. It hurts, but it hurts in the best way possible because you know it's for your good, you know it's for your benefit, and you're gonna be better on the other side of it. And boy, it feels so good once
• 6:27
  Speaker A: it's over, once you're walking in the fullness of what he's been trying to do in. And I think the interesting part is that as we try to change ourselves, we're actually resisting the Holy Spirit. Right?
• 6:40
  Speaker B: That's a good one.
• 6:41
  Speaker A: That's good because we're trying to be the ones that fix us. We're trying to be the ones that do the work instead of just yielding. Like, if I had spent less time trying not to be the person that I was being and instead just spent time with Jesus and said, lord, what do you want to say to me? Who do you say that I am? I think that process would have been a lot faster. But instead, I spent so much time avoiding him because I didn't want him to tell me what I was doing was wrong. And that led me to distraction and it led me to a hundred different things when in reality, all I really needed was his presence and the grace that he really so freely offers us.
• 7:22
  Speaker B: Romans 8:1, one of our favorite verses in the Bible. I say that pretty much every episode, but the Bible's just so good. Romans 8:1 says, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And that is such a freeing ver. Once you realize that you accept Jesus, the condemnation gets turned off. And so many times we decide to punish ourselves. We're like, well, if God's not gonna condemn me, I'm gonna do it myself, because he's not doing his job. Stop doing that. That is not healthy. We need to just accept that we are accepted. You are accepted by God. Jesus paid the price. When God looks at your life, he sees the perfect life of Jesus, his son. Wow. That was the only way that he could make us acceptable to him. And so those sins of yours, your mistakes, the bad attitudes, whatever it is that you're struggling with, got wiped clean. And now there is no condemnation. He doesn't. When you mess up, he's not in heaven wagging his finger at you, saying, he shouldn't have done that. He already knew what you're gonna do. God knows everything about our lives from the beginning to the end, before we even live it out. And so it doesn't change his opinion of you. He still loves you with his perfect love because he already saw it from the beginning of time. He knew what was gonna happen. And he still chose to love you. He still chose to send His Son. And now there's no condemnation. You can live free from the guilt, free from the shame. Right now, God is just breaking off shame that has kept you shackled for way too long, because now there is no condemnation for you because you're in Jesus.
• 9:08
  Speaker A: Yes. Amen. Amen. That's a good. That's a good word right there. Take it. Receive it. All right? Verse 5 says that those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their mind set on what the Spirit desires. We talk a lot about being transformed by the renewing of your mind. And this is what it looks like when you choose to live in accordance with the Spirit. When you say, okay, Holy Spirit, show me how to live my life. Help me as I go about my business. Then you will begin to think about the things you're going to turn away from, the things that are stealing your joy, that are stealing your peace, that are distracting you from his presence. And you're going to set your mind on the things that he desires, the things that he wants to do in you as you are choosing to live in accordance with the Holy Spirit, then your mind is going to be set on what the Spirit desires because you're thinking about, I want to please God. But also he's transforming your mind so that your actions line up so it goes both ways. It's not just, I have to try hard to live in accordance with the Spirit and do what he wants. No, you can't try harder to do something in the Spirit. You can only surrender. You can only yield to what God wants to do. And actually have a really great story about this. We were in first year of our ministry school and I was meeting with my mentor and we were having this conversation about something at home. And she was like, karina, it sounds like you feel like you really have to keep a tight rein on yourself. