Headspace - Highs and Lows | Pastor Ethan Boggs | Vibrant Church

0:00 Some of you came in here today and you look good on the outside but you're exhausted on the inside. You smiled when you walked in today but your thoughts have been heavy all week long. I know I said it a moment ago but I'll say it again that I believe some of the greatest battles that you will ever face will not be battles around you but they will be battles within you. Did you know that in the state of Mississippi 20.37% of adults have experienced a mental illness situation in 2024? Depression in the United States and

0:46 adolescents and adults have increased 60% in the last decade. 5.5% of adults reported experienced serious thoughts of taking their own lives. And some of you may be thinking well 5.5's not that much. That's 14 million people who have thought about terminating their own life. 11.3% of youth ages 12 to 17 in the United States experienced a major depressive episode with severe impairment in the past year meaning uh it severely impacted their function at school, work or even at home. That'd be 2.8 million young people whose

1:31 depression has significantly impaired their functioning as a person. Nearly 3 million youth ages 12 to 17 reported frequent thoughts of suicide. A million weekly users of chat GPT have talked to that AI chat GPT have talked to AI about suicide. 1 million people a week. I think we can all agree this is an important topic that the church can't afford to be silent about. Can I get a witness? Romans chapter number 12 a familiar

2:18 verse that you've probably heard before if not I believe it will help you. Romans chapter 12 verse 2 says do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. If you're taking notes write this down your mind matters to God. Your mind matters to God. Listen, God doesn't just care about your your eternity. He cares about your Tuesday. God doesn't just care about you going to heaven. He cares about your life and your mind here on earth. Can I get a witness? And so in our moments together I want to talk through just what does God think? What do we see in scripture about the mind? Allow me to

3:04 introduce you to a man in the Old Testament who struggled with his thoughts and his mind not because he was weak but because he was human. First Kings chapter number 18. If you have your Bibles you can meet me there. First Kings chapter number 18. If not it's going to be on the screen. Going to try to give this to you in an abbreviated way. First Kings chapter number 18 it says this in verse 1 after a long time in the third year the word of the Lord came to Elijah. Now this is who we're being introduced to. This man's name is Elijah. He's a prophet of God and God tells him to go confront the king which would be the most powerful broker of the day uh King

3:52 Ahab. He married a woman named Jezebel and was leading the nation away from God to worship idols. We jump down to verse 16. And Ahab who would be like the president of the time went to meet the prophet Elijah. When he saw Elijah he said to him is that you you troubler of Israel? I love that by the way. I love that a preacher can be called a troublemaker. I just want you to know something. I think the job of a minister is not necessarily to tell you something you always want to hear but to tell you something you need to hear. Can I get a witness? Called him a troubler. He said I have not made trouble for Israel for Israel Elijah replied but you and your father's family have. You have

4:38 abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed Baals which would be a false idol of worship. And I want you to notice the courage of Elijah. I mean he goes eyeball to eyeball. He goes he goes shoulder to shoulder toe to toe with the most powerful person at that time and tells him what's up. And just gives him the truth. Look at verse 21. Elijah went before the people and said how long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow him but if Baal is God follow him. But the people said nothing. Again notice the courage of this man of God. He's he didn't just get on to the president and the king right to his face. He's now gone out to a a sacred crowd or excuse

5:25 me a secular crowd. He wasn't talking Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. crowd. He went out and talked to him in front of Zachary's in Columbus and started telling them hey if this false god you worship is real follow him but if God is God follow him. So he challenges them challenges them to call on Baal this false god to send down fire on this sacrifice that they put together in front of everybody. And so from all morning all day the Bible says these false prophets of Baal we have about 450 of them are crying out to this false god to send fire down from heaven to prove that Baal is real.

6:12 We know how this story goes don't we? Fire don't fall. But watch what happens in verse 36. At the time of sacrifice the prophet Elijah stepped forward. So after these prophets have done their show and tell with no results for the last day the prophet the man of God full of courage and strength and power and spirit stepped forward and prayed. Lord the God of Abraham Isaac and Israel let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Verse 37. Answer me Lord answer me so these people will know that you Lord are God and that you are turning their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and

6:58 burned up the sacrifice the wood the stones and the soil and licked up the water in the trench. When the people saw this they fell prostrate and cried the Lord he is God the Lord he is God. Come on now they're having some church. Look what happens in verse 40. When Elijah commanded them seize the prophets excuse me then Elijah commanded them seize the prophets of Baal these 450 fakes. Don't let anyone get away. So they seized them and Elijah brought them down to to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. Ooh now they're really having some church. The preacher is killing all the other preachers.

