Gratitude Part 3 | Thankful For Suffering with Jess Schlotterbeck

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point during this message you feel called to

make a change in your life, text change me to

97000. Now enjoy the message. I'm thankful that

he did those announcements because I could have

not done that. I'm thankful for Rick. Rick Vance

is amazing. He's such a gift to us, and he's

so good. So happy fall, guys. It's so good seeing

you. Oh, my gratitude hat. Thanks, Rudy. I wanted

to have that on. I was going to put my gratitude

hat on. Okay, perfect. All right, well, happy

fall. I missed you. It's been a while since I've

been here. I was... Oh, compassion. Yeah, I have

to talk about that today, too. Okay, compassion.

I'm going to hold these. Okay, got it. All right,

so, yeah, we went on the mission trip this summer

to the DR. It was really... All right, okay,

yeah, thanks, Tracy. Appreciate it. All right,

thanks. I got it. I got it. Okay, got this, got

this, got that. All right. Okay, so like I was

saying that... Oh, Kelsey, it's so good seeing

you. Oh, thank you. I love you, too. Oh, thank

you. Thanks. Appreciate it. Okay. All right.

Okay. Well, yeah. So it's been a while since

I've been present with you guys, but it's, yeah,

it's hard to be present when you have so many

things in your hand, right? So I'm going to just

take a second. I'm going to lay all these important

things down because I have so many amazing staff

members. I'm going to lay these here. Put this

down. And here. And my hair looks pretty good

today, so I'm going to take off the hat. All

right. But I still have gratitude even though

I'm putting the hat down. There we go. Perfect.

Okay. So what I wanted to say is I'm so glad

to be present with you guys. And this week I

was struggling with gratitude, and I had a friend,

and I come in, and I laid it out to her. I was

just crying and all over the place, and she's

like, Jessica. You're holding too many things

in your hand. So one of the things I'm going

to talk about today is just gratitude and why

don't we have gratitude sometimes and why do

we beat ourselves up about it because sometimes

we just have a lot going on, right? So... So

I'm so glad to be here. I was away, like I said,

I went on the DR Mission trip this summer, and

I was away a lot this summer with my different

kids playing travel sports, and we just had the

Compassion Weekend last weekend, and what an

amazing, amazing, amazing day. You guys, everybody

who ran, thank you so much. Thank you so much

for all the volunteers. Yeah, clap for yourselves.

Thank you so much for all the Compassion kids

that were sponsored. Thank you for opening your

hearts. that weekend and going out and worshiping.

It was an amazing worship night. So I'm just

so thankful for that. But sometimes it's so hard

to be thankful, like I said, because we carry

too many things around. And so I really want

to explore the topic today. Why can't I be grateful?

And sometimes we struggle with not being grateful

because there's a clue that something's wrong

in our lives, right? There's a stress or concern

we have. So say when we were... If we were in

the jungle, which I know we're not in the jungle,

and there's a puma running after us, right? We're

going to be stressed. You're not going to be

grateful, like, thank you, God, for the amazing

plants and trees and all this when you're running

from a deadly cat. right? You're not going to

be grateful. So sometimes in our lives, we've

got so much going on. We've taken on so many

stresses and so many anxieties, and we're running.

We're in a difficult situation, so it's hard

to be grateful because we're in that stress,

right? And so we have to recognize that I'm stressed

out right now. I'm running from this thing in

my life, or something's attacking me right now,

and I need to stop, and I need to pray. I need

to put it all down, and then I can embrace gratitude,

right? Because we don't want to put a gratitude.

Love, remind ourselves, put a gratitude on like

a hat. But a gratitude should be something that

just comes out of our spirits. It should be something

that's natural, that just comes from our relationship

with God, right? And then sometimes you have

an unmet physical or emotional need that makes

you feel ungrateful. Like sometimes I'm like,

why am I so hangry, right? I forgot to eat. I'm

hangry. I get in a fight with Chris. I get in

a fight with my kids because I'm. I haven't eaten,

right? Or I haven't taken a drink of water. Or

I haven't taken the time to go to the bathroom.

Does anybody ever do that? I don't know. You

moms? Like, I can pee. I can hold pee for hours,

people. I mean, I got up here for a service,

and I had to pee. I still think I haven't gone

yet. So if I run off the stage fast, you guys

are like, I'm going to the bathroom, so it's

no big deal. But we just are in a stressful situation,

or we need to take care of our emotional needs.

