Running On Empty (Holly Furtick)

0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:05.280 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:07.200 and this is our podcast and I wanted to thank 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.559 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:12.640 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:16.840 see God has moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.360 I'm so excited to preach to you guys today. You 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:22.560 can have a seat if you're here with us. It's 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:27.440 been several months since I've been on stage and gotten 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.040 to speak to you all. But in that time, our 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:37.920 pastor has been preaching his heart out. Not only has 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.800 he preached almost every weekend for the first half of 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.360 this year, but what you don't see is that in 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:48.239 the meantime he's writing songs in his spare time, and 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:52.360 he's producing albums that we're playing in our headphones and 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.600 in our cars and in our homes on repeat. And 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:59.040 we got to hear all those songs first here at Elevation. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.040 Well most of them of them were like surprises. But 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.800 in the sermons of just Been, we are so spoiled 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:10.039 type it in the chat, let me know where you're 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:14.959 watching from, and this type spoiled, rotten, And I know 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.520 My husband already said this, but I want to say 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:23.399 Happy Mother's Day in the United States. But you know 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:27.559 you're at elevation. We take this day as an opportunity 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:31.160 to celebrate all of the women who have impacted our lives. 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:33.880 I know that Mother's Day isn't always the easiest day 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:36.440 for a lot of us, but on this day, I 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:38.640 want us to come and be able to celebrate the 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:44.399 women who have quietly led and prayed and modeled their 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.240 own faith while they were nurturing hours. And I was 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.800 actually talking to a woman this week, and she was 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:53.240 telling me her story how she was raised in foster 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:56.000 care and how she came to know Christ as an 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.640 adult because someone brought her to church. A woman brought 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:03.400 her to church. And then years later, in another town, 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:08.040 she met another woman who said, oh, you know God here, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.560 you need to come to my church. And then when 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.400 she went to that church, the pastor's wife, she said, 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:16.040 she just took me under her wing, and she taught 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.440 me about what faith looks like in everyday life. These 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:24.160 are the mothers that we celebrate today, the grandmothers who 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.720 prayed for us, the moms who dragged us to church, 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.399 the youth pastor's wife, or the small group leader who 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:33.880 said the same things that our moms were saying to us, 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.280 but we thought it was so much better when they 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:40.120 said it. The woman who showed you how to be 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.240 a godly mom, or the college Bible study leader, the 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:46.520 prank coworker, like all of these women who had shaped 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:55.440 our faith. That's who we celebrate today. So it was 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.120 invited to a gathering for women in ministry back in March. 0:02:59.840 --> 0:03:03.239 And while we were in the middle of worship, and 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:05.040 we were singing, and it was it wasn't a lot 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:09.280 of people, but we were worshiping, and I just all 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.720 of a sudden, I felt like the Lord said to me, 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.040 I want you to preach on the widow with the jars. 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:19.360 And so I was, well, okay. And the song wasn't 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:21.560 about anything, and I was like, okay. So I got 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.760 off my phone and I made myself a note Widow 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:30.280 with the Jars Mother's Day. And so later when I 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:34.000 was remembering that, I thought, well, let me look, where 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:37.720 is that story the woman with the jars? And so 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:40.080 we got out my Bible and when I saw that 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.080 it was in Second King's four, I remembered all of 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.520 the amazing sermons that Pastor Steven has preached on this passage. 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:51.120 And I was like, good, really, are you sure? And 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.280 so I just said a prayer and it went something 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:57.120 like this, Dear Lord, please give all the people this 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:03.160 weekend temporary amnesia and let them forget every sermon that 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:07.520 Stephen Verdick has preached on this passage. Amen, like you've 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.520 never prayed for a parking space or a test that 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:14.600 you didn't study for. It's all right. God hears. He 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.119 doesn't always say yes, but he hears. He hears our cry. 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.840 So let's get to the scripture and let's read Second 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:32.479 Kings chapter four. Let's look at this woman, Second Kings 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.200 chapter four. You know, she doesn't even have a name. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.840 The Bible just calls her the widow. She's also a mom, 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:45.400 and I'm praying today that this will inspire not just 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.480 the moms, but the women and the men, all of us. 