7:43 These false prophets 450 of them. The nation is turning to God and he has 450 prophets false prophets killed. So in chapter 18 of First Kings here's what we see. Elijah full of faith and power and strength Elijah full of courage confidence calls down fire from heaven. But here's what's interesting. Don't you wish it was always like that by the way? Always something powerful going on something significant God's moving. You just turn the chapter the chapter

8:29 number 19. Look what happens verse 2. So Jezebel this would be like the first lady sent a text to Elijah. May the gods deal with me be it ever so severely if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them. BRB. She lets him know I'm going to handle you like you handled those prophets. And she had the political power to do so. Look what happens in verse 3. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. And when he came to Beersheba in Judah he left his servant there. While he was

9:16 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness he came to a broom bush sat under it and prayed that he might die. I have had enough. He said take my life. I am no better than my ancestors. Now I want you to catch this. Chapter 18 full of courage. Chapter 18 full of strength. Chapter 18 full of the spirit of God. Chapter 19 underneath a tree saying I've had enough. I want to die. If you're taking notes write this down. You can be strong

10:01 and still struggle. Theologians believe that Elijah was having a severe battle with depression. And I want you to know something that history is filled with people, great people, people of faith, people of just general history who have battled with their mental health, who have battled with depression. I want you to hear me today. Even in my own life, I I I've caught myself somewhat being judgmental at times when people say I'm I'm having I'm going through depression. And we can just be honest today. Just just I'll just tell you. There's been times I thought, it's just come on. You know, just let's go.

10:47 Let's go. Get up. Stop being a baby. There's been times. But the longer I've been living and the more situations that I've been a part of and then even in my own life, let me tell you something. Depression is real. Heaviness is real. Anxiety is real. And we can't just have people come into the house of God and just tell them, well, if you just love God more, you wouldn't have depression. And people coming in and we look at them and say, well, if you just read your Bible more, you wouldn't have this struggle. If you had more faith, you would Let me tell you something. That's not real because strong people struggle, too. Are you with me? Let me show you some people that had the struggle in their life and their mental health. Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States. He said these

11:32 words, I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. My God, that would talk about a bad day. Queen Victoria, after her husband's death in 1861, she wore the color black for the rest of her life. Sir Isaac Newton, he suffered with what many historians would call a nervous breakdown. Mother Teresa, we all admire the the acts and the philanthropy and all the great things she did in her life. She said these words, there is so much contradiction in my soul. Such deep longing for God, yet so

12:18 painful is the emptiness. Dr. Martin Luther King said, Lord, I'm I'm down here trying to do what is right, but I am weak. I'm faltering and losing courage. Winston Churchill, it is said that he had sudden waves of deep sadness and heaviness, periods of low energy and despair. He would say he called it a little black dog would would follow him. He would call that was depression. This thing would follow him and it would weigh him down internally. Beethoven, who had progressive deafness, dealt with social isolation, emotional emotional despair, deep frustration and loneliness. And he even said these words, I curse

13:03 my very existence. Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers, he was in his mid-20s and he was preaching to 20,000 people in England in the 1800s. He said these words, I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for. My spirits were sunk in so low that I could do almost nothing. Charles Wesley said, I am exceedingly troubled in mind, being in darkness and distress. Listen to me. You can be strong and still struggle. It's what we see. This thing in the life of Elijah, chapter 18, full of power and strength, chapter 19,

13:50 full of heaviness and sorrow. And we see a couple of lessons from this story I want to bring to your attention. Number one, exposure matters. Exposure matters. Now, I want you to think about Now, when we read the Bible, I'm not sure we think like this all the time in in in contemporary context, but I want you to think about this. 30% of the soldiers who come back from war have what they call PTSD. You can get PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. You can have that and never see war, but people who come back from war will have it from what they have seen, what they were exposed to, okay? You got to think, in the Bible, they didn't write that

14:36 down. But the prophet had just seen 450 people die. I just want you to think about that. I can't prove that he had PTSD. I can't But I would say this, and I think we can get a consensus in the room and understand, you can't see something like that and it not affect you. 450 people die at it at some point, I believe, would have an impact on your life. Now, I'm pretty sure no one in this room has seen 450 people die. But I would say this, some have experienced divorce. Some in this room have gone through abuse or abandonment. Some of you have gone through a loss.