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I do. And she was like, why? And I'm like, because I learned a long time ago that my words have power and I can destroy somebody with my words. And I have sensitive people in my house and I am not always sensitive with my words. And so I really have put, you know, a bridle on my mouth, on my tongue to make sure that I am using it in a good way. And she was like, okay, I get that. She's like, but what about allowing Holy Spirit to be the one to give you self control? And I was like, okay, that's good, that's a great idea, but I don't know how that's actually gonna work. And she was like, you're not who you used to be. And it was huge. It was a huge moment for me to go, I'm not who I used to be. I'm not the like 15 year old who says whatever comes to her mind, who says, I didn't hurt your feelings. Your feelings are hurt because of yourself, you know, because you're sensitive or whatever. Like, I'm not that person anymore. And so she was like, I just challenge you just to allow the Holy Spirit to come in and be the one who controls who is in charge. And you let it go because it was this heavy weight. It's a heavy burden when we're trying to be holy in and of ourselves. And so I was like, okay, all right, Holy Spirit, this is on you whatever happens. And so, you know, we were still trying to homeschool at that time, and we had a seventh grader who did not want to do his math and who was, who was coming into his as a, you know, young man. So there's this power struggle and we are standing face to face, you know, and I'm like, you're gonna do your assignment. And he's like, I'm, I don't want. And, and I said some things that I shouldn't have said. And you know, we both walked away. It was like anger. We walked away. And I thought, this is why, this is why I have to keep the rain, you know, this is why. And, and I felt the Holy Spirit say, how about next time you let me be in charge? And I was like, I thought that's what I was doing. And I'm like, okay, okay. And so the next time, instead of saying, you know, lashing out or getting angry, I paused and I asked him, what do I do? And he equipped me and empowered me and it's been so much easier ever since because I realized I can choose to restrain myself all the time or I can choose to just pause and ask him because he's always there, he's always ready to guide us. And so he really just met me in that moment and was like, you're right, you're not going to get it perfect every time, but that doesn't mean that you're not growing. And let, just let me do it. And so it was really beautiful. I had to choose though, to live in accordance with the spirit. I had to choose to stop and say, okay, this next time, this, because he's not going to just decide he wants to do math. Oh, mommy, sorry. I just wanted to do math all day, you know. No, that didn't happen in. We still had those struggles, but I got to choose to be the one that took it to Holy Spirit and allow him to restrain the controlling mother that I wanted to be and to release the love that he and the grace that he had for my son. And so it's been a journey still, but it's just, it was a really big moment for me to realize I don't have to be in charge of me because God's really good at his job.
• 14:01
  Speaker B: And I love how your identity caught up with who you truly were because you still had that internal struggle with I have to control myself because I'm still 15 year old girl. That says what? That hurts people's feelings, hurts people's feelings, when that was, I mean, that part of you was gone a long time ago, but you still had that as an identity held belief, deeply held belief. And so it comes down to the key of we have to get our identity straight. We have to get it from God. Once you do that, you live out of the truth of who you are and Those old parts of you don't control you anymore. That is the power of mind renewal of just spending time with God, allowing him to say who you are. It's so good once you see that happen.
• 14:49
  Speaker A: Yeah. And I think it was important to have somebody there to go, that's not who you are. Somebody just to point out the obvious, you know, Kreena, like, you're a grown woman. You're not who you used to be. And so that was really important for me.
• 15:04
  Speaker B: Romans 8, 6, it says, the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Wow, that's a beautiful promise. As we turn our minds over to the Holy Spirit and allow him to guide us. He's the one that's governing us. That's exactly what you were talking about. He was governing your tongue, your mouth, your thoughts, instead of you having to do it. And what comes out of that life and peace. Because we don't have that struggle anymore to say, oh my gosh, I have to control my behavior. I have to try really hard, actually. I'm just going to step back and realize, acknowledge that Holy Spirit is in control of my life. He lives inside of me and I can trust him to go, hey, don't do that. Or, yeah, let's just take a moment and take a breath before we respond. And that. There's so much peace in that. And we've both seen that in our lives as we have yielded to Holy Spirit, you get his incredible peace. Jesus is the prince of peace. As we spend time with him, you can't help but get more peace in your life.