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:51.280 Let's read it together. The wife of a man from 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:55.800 the company of the Prophets cried out to Elijah, your husband, 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:58.760 my servant is dead, and you know that he revered 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:00.760 the Lord, but now his credit is coming to take 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.600 my two boys as his slaves. Alisha replied, to her, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.440 How can I help you? Tell me? What do you 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.800 have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:16.400 she said, except a little jar of olive oil. Lord, 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.720 we come to you on this Mother's Day and we 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.000 just want to take a minute first, God, to just 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.920 thank you for all of the faith filled mothers that 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.400 you have brought along our paths. Without them, we would 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:32.039 not know you. Without their faith, we would not have 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.719 our own. Thank you, God that you provide exactly who 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:42.040 we need at every single stage of our lives. We 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:45.760 open up our hearts. We want to hear from you today. 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.800 Open up our eyes, let us see the things that 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:53.320 you want to speak to us. Holy Spirit, Come speak 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.680 to us in that intimate personal way that you always do. 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:01.679 It's in Jesus name. I pray Amen. So my mom's 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:07.280 here today, Happy mothers, say, Mom, I love you. I'm 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:11.800 about to talk about you. Have you ever thought about 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.840 all the weird things that you picked up from your mom, 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:18.080 things that seem to be like embedded in your psyche 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:21.360 that you can never change. Like okay, so here's when 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:25.359 my mom never pays full price for anything, Like she's 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:29.440 that woman that shops the sale cart at the grocery store, 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:36.240 and she just taught me how to find a good bargain. Now, 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:37.640 this could be a good or a bad thing, depending 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:41.280 on how many bargains you find. But that's just one 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.960 of the things that my mom taught me. Another thing 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:46.920 that my mom taught me was how to rationalize my fears. 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.159 We grew up in Florida, and in Florida there's really 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.400 bad storms all the time, and I remember, even during 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:58.039 a hurricane, feeling like my mom was not afraid. I 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.240 felt safe because my mom was not afraid. She might 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:03.440 have been afraid, I don't know, but she didn't show it. 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:08.200 And she taught me how to handle my fear and 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:12.160 how to really think through practically about the things that 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.840 I was afraid of. But there's one thing that I 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:17.600 got from my mom that's caused a little bit of 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:24.040 friction in my marriage, and that is my inability to 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:29.559 notice when my gas tank is getting low. You see, 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:34.760 Stephen never lets his gas tank drop below a corter 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.600 of a tank, and really he never lets his phone 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.080 drop below fifty percent. I don't know how he does it, 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:44.680 but he just likes a full tank of gas and 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.160 he just loves it. And every single time that I 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.960 have been with him getting gas in the twenty plus 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.720 years that I have known this man. He gets back 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:55.760 in the car, he shuts the door, and he takes 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.520 a breath, and he goes there's nothing like a full 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:02.160 tank of gas. And he's not trying to make me laugh. 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:06.920 I mean, he just really it's just extremely satisfying to him. 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:10.160 Am I joking? He says it every single time. So 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:14.080 then me, on the other hand, I just I don't 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:18.240 get it. I'm just perfectly fine with driving after the 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:23.680 gaslight comes on. I get it from my mom. I 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.920 have a picture to show you of the van that 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:31.440 my mom drove when I was a kid. Anybody else 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:33.920 did your parents have a family car like this? There 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.680 are so many great things about this picture. Okay, I 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:38.680 just want to leave it up here just so we 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:42.080 can soak everything in. Here. Are my parents looking actually 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.199 quite stylish, and your tennis shoes are really white. It's 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.520 about nineteen ninety and we are on one of our 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:53.319 epic camping vacations. Okay. On this particular family vacation, we 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:59.040 drove from Miami, Florida to Glacier National Park in Montana, 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.560 pulling not pictured a pop up camper that my dad 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:04.680 bought for a couple hundred dollars. And they also thought 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:06.360 it was a good idea to bring along our family dog. 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.080 You can't really see her at start, but she's even 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:11.880 in the picture. But this van, it's all about the van. 