Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services.
I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. Thanks for tuning in. Thank you again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this burglar that broke into a home one night. As he was stealing the stereo, he heard a voice saying, Jesus is watching you.
He froze in his tracks and shined his flashlight over in the corner of the room and he saw a parrot. He said, did you say that to me? The parrot said, yes, I'm just trying to warn you. Burglar said, warn me, what are you talking about? Who are you? Parrot said, my name is Moses. Burglar laughed, said what kind of crazy people would name a parrot Moses?
The parrot said the same kind of people that would name a 150 pound Rottweiler Jesus. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you.
I want to talk to you today about staying in the game. It's easy to have a good attitude and pursue our dreams as long as everything is going our way. That doesn't take a lot of faith. But what about the difficult times when a relationship doesn't work out? We get a bad health report, a friend does us wrong. It's easy to lose our passion when we're hurt.
The disappointment, the business that didn't make it, the breakup, that was painful. Many people are sitting on the sidelines of life because they're injured. Now they're nursing their wounds, not moving forward because of what they've been through. No, you may have a reason to feel sorry for yourself, but you don't have a right. God promised he will give you beauty for those ashes.
He said he would pay you back double for the wrongs, but you have to do your part. And if you're going to see the beauty, if you're going to see the double, shake off the self-pity. You got to shake off the discouragement and get back in the game. Every person has injuries. We all have wounds, but you can't let a loss, a health issue, a divorce be an excuse to sit on the sidelines.
Sometimes in life, you have to play in pain. I was watching the football game a while back, and one of the players had a broken hand and bruised ribs. He's a big offensive lineman. He wasn't expected to play. The trainers wanted him to sit out, but he wasn't about to miss the game. He had a big cast on his arm. He's wearing a special vest to protect his ribs. He's all bandaged up.
He looked like a mummy. And a reporter asked him how he felt. He said, it's a little painful, but I'd rather be in the game in pain than sitting on the sidelines watching. And if you're going to become all God's created you to be, you can't let that injury, that hurt, that disappointment cause you to sit on the sidelines. Do like this player. Bandage up what's hurting.
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Chapter 2: What does it mean to stay in the game despite setbacks?
Anybody can find an excuse to be sour, to drop out, to give up on life. I'm asking you to stay in the game. And when you're hurting, when you're in pain, it's easy to become ingrown to where all you think about is my hurt, my disappointment, my bed break. All that's going to do is bring more discouragement, more self-pity, eventually even depression.
One of the best things you can do when you're hurting is go out and help somebody else that's hurting. Get your mind off of your problems, off of your pain, and go help somebody else in need. When you help others in your time of need, that's a seed you're sowing that God can use to change your own situation.
This is what my mother did in 1981 when she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, given a few weeks to live. She didn't feel well. She had a good reason to be discouraged. She had a good excuse to go home, go to bed, pull the curtains, and be depressed. She was injured. She could have sat on the sidelines. Nobody would have faulted her. But my mother understood this principle.
She stayed in the game. She would drive across town to pray for a friend of hers that was sick. The truth is she needed more prayer than that friend. But my mother was sowing a seed. She would come to church every weekend and pray for other people that were in need. She was injured, but she was still in the game. Sometimes in life, you got to play in pain. You don't feel like it. It's not easy.
Every voice will tell you, you're done. There's nothing good in your future. No, don't believe those lies. God sees your effort. And it's one thing to do the right thing, make good decisions when everything's going our way. That's great. God rewards that. But when times are tough, And nothing's going your way. You're hurting.
You should be on the sidelines nursing your wound, but instead you're still in the game. You're still getting to work on time. You're still being good to someone. You're still expecting God to turn it around.
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Chapter 3: How can self-pity hinder personal growth?
That gets God's attention in a new way. God has a greater reward for people who are faithful in the tough times. Years ago, my sister Lisa went through an unwanted divorce. She was in her early 20s. She was so devastated. It was an unfair situation. And for weeks, she was so depressed that she wouldn't leave the house, practically wouldn't even come out of her room.
In the morning, she couldn't wait for it to get dark. At nighttime, she couldn't wait for the morning. She wasn't living, just existing. One day she called my father and she was crying. She said, Daddy, I think I'm having a nervous breakdown. She was in so much pain, she was overwhelmed. And we as a family, of course, we tried to cheer her up.
We tried to encourage her, but it's like we couldn't get her out of that deep hole of depression. A minister friend of ours was speaking at the church at that time. His name is T.L. Osborne. He got on the phone, said, Lisa, nobody can bring you out of this except you. You know I love you, Lisa, but you've got to quit feeling sorry for yourself. Quit nursing your wounds.
Quit thinking about your problem. Get out of the house and move forward with your life. At first, Lisa was defensive, almost offended, thinking, you don't know the pain that I'm feeling. You don't know what I'm going through. This has ruined my life. Then he made this statement. If you'll move forward, God will take your scars and turn them into stars for his glory.
When she heard that, something ignited on the inside. It's like a stronghold was broken in her mind. Instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for herself, she went up to the church and started a class every week for people who were believing for their marriages to be restored. She reached out to other people that were hurting. She was injured, but she got back in the game.