• 16:17
  Speaker A: Yeah. And it's. It actually leads right into verse 13 that says, if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. And so it's kind of that both and where I had to choose to stop and allow Holy Spirit to take over. We get to partner with Him. And so we're not saying, like, just do whatever you want. The Holy Spirit will let you know if you're doing something wrong. No, we partner with him. Right. And that's the same idea with grace in and of itself, that he's giving us the grace. So, but that doesn't mean we just keep sinning because there's lots of grace. No, like, we have this ability to partner with what he is doing. And so just like we choose not to focus on, not to spend time on the distractions and the things that the sin cycles and things that we don't want to be involved in, we choose to take our attention from that and put it onto the Holy Spirit. And then when the struggle comes, we're empowered to change. We're empowered to make a new decision, to make a new choice. Because we have put to death the misdeeds of the body, of the flesh. We have decided, I'm not going to partake in that anymore. And sometimes that takes time. You're not going to get it perfect every single time. But that doesn't mean that's who you are. And I love that you pointed that out, that it's a matter of identity. When we have been stuck in a cycle of sin, we often identify as that thing, right? Oh, I'm a failure. Oh, I can't do anything right. I always mess up whatever it might be. I'm a sinner, right? I'm a sinner. I'm savior by grace, thank God, you know, But I'm just going to keep on sinning. No, you are sanctified. You are the righteousness of Christ. You are holy and presentable before Him. And he wants the actions in your life to line up with who you really are. And so I just love that he's always inviting us into this partnership with Him.
• 18:04
  Speaker B: Okay, so let's get super practical. What does this look like to live out in your everyday life? The first thing that you need to do is seek God. Just. Just choose to seek Him. And this is where a little bit of the willpower comes in. You have to actually make that decision. I'm going to decide to seek God in every area of my life. I'm going to set my mind on what the Spirit desires, which is verse 5 of Romans 8. I've set my mind on what the Spirit desires. Not on my circumstance, not on my behavior, not on all the things I feel like, all the mistakes I've made or even I passed. Your past does not define you. God does. You don't have to live out of all those previous mistakes, the slates wiped clean. Start fresh and move forward with God. So Colossians 3:1 says, Set your heart on things above. So that means instead of, oh, my gosh, I'm worried, I'm anxious, I'm stressed about what's happening today here. I'm actually going to set my heart on things above. I'm setting it on Jesus. I'm setting it on Him. I love just to imagine being seated in heavenly realms with Christ. We're seated with him right now. We're seated with him and we get to see his perspective on life, see that he's still on the throne as Long as we're not trying to kick him off, right, we allow him his place to sit on the throne, we get to sit with him and see our lives from his perspective. And it removes all of that stress, all of the striving. The more that we can live from our rightful place as co heirs with Christ, then we get to see his power move in our lives. So that kind of looks like just kind of falling on your face and spending time with Jesus. This is what I'm struggling with. You have a relationship with Jesus. He wants to hear all of those things. You don't have to pretend to be perfect to be in his presence. Hebrews says, come boldly into the throne room with all of your mess, with all of the struggles, with all of the sin issues. Whatever's going on in your life, bring it to him, fall on your face, get in your prayer closet, wherever it is, and just pour your heart out to Him. And then you actually have to stop and listen what is God saying back to you? And typically he's going to just pour out your identity. Your beloved son or daughter of the most high God. God, you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I see you and I love you so, so much. With all of this, all of the issues, all of the sin issues, all the worry, the anxiety. I still love you so, so much because you're my son or daughter and you belong to me. And so really, the more time we spend in his presence, the more we get changed. We become what we behold. The Bible says as we stare into the face of God, we become more and more like Him. So the more time we spend looking at him, focusing on him instead of our problems, then we become like Him. We start to see life from his perspective instead of our own broken view of the world. It's powerful. It's just time with God. Sometimes I think we overcomplicate it and we have to jump through all these hoops and I have to read my Bible so many hours per day. And you know, we have all these checklists of things I gotta do in order to earn the right to come into God's presence. He said, no, you don't have to do any of that stuff. You can just come straight to me with all of your mess and just be with me. I just want to do life with you. And as you do life with God, you become like Him. Somehow through the work of grace, through the work of Holy Spirit, you become who you're supposed to be. Yeah, it's that easy. Just spend time with them, the next
• 22:04