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.679 This van was epic. Inside of the van, there were 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:21.520 two captain's chairs. There were curtains in this van, and 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.559 in the back there was a table, not a table, 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:28.760 a bench that folded down into a bed. But the 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:33.720 really special thing about this van and had two gas tanks. 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:38.360 Why do you need to put two gas tanks in 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.600 a vehicle, I'm not sure, but this car had two 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.880 gas tanks. And I have vivid memories. My sister's in here. 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:47.920 Both my sisters are here today. They will attest to 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:54.800 this of my mom driving in city traffic and saying, oh, shoot, girls, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.520 we're on empty. And then she would say, let me 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.120 switch over to the other table, and she would pull 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:04.439 this lever. It would go good, and and but that 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:09.040 take was always empty too, and she and so then 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.880 she would she would she would turn off the AC 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.720 and we would have to roll down the windows and 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:18.320 just pray that we made it to the nearest gas station, 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.079 but I do the same thing. Recently, my gas light 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.400 came on, but I was running late. Another thing I 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.600 think my sorry mom. I was running late to take 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.040 one of our kids to a game, and I was like, 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.040 we ain't got time to get gas, and so I 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.520 kept driving and the field was like way out in 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:37.880 the middle of nowhere, and so I dropped the cand 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.439 I was like, you got to get out. So I 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.480 dropped them off and and I kid you not, I 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.439 turned off the A C. I don't even know if 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.440 the AC uses gas, but that's what my mom did. 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.000 So I turned off the AC and I just prayed 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:57.400 that I would make it to the nearest gas stations. Today, 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.160 I want to talk to you about running on m D. 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.080 Have you ever prayed your way to the end of 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.040 a day and then just felt like you have to 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.840 do that all over again. If you ever felt like 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:18.600 you cannot be everything that everyone needs you to be, 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:22.360 like you just have nothing left to give. And it's 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:24.760 not just moms who feel this way. We all have 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.400 people in our lives who need us. Some of the 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.480 people in our lives need us to meet their physical needs, 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.200 some of them need us to meet their emotional needs. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.439 Some people depend on us to bring energy. Some people 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:40.839 depend on us to bring that spiritual insight. Some of 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.720 the people in our lives need food and transportation, and 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.280 sometimes they need us to do all of that and 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.840 provide financially at the same time. And meanwhile, we're fighting 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.720 our own battles and we're wondering how we can make 0:11:56.080 --> 0:12:00.640 ends meet, and we are I'm on that doing enough? 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.480 Am I enough? And all of these feelings can be 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:08.719 really overwhelming, and you can just feel drained. There are 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:13.959 days where I feel empty. I feel like I've spent 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:18.880 the day leading and working and trying to be creative, 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:21.160 and then I pick up my kids from school and 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.400 I have to figure out what we're gonna eat and 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:27.040 who has what activities, and if Steven takes Abby to softball, 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.560 then I can take the boys to their e groups 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:31.440 and I'll take Graham first, and then I'll get Elijah, 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.760 and then tomorrow we have this and this and this, 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:37.720 and at the end of the day, I'm just I'm 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.920 just shot. That's one kind of empty. But then there's 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.720 another kind of empty, and that's the kind where on 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:48.120 top of all of those things, you're carrying an extra weight. 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.160 Maybe you have a health issue, and you just you 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.400 have migraines. You have to just push through all the time. 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.360 Maybe you're grieving, maybe you're going through a divorce, and 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.719 you just wake up every morning and you open your 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:05.280 eyes and you remember the pain of the season that 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:09.000 you're in and you can pretend that everything's okay for 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.520 a little while, but you're just not sure how much 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:17.360 longer you can even do that, and the emptiness suddenly 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:22.400 makes you aware of your loneliness. That's where our widow is. 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:28.160 Her husband, a good man, is dead, and she has 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.880 become the thing that women of this period of history 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:36.520 dreaded the most. She's a widow. Becoming a widow meant 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.840 the loss of your livelihood, and your best hope was 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.719 for one of your sons to care for you. Her 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.480 sons were too young to care for her, and now 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.400 she's going to lose them too because she can't pay 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:54.120 her debts. These boys needed her and she was failing. 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:59.360 Have you ever felt the weight of other people needing you. 