You need to know what makes you tick. You need

to know what brings you life and joy, and you

need to give yourself permission to step away.

Spend time with God and take a breath, right?

This is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful fall

day. So hopefully after you come in here and

you eat your lunch and you take care of your

physical needs, you'll go out in nature and take

care of your spiritual needs, right? Go out and

see the beautiful environment that we have. But

you also may be like a child. So part of us,

I think, we become like children, right? Children

don't... They don't recognize when they're fed,

when we put the food on the table after church,

they don't recognize we had to go to the grocery

store, we had to shop, we had to work a job to

pay for that, right? We had to go and get gas

to put in our car to go to the grocery store

to pay for it. We had to chop the vegetables,

we had to do this, right? They just see the food

on the table. And they say, like, you're my mom,

you're my dad, meet my needs, right? I'm hungry.

I need food. And if you're like Phoenix, you'll

just keep eating and eating and eating and eating

and eating. Like, we had, like, shrimp last night

with this, and then he had fries, and he had

this, and he was hungry after dinner, so he had

to do an apple and then yogurt. Then I was like,

no, you're cut off, right? Sometimes we can be

like that, right? And so they don't understand

that they're just hungry and they're just enjoying

eating. So this first step in gratitude is being

come conscious that we have so much to be grateful

for. We have so much to be grateful for, and

sometimes we don't recognize. We live in America,

and we have plenty of food and water sometimes.

Some of us don't, right? I'm not saying everybody

does, but that's why I sponsor my Compassion

Children, right? Because I know that I can't

change the world. I can't feed everybody in Africa.

I can't feed everybody around the world, but

I can change the life of one person. Right? I

can change the life of one family and I can speak

into this kid's life and I can tell them how

valuable they are and how much God loves them.

And I can give them a little bit of extra food

in their stomach so that they can learn about

Jesus and they can grow and they can become,

like Catherine talked about last week, a person

that gets out of poverty, that's able to be successful

because they know who they are and their value

in God. And so I just, I'm so grateful that I

have my two compassion kids. I have Mercy and

I have Guadalupe. And it's so amazing if you

don't... have a compassion child yet, they have

an app. So all you have to do to write letters

for them is write it in your app. They have a

card you can write. And then I hadn't even written

them since the spring. So I was feeling very

guilty about that. So that was taking away my

gratitude because sometimes guilt takes away

gratitude. So yesterday I stopped and I just

wrote them both a letter, did it on my phone,

took like a couple minutes. downloaded all my

pictures from the summer, sent him a bunch of

pictures of the family, and prayed for him, right?

It takes like 15 minutes, and you're blessing

the life of somebody around the world. So thank

you for those who have already sponsored, that

have a child right now. If you didn't get a chance

last week to sponsor a child, then we have the

rest of the children out in the lobby if you

want to do that too. So yeah, so that's amazing.

So that makes me feel grateful. So according

to Mark, T. Mitchell, professor of political

science at Patrick McHenry College in Virginia,

gratitude is born out of humility, for it acknowledges

the giftedness of creation and the benevolence

of a creator. This recognition gives birth to

acts marked by attention and responsibility.

Ingratitude, on the other hand, is marked by

hubris, which denies the gift and always leads

to inattention, irresponsibility, and abuse.

So I wanted to learn why aren't we grateful?

Why am I not grateful at times? I know that there's

things that we just talked about. So I was led

to the Bible, and I was led to the story of the

Israelites coming out of slavery in Egypt. So

we're going to read that together, and we're

just going to explore the things we struggle

with as humans and the things that God wants

to remind us that he's going to provide for us.

So point one is we are entitled, and entitled

means selfish and full of pride. God rescues

us, though, and leads us into new life. God rescues

us and leads us into new life. Even though we're

selfish, entitled, and full of pride, God doesn't

care. He loves us anyway. And he wants to rescue

us and lead us out of slavery, out of ourselves,

into new life. So let's read Exodus 13, 17 through

18. It says, when Pharaoh finally let the people

go, God did not lead them along the main road

that runs through the Philistine territory, even

though that was the shortest route to the promised

land. God said, if the people are faced with

a battle, they might change their minds and return

to Egypt. So God led them in a roundabout way

through the wilderness towards the Red Sea. And

I want to propose to you today that I believe

that God led the Israelites through the wilderness

in a roundabout route because they were not ready

for the promised land. The Israelites were not

ready. for the promised land. Sometimes we have

to go through the wilderness to experience the

promised land. right? And I don't know about

you, but I hate, hate, hate wasting time, right?