  Speaker A: thing is to fill yourself with good things. And we've all heard the saying, garbage in, garbage out, right? And usually it's about what you. You're eating, right? If you're gonna eat garbage, you're gonna feel like garbage. But it's the same if what you're putting into your mind, what you're putting into your heart, that's what's gonna come out of you. So what are you listening to? What are you watching? What are you. Who are you hanging out with? All of those things affect what comes out of you. And so we want you to be full of the word, to be full of worship, to be full of good teachings. Read books that. That build you up, that lead you closer to Jesus. Be in supportive relationships with people who encourage you. Listen to podcasts, listen to things that are going to uplift you and that are going to bring you and draw you closer to God. Get rid of the garbage fast. The social media, the news, the. The constant input. Literally, sometimes just the constant input. Like, it could be anything, but sometimes we're so just addicted to having noise and having somebody telling us something that we can't even be still before the Lord. So take some time and do. Do an audit of your life. How much time am I spending on my phone? How much time am I spending watching television? How much time am I spending, you know, doing things that are unnecessary and that actually just kind of clutter up my life? We want to get rid of that and make space for God to speak to you. But also putting in the good stuff is going to tune your heart to him. It's one of the ways that we can really focus our hearts and our minds on things. Above, Ephesians 5:18 says, don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit. And that wine can symbolize anything, anything that we fill ourselves with to excess. And I think as humans, we are just kind of prone to that, Right? Like, if you like. Okay, okay, I've had my. I've had my things, right? Like, I. I used to like to shop. Like, it was, like, the thing for me to do. That's what I would fill myself with. So it would be like, if I was bored, I would shop. If I was sad, I would shop. If I was, you know, lonely, I would shop. If I was hungry, I would shop and. And get a Starbucks on the way, right? Yeah. And then there's. Don't. And don't even get me started on the coffee and the. The eating. And so it's there's, we fill ourselves, we want to be filled. But really what we're trying to fill is that place in us that needs God. And when I started to go, I don't need all that. I don't need all the stuff. I just need Jesus. And instead of running to something else, running to a warm drink or running to the mall, I could run to my Bible, I could run to my quiet place, I could run to his presence, you know, and it's one of those things that feels like, that feels a little holy. Karina. Like let's, you know, let's calm down. But really I would tell myself I'm gonna spend five or ten minutes in prayer, I'm gonna spend time with Jesus and then if I still feel this way or if I still want that, that then I'll go get it. But right now I'm gonna spend time with him because I know that I'm trying to fill something. There's a, it's not just like I'm hungry or I need something. It's. There's something inside that it feels lacking. And so when that's the case, then I know that's the moment that I turn to him because I can veg out in front of the TV with the best of them. I can just tune out. I don't wanna deal with this. Or I can choose. I'm gonna take this to the Lord. And so spending time with him, we can be then filled up with the Holy and we can get everything that we need from Him. He has everything that we need. The Bible says, and I believe it's one Peter, that he is everything you need for life and godliness. Everything you need not just to be a holy person, but for life, for what you need to survive, to do the job he made you to do, to be the person he called you to be. He gives you everything that you need to fulfill the call on your life and to be who he made you to be. To hide. And I, I think he wants us to be happy. Like he calls us to prosper, to prosper in soul and in body. And so it's not like he's calling you to, you know, I think our pastor used to say he was worried that if he told let God pick his wife, he would end up with like a hairy legged woman and you know, a mud hut somewhere, like just being hilarious. We've all had those things, like if I really surrender this to God, what does it look like? Right? I mean, that's a funny way to look at it. But some of us have real fears. Like, but if I really let God be in charge of it, this. But God's will for you is so much better than your own desires. And what we can dream up, I has not seen ear, has not heard mind, has not perceived the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. And his desires for you are good. I promise you. You cannot give up anything that he will not give you greater in return. Like, you give up that habit, you give up that thing that you feel like you need. He is going to fill you with so much good stuff. You will not know what to do with yourself, because that's how good He. And so when we say, fill yourself with good things, and we. And we talk about it a lot, like the social media and the news and all this stuff, because we know what it's like to be addicted to those things and to feel like I just have to keep scrolling and I can't get off my phone. God's presence carries so much better for you. There's so much good that he has just for you with him in that secret place. And so we just encourage you get filled up with good stuff because there's no end to the beauty and the goodness of God.