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.760 She's out of money, she's out of ideas, she's out 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.120 of time, And then, not to mention a long time ago, 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.360 she ran out of joy and hope and strengthen. My 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:13.840 heart just goes out to this woman. This was not 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.120 the way she thought her life would go. She married 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:22.800 a prophet, a man who had devoted his life to God. 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.400 And when you give your life to God, bad things 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:28.480 are not supposed to happen to you, right. I don't 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.360 know if she was angry, but I'm angry for her. 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:36.640 She was faithful, but she was suffering, and she knew 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:38.560 things were about to get a lot worse. Have you 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.880 ever been faithful to God and felt like you were 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.680 still just coming up empty? How do you keep going 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.760 when you feel like you have nothing left? And this 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:52.040 is what I've been wrestling with God this week. What 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:56.080 do I do when I feel empty? Maybe your situation 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.880 isn't life or death like hers, but you know what 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:00.960 it feels like to be a the end of yourself 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:02.800 and to have people depending on you. You know what 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.320 it feels like to have tried everything, but your life 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:11.120 feels like a never ending loop of wake, work, sleep, 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:15.080 and you have no joy and you have no hope left. 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:20.400 And I want you to know this today. God does 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:26.440 some of his best work when I feel the most empty. 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.080 So today, if you're like me and you feel empty, 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.440 I want to walk you through these seven little verses 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.040 and share with you what the Lord showed me to 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.280 do when I feel like I'm running on empty and 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:40.800 here they are. I'm going to give you all three 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:49.200 up front. Cry out, reach out, pour out, cry out, 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.520 reach out, pour out. Let's look back. The first verse, 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.680 the wife of the man from the company of the 0:15:56.720 --> 0:16:01.840 Prophets cried out to Elisha, your servant, my husband is dead, 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:04.440 and you know that he revered the Lord, but now 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:06.480 his creditor is coming to take my two boys as 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:11.480 his slaves. When you feel empty, first thing you have 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:17.840 to do is cry out to God. Seems really simple, 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.880 but for some reason, this is not the first thing 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.440 that we do. I'm just gonna be honest with you, guys. 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.040 Sometimes when I feel empty, I don't cry out to 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:32.560 God because I'm too too busy pretending like everything's okay. 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.120 And at first I'm like, I'm pretending to myself. You know, 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.040 it's fine, it's fine, everything's good, everything's good. And I 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:42.160 think subconsciously, I make my life more full so I 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.440 don't have to feel the emptiness. You ever done this, 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.640 And so I say yes to the extra sports team, 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:52.040 and I say yes to the wedding shower, I say 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:57.160 yes to organizing the neighborhood garage sale. But the thing is, 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:03.440 busyness does not remedy emptiness. It might mask it for 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:07.280 a little while, but in the end I only feel 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.440 more empty. And now I'm also over committed and tired 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.720 and irritable and feeling like no one wants to help 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.439 me with all the dumb stuff that I said yes to, 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.439 And then everything everyone else says just gets on my 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:24.280 nerves and so I isolate myself even more. Am I 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:31.040 alone up here? Let me know? Because now I'm isolated 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.439 and I'm pretending like everything is awesome because I just 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:37.080 I just I just don't. I don't want to, I 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.320 don't wanna, just don't want to deal with everything. And 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.960 so when somebody sees me and they're like, how are 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:49.200 you guys doing, I'm like, oh, we're great, because deep 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.679 down I don't really even think that they care that 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:55.280 or maybe maybe just not that they don't care, but 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.400 they maybe they can't. I don't think they can relate. 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:03.919 But then I start believing that no one cares, and 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:08.800 now I feel empty and alone. I don't know, I 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.080 just wonder if this, if this woman tried to pretend 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:16.440 like everything was okay. How long did she keep that up? 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.680 Everyone knew that she was struggling. Her husband had died, 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.359 so they all knew that, But at least for a 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.080 little while, she had been able to meet make ends meet. 