15:22 Maybe you have been impacted by somebody's decisions that they've made and it has caused you some pain and it has a way of sticking to you because of the exposure you've had. I remember when I was 18 years old, I was leaving the church. I was setting up my piano after we played a revival service and I set up my piano and for church the next day. It was a Saturday night. We had a ton of people at our house and I was driving back home and and I never forget it. I was driving um it was a a white Cavalier and and a car went around me and I was already going the speed limit's only 55. I was probably going 63. So, this car will get around me and squeeze between me and this blue Honda

16:07 in front of me. Well, because this we're already kind of going fast, so I just backed down on my speed to give this guy space because he squeezed so tight to get between me and this Honda. Well he then goes to pass this Honda. And when he goes to pass it, it's quickly as anything I've ever seen. In front of me, you have the Honda on the right in the lane in front of me and you have this white car on the left now passing them in as quickly as anything I've ever seen, the car that was passing the Honda in the lane that I was in hit a motorcycle with two people on it and killed them both instantly. Now, I will not divulge details in a

16:54 mass setting like this, but what I saw that night, I can't forget. It took me a year to drive past that spot. It was something I wasn't meant to see. You understand? There are things that all of us can go through that you weren't really prepared to experience and those things can stick to you. Words somebody said to you as a child, something you've experienced Imagine being 5 years old and your parents getting a divorce and you have to pick who you're going to live with. I mean, that can stick to you. Say amen, somebody. You you can experience a home without a certain maybe a male influence, a female influence. Those things can affect you.

17:42 And here's where we're at in the story. He has seen some things that I believe could have brought him to this chapter 19 moment. You know, even with our phones, I want you to think about this. Our phones allow us to have so much exposure to things that we would have never had 20 years ago. At a much smaller level than these big things I'm speaking about, we're exposed to more violence and sexual content in our media than ever before. And that exposure, whether it's on social media or other sites, studies say is affecting us negatively. So, isn't it interesting that depression has raised 60% in the last 10 years,

18:27 but we have more access to technology more now than ever? Do you think there's a correlation that what we're putting in our soul? We can't keep putting chaos in our soul and expect peace. And so, what we're putting inside of us can have an effect. We spend on average 6 hours and 40 minutes a day on devices. That's affecting our soul. And studies are proving over and over the more exposure that we're having with these things that we weren't meant to see is affecting us. I want you to think about Your grandparents couldn't imagine what you see in a day. What you You can get on your device and watch bombs hit Iran. We watch

19:13 a rocket go to the moon. Your parents, your grandparents couldn't imagine some of the things that you see. Your grandpa Let me think Think about this. Your grandpa could have never seen as many beautiful women as you've seen on your phone. He's living in the Delta. He probably had like three choices. But you can be on your Instagram feed and see fine woman after fine woman after You can't tell me that don't affect you. Say amen, somebody. Getting quiet on me now. Somebody like, you talking about my grandma on now, preacher. Exposure matters. Let me show you another one. Emotions

19:59 matter. Emotions matter. Chapter 18, Elijah's experiencing a high. He's being used by God supernaturally in an incredible way. Chapter 19, he's now experiencing a low. What I said a moment ago about Charles Spurgeon, he said that life's greatest lows often come after life's greatest mountains. It is true, isn't it? Life is full of ups and life is full of downs. Have you ever had just a brand new baby? Like, "Oh my god, I love this." And then you get home and you got to get up like every 2 hours. Like, "Oh my god, I hate this." You get a new car, there's nothing There

20:44 is nothing. I don't know what they do to them, but you go to a car lot and you get in that car. It could have been used, it could have had 300,000 miles on it, but it feels good, don't it? Smells good. They got that thing cleaned up. You're like, it just full of highs, baby. Just getting home and like, "I love my car." Then you got to pay the payment, you're like, "Oh, I hate this car." Cuz life is full of ups, life's full of downs. How many know that to be true? Life's can be full of up moments and life can be full of down moments. Promotion at work, now you got to feel the pressure of not letting people down. You start a business to not work for anybody else for 40 hours, but now you got to work for yourself for 65. Why? Cuz life is full of ups