And I like to put in all my different maps. So

when Chris and I go on a thing, we're like, okay,

what's the fast track? Did you touch Waze? Did

you check this? Did you check this? Oh, there's

traffic here. We'll avoid it, right? And so I

know that if I was one of those Israelites, I'd

be like, where are we going? Why are we not going

through this area in the Sinai Peninsula and

up over here? Like, why are you doing this, God,

right? We want God to take us on a direct route

somewhere. We don't want to go through the wilderness.

We don't want to experience anything else besides

the promised land, right? And so God says, I

know what's best. I saved you, and I'm in control.

So if you've given your life to Jesus, if you

said, okay, God, you're going to take the steering

wheel in my life, and I'm going to trust you

for the rest of my life, we, as humans, keep

grabbing the wheel back. And I can imagine this

week I was thinking about it, me just grabbing

the wheel, Chris is driving, and I'm just grabbing

the wheel and saying, no, we're going to go in

this direction, and we're going to go in this

direction. And I think that's what we do as people

is we take the steering wheel from God, who is

directing our life. We're sitting in the passenger

seat, and all of a sudden I'm like, eh, this

isn't the fastest route. Hop over. I'm going

to get in the driver's seat, right? I don't like

the way this is going. God, I don't like this

job here. Hey, God, I don't like, I don't trust

you, right? Because we're entitled. We think

we deserve the best. We deserve to, you know,

we deserve it. And so, but God says, you know

what? I love you, and I'm going to, and trust

me. Trust me, I know what you mean. Philippians

2, 3 through 4 says, don't be selfish and try

to impress others. Be humble. Thinking of others

is better than yourselves. Do not look out for

your own interests, but take interest in others

too. Because, you guys, maybe it's not about

you. Maybe it's not about you. Maybe it's about

somebody else. Maybe it's about somebody else.

I know in my life I get... frustrated with myself.

I start yelling. Why did I? I can't find the

keys. Where are they at? I'm late. Get in here,

Phoenix. Get on your shoes. I told you to get

on your shoes a hundred times. Why are you not

getting on your shoes? Here's your shoes. Go

back. You're still on your shoes. The dogs pee.

Clean the car. I'm late, right? I'm embarrassed.

I'm full of pride, right? But God, maybe it's

not about me. Maybe it was about Phoenix needed

an extra minute to get his shoes on. Maybe it

was about the person I was going to meet in the

grocery store line because I was late. Maybe

it was about God being in control of my life

and not me being so perfect. Maybe God is saying,

Jessica, you're not in control, so quit pretending

anyway. Right? Right? And so we need to submit

our lives to God every day so that we say, God,

you're in control. Right? You're in control.

Whatever happens today, God, whether it's good

or it's bad, if it's beautiful or it's ugly,

God, you're in control of it. Right? Because

it's not about me. It's about God. You, it's

about the person I'm going to encounter because

they need the peace that comes from God. They

don't need Jessica to be perfect. They just need

the love of Jesus in their life, right? Proverbs

16, 18 says, pride goes before destruction and

haughtiness before the fall. And, you know, I've

been really trying to work on my pride. It was

one of those things, like last year, I'm like,

okay, I need to work on my pride because every

time my husband and I would get in a fight, it's

like, what? He's like, Jessica, why do you need

to know? Like, what's your issue? Do you not

trust me? I'm like, no, I trust you. I just want

to be in control. I just want to know. Because

if somebody asks me and if I don't know, then

I look stupid, right? And so it's about our pride,

right? It's not about trusting my husband, trusting

the process. I want to be in control. I want

to look like I have it together. And I kind of

keep laying it down like, no, it's not about

this. I'm going to simplify, simplify. But as

soon as I go out, like, oh, man, I've got to

go to Florida now. And I've got to meet Lily's

new coach and all of her stuff. So I've got to

look good, right? I've got to put on my mask.

I've got to dress up because I don't think these

people are going to accept me for who I am, right?

