Unstuck: The Streams of Influence | Part 1

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

Well, good morning.

How are we doing?

Happy New Year.

Great to see you all.

I feel like it's been forever.

We took a Sunday off, and uh it's been a while.

It's great to be back with you.

If you're new or we never met, my name's Ryan.

Absolutely thrilled to have you join us today.

And we had an awesome break.

Uh actually, my daughter, who's in college, freshman year, came home for college.

It was amazing to have her home.

She's literally got on a bus just like 10 minutes.

I'm checking my watch all the time.

Uh, to head back down to just the worst place on the planet, Santa Barbara.

Um, so she's gonna suffer while we stay in this just frigid Arctic era up here.

Um we're starting a brand new series today called Unstuck.

Why don't you go ahead and say that with me?

Now, years ago when my daughter was little, she loved to climb trees.

And uh, you may have heard this story, we shared it in the promo video, but if you haven't, let me share it with you.

Uh, and we had this apricot tree in our backyard.

Not a very big tree, she loved to climb it.

And I remember one day being inside the house and she like lets out this blood-curdling scream, you know.

It's just, Dad, help! And for those of us who are parents, we understand there's different levels of screams in our kids.

Some that like, yeah, you could ignore that.

Or um, oh, that's your beating up your brother's scream, uh, or whatever it is.

This one felt like, oh, this is serious.

So I run out and I find her, she'd climb up a little bit higher than she'd ever climbed, and she's clinging to a branch and she's she's stuck.

She got she literally got stuck in a tree, and and mind you, uh, she wasn't that high.

I could touch her feet.

But have you felt that way?

Where in life you just have gotten to a point where you just feel stuck, and so you feel paralyzed, you feel like you can't move forward.

To move feels just overwhelming, you're afraid, you're just clinging, maybe you feel stuck relationally in your marriage, or with your kids, or with a friend, or maybe somebody you're dating, maybe you feel stuck emotionally that's just been this cycle, you know, whether it's anxiety or depression, or or maybe you feel stuck in your job, with your work, with your future.

What do you do?

How do you get unstuck in the significant areas in your life?

That's what we want to spend the next uh several weeks talking about as we begin the new year's.

How do we get unstuck?

And here's the incredible news is your Heavenly Father wants to help you get unstuck.

Just as Ella called out and had her dad, me, go and help her get out of that tree.

God doesn't just leave you on your own to figure it out, to somehow try to eke your way, and maybe you'll just stay this way forever.

God actually says, I want to help you.

And one of the powerful ways he wants to help us is he has given us this book called Proverbs in the Scripture.

It's a book of wisdom.

In fact, what we're gonna spend for the entire year, 2024, is we're gonna spend a theme going through wisdom of God.

Now, 2020 or 2020, did I say 2023?

I did.

I'm still writing that.

Anyone else still writing 2023?

Yeah.

2024, wisdom.

In 2023, last year, our theme, our emphasis was Jesus.

Very simple.

We really want to get to know Jesus, fall in love with him, and just begin to do the things he would do if he were in our place.

And then Jesus said something really incredible at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

He he said that a wise person actually builds their house upon a rock, where the foolish person builds it on the sand.

So when the winds and the waves and everything comes, the storms come, and a storm is gonna come, we can't get away from storms.

Well, the foolish person, their house collapsed, where the wise person, their house stays strong, and then he gives the application.

He says, Whoever hears these words of mine, and then does what I say is the wise person.

Like the wise person isn't just a hearer of God's word, a wise person is a doer of God's word.

And so we're gonna spend a year getting intensely practical, learning how to walk in the ways of Jesus, learning how to walk in wisdom, and spend the next several weeks learning how to get unstuck in some of the biggest areas of our life, financially, relationally, emotionally.

Before we go on, let's talk just a little bit about wisdom and this idea of wisdom.

You know, we live in a world overwhelmed with information, yet starve for wisdom, don't we?

I mean, we have more information coming at us than ever before.

It's nonstop.

You just open your phone, the the amount of emails and text and posts, and it's just coming at us, and everyone has an idea about how to go about life, about how to navigate that relationship issue.

Uh, there's some expert on Instagram or TikTok telling you how to do uh, you know, finances or your emotions or all of those sort of things, and yet we're just star for wisdom.

And part of the reason is you can't Google wisdom.

Wisdom, by the way, uh, is this idea, it's actually God's moral law that's woven throughout the very fabric of the universe.

And that's what we're gonna get back to is okay, I know there's lots of information out there.

What is God's wisdom for you relationally?

What is God's wisdom for you emotionally?

What is God's wisdom for you financially?

In fact, there's a proverb that says, there's a way that seems right to a person, yet in the end it leads to death.