21:30 and life's full of downs. And what we see in chapter 19 is is something I think we got to watch with our own self. Elijah does two things. I want you to catch it. Cuz if we're not careful, we'll get to the same place Elijah was. Elijah does two things I want you to see. Look at verse four. I You don't have to go to it and I don't think it'll be on the screen, but he says, "I have had enough." He's I'm just done with it. Have you ever been Is there any real people that at 11:00 that will say, "I have had enough"? I saw some of you walking your kids in. I can tell. Get in here, I'VE HAD ENOUGH. >> [laughter] >> CRYSTAL CUNNINGHAM, I saw you. I saw I saw you just walking around. You had a belt. I don't even know whose it

22:16 was. I said it. You When you say I've had enough, you always say it through your teeth. I said This this week I was traveling. I was in Los Angeles for a conference I was a part of and and I was there and and and and we was checking into this hotel and there's a whole row of folks getting in this hotel. I'm like one of 25 people getting in checked in. And there's three people at the counter. Well, one lady is for the elite lane for those that have the points with the hotel, so we can't use that lane. So, there's two people checking in 47,000 people. These two people are standing there. They're doing it.

23:01 And I'm like, "Dude, this lady's got to hurry up, you know. I don't want to sit here all day. I've been flying all day." And I and I'm telling you right now, I'm a I am full of I am I am a really godly person. I mean, it's an unbelievable level of godliness in my life. I mean, you would be impressed. You'd be like, "Wow, he's like almost like wow." You know, that's what you'd be like. And you believe that, everybody? So, I'm in line and I'm just sitting there trying to be like the Lord, you know. >> [laughter] >> And there's this couple that's in front of me and I'm like four people in before it's my turn next. And I'm listening to this couple ask so many questions about the pool.

23:50 I'm thinking to myself, "What is so complicated about a pool? It's a hole in the ground with water. You get in, you get wet, you get out. What's so hard about the pool?" And and my wife knows I've never been super gifted with the patience and waiting thing. When I moved south, woo, y'all made me slow down. The only time you guys go fast is when the light turns yellow. I'm telling you. Everything else is I'll call you back four days later. Everything's much so I like it. I'm not making I like it. I love taking forever. I love it. Anyway. So, I'm in LA and I'm like, "Let's go." And I just got so irritated. I know you know I Listen, I mean, normally I'm I I

24:35 think I do okay. But man, I got tired of waiting on this couple. I had to say something. I just like just was honest. I said what everybody else said or was thinking. And what I've learned is that this is the truth. When you speak up, not everybody's going to be super nice, but the moment you speak up, THE WHOLE ROOM'S LIKE, "YEAH." THEY NEEDED A LEADER AND GOD called me to lead. I was my time. I felt the calling, the anointing of the Holy Ghost got on me. Felt the time to lead these people out of Egypt. And it is funny when you speak up cuz all of a sudden, man, they get tough. Like, "Yeah, crucify him." You know, it's like, "Oh." Man, I I just said, "Hey, listen, there's a bunch of us back here. Is there Do you Can somebody Can

25:23 we get some more help? I don't know what's You guys have any more questions about the pool? I can ANSWER THEM. WE CAN CHAT GPT THIS." And I was serious. Like, I my I mean, I'm making you laugh, but my blood pressure was getting into the almost cussing level. I hate to tell you. But it was getting high and I'm like, "Dude, this is ridiculous." And I I was just kind of I was trying to put the pressure on them. Like, "Dude." Finally, I cracked out this comment. Just kind of loud on purpose, you know. And this couple turned around and I immediately recognized them as pastors. Hand to God. When they looked back at me, I said, "Who said that?" I said

26:08 Was that Immediately, I just faked it. I'm like, >> [laughter] >> But I had had enough. Have you ever not Have you ever just been in a way you JUST I'VE HAD ENOUGH. YOU EVER GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND YOUR your body could be dead asleep and you wake up and your head is moving. Isn't that the craziest thing? You wake up thinking about how much turkeys don't cost in November. Your brain never shut Anybody know what I'm talking about? Your brain just never shut off. You just wake up and it's running. It's running. The car's in park, but the motor's running. I've had enough. You ever just got up and thought, man, I'm just I can't keep dealing with pressure and pain. I've had enough. I

26:55 can't keep living like this. And the Bible says, "I've had enough." And look what he does. He does two things. Number one, he goes into isolation. Look at this verse. Verse three. It says, "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there." Did you see that? He left his servant there. While he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. When he's at his lowest, so so Micah, at his lowest moment, he then goes in isolation away from everybody. He leaves his servant behind and goes by himself. Can I tell you something? That's exactly where the devil wants you. The devil wants you away from any