• 27:30
  Speaker B: Yeah, I just sense the Holy Spirit coming on you right now to help you recognize when you're filling yourself with something other than Him. When you're trying to meet that need, that hole that you feel in your soul, and you're filling it with scrolling social media or diving deep into the news or binging Netflix or eating too much food or whatever it is that you use to fill that hole. He's going to say, hey, hey, remember me? I'm the only one that can truly satisfy you. And he's giving you his grace to turn to him, even for a moment, to pray, to accept his peace, receive his peace, to receive whatever it is you need from Him. The Holy Spirit provides everything that you need. To spend some time in His Word, to just turn on a worship song for three minutes and to worship him, to center yourself on his presence instead of whatever the world's trying to offer you or distract you with. To silence the noise, to turn all that stuff off, and to turn to the One that truly satisfies. Okay, so our action steps for you. You're seeking God. You're getting filled up with good things. With the Holy Spirit, the last step is to yield to his process. Trust that he is leading you every step of the way. And this just comes down to. To the fact that you hear God again. I think we try to overcomplicate it. God is always speaking to us. We're more aware of him than we really realize. And sometimes we think, oh, it's just my intuition. Or, oh, I heard something that was probably just me. I'm making stuff up in my mind. No, that's him talking to you. That's him leading you. That's him giving you the next step. Do this. Make that phone call. Read that devotional. Turn on that worship song. This is what you need. I'm leading you to life. So you're just going to yield to his process and listen to what he's telling you. Surrender all your issues to him, come into his presence and say, God, I can't do this. I can't be the dad, the mom that I'm supposed to be, the husband, the wife, whatever it is that you're struggling with, say, God, I can't do this on my own. I don't have the strength to carry this burden. I'm just going to give it to you, God. I give it all over to you. And in fact, I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop striving. I'm going to rely on your grace, your supernatural power, your supernatural enabling power to help me do what I'm called to do, to help me do what I need to do every single day. He promises he's going to show up in that. And that doesn't mean that you're just going to. Whatever, let it all handle. You have to keep going back to his presence to get filled up with what you need to live your life. We've spent way too many years trying to run on empty. Like, we would get a tiny little bit of filled up by God, and we're like, okay, I got enough. I can go run until I'm empty again. That's no way to live. God wants you to live out of the overflow of his presence. But that only happens if you're in his presence, right?
• 30:39
  Speaker A: That's so good. Yeah. And you want to allow him to prune you. And I think that we have had this really negative connotation of pruning. We think of pruning and we think of, like, pruning shears, right? And like, oh, it's gonna hurt. Yeah, it's gonna be so painful. Or we think of, like, the refiner fire, and he's gonna, like, the heat's gonna get turned up. But really, pruning is a reward for growth. Think about it. If your tree is growing and it's getting too big and it's going a little bit wild. That's when you prune it. Right. If you want something to grow beautiful, your rose bushes grow up real beautiful. And you want them to keep producing or to produce more, you're gonna PR. Pruning. Really? Is this the gardener going, wow, you're doing such a great job. Let's get rid of some of these extra things that are not going to serve you. That this branch over here, that is taking a lot of energy, but it's not producing any good fruit. So let's get rid of that. Let's get rid of this thing over here that's giving you this kind of like weird, sideways, awkward. You need a haircut, you need a haircut, girlfriend. Right. And so he comes in and he really just wants to sit with you and say, hey, let's talk about what needs to go.
• 31:49
  Speaker B: We used to have this lemon tree at our old house and it would grow so tall. It was as tall as our two story house.