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.960 We know she had debt. Maybe she borrowed money after 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.760 her husband died, thinking that somehow, some way she would 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:35.800 make it up. We can even infer that she sold 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:40.439 off everything of value in her home, but maybe she 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:45.880 was able to do that and hide that too, because 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:50.800 she's trying to protect her family from shame, trying to 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:58.160 protect her children from fear, and she's carrying everything on 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:00.840 her own two shoulder. She's trying to be a mom 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:06.199 and a dad and failing at both. And so one 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:08.879 day she comes to the end of her rope and 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:12.840 she cries out to the prophet Elijah. And so many 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:15.080 times in the Bible we see this phrase, cry out 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.720 to God. And Peter was walking on water and he 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:21.639 began to think. The Bible tells us that he cried 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:25.399 out to Jesus when the blind man wanted to get healed, 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:30.080 he cried out to Jesus. And every single time what 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:37.439 happens Jesus responds Psalm thirty four. David said, the poor 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:41.320 man cried out, and the Lord saved him out of 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:44.920 all his troubles. But why is it that crying out 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:50.440 to God is the last resort instead of my first resort. 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:52.800 I think one of the reasons that we don't cry 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:55.840 out to God is maybe at our court we don't 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:59.359 believe that he can or maybe not can, but we 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:03.760 don't believe that he will do anything for us. And 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.240 maybe you prayed before and things got worse. Maybe you 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.040 ask God to change the situation and it is still 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:14.240 the same, and because things didn't turn out the way 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.080 that you had hoped this time, maybe you'll you know 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:19.240 what this, I'm just gonna do it myself. I'm just 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:23.600 gonna muscle this situation. I hate it when I do this. 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:29.440 I hate it because I end up becoming that manipulative, controlling, 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.240 complaining woman. And then I wonder why nobody wants to 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.399 be around me, and nobody wants to listen to me, 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:39.359 and nobody understands me. The problem with me trying to 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:43.199 find in people what I'm supposed to find in God 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.760 is that it just makes me more disappointed in the 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:55.520 people in my life and it's not their fault. So 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:59.280 now I'm frustrated with my situation and I'm disappointed with 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:01.720 the people around me because they don't understand me. And 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:06.040 then I wonder why I feel lonely. It's because people 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:08.639 were not meant to take the place of God in 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:16.160 our lives. There's a space in your life that only 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:21.119 God can fill when you cry out to him. I 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:23.160 told you one of the verses in Psalm thirty four. 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:27.920 But Psalm thirty four seventeen says the righteous cry out, 0:21:28.320 --> 0:21:32.840 and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:36.639 their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted 0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:41.040 and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God hears 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:45.040 your cry. Just let that sink in for a minute. 0:21:46.359 --> 0:21:51.320 He hears you. He's not ignoring you, and He is 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:53.760 going to deliver you. It may not be the way 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:58.200 that you imagine, it may not be when you want 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:03.280 it to happen, but He will deliver you. And sometimes 0:22:03.320 --> 0:22:06.000 I think that I prolonged my deliverance simply because I 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.840 just I'm just being stubborn and I don't cry out 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:15.919 to God. He hears you. He stands by waiting to 0:22:16.119 --> 0:22:20.280 deliver you. You know why. Because he's close. What did 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:25.080 to say? He's close to the brokenhearted? Here's you. Because 0:22:25.080 --> 0:22:28.760 he's close, he hears you, because he's with you. You 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:38.119 may feel alone, but you are not alone. A couple 0:22:38.160 --> 0:22:40.440 of years ago, we were going through a struggle within 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:43.680 our family, and people knew that we were struggling, but 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:47.480 they didn't really know how painful it was. And I 0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:52.920 remember sitting in our living room on the couch crying, 0:22:54.040 --> 0:22:58.760 not crying out to God, just crying. And I started 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:01.480 journaling about it. And I got out that journal the 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:04.840 other day and I wrote some things in that journal 0:23:04.880 --> 0:23:08.760 that were really wrong. I told God that I was disappointed. 0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:13.560 I told God that I was scared. But also in 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:16.520 those pages, I would get a verse and I would 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:19.280 write it down and I would pray it over the situation. 