By her action, she was saying, I'm hurting, but I'm still here. I'm disappointed, but I'm still here. They did me wrong, but I'm still here. Lisa could still be bitter with a chip on her shoulder, blaming God, but she made the decision to get back in the game. Today, more than 20 years later, she's happily married, great husband, three beautiful children. She saw what God promised.
He took the scars and turned them into stars. He gave her beauty for those ashes. But it all happened when she made the decision to get back in the game.
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Chapter 4: What lessons can we learn from playing through pain?
Isaiah put it this way. Arise from the depression in which the circumstances have kept you. Rise to a new life. Notice, if you want a new life, there's something you have to do. You can't sit back in self-pity. You can't wait till all your wounds heal and you feel 100%. You got to do like Lisa and to rise from that discouragement. Shake off what didn't work out.
Quit mourning over what you've lost. Quit dwelling on who hurt you and how unfair it was and rise to a new life. When God sees you in the game, pain and all, bandages and all, when you show up with that attitude, I'm hurting, but I'm still here. I'm hurting, but I know God is still on the throne. I'm hurting, but I'm expecting God to turn it around.
That's when the creator of the universe goes to work. That's when God will pay you back for the wrongs that have happened to you. Some of you are in a tough time. You're sitting on the sidelines. God is saying, arise and get back in the game. If a friend betrayed you, don't go through life lonely. Go out and find some new friends. The right people are in your future.
If you lost your job, don't sit around complaining. Go out and find another job. When one door closes, God will always open up another door. If you're facing a health issue, fighting that sickness, don't give up on life and start planning your funeral. Arise from that discouragement. When God sees you do your part, He will do His part. He'll give you a new life.
That means He'll restore your health, give you new opportunities, new relationships. He'll give you a new perspective. You will see, even though it's painful, it is not the end. Even though it was unfair, it is not over. There is still life after the sickness, life after the divorce, life after the bad break. A full life is still in front of you. Job experienced this.
He went through all kinds of tough times. Everything that could go wrong did. He was tempted to sit on the sidelines of life. His wife told him, Job, just give up. It's never going to get any better. But in the midst of that pain, Job said, I know my redeemer lives. He was saying in effect, I'm hurting, but I'm still in the game. I'm hurting, but I know my God is still on the throne.
A year later, when he came through that challenge, God not only brought him out, but God paid him back double for what he had lost. And the scripture says, after this, Job lived 140 years and saw his grandchildren down to four generations. Woo! Notice, after the trouble, after the loss, after the sickness, after the business went down, after the bottom fell out, his life was not over.
He didn't end on a sour, defeated note. He went on to live a blessed, happy 140 years enjoying his grandchildren, accomplishing his dreams, fulfilling his destiny. What am I saying? Your life is not over because you had a setback. God has an after this in your future.
When we go through tough times, don't be surprised if the enemy doesn't whisper in your ear, you'll never be as happy as you used to be. You've seen your best days. This setback is the end of you. No, let that go in one ear and out the other. God is saying to you what he said to Job after the cancer, after the bad break, after the disappointment, there is still a full life.
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Chapter 5: How does helping others impact our healing process?
You've got a full life in front of you. Don't worry about me. Just go off and do your own thing. Ruth said, no, Naomi, I'm not going to leave you by yourself, especially when you're hurting. I'm going to go with you and take care of you. Even though Ruth was hurting, even though she was in pain, she reached out to somebody else that was hurting.
Month after month, Ruth just kept taking care of Naomi, getting the food, serving her dinner, being her friend. One day, Ruth was out in the field gathering up wheat for the dinner, and she met this man named Boaz. He was the owner of all the fields, the wealthiest man in that area. Long story short, they fell in love and got married, and God blessed them with a baby boy. They named him Obed.
Obed had a son named Jesse. Jesse had a son named David. David, of course, went on to be the king of Israel, one of the greatest men that's ever lived. Ruth could have sat on the sidelines the rest of her life after that loss. But she understood this principle. She played in pain. She was injured, but she kept doing the right thing. And God had an after this for Ruth.
After the loss, after the pain, God said, I'll give you a great, great grandson that will change the world. You may be in pain today. You suffered a loss, been through a disappointment. My message is that is not the end. God still has a plan. Now don't sit around nursing the wound. Don't let bitterness and discouragement set the tone for your life.
God is saying, arise, wipe away the tears and get back in the game. You may be injured, but dare to do like Ruth and play in pain. Have the attitude, I'm hurting, but I'm still here. I'm disappointed, but I've still got a smile. They did me wrong, but I'm still giving God praise. Friends, if you will stay in the game, God will always have an after this for you.
After the loss, you'll meet the right person. After the layoff, you'll get a better job. After the sickness, you'll come out stronger. After the disappointment, you'll still live a blessed, full, happy life.
Just like my mother, just like the young man with the kidney, just like Ruth, like Job, I believe and declare in spite of the pain, in spite of the adversity, because you're still in the game, God's going to make the rest of your life the best of your life you will still fulfill your destiny and become everything that God has created you to be in Jesus' name.
If you receive it, can you say amen today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place.
He's gonna take you places you've never dreamed of. It's easy to feel stuck in life, wondering why things aren't changing and worrying if it'll ever happen. But there's a better way to wait. I'd love to send you my new resource called Pray It Forward. This book is a collection of prayers and promises from the scripture to help you pray boldly to strengthen your faith.
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Chapter 6: What role does faith play in overcoming life’s challenges?
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