The Jessica that wears the sweatpants and runs

around and wears a hat most days, right? I need

to look good and have it together for people

to accept me. But that's not what God says. I

need somebody approachable, full of love and

joy and peace. I need to put on the fruit of

the Spirit, not worry about what I'm wearing,

right? Yeah. So point two, we are afraid and

we have unrealistic expectations. But guess what?

God fights our battles. God fights our battles.

We don't have to live in fear anymore because

God fights our battles. But we, as humans, don't

believe that. Listen to what happened in Exodus.

Exodus 14, 13 through 14 says, but Moses told

the people, don't be afraid. Just stand still

and watch. The Lord will rescue you today. The

Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.

The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay

calm. Just stay calm. And it's funny, the New

Living Translation there, it kind of is a trigger

word for me. I don't know. Just stay calm. Because

when my husband tells me just to chill or relax

when I'm upset, he's like, just chill, just relax.

It's going to be okay. I'm like, don't tell me

to relax or chill. I can be upset if I want to

be upset because this is it. You know, it just

goes. So I'm like, how can the Bible put a trigger

word in there for me? Stay calm. So maybe the

Bible is telling me I need to stay calm. Maybe

my husband understands that this too will pass,

right? Sometimes the things we get upset about

or we want to go off about are things that God

wants to take care of or handle in a completely

different way, right? And sometimes we need to

receive from somebody that says, that loves us,

just chill. Just chill. It's going to be okay.

I asked him to use stay calm because it's in

the Bible. So I'll see if he changes his word.

But you know what? I'm from Williamsport. I don't

know if anybody else is from Williamsport. So

I'm in between a river rat and a wildcat. So

I don't like to chill. Yeah, there you go. Let's

go, Williamsport. So I'm just like, you know,

I got the wildcat fighter and I'm the river rat.

So I'm just like, no, I'm going to get this done,

you know? And so sometimes where we come from,

our culture and our family, you know, I want

to get it done because I can do it. I can do

it. I can do it. and I can make you submit, and

I can make you like me, right? But maybe that's

not what God wants. Maybe that's not what God

wants. Isaiah 41 through 10 says, Do not be afraid,

for I'm with you. Don't be discouraged, for I'm

your God. I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious hand. And,

you know, I struggle with fear a lot, and I was

trying to figure out with God, like, when did

my... When did my fear start? And I was praying

about it, and God showed me, like, when you were

a kid, you were afraid. Like, when you're a kid,

you just want to please everybody. And I wanted

to make sure everybody was happy, and I was getting

it right and being perfect. I mean, they used

to shame you in school. I don't know about you

guys, but they would shame you in school if you

didn't get the answer correct. You would read

out loud, and kids would laugh at you, right?

And, like, I wasn't like Chris. Chris had to

go out. He actually had to go out in the hallway

and read because he didn't know how to read,

right? So I didn't want to go out in the hallway.

But he's like, he's amazing now, right? So that

obviously is great. But the thing is, in school,

they used to just don't stand out. Don't make

up a scene, right? Do everything right. Your

parents will like you. Don't mess up. And you're

constantly teaching your kids. You're trying

to teach everybody to be perfect. And so that's

instilling fear. I can't be accepted if I mess

up. I can't be accepted if I trip or fall or

if I spell this word incorrectly or if my coloring

page doesn't look good as my neighbor's. You're

not a good artist, right? But that's not the

truth. That's not how God sees you. So we get

afraid because we find our identity in other

things and not in Jesus. Because that's not what

he says. He says, fear not. I am with you always.

I will never leave you or forsake you. I'm going

to be with you, even in the desert, even in the

wilderness. He's a God that goes with his people.

He doesn't send them out alone. He goes with

them. So we have nothing to fear. John 16, 33

says, I have told you this so you may have peace

within me. Here on earth you're going to have

many trials and sorrows, but take heart because

I have overcome the world. And so what we have

to do is we have to accept that in the world

we're going to have troubles. We're going to

have sorrows. Bad things are going to happen.

We can't fix it. We can't make it perfect. I

know I would like to. I was like, another part

when I started to become fearful is when I had

kids, right? Okay, I can make a huge bubble around

them and protect them, right? I can raise our

own water. We can live here. We can stay protected.

But no, you can't protect your kids from everything.

They're going to get sick. Bad things are going

to happen. People are going to be mean some days.

We can't protect them. There's disease, there's

sickness, there's poverty. There's all these

things in the world that make me so sad. But

be of good cheer, Jessica. I have overcome the

world. I was here. I experienced rejection. I

experienced heartache and pain. I experienced

friendships, and I experienced loss, and I experienced

grief, and I cried. And that's what life's about.

