God, why did you let this happen?

Every time that I cycle my hope, it gets bigger,

it gets stronger, because I've experienced it and I felt it,

and I know that God was.

With me, and I know He's gonna be with me.

There's a newer translation of the Bible, the Passion Translation,

and it actually says and proven.

Character leads us back to hope. So here's the thing.

When the cycle begins again, because it will, I go

into it stronger, I go into it more hopeful. Now

wouldn't it be nice if we only had to deal

with one cycle at a time, But the reality is

that we have many cycles going on simultaneously, and they

can be all different sizes. So this large one might

be an ongoing issue for you.

Maybe you have a health issue, or maybe you have

something going on in your marriage or whatever.

It's an ongoing it's a big one. But then we

also have the smaller ones. So maybe over here you

have a bill that you don't know how you're gonna pay.

And then maybe.

One of your children is just struggling in school this year.

They're having a hard time clicking with their teacher, their

grades aren't good, So maybe that's an issue that you're

going through and then maybe you have just a little one,

like a one that happens all in one day and

your child throws.

Up in the air conditioning vent. That's gonna right yuck.

Just a little one.

And then maybe you have one that's, you know, a

little bit bigger, that is a relationship issue, maybe something

that you have going on with a friend in your life.

And then maybe you're a student and you have a

class that you're taking and you have no idea how you.

Are going to pass this class.

I have no idea how I passed physical science in college,

as it.

Was a miracle of God.

So remember, each trial, each problem, each suffering is running

the cycle. And each cycle is not only building up

your perseverance and your character, but they are feeding into

one another, and they're feeding into this big situation that's

going on in your life. So maybe from this situation

you learned from this bill, you learned self control.

Like you just you have to budget.

There was no way you could pay that bill if

you didn't cut some things out. So you learn self

control in that fin and maybe in this situation you

learn to pray, and maybe you learn when to speak

up and when to keep your mouth shut. So that's

building into that situation. And maybe from this one you

just learn, you know what, I can do gross things

without complaining. It wasn't that bad. I got it done.

So that's building into that. Maybe with your friend you

learn the power of an apology and how that major

relationship better. Maybe in this class you're learning discipline. You're

learning that you're gonna have to work and study and

ask for help.

So here I am in this big one, but my

hope is.

Being built up, and I don't know how I'm gonna

make it through this one, but I know that I

made it through before, and this time my hope is stronger.

I almost call this sermon thank you next.

You know, my husband always has multiple titles. I thought

that might have been a good one. What I want

you to know today is that you have got to

run the cycle. Don't get stuck in the suffering stage.

The more that you lean into this process, the more

that you will be able to gain from it. There

are a few things that will get you stuck in

this in this suffering stage that will like break up

your cycle. And I don't want to spend a lot

of time talking about it because I don't like negative things,

but we should, you know, actually talk about them.

Sometimes one of those things is comparison.

Nobody understands, nobody's ever felt this way before, nobody, nobody

can felt the pain that I feel. Or maybe we

complain and we think, why is this happening to me?

I mean me, why again? God? You know I can't

do this. Or maybe we blame because.

There's something in our minds that wants to have a

reason for our pain and a reason for our suffering.

So the easiest thing.

To do is just say, well, if my husband hadn't have.

Done what he did, I wouldn't be in this position.

Or if my parents had fed me healthier food then

I wouldn't be overweight, or whatever your situation is.

It's so easy to blame. And then sometimes we just

get angry. If you've ever been angry with.

God, just like God, why did you let this happen

to me? These things are all valid ways to feel,

And some days you have to feel all of these things.

Some days you can't get out of the bed and

you're hurt and you're angry, and you're blaming because your

pain is real and you will want to know, but

I'm telling.

You be very careful.

Don't stay here too long because these thoughts and these

attitudes will get you stuck, and then you'll become a

resentful person, and then you'll become a bitter person, and

then you're gonna smell like that dishwasher because you got stuck.

Don't prolong the process of what God wants to do

in your life. Yes, it hurts, but did you know

that complaining? I know you know this complaining.

Costs Israel forty years in the desert. It was supposed

to be a two week journey and they ended up

being there forty years because of complaining.

I know it hurts.

I know what it feels like to not want to

get out of bed and continue fighting this situation that

seems like it's never going to end.

I know what it feels like to have a wave of.

Anxiety hit you so hard that you have to sneak

into the bathroom to make.

It through the moment.

I know, I know what it feels like to not

want to come to church because I don't want to

look anyone in the eyes.

I don't want them to see my pain.

And I know that Pastor Stephen is gonna make me

look at my neighbor and say.

Something to them.

But I know from experience that stopping only delays the

process and keeps me from what God has for me.

So just like there are some things that will slow

your cycle down, there are also some things that will

give you momentum.

One of those things for me is church.

You're here, This is the best place that you can

be when you're suffering.

Maybe I shouldn't have told you it's so true.

Maybe I shouldn't have told you that as a pastor's

wife that I have days where I don't want to.

Come to church.

But I hope that that encourages you to know that

it is totally normal that when you're you are and

you're struggling, that you're not gonna want to come to church.

The pool is always going to.

Be for you to stay home, don't get dressed, you

can't see people.

This is your only day to rest. But it is here.

Can anybody anybody.

Agree with me that here is where God meet with

me and God will speak to you if you can

just get here. I know that sometimes the best you

got is to open up your computer and just watch online.

I get it, and I know that some of you

that watch online every week. You don't have an elevation

location that you can come to. But I got to

tell you there is something special about coming together with

a body of believers and getting in this faith environment

and being able to pull from her faith and from

his faith, and God will.

Just give you a word that will get you.

Through the next moment, that next step. You know, another

thing that will give you momentum is having the.

Right voices in your life.

Sometimes the last thing you want to do when you're

suffering is to tell someone else what.

You're going through. I know how that feels.

Maybe sometimes you feel shame over what's happening, where you

just feel too hurt you can't even talk about it,

or maybe you feel like nobody could possibly understand. But

I have been through some situations where the words and

the prayers and the encouragement of some of my friends

were just life to me. And I know that it's

counterintuitive that when you're here the instinct is to withdraw.

But when you are here and.

You open yourself up and you're vulnerable with a person

that you trust and you say I'm hurting, I need help,

you experience an intimacy in this place with that friendship

that you cannot experience when everything is awesome.

It's a special place when you have the right people.

Another thing that's small, but it's huge for me and

I don't know if it is for you too, But

have any of you ever had a song that just

got you through?

A worship song?

We're so blessed to be able to have a church

that the songs that come out of this church, they're

just life giving for me. Unstoppable God with an anthem

for me during that time where the news media was

running all.

Of those stories that I still to this day.

How many times have we sang Unstoppable God at Elevation Church?

And still every time they sing it, even if they

just do a little.

Tag, I tear up because when I sing that song,

I remember the promises that God spoke to me during

that time.

I can almost. It's funny because songs they're kind of

like smells.

Have you ever and all of a sudden, when they

started playing that song, you put yourself back in that

moment and you feel the pain, but then you feel

the joy and you feel the present of God all

of that time.

Get you a song, Get you a song that will

get you through this time, do it again.

I mean that one works every time for every situation.

A couple of weeks ago, we sang the song this

is how I Fight my battles. I don't know if

that's the title of it. It was exactly what I

needed in that moment. There are some things that you

can do that will give you momentum so that you

can run the cycle.

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