27:42 accountability, any encouragement, people that can can love on you, people that can people that can speak life into you, people that can come alongside you and breathe life into you. You need to be in a good community and when you're at your lowest, you have to resist going into isolation. We've all watched Animal Planet. The little the little sick wildebeest or whatever they're called. The one that's in the back. They're all running from a lion. Which one you think they're going to get? The one in the middle? No, it's always the one straggling around the back talking about, "I'll be there in 5 minutes." He's from Mississippi, you know. And the enemy wants us

28:29 isolated. You know, in 1990, 33% of Americans reported having 10 or more close friends. 10 close friends in 1990. Fast forward to 2021, that number drops to only 13% of people saying they have 10 friends. On average, Americans spend 2 minutes a day talking to a friend. That that's as long as the interaction has become. Here's one that's sad to me. Did you know that the number one reason people use chat GPT, use AI, is for companionship and therapy. They just want to talk to somebody. And we have to use technology to do what we won't do for each other. Or if you go into isolation, you don't

29:15 give an opportunity to give you the to give allow anybody to do that for you. If you stay out of your small group, you stay away from your school of discipleship, you stay away from the family of God, can I tell you you are becoming vulnerable to attack. You have to stay in the group. When you feel like it least, that's when you need to do it the most. And number two, rumination. Rumination. I picked that word. You know why? Because it rhymed with the last word. It's that deep. Rumination is a clinical term that means repeatedly thinking about the same thoughts without moving toward a resolution. It's in other words, it's when your mind just gets stuck.

30:01 Why did I say that? Why did I do that? Why did I go here? I'm so stupid. You can't get past Have you ever been driving down the road and keep replaying a conversation? Can't get it out of your head. You're fixated on what if scenarios, you're over analyzing problems without taking actions. And the thoughts we think and the things we say to ourselves have a profound effect on how we feel. Now listen, we didn't read it earlier, but I'm going to show it to you in verse 10. This is what it says when when when Elijah is talking to God. He said, "I have been zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.

30:47 I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me, too." Now, notice he's in this place of just rehearsing that he's all by himself. And what's interesting is that exact terminology is used two times, meaning he's like practiced this. He's got this deep in it. He's stuck on I'm the only one. They're trying to kill me. He is He's replaying the text. He keeps rereading the text from Jezebel. And he's just stuck in that place. Listen, if you keep saying things over and over that feel true, but they may not be true, it ultimately still affects how you feel. Now listen, they can be honest, but they may not be true.

31:34 Over and over in your head, we feel things, we say things, and it's important for you to feel your feelings. But you can't always believe your feelings. Are you with me, everybody? Research at Penn State University had people record their worries over several days, and they tracked which one of those worries actually came true over the next few weeks. Did you know the results were striking? 91% of the worries that they had did not come true. 91% meaning only 8 to 9% of worries actually happen. So we get in this stuck place, 91% of

32:19 this behavior in our minds are just wasted energy. These common things we tell ourselves, "I'm not good enough. I I'll always mess things up. Nothing ever works out for me. I'll never change. I'm I'm I'm too far gone. No one really cares about me. I can't deal with this. I I'm the only one dealing with this. Everyone else has it figured out except me. I'm falling behind." Come on, is there any real people at church today know what I'm talking about? As long as your head stays there, you're going to continue to grow in this place of where you're stuck. You don't get that that thing gets big in your life. And you can't It's like you're in a room right now, but you're somewhere else.

33:05 Like you're you're in I don't even know what What is today's date? April some 13th? Is it the 12th? Okay. April the 12th, but your mind is still at Christmas. You're here, but you're not [music] here. Your physical body may be present, [music] but your emotional state is still back to when you're 14. You're in the room right now, but you're stuck somewhere when you're 5 or 6 years old, and you're just repeating in chapter 19 [music] full of fear, depression, comparison, exhaustion loneliness.

33:52 And we can struggle at times. But I want to say this to you as your pastor. I want you to hear me. I didn't say this last service, let me tell you. It's okay to not be okay. [music] It's okay to not be okay. Elijah, you have up moments and down moments. It's not because you don't have faith, it's because you're human. It's okay to have moments where you're just worried and worked up and and and God's got to help us all, but it doesn't mean you're broken. Elijah wasn't weak. Elijah wasn't faithless. He wasn't broken beyond repair. He was just human. Listen to me, Dad. You're just human.