It's not always about the good times. It's about

finding God in the good times. It's about holding

on to people you love in the hard times, right?

We can't make this world perfect, but we can

accept that God is taking care of us, and all

things work together for good for those who love

God and are called according to his purpose.

So we need to normalize suffering. We're all

going to suffer. We're all going to go through

something someday, right? And when your friend's

going through it, be there for them. You know,

be there for them. Some days I'm going to have

good days. Some days I'm going to have bad days.

But God's with me every day. And sometimes I

need to call Christy. Or sometimes I need to

call Scott. Or sometimes I need to call my mom

or my dad, right? And you need other people.

I know on Friday I was just calling whoever would

answer so they would pray for me. Because I was

so afraid because I'm like, oh, no, I don't have

this. But, God, you've got it. I know God had

it. I just didn't know what it was. But so you

just need other people, right? Point three, we

complain and are discontent, but God provides

our needs. God provides our needs. Exodus 15,

24 through 25 says, Then the people complained

and turned against Moses. He's getting them out

of Egypt. He's getting them out of slavery. But

guess what they're saying? What are we going

to drink? They demanded. So Moses cried out for

the Lord for help. And then the Lord showed him

a piece of wood, and Moses threw it in the water,

and this made the water good to drink. God had

a plan. God knew he wanted the people to rely

on him, not on what they had around them, right?

Sometimes we get so used to, like, turning on

the tap water, right? And then you're like, or

filtered water, I'm sorry, filtered bottled water,

and our filter's broken, and we don't have any

water to drink, except for the water at the top

that's already been tested by somebody. You know,

we were blessed. We're so blessed. We're so blessed

with water. And so these people needed water.

So they had a legitimate complaint. But they

didn't trust that God was going to do it, right?

They didn't trust that God was going to do it.

But God had a plan, and he wanted to show them,

hey, you're not in control. You don't have to

complain. I'm in control. I'm going to provide

for you. 1 Thessalonians 5 .18 says, or actually

I'm going to start with 16. Be joyful. Never

stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you who belong to

Christ Jesus. And I love this. That's why I added.

17 in there, it says be joyful in 16, but in

17 it says never stop praying. Never stop praying.

And then it says be thankful in all circumstances.

So what they're telling us is we can be thankful

because we're praying. We can be joyful because

we're praying. It doesn't say that everything

is going to be good, but it says in all circumstances.

Can you guys say all? All. All. Can you say it

with a country? All? No, I'm just messing with

you. Never mind. I'm just messing with you. In

all circumstances, for this is God's will for

you who belong to Christ Jesus. Hebrews 13 .5

says, Don't love money. Be satisfied with what

you have. For God said, I will never fail you.

I will never abandon you. So God's with us in

it. God's with us in it. Point four, we focus

on our circumstances, but God blesses our life.

We focus on our circumstances, but God's already

blessed our lives. Exodus 16, 3 -4 says, If only

the Lord had killed us back in Egypt, they moaned.

There they sat around in pots filled with meat.

We had meat, and we had bread, and we could get

fat. But now you've brought us out into the wilderness

to starve us all and be dead. Then the Lord said

to Moses, Look. I'm going to rain down food from

heaven for you each day that people can go out

and pick up as much food as they need for that

day. I will test them to see whether or not they

follow my instructions. So God's providing food

in the wilderness for them. They're complaining

they were happy in slavery. God, why did I lose

my job? Why did I lose my job? You hated your

job. You asked God to take away your job. Your

job, you didn't get your job, right? Done with

your job. God's saying, I have another way. But

we complain, right? Oh, I lost my job. I don't

know what to do. Just going to sit around. No,

God. is providing a way in the wilderness god

is taking you out of slavery to something so

you can have something better god closes the

door one place he's going to open another door

that wasn't the best option right god is trying

to move in your behalf and all you see are the

circumstances in front of you right we have this

amazing dishwasher rhett when we probably like

15 years ago 10 or 15 years ago i don't know

when it was blessed me and chris our dishwasher

was broken and blessed us with a new dishwasher

right And so 15 years, lots of kids, six kids,

lots of dishes later, our dishwasher leaks. Our

dishwasher leaks. I fixed it a couple, it's probably

because I fixed it. I fixed the hinge on the

door and fixed all the racks and I kick it sometimes.