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:23.280 And I said things in that journal to God that 0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:28.359 I didn't say to anyone else. And then I just 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:30.960 got up and went about my day, drive my tears 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:35.040 and kept going. And in the middle of the valley, 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:40.680 it didn't necessarily feel like God was with me. I 0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:46.280 didn't necessarily feel his presence. But this week, when I 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:51.720 was reading through the journal, I was just flooded with 0:23:51.960 --> 0:23:55.399 gratefulness and the realization that he was right there with 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:59.480 me in that darkness. He was listening to me. I 0:23:59.560 --> 0:24:02.040 was poor, bring out my heart. He was giving me 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:05.800 those verses. And he's with you too. He's close. If 0:24:05.800 --> 0:24:11.520 you're broken hearted today, he's close. Look at verse two. 0:24:13.600 --> 0:24:17.879 Elijhah replied to her, how can I help you? Tell me? 0:24:18.480 --> 0:24:21.840 What do you have in your house? Your servant has 0:24:21.960 --> 0:24:26.800 nothing at all, she said, except a small jar of 0:24:26.840 --> 0:24:31.080 olive oil. When she cried out to the prophet. He 0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:34.200 asked her two questions. Did you see them? The first one, 0:24:34.200 --> 0:24:38.000 I like, how can I help you? Well, God, it's 0:24:38.080 --> 0:24:42.200 like I said, my husband's dead. They're coming to take 0:24:42.240 --> 0:24:46.200 my sons away. I need help. I need provision. More specifically, 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.680 I need to pay off my creditors. You know what. 0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:55.720 It's okay, And actually it's important to get really specific 0:24:55.960 --> 0:24:59.000 with God because sometimes I think we cry out to 0:24:59.080 --> 0:25:00.920 him and we don't even you know what we want. 0:25:03.200 --> 0:25:06.800 What can I do for you? He said? Second question, 0:25:06.920 --> 0:25:11.240 I don't like as much, what do you have in 0:25:11.320 --> 0:25:15.320 your house? I think one of the hardest lessons that 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:17.840 I've had to learn in my walk with God is 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:21.560 that when I do cry out to him. The first 0:25:21.600 --> 0:25:29.959 thing he wants me to work on is me. And 0:25:30.040 --> 0:25:36.080 the craziest thing is when I work on me slowly, 0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:42.000 I start to see my situation change. I learned this 0:25:42.080 --> 0:25:48.400 in my marriage. When I change me, I change us. 0:25:49.040 --> 0:25:53.360 And then I found out it works in all my relationships. 0:25:54.600 --> 0:25:58.560 It works in my job. When I change me, I 0:25:58.680 --> 0:26:04.159 change us. But most of the time I'm lazy and 0:26:04.200 --> 0:26:07.000 I just want God to fix my problems. I don't 0:26:07.000 --> 0:26:14.520 want to participate in the process. God just fix him, 0:26:14.840 --> 0:26:22.480 fix her. I need a new boss. That's just not 0:26:22.560 --> 0:26:27.199 how God works, not in my experience. This widow, she 0:26:27.400 --> 0:26:36.640 cried out she needed provision, provision vision. God wanted her 0:26:36.720 --> 0:26:43.040 to see what she already had, even if it was 0:26:43.119 --> 0:26:51.040 something that seemed insignificant to her. You are always a 0:26:51.160 --> 0:26:57.320 part of your solution. What do you have in your house? 0:27:00.040 --> 0:27:04.040 Elijah said, go around and ask all of your neighbors 0:27:04.040 --> 0:27:07.960 for empty jars. Don't just ask for a few. Okay, 0:27:08.440 --> 0:27:14.480 So she cried out to God. Then then she reached 0:27:14.480 --> 0:27:19.320 out to others. Some of us are really great at 0:27:19.320 --> 0:27:22.600 reaching out, but we forget to cry out to God first. 0:27:24.160 --> 0:27:26.920 Others of us will cry out to God all day long, 0:27:27.880 --> 0:27:34.400 but reach out none of your business. Now. I want 0:27:34.400 --> 0:27:38.880 to qualify what reaching out actually means because we live 0:27:38.920 --> 0:27:43.080 in a very strange world and social media has gotten 0:27:43.160 --> 0:27:48.359 us a little mixed up. Don't don't don't hear me 0:27:48.359 --> 0:27:50.720 say the wrong thing. Okay, you can put your prayer 0:27:50.840 --> 0:27:58.239 updates on your page, but the real people who love you, 0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:04.120 who for you and support you and ask you how 0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:08.800 your appointment went. Those are the people that are with 0:28:09.000 --> 0:28:11.439 you on your journey and they are a part of 0:28:11.480 --> 0:28:20.320 your healing. People will comment on your post, but comments 0:28:20.480 --> 0:28:29.919 do not replace conversation. I don't believe that this woman 0:28:30.480 --> 0:28:33.280 went out into the streets of her neighborhood and shouted 0:28:33.320 --> 0:28:38.040 any jars, give me all your jars. How do you 0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:43.640 think she got those jars? She went around and she 0:28:43.920 --> 0:28:47.720 knocked on each door. Maybe she made up a speech 0:28:47.720 --> 0:28:51.560 and said the same thing to every single person. That's okay, Hi, guys, 0:28:52.680 --> 0:28:55.680 I know this seems kind of odd. You know, my 0:28:55.760 --> 0:28:58.560 husband died and you might imagine I'm having a hard 0:28:58.600 --> 0:29:04.120 time anyway, the Elijah Elisha asked me to go around 0:29:04.760 --> 0:29:06.480 and ask for any extra jars that you might have. 0:29:06.520 --> 0:29:07.960 I know this seems weird, but do you have any 0:29:08.080 --> 0:29:14.200 lying around that you don't want. Reaching out means sharing something, Yes, 0:29:15.320 --> 0:29:17.360 even if you say the exact same thing to everyone 0:29:17.360 --> 0:29:23.600 who asks. Reaching out does not mean sharing everything. When 0:29:23.640 --> 0:29:27.880 you cry out, you say everything. She told the prophet, 0:29:27.960 --> 0:29:31.440 everything down to the fact that she had the only 0:29:31.480 --> 0:29:33.840 thing of value that she had in the whole world 0:29:34.280 --> 0:29:36.200 was a little bit of jar, a little bit of 0:29:36.280 --> 0:29:41.120 oil in a jar. But she went around to her neighbors. 0:29:41.560 --> 0:29:45.480 She reached out, and she asked for some jars. I 0:29:45.520 --> 0:29:48.000 think one of the things that the enemy has tried 0:29:48.000 --> 0:29:51.960 to steal from us during this last year is community. 0:29:53.360 --> 0:29:56.640 One year ago, we went inside our houses, we shut 0:29:56.720 --> 0:29:59.640 the doors, and the only thing that we had to 0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:04.360 connect with people were glass screens. But you cannot stay there. 0:30:06.880 --> 0:30:10.800 If you stay on screens, you're just shouting for jars. 0:30:11.640 --> 0:30:18.880 Affirm me, compliment me, agree with me. That's not reaching out. 0:30:22.640 --> 0:30:25.200 Earlier this week, I ran into a really really good 0:30:25.200 --> 0:30:28.080 friend of mine that I hadn't seen since Christmas, and 0:30:28.160 --> 0:30:30.960 we've been friends for fifteen years, and I knew through 0:30:31.000 --> 0:30:33.280 Instagram that they were going through a really tough season. 0:30:33.520 --> 0:30:37.680 This couple has three biological children and three and two 0:30:38.000 --> 0:30:41.360 foster children, and I knew that recently the husband's mom 0:30:41.560 --> 0:30:44.920 had been diagnosed with ALS, and I knew that they 0:30:44.920 --> 0:30:48.320 were helping care for the mom. So this past weekend, 0:30:48.600 --> 0:30:51.880 we run into each other at our kids' sporting events 0:30:52.400 --> 0:30:55.680 and we hugged and I looked her in the eyes 0:30:56.120 --> 0:30:59.840 and I said, how was it going? And she looked 0:30:59.880 --> 0:31:04.040 at me and she said, well, mom has moved in 0:31:04.080 --> 0:31:07.320 with us. She needs round the clock care. And honestly, 0:31:07.840 --> 0:31:11.360 this is the hardest thing that I have ever gone through. 0:31:12.160 --> 0:31:17.080 But we're good. And you know I didn't I didn't 0:31:17.120 --> 0:31:19.920 offer any words of wisdom. I just listened to her. 0:31:21.120 --> 0:31:23.000 I told her that she was one of the strongest 0:31:23.040 --> 0:31:26.440 people I know. And now I know how to pray 0:31:26.480 --> 0:31:29.120 for them, and now I know I need to check 0:31:29.160 --> 0:31:31.800 on them, bring them dinner, send them door dash, whatever 0:31:31.840 --> 0:31:37.720 floats your boat. We need face to face interaction with others. 