• 31:56
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 31:57
  Speaker B: It would just, every year would just shoot up and I would go, what happened? And then I realized I would just chop it back to about the right height as far as I could reach. Well, on a ladder, I guess. Chop it back. But then we would get so many lemons on that tree. The fruit was incredible. Every time that we would prune it, it would look kind of weird for a while.
• 32:20
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 32:21
  Speaker B: Kind of an awkward tree. But then fruit season would happen and boom, we'd have like a thousand lemons on this tree. It's the same thing with God. You're growing a ton. He's going to cut off the parts that you don't need so that you can bear more fruit. Good fruit. Much fruit. Fruit as much as he has for you.
• 32:39
  Speaker A: Yeah. And so you can trust the Holy Spirit to direct your steps. You can trust him that when he asks you to let something go, and that's what we've been talking about, those sin issues, those bad habits, that scrolling, the endless need to fill yourself, those things that he comes in and says, hey, this isn't serving you. Let's just give that a little snip. Let's just cut back on that. Let's take that off the table for now. It's because he wants to grow you and he has good fruit for you to grow. And it's just amazing how he does that. But we can trust him to guide our steps and to give us strength for what he's asking us to do. He's not going to ask you to do something and then be like, good luck with that, right? He's always going to walk with us, side by side, hand in hand, and he's going to take you from glory to glory. Josh alluded at that before. We behold him as in a mirror, but then we shall behold him face to face. And he takes us from glory to glory. As we behold him, then we become more like him. So pay attention. When he's asking you to turn that show off, to, to put that bottle down, to not go to that website, whatever it is that he's asking you, just pay attention and say, okay, like he asked me to do it. He's giving me the grace and the strength to do it. I can rely on him. Self control is a fruit of the spirit. He will empower you to do the thing that he's asking you to do. So allow him to prune you and in that pruning, you will become more fruitful than you realize. And really that's Our lemon tree produced more fruit than we could ever consume on our own. And they weren't just like these, you know, the cute little lemons you get at the store. They were like mega lemons the size of oranges. And they were so good, so juicy, so delicious. That's what God wants to do. On your own, you produce this, you know, kind of little meh fruit that's okay, you can use. It doesn't taste real good. But with him, he was wants to you to create beautiful fruit that is going to feed and nourish others. That is going to be a blessing to you and to the people around you.
• 34:40
  Speaker B: Yeah, I just want to pray. God, thank you so much that you have a perfect process for each and every one of us and that you are always leading us, you are always speaking to us. And right now I just thank you for your grace to step into, take that first step with you, to follow you. God, thank you that it's really as simple as just spending time with you and allowing you to change us in your presence, God, that it doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be painful, Lord, sometimes it is. Sometimes that process is difficult, the ripping out the weed. Sometimes that hurts. But God, it's only because it's for our good. You always have our good in mind. And so I thank you for your grace to just recognize I'm filling myself with the wrong thing. I need to turn to you. I need to hand it all over to you. I need to allow you to move in my life and to show me what I need to do to get past this next step. God. And that you are all about relationship in the process. You want to walk with us through every step of the way. You're going to walk with us, spend time with us, speak to us. I thank you for the ability to just hear your voice so clearly and to just walk out the simple daily steps of yielding to you Holy Spirit. Thank you God. You are such a good father. In Jesus name, Amen.
• 36:17
  Speaker A: Amen. Well, thanks for spending time with us today. We hope that you are blessed by this and we hope that you just take this nugget that you don't have to do it on your own. The Holy Spirit is there to empower you, to change you and to bring good fruit from your life. God bless you. Hey friend. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds to share this podcast with someone who may need encouragement or practical tools for fighting their battle?
• 36:48
  Speaker B: Then rate and review this podcast. Help us spread the message of transformation far and wide.
• 36:53
  Speaker A: All right, time to walk back into the noise with peace, purpose and maybe a tiny bit of guffing.
• 36:58
  Speaker B: We'll meet you back next Thursday for another episode.
• 37:01
  Speaker A: Bye.