But it's leaking now. It has a little drip, right?

But it's a dishwasher, man. Like there were years

I didn't have a dishwasher. My son is in Kenya

right now. He has a pot. I don't even know if

he has a pot to wash stuff, but he has a pot

where he washes his. Dishes added, right? Many

of you, some of you probably don't have dishwashers,

and you're like, don't be complaining about your

dishwasher, Jessica. But I have a rag, so every

day I walk into the puddle of water, I'm like,

yeah, I have a rag. So I take my rag, I don't

have one in my bag right now, put it down on

my feet, dishwasher fixed, and then I just keep

walking, right? Right? I am blessed. I am blessed.

We look at our circumstances and we complain,

but I've got a dishwasher, right? I look at my

husband and complain, but I have a husband, right?

Right? I look at my kids, I'm like, oh, I prayed

for you. Yes, yes. I look at my body, I'm like,

oh, I have a body. Oh, I forgot to tell you guys,

I'm hot today. I just wanted to let you know

how hot I am because I'm 50, and I'm in my autumn

season. No, listen, and I'm in menopause, so

menopause is the new hot. So I'm supposed to

be blessed. They're trying to split menopause,

so it's not, you know, like a bad word anymore.

So it's hot. So we're like hot. So I wanted to

let you know, like, I'm in an autumn season of

my life and I'm in menopause and I'm hot. So

if I take off my coat, it's okay. But listen,

I could say, I could complain about it, right?

I could tell you all the things that go wrong

with me every day. I could tell you the pile

of supplements I take now and consume in the

morning to combat my body who is in the autumn

of life, right? So you've got to know what season

you're in, and you've got to celebrate each season

and the joys that come with it. Man, I loved

it when I had little kids, and I was home by

myself, but I would complain all the time. Man,

I just want to get dressed and get a shower.

Now I have kids, and they're all different ages,

and I just want to get dressed and get a shower.

You know what I mean? But it's just different

in every season. So you know that there's going

to be seasons of busyness. There's going to be

seasons of stress and striving. But guess what?

Now I can pay my bills. There were seasons I

couldn't pay my bills, and I'd just pray, and

God would bring checks in the mail, and I'd know

God supplies all my needs. Now I can pay my bills,

and I don't remember that God supplies all my

needs, right? Right? You guys have all been there.

Know what season you're in. Know what God's taking

you through. Romans 8 .28 says, God causes everything

to work together for good for those who love

God and are called according to his purpose.

So if you meet with me, I'll probably say that

scripture to you over and over and over again

because we know that God's a good God and he's

going to work it out and he's with you in it,

right? And he's cried and he's grieved and God's

going to make it good because he's a good, good

father and he loves you completely. 2 Corinthians

12, 9 says, each time he says, my grace is all

you need. My power works best in weakness. So

now I'm glad to boast about my weaknesses so

that the power of Christ may work through me.

I don't know about you, but I'm boasting about

my weaknesses, right? That's what gets rid of

pride. Hey, confess your weaknesses. Be vulnerable.

Be vulnerable. Embrace grace, right? Nobody wants

a good Christian to tell them what to do. They

want a grace -filled Christian that loves them

where they are. They want somebody that comes

alongside of them and listens to them and prays

with them and is full of grace and love and mercy.

And you can't embrace grace for somebody else

if you've never embraced it for yourself. Quit

trying to be perfect. Quit trying to have it

all together. It's not going to work, people.

It's not. You just got to embrace God's grace

for you and laugh. Laugh at yourself. I remember

there was a season in life I stopped laughing.

And I was like, God, I want to start laughing

again. And then all these... Crazy things started

to happen to me, and I'm like, why am I? And

I was like, oh, I asked to laugh again, so I

guess I needed some goofy things to happen in

my life, right? Or, you know, have a five -year

-old, have a baby at 45, and then you start laughing

too. So, yeah. But, yeah, embrace grace for yourself.

Embrace grace for other people, right? So you

have to extend the same love that you give to

other people. You have to do that for yourself.

Give yourself permission to take a break, to

take a drink. to spend time with God in the morning.