0:31:38.440 --> 0:31:42.120 There is no substitute for that. And you might not 0:31:42.240 --> 0:31:45.080 need it now, but have you ever thought that maybe 0:31:45.120 --> 0:31:50.240 somebody else might need it from you right now? And also, 0:31:50.400 --> 0:31:53.280 there will come a time in your life because into 0:31:53.400 --> 0:31:56.160 every life the rainfalls at some point and you're going 0:31:56.240 --> 0:32:00.560 to need to lean on the support of others. They 0:32:00.600 --> 0:32:06.320 don't need to know everything. But if they don't know anything, 0:32:08.320 --> 0:32:10.280 how can they offer support? And then you're just going 0:32:10.360 --> 0:32:14.880 to feel alone. Do not let the enemy tell you 0:32:14.960 --> 0:32:20.800 that you're alone. You're not a one that's a lie. 0:32:21.040 --> 0:32:26.560 What do you have that's a little bit of oil 0:32:26.640 --> 0:32:35.880 and some neighbors? Verse four. Then go inside and shut 0:32:35.880 --> 0:32:38.720 the door behind you and your son's pour oil into 0:32:38.760 --> 0:32:42.280 all the jars, and as each is filled, put it 0:32:42.360 --> 0:32:46.400 to one side. You see, it's important to reach out 0:32:46.840 --> 0:32:50.040 and ask for jars. But there comes a time in 0:32:50.080 --> 0:32:54.120 your life and in your healing process where you have 0:32:54.200 --> 0:32:59.080 to shut the door and let God work a miracle. 0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:04.440 The neighbors knew what they didn't know. You know, you 0:33:04.480 --> 0:33:10.560 can be vulnerable with people and still have privacy. I 0:33:10.600 --> 0:33:13.960 get it. Not everyone needs to know everything. Some of 0:33:14.000 --> 0:33:17.840 you need to hear that. Not everyone needs to know everything. 0:33:21.240 --> 0:33:22.960 But there are some people in your life that you 0:33:22.960 --> 0:33:26.680 can't hide from. Who was with her when she shut 0:33:26.680 --> 0:33:31.560 the door, her sons, her boys, And I wonder how 0:33:31.640 --> 0:33:35.480 much her boys knew about their situation. I wonder how 0:33:35.520 --> 0:33:39.960 much she tried to keep from them. But the thing is, 0:33:40.640 --> 0:33:44.120 the people close to us, the people who are closest 0:33:44.320 --> 0:33:50.200 to us who are watching us fight a battle, what 0:33:50.400 --> 0:33:56.040 looks you know, what feels like weakness to us, it 0:33:56.080 --> 0:34:03.000 looks like strength to them. In her weakest moment, she 0:34:03.280 --> 0:34:14.759 was building their faith. She left him the prophet, and 0:34:14.840 --> 0:34:18.000 shut the door behind her and her son's They brought 0:34:18.000 --> 0:34:20.759 her the jars. They brought the jars to her, and 0:34:20.800 --> 0:34:24.400 she kept pouring. I thought I would have my boys 0:34:24.400 --> 0:34:28.720 come up here and illustrate this. Guys, bring me my jars, 0:34:34.239 --> 0:34:39.640 cry out, reach out. Now it's time to pour out. 0:34:41.280 --> 0:34:44.239 Let's live in this for a second. All she had 0:34:45.760 --> 0:34:54.040 was a little bit of oil, and if you think 0:34:54.080 --> 0:34:59.080 about it, it wasn't enough to do anything with. But 0:34:59.160 --> 0:35:03.360 it was all she had. And when you're in survival mode, 0:35:04.040 --> 0:35:10.799 your instinct is to hoard everything you have, every resource, 0:35:11.360 --> 0:35:17.480 every dollar, every minute, every word. You keep it to yourself. 0:35:19.560 --> 0:35:26.200 But the prophet said, poor. Okay, So this is my 0:35:26.280 --> 0:35:37.080 son Elijah. He's almost sixteen, yeah, taller than me. This 0:35:37.120 --> 0:35:43.000 is our middle child, Graham, he's thirteen and also taller 0:35:43.000 --> 0:35:45.759 than me. I have heels on, but I think you're 0:35:45.800 --> 0:35:49.359 still taller than me. Okay, such a weird thing when 0:35:49.360 --> 0:35:51.320 your children get taller than you. I just can't explain. 0:35:52.440 --> 0:35:54.839 So Elijah, you're gonna stand here and you're gonna hand 0:35:54.840 --> 0:35:58.120 me the jars. Graham, you're gonna stand here and you're 0:35:58.160 --> 0:36:00.880 gonna take the jars from me and put them on 0:36:00.920 --> 0:36:04.879 the shelf. I love these boys, I love them more 0:36:04.920 --> 0:36:08.160 than I ever thought possible, and I would do anything 0:36:08.200 --> 0:36:15.120 for them. But pouring out is scary. What if I 0:36:15.239 --> 0:36:19.600 pour out and I have nothing left for myself? What 0:36:19.640 --> 0:36:23.000 if no one recognizes me? What if no one appreciates me. 0:36:26.040 --> 0:36:27.920 If you're waiting for to be appreciated, you're gonna be 0:36:27.960 --> 0:36:35.480 waiting a long time. The prophet said, keep pouring. And 0:36:35.600 --> 0:36:42.680 sometimes when we feel empty, it's because we feel lost. 0:36:43.440 --> 0:36:48.520 We feel like maybe we have nothing to contribute. A 0:36:48.560 --> 0:36:51.480 couple of years ago, ten years ago, to be exact, 0:36:52.280 --> 0:36:57.280 I was feeling lost. We had planted our church fifteen 0:36:57.360 --> 0:37:00.640 years ago, and when we did that, I involved in 0:37:00.719 --> 0:37:05.480 every single detail. We didn't have enough people, so it 0:37:05.520 --> 0:37:07.560 was all hands on deck. I was a worship leader, 0:37:08.160 --> 0:37:11.720 believe it or not, I was a teacher and e kids. 0:37:12.560 --> 0:37:14.440 And in the very early days of our church we 0:37:14.480 --> 0:37:17.440 had stopped meeting at my kitchen table. I knew everything 0:37:17.640 --> 0:37:20.400 that was going on. At our church. But as the 0:37:20.520 --> 0:37:23.680 church grew and we were able to hire more people 0:37:23.960 --> 0:37:28.319 who could sing, and you know, we were able to 0:37:28.320 --> 0:37:31.360 buy a table and get an office space for our staff, 0:37:31.600 --> 0:37:36.040 and our family started to grow. I gradually began to 0:37:36.080 --> 0:37:39.040 step away and take care of our family, and I 0:37:39.160 --> 0:37:42.319 love being at home with our toddlers. But I felt 0:37:42.400 --> 0:37:46.440 left out. I felt like everyone else was having a 0:37:46.480 --> 0:37:50.080 blast without me, and like I didn't know anything that 0:37:50.120 --> 0:37:54.600 was going on anymore. And I just felt like I 0:37:54.600 --> 0:37:59.720 had nothing to contribute, and I wanted to be asked 0:37:59.800 --> 0:38:04.160 to do something like lead something, or organize something, or 0:38:04.640 --> 0:38:08.320 maybe be on the worship team again, which never happened. 0:38:11.719 --> 0:38:15.040 And I started to have a pity party because no 0:38:15.040 --> 0:38:19.800 one was picking up on the hints that I was dropping. 0:38:20.880 --> 0:38:23.719 I've never been there before, and I remember one day 0:38:23.840 --> 0:38:28.560 just realizing, wait a minute, I mean, I don't really 0:38:28.600 --> 0:38:31.040 have that much time anyway, But I could do what 0:38:31.080 --> 0:38:33.799 we're asking everyone else in the church to do right now, 0:38:33.840 --> 0:38:39.080 which was lead an EE group. I did have a 0:38:39.080 --> 0:38:41.120 lot of time, but I had one evening a week, 0:38:43.280 --> 0:38:46.000 so I started an EE group for young married women 0:38:46.040 --> 0:38:52.680 here Graham and I started to pour every day. I 0:38:52.760 --> 0:38:56.800 was wiping noses, and I was cutting food into tiny 0:38:56.800 --> 0:39:00.959 little pieces. But every Tuesday night, I was pouring into 0:39:01.000 --> 0:39:04.319 the women in my homes. You got two and we 0:39:04.400 --> 0:39:06.200 talked about how to be a godly wife, and we 0:39:06.280 --> 0:39:09.799 read books together, and we memorized scripture together. It was 0:39:09.960 --> 0:39:14.120 just a little thing, but I kept pouring. And that 0:39:14.160 --> 0:39:17.120 group came to an end. So I started another group 0:39:18.160 --> 0:39:21.240 and I poured into them. And then I started another 0:39:21.360 --> 0:39:28.120 group and I poured into them. And then what I 0:39:28.120 --> 0:39:31.680 had been teaching all those years, I turned it into 0:39:31.719 --> 0:39:35.000 a little Bible study for the women of our church. 0:39:37.239 --> 0:39:40.360 That one was a little bit more. And you know, 0:39:40.440 --> 0:39:45.640 sometimes we go through seasons with the emptiness. So it's 0:39:45.800 --> 0:39:50.120 more than just it's more than just the feeling that 0:39:50.160 --> 0:39:54.000 we don't have purpose. Sometimes it is the feeling that 0:39:54.400 --> 0:39:58.360 you don't have enough to make it. And I know 0:39:59.000 --> 0:40:01.920 that some of you un the sound of my voice. 