Have you experienced that?

You're like, no, this is exactly how I'm supposed to do relationships.

And you go about it, and then it just, it just ends in death.

This is exactly, you know, I can do finances however I want.

And then you look up and you're like, I'm under a mountain of credit card debt.

It sure was fun while it lasted, but now it's really painful.

There's a way that seems right to a person emotionally, there's a way that seems right relationally, there's a way that seems right financially, there's a way that seems right, and yet in the end, and what we experience and what you see all around us is that we experience death, we experience heartache, we experience pain, we experience not the life that God has for us.

And so let's define wisdom and what it is, and then let's talk today, just real simply, really, what is it that's keeping us stuck fundamentally?

And then how do we take some of those first steps of getting unstuck, especially personally and spiritually?

So, wisdom is simply this wisdom is the skill of navigating life well.

This is really good news because wisdom is actually a skill to be learned and developed.

You know, we don't all have the same talents, and we're not all gonna get the same opportunities, but we all can grow and develop in our skill and wisdom.

It's not necessarily that you're older you get, the wiser you get.

There's some really old people that are unwise, and it doesn't mean if you're young, you're not gonna be wise, but yeah, the older you get, you have the opportunity to grow and to develop in that wisdom.

It is a skill that we're gonna work on this year of navigating life wisely and well.

And so it's not merely the acquisition of knowledge, acquiring more knowledge.

We have lots of information, and here we know this because you know plenty of smart people that do dumb things, right?

We are addicted in our day and age to information and to new and to next.

And in fact, sometimes when we come to church, we're disappointed because we're like, I didn't learn anything new.

See, what we need in our world today, and especially in the church, is less information.

I'm not I'm not down on new, I love that too, but we need more application.

We need to start doing what it says.

See, wisdom is the proper application of the right knowledge.

The question.

I real honestly, as you begin this new year, like where are you getting your wisdom from?

Who's allowed to speak into your life?

What are you basing those decisions upon?

And we do get addicted to new and to next, and what I want to invite us back to is something incredibly old and ancient that actually is woven into the very fabric of the universe.

It's God's wisdom for your life and for my life.

So, how do we get unstuck?

How do you get unstuck personally?

How do we begin to get unstuck spiritually?

What is the beginning of this?

And and what is what is maybe really the foundation of how we're being stuck in the very first place?

The sermon title today is simply called The Streams of Influence.

Will you say that with me?

Now let's say it as if it's exciting.

Um The Streams of Influence.

Yeah, the streams of influence.

I know, you're like, well, the streams of influence, that's not even a catchy title.

I mean, a new year's.

I'm like, come on, Ryan, come up with a better title.

It's not a good title, but it will stick with you because I just made fun of it.

Um, the streams of influence, okay?

I want to draw to your attention a proverb that is, I think, perhaps the most, if not, yeah, the most important proverb that you can know.

I want to suggest that if you do one thing this year, do this, apply this.

If you focus on one thing, focus on this.

And the proverb says this above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Would you say that with me?

Would you read that with me?

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Here's what's amazing.

Here's what uh the the the one, probably Solomon who wrote this proverb.

He says, above all else, above all your goals that you have for this new year.

Anybody make New Year's goals this year?

A few?

Yeah, it's really going down in popularity.

People are like, I'm out.

Post-COVID, done with those.

Um, right?

Above your New Year's goals, above above, above, you know, how do I fix this relationship?

How do I get a new job?

How do I make sure uh my kids, you know, really succeed in life?

Above all else, focus on this one thing.

Make this your priority, make this the central part of what you do this year.

Above all else, guard your heart.

Now, the heart in the ancient day, in the Hebrew world, wasn't just the center of your emotions.

That's how we predominantly think about it today.

It's like, you know, how I feel.

The heart is actually the center of a person's mind, emotions, and will.

It's the seat of one's moral conscious and affection.

It's the inner you.

Like all of you.

Your heart is your mind, your emotion, your volition, your will.

It's you.

And says, above all else, guard that part of you.

When I was thinking about the idea of a guard, and I don't know why this came to mind, it was the idea of a bodyguard.

Like, and and it's like none of us have had a bodyguard.

So why did that come to mind?

Right?

But I just think about some of these celebrities that have bodyguards that walk with them and they guard their what?

Their body, right?

Their whole job is to guard the body of the celebrity.

They're walking around and they're assessing threats, they're looking at, yeah, ain't gonna let you close.

Mm-mm.

All right.

And then what do they do?

People that they know that are like friends and whatnot, they let them in.

That's what a guard does.

A guard protects from the bad and lets in the good.

That's what a boundary does.

That's what a gate does.

That's the purpose and intent of it.