One of my friends just gave me a coloring book,

and she said, what if you got up and just did

nothing? I'm like, what? What if you just got

up and you just colored? That's for losers. I

would never do that. Just try it. So the last

week I've been getting up and coloring. Because

I can't just sit there. So I'm coloring. But

it's been so freeing to color these affirmations

that are saying, God's grace is sufficient for

you. His power works best in weakness. Right?

I'm coloring, as the deer pants forth streams

of living water, so my soul pants for you, oh

God. That's my favorite scripture. Just want

to know the living God. And I want to give myself

permission to know him and be known by him. And

that only happens when we extend grace. to ourselves.

Point five, we want to be in control, but God's

in control. We want to be in control, but God's

in control. Exodus 17, one through six says,

quiet, Moses replied. Why are you complaining

against me? Why are you testing the Lord? But

tormented by thirst. There it is again, another

need that the people had, right? And they're

tormenting Moses, who's taken him out of Egypt,

taken him out of slavery, right? But they still

have needs. They continued to argue with Moses.

Why did you bring us out to Egypt? Are you trying

to kill us, our children and our livestock with

thirst? Then Moses cried out to the Lord, what

should I do with these people? What should I

do with these kids? What should I do with this

church? All these problems, right? But Moses

goes to God. That's what he does. He's modeling

that for us. He's got a huge responsibility here.

But what does he do first? He goes to God and

he says, God, I know you got it because I don't,

right? And he says, walk out in front of the

people, Moses. Take your staff, the one you used

when you struck the water in the Nile, and call

some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will

stand before you on the rock of Mount Sinai.

Strike the rock, and the water will come gushing

out. Then the people will be able to drink. So

Moses struck the rock, as he was told, and the

water gushed out, and the elders looked on. God

had a plan. Moses didn't know the plan. You don't

know the plan every day that God has, right?

And so how can you take care of the things around

you, the people around you, all this stuff, if

you haven't gone to God and said, God, what do

you want me to do? Because we can do it in our

own strength, but what happens when you're in

a desert and there's no water around, there's

nothing you can give? What happens when you've

lost your job and you don't have water for your

kids, right? What happens when you're homeless,

right? But God's got a plan. God's got a plan.

And he provides water out of this rock. And what

I think it's saying here is sometimes in those

hard situations when we feel like we're banging

our head on the rock and we're praying for water,

we're praying for something, right? And we cry

out to God, he's going to provide for us. He's

going to provide for us, right? It says, Proverbs

19, 21 says, you can make many plans, but the

Lord's plans will prevail. The Lord's plans were

prevailed. Chris and I were reading the Bible

in a year plan, and this is like our second or

third year doing it. And every time we do it,

I'm like, man, God's in control. God's in control.

People think that they know what they're doing,

but God's in control. So it doesn't matter, right?

God wants to love me and pour his grace on me,

and he wants the best for me, but God's in control.

And so my job is just to get in his presence,

to know what he's doing, to be his grace and

mercy and strength to the world. They don't need

Jessica to be in control, to hold all these things

all the time, right? He's in control. But we

want to be in control because it makes us feel

safe. It says, Jeremiah 10, 23, it says, I know,

Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are

not able to plan our own course. Genesis 50,

20 says, you intended to harm me, but God intended

it for good. He brought me to this position so

he could save the lives of many people. You guys

know the story of Joseph. You know that he was

thrown in a pit, beat up by his family. Some

of you have been beat up by your family, thrown

in a pit, in slavery, in prison. You don't know

what you've done or why you're going through

it, but God has a plan. God always has a plan.

Man intended to harm me, but God intended it

for good, right? You never know what God can

do. You've got to trust his plans. All right,

I want you guys to watch this video with me.

Yeah. I didn't do that. He did. We need to take

on the struggle. We need to know that the struggle

is the struggle. It's not your identity. The

struggle is a struggle. It's not your identity.

If you can say good, you can say God, right?

The Israelites had to go through the wilderness

because they weren't ready for the promised land.

We have to go through suffering. We go through

pain, and God makes it good. He makes it good.

Jesus chose the wilderness. Why did Jesus choose

the wilderness? Because he knew he was going

to face the devil, right? He was going to face

problems, right? So Matthew 4 says, Then Jesus

was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to

be tempted by the devil. Why would Jesus go out

into the desert in a place of loneliness and

barrenness to hear from God? Well, you guys know

in Hebrew, the word desert and the word speaks

is the same word. It's got the same consonants.