0:40:02.200 --> 0:40:06.480 You're like my friend, and you're going through the hardest 0:40:06.520 --> 0:40:11.560 thing you've ever been through. You're fighting for your life 0:40:11.719 --> 0:40:15.600 and the word of the Lord for you today. Just 0:40:15.719 --> 0:40:23.640 keep pouring. You have to keep pouring, because the miracle 0:40:24.280 --> 0:40:30.239 only happens when you move, because it's while you pour oh, 0:40:30.320 --> 0:40:33.000 I'm out of jars. It's while you pour that you 0:40:33.120 --> 0:40:37.279 experience God's strength and his grace and the joy that 0:40:37.440 --> 0:40:44.440 only comes while you pour, because now you're pouring with 0:40:44.480 --> 0:40:51.080 a purpose. She was pouring for those boys, but she 0:40:51.200 --> 0:40:54.960 was never pouring from a full jar. She was pouring 0:40:55.000 --> 0:40:58.680 from a jar that only had a little bit of oil. 0:41:00.400 --> 0:41:06.040 And if you wait, thanks, guys, if you wait until 0:41:06.080 --> 0:41:10.680 you feel full to pour, you will never experience the 0:41:10.840 --> 0:41:15.399 power of God in your life, and you'll never experience 0:41:15.520 --> 0:41:20.200 the miracle a feeling my God is just pouring through you. 0:41:22.120 --> 0:41:26.480 Sometimes when you pour, it does feel like a sacrifice, 0:41:26.719 --> 0:41:30.560 a sacrifice that no one will ever see. You know 0:41:30.600 --> 0:41:33.720 what Jesus said in Luke six point thirty eight. He said, 0:41:34.200 --> 0:41:38.480 give and it will be given unto you a good measure. 0:41:39.080 --> 0:41:43.960 Press it down, shaken together, Get that jar full, because 0:41:44.000 --> 0:41:48.720 it will be running over into your lap. Jesus said, 0:41:49.040 --> 0:41:54.360 you just keep giving and I will pour into you. 0:41:55.320 --> 0:41:58.080 Our instinct says, hold on tightly to everything you have, 0:41:58.160 --> 0:42:03.959 But Jesus says, just keep giving. Be generous with your love, 0:42:04.800 --> 0:42:08.879 be generous with your time, be generous with your encouragement. 0:42:09.400 --> 0:42:21.719 When you feel empty, just keep pouring. So here's how 0:42:21.760 --> 0:42:28.920 the story ends. When all the jars were full, she 0:42:29.040 --> 0:42:33.880 said to her sons, bring me another one, but he replied, 0:42:34.560 --> 0:42:38.080 there's not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. 0:42:39.600 --> 0:42:41.600 She went and told the Man of God, and he said, 0:42:42.120 --> 0:42:45.520 go and sell the oil and pay off your debts. 0:42:46.080 --> 0:42:49.399 You and your sons can live on what's left. Can 0:42:49.400 --> 0:42:52.360 I give you a bonus point? Live on what's left? 0:42:54.600 --> 0:42:58.000 See when you're in a pouring season, that season where 0:42:58.000 --> 0:43:02.640 you're fighting for your life and you just keep your 0:43:02.680 --> 0:43:07.240 head down and you keep pouring. You pour when you're tired. 0:43:08.280 --> 0:43:11.520 You pour when you feel like no one notices. You 0:43:11.680 --> 0:43:15.040 pour when everyone else's kids are acting right, but yours. 0:43:16.120 --> 0:43:18.839 You poor when your friend gets pregnant by accident, but 0:43:18.880 --> 0:43:21.919 you still can't get pregnant on purpose. You pour when 0:43:21.960 --> 0:43:25.399 someone else gets the promotions. You pour when you need 0:43:25.440 --> 0:43:29.399 a healing in your own body. And the next thing 0:43:29.520 --> 0:43:33.000 you know, you made it through another day. You don't 0:43:33.040 --> 0:43:38.200 know how, but you did. And one day you turn 0:43:38.280 --> 0:43:44.120 around and you've got a pantry full of oil to 0:43:44.360 --> 0:43:56.600 live on. Live on what's lest. Remember Remember that Bible 0:43:56.640 --> 0:43:58.640 study that I wrote for the women of our church 0:43:59.600 --> 0:44:04.040 when we were in the pandemic. My husband and I 0:44:04.120 --> 0:44:06.959 were just praying about how we could help people during 0:44:06.960 --> 0:44:09.839 this time, Like what else could we do? I said, well, 0:44:10.920 --> 0:44:15.640 I have this little Bible study. So we sent out 0:44:15.680 --> 0:44:23.399 a message on Facebook and thousands of women from all 0:44:23.480 --> 0:44:30.600 over the world responded and for eight weeks, every Tuesday 0:44:30.680 --> 0:44:36.120 night they joined me live and we studied how to 0:44:36.160 --> 0:44:43.359 be a godly wife. Somehow you made it through those 0:44:43.440 --> 0:44:50.960 dark days. But now you see all along, through the 0:44:51.000 --> 0:44:57.400 pain and the confusion and the heartache you've been stockpiling. 0:45:00.320 --> 0:45:02.759 She lost her husband. She's not going to get her 0:45:02.840 --> 0:45:06.080 husband back, but she had something left to live on. 0:45:06.320 --> 0:45:10.319 Oh oh, here's that friendship that I made sitting in 0:45:10.400 --> 0:45:14.880 chemo treatments. And here's the verse that God gave me 0:45:15.360 --> 0:45:20.480 when I was crying on the couch. And here's here's 0:45:20.520 --> 0:45:25.799 the song that I listened to every single day for months. 0:45:26.120 --> 0:45:28.719 And every time I hear that song, it just reminds 0:45:28.760 --> 0:45:33.480 me of the faithfulness of God. And oh oh, here's 0:45:33.520 --> 0:45:37.200 that gratitude journal where I learned how to look for 0:45:37.320 --> 0:45:44.640 the little blessings. Now I get to live on what's 0:45:44.800 --> 0:45:56.239 left a million little miracles. Don't be afraid of the 0:45:56.320 --> 0:46:04.680 empty spaces, because empty is where God does his best work. 0:46:09.200 --> 0:46:12.040 When I look back at the times when I felt 0:46:12.080 --> 0:46:16.880 the most empty, those were the times when my faith 0:46:17.000 --> 0:46:23.000 grew the most. And we get so afraid of being 0:46:23.040 --> 0:46:32.640 empty that we failed to realize that that's exactly where 0:46:32.719 --> 0:46:38.680 God wants us to be. God's like, oh, you feel empty, 0:46:39.520 --> 0:46:46.799 Let's get to work. What do you have now? We 0:46:46.880 --> 0:46:51.879 can work with that. There's a song on the new album. 0:46:52.000 --> 0:46:55.040 You might not have gotten to it yet because it's 0:46:55.280 --> 0:46:58.480 after talking to Jesus and wait on You and shall 0:46:58.520 --> 0:47:00.600 not Want, so you maybe haven't gotten that far in 0:47:00.640 --> 0:47:04.520 the album yet. It's called come Again, and I ask 0:47:04.600 --> 0:47:07.480 our team to come and sing it because I have 0:47:07.840 --> 0:47:11.960 literally had it on repeat for the last two weeks 0:47:12.920 --> 0:47:16.880 because there's this line in the song that says, this 0:47:17.080 --> 0:47:24.480 empty space is what you want it all along, So 0:47:24.480 --> 0:47:28.880 I thought this song might minister to you too. God 0:47:28.920 --> 0:47:32.040 wants to fill that space in your heart today that 0:47:32.360 --> 0:47:39.279 only he can fill. He's here, He's right here in 0:47:39.320 --> 0:47:45.480 this moment. Starts with just crying out. He hears our cries. 0:47:47.360 --> 0:47:53.120 He's with us in our most desperate and our most broken, 0:47:54.520 --> 0:47:59.520 in our most disappointed moments. He doesn't need you to 0:47:59.560 --> 0:48:02.719 get it together for him. Does it need you to 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:06.080 have a full jar of oil? He wants to comfort 0:48:06.200 --> 0:48:10.080 you where you are right now. He wants to restore 0:48:10.160 --> 0:48:16.000 your joy. He wants to heal your heart. It starts 0:48:16.040 --> 0:48:20.640 when you cry out thank you for joining us. Special 0:48:20.680 --> 0:48:23.520 thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. 0:48:23.840 --> 0:48:26.799 Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You 0:48:26.800 --> 0:48:29.280 can click the link in the description to give now, 0:48:29.800 --> 0:48:33.640 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:48:34.200 --> 0:48:37.319 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:48:37.360 --> 0:48:39.400 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:48:39.440 --> 0:48:41.719 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:48:41.719 --> 0:48:44.719 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:48:44.760 --> 0:48:51.880 for listening. God bless you