Is how do you keep out the bad and then let in the good.

Here's what the Proverbs says saying.

Above all else, guard, watch over with all diligence and focus, intentionality.

Pay careful attention this year to an area I would that most of us don't pay attention to at all.

Your heart.

Watch over your heart.

And then he says, why?

For from it flows the very springs of life.

For all of life flows from your heart.

Here's the principle all of life flows from your heart.

All of life, your life, your future hopes and dreams flows from your heart.

Let me do this in picture form because I think it really helps drive the point home.

And in fact, what I want you to do with this little three by five card on the back, you have a blank side.

Would you just draw a heart?

Because I want you to walk away with this picture.

It's really helpful and powerful to understand how do you actually begin to guard your heart, watch over with all diligence your heart, because the reality is, and here's what the Proverbs saying.

It's this idea, that idea of flows is this, it's the place where something begins.

It's the source, it's literally like the spring or reservoir.

It's the originating part, and it's this reservoir that once fills up the overflow that comes out.

And so what the Proverbs saying is, and I know I I don't have very big handwriting, so you in the back, I apologize.

Um here's what he's saying.

And in fact, right in the middle of the heart, would you just write your name?

I'm gonna put mine, Ryan.

This is your heart, not mine.

This is well, this is my heart.

Um you write your heart there.

And here's what he's saying.

Out of your heart, out of my heart, comes life.

It comes your identity.

It comes your um, out of your heart flows how you do your work, your job, all your relationships.

Out of it flows um the way you love others, the way you talk.

In fact, Jesus would say this out of the overflow of your heart, the mouth speaks.

Like what comes out of your mouth actually is a heart issue.

The way you spend your time, your energy, like all of life flows from that.

Um, what you value.

He says, guard your heart, for from it flows life itself.

And then let's think about the areas where you're stuck.

The areas that maybe you're struggling with, maybe in the area of anxiety, maybe in the area of some anger.

Maybe, oh, this has been mine since a young teenager, the area of lust or insecurity.

Maybe in the area of feeling empty.

What are the areas that are outflowing in your life where you're feeling stuck?

And here's the thing, and here's the reason we often stay stuck, is we focus downstream on these issues.

And how do we correct down here?

Well, I'm feeling this, I'm addressing this, I'm addressing my identity issues, I'm addressing my work issues, I'm addressing my relationship issues.

And what the proverb is telling us is what's flowing from your life ultimately is a heart issue.

And until you address and deal with the heart issue, it's gonna come out in different ways downstream.

And so here's what we do: we have to then begin to identify the streams of influences into our heart.

What are the things that we need to guard our heart from?

Watch over.

Now remember, guarding is what?

Both good and bad.

It's gonna protect and guard from what's bad and make sure let in what's good.

And so, what are some of the streams of influence that impact our heart?

The first one, I think, um, is really past hurts and trauma.

Gosh, that impacts our heart, doesn't it?

Especially unresolved, undealt with.

I'm just gonna stuff it.

I'm gonna get on with it and move on.

And then yet it's still having a stream of influence and impact into our heart.

Another stream is family of origin.

It's funny, I was listening to a guy talk on this, um, and he's like, you know, all of us when we get back to our family of origin, revert to our eight-year-old self.

And I was like, oh, that's kind of true, me and my brothers at least.

Um, and he he was talking about maturity is like the longer it takes you to go back to your eight-year-old self.

You know, it's like for me, it's two days.

And I was like, okay.

Um, but your family of origin is such a massive stream of influence.

And also there's something biblically here when we think about this, and it's called a sin nature.

It's our natural bent away from God.

Much of it's been inherited.

It's called generational sin that's been passed on.

And as parents, we get this when we see our kids be taking on our sin.

It's one of the worst parts about being a parent when you look at your kid and you just go, like, I gave you that.

I'm so sorry.

But we have this family of origin.

Um, here's another stream of influence.

Our self-talk.

You know what?

If someone talked to you the way you talk to you, you'd have a restraining order against them.

Isn't it amazing?

Our self-talk.

I'm terrible, I'm a loser, I'm no good.

And some of it is words that were spoken over us from a parent or a coach or a teacher or a friend or a coworker that we just begin to embody and we play on repeat.

And by the way, it can be both good and bad.

One of the best things we can do is to remind ourselves of the truths of God's word and begin to replay his truths that you're beloved, that you're accepted, that you're redeemed, that you're forgiven, that you're adopted.

That is what's true of you.

And you just begin to identify what are the streams of influence.

In my why.

It says, guard your heart.

Why?

Because what you're seeing downstream is being impacted by all these.

Let's get personal real quick.

That was a joke, by the way.

We just got okay.

Anyways.

One of the big streams of