So the word Midbar is desert, M -I -D -B -A -R,

and speaks is M -E -D -B -E -A -R. But it's got

the same consonants, right? So the same word

God speaks in the desert. And then there's also

a root word in the Hebrew, which means the holy

of holies. When you're going through that rough

time, when you're going through that tragedy,

God is ever -present. And that's when the gratitude

happens. That's when the gratitude eludes from

our spirits. God speaks in the wilderness. Hosea

2 .14 says, The Lord's love for unfaithful Israel.

But then I will winter back once again. I will

lead her in the desert and speak to her tenderly

there. And what I want to ask you today, what

is your wilderness? If you're going through a

hard time today, are you like David? David was

called away from people, but he couldn't even

escape his problems in the wilderness. Saul kept

coming after and after and after him. Do you

feel like you can't escape your problems today?

You might be like David. Are you like Abraham,

who God caused you to lead people? He doesn't

even have a child, right? And he gets lost. He's

not sure where to go or what to do. He's just

lost. And he's supposed to be the father of many

nations. Maybe you're like Moses and you're overwhelmed

with responsibility. You feel like you've got

so many things you're holding on to and you can't

even find God's peace or presence. What did Moses

do? He went to the rock that was higher than

I. God led him away so he could speak to him.

We need to spend time with God every day, people.

We need to get up and spend time with him. Take

creative ways to spend time with him because

we want our thoughts to be his thoughts and his

ways to be our ways. Maybe you're like Elijah

and you're just burnt out. You've been serving

for so long. You've been in a dead -end place

for so long. You just need to rest. You just

need to rest this morning. And this is okay.

It's okay to be in these places. because gratitude

is revealed in hard times. Psalms 23, three through

four says, he guides me along right paths, bringing

honor and glory to his name. And even though

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will not be afraid for you are close beside

me. Your rod and your staff, they protect and

they comfort me. You know, maybe you're in a

season of grief and grief is real pain, people.

We have grief share. We have places here to get

into groups. We're going to be doing a surviving

the holidays. If this is your first holiday and

you've lost a loved one, you know, we want to

come around side of you and support you and encourage

you. We're going to have that on Sunday evening

in November. Get some prayer. And then point

five is, you know, we have to accept that there's

duality in life. There's going to be good with

the bad, right? There's going to be joy in the

pain. In seasons of craziness, I found the most

joy because I've said, okay, God, show me peace

in this. Show me joy in this. I'm getting up.

I'm spending time with God. I'm just looking

for him every day. And I've laughed more than

I've laughed in a long time. And my plate hasn't

gotten any lighter. My load hasn't gotten any

lighter. But God's saying, here, Jessica, I'll

take your load for a while. John 16, 33 says

again, I have told you all this that you may

have peace in me. Here on earth you will have

many trials and sorrows, but take heart. I have

overcome the world. See, I think it's necessary

to experience pain. You don't know what it's

like when you have a kid who's sick. And then

they get well. You appreciate your spouse. You

appreciate your family. When you go through seasons

of difficulty, you understand your blessings.

When you go through a rough season with your

spouse, and you're barely going to make it, but

you're there for each other, and then you understand

what true love is. It happens through the pain.

And God can make it good. But if you've never

experienced the love of Jesus, if you've never

accepted God, we have a simple prayer, and I

want you to pray that with me now. Everybody

can join if they want, or you don't have to,

but let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken, full of doubt,

fear, insecurity, and I want to be in control.

God, I give you control. God, I give you this

stuff. I believe that you're God's son. I believe

that you died for me. Change my life. Make me

new. Help me follow you today and for the rest

of my life. Amen. Amen. If you said that for

the first time, just change me to 97000. I don't

know. There's a lot of zeros there. If you just

have something that you just need to leave with

God today, I invite you to just stand and to

worship with us right now. We're going to sing

gratitude one more time. If you have, there's

a couple words of knowledge, pain or cramping

in the right calf, pain in the right side of

your neck, late stage cancer near your stomach

or inner thigh pain, we're here to pray for you.

Don't leave today without getting prayer up here.

So everybody can stand with us and we're just

going to sing gratitude one more time together.

Thank you, guys. Thank you for opening your minds

and your hearts to all that God has for you in

this area of gratitude. And practice gratitude

this week in the pain. I was deep, I was deep,

I was I was deep in the dark, he didn't leave

me there Now I step in the light, I don't need

a fear Had to die to myself just to see it clear