34:40 Listen to me, Mom. You're You're what you're going through in your chapter 19, you're human. Teenagers in this room that you may be dealing with [music] the struggle in your heart and your mind, listen to me. You're human. You're person with emotions. Here's what I want you to see. >> [music] >> And we're going to speak about this more throughout the series, so I won't spend a lot of time on it in our final moments together. But what's amazing, he has a up moment in chapter 18, he has a down moment in chapter 19, and here's what's amazing in his lowest point. God shows up. >> [music] >> God doesn't rebuke him for how he feels. I love that. God doesn't show up and

35:26 say, "How dare you, man of God? I thought you were stronger than this." God didn't shame him. God didn't rebuke him. God didn't walk away from him. In fact, God [music] came to him. Here's what I want you to know. God can meet you right where you are. >> [applause] [music] >> Doesn't matter how low, doesn't matter how depressed, doesn't matter how isolated you've made yourself or >> [music] >> how long you've been going over these thoughts in your head, playing repeat, and listening Listen to me. God can find you in chapter [music] 19.

36:16 And I feel like telling someone today, don't give up in low moments. Don't give up when it gets hard. Don't Don't give up when they cuz listen, he's he's ever present. He's never left you. >> [music] >> He's never forsaken you. You going to make it through this. You going to pull to the other side of this. The devil is a liar. He had no weapon formed against you is going to prosper. You going to have some up days. You going to have a down day, but God is still faithful. Can I get an amen? Anybody know God's been faithful? You've had up moments. You've had down moments, but he's been faithful. You've had to cry sometimes, but he's been faithful. You've had to go to the hospital, but he's been faithful. You've had to walk the floor at night,

37:01 but he's been faithful. You've had to wonder, but he's been faithful. You've been hurt, but he's been faithful. You've questioned, but he's been faithful. He's been [music] right there when you've had tears, but he never left you. Come on, let's give him a faithful praise. >> [music] >> Let's stand together. God is faithful. Even when we're faithless. That's what the Bible said. Even when you're faithless, God is faithful. I love that verse. That father [music] praying for his son, he says, "I believe, but help my unbelief." And Jesus didn't get on to him about it.

37:46 >> [music] >> Jesus didn't look at him like some of us would. Well, you can't have any unbelief. You going to be a child of God. Jesus healed that boy even though the dad had some question marks. I'm talking I want to talk to real people on a Sunday morning. I don't know about you, but I got some question marks. THERE ARE DAYS I'M NOT SURE. There's days I wonder. Some days I'm not sure. Some days I'm walking through valleys. There are days I feel like I'm on the mountain top calling fire down. >> [music] >> There are days I can walk in here and have confidence from God himself that I feel like is a like baptized in the spirit of God. I feel like sometimes Jeremiah a fire shut up in my bones. I got a word And then there are other times where you probably don't know, but I don't feel like coming.

38:34 I can't I can't go fishing like you guys can, okay? I got to come. But there are days that I've had to come in here and worship cuz he was faithful, not because I even felt like it. I I've had to get up here and preach knowing that he's going to put his anointing on it. You know why? >> [applause] [music] >> Because you just can't live your life based on low moments. >> [music] >> You just got to remember, "Yea, though I walk through the valley, I'm not staying here forever. I may be here for a day or two. I may I may be here for a month. I may be here for a year, but I ain't make This ain't my permanent residence. I'm just passing through. It may be hard, but yea, though I walk

39:20 through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." In other words, I'm walking through it, and I'm not going to let my emotions keep me here. I may be afraid I feel something in here. Now, are you hearing me today? >> [music] >> Maybe the reason you're still there is because he said, "I'll fear no evil." Maybe the reason you're still stuck there is because you've let fear determine how long you stay. >> [music] >> What if today God's Spirit is reminding you, don't let fear determine how long you go. He says, "I'm passing through this thing. [music] Not living here no longer." And that's my heart for you today >> [music] >> that if you're here today and you say, "Oh, God, this has been heavy."

40:05 Listen, don't feel guilty about heavy seasons. Just know God's with you right in the middle of them. And that weeping may endure for the night. In other words, this ain't going to last always. Then it says, cuz joy comes in the morning. I don't know when the sun comes up, but there's going to be a moment where you can look back over your life and say, "You know what? It was dark and it was hard and I cried and I questioned. But he was good. >> [music] >> He carried me. Some days he drugged me. Some days he kicked me. But I'm here today because he's faithful. He's good. His mercy's been

40:53 enduring forever. Why are you downcast, oh my soul? I will put my hope and trust in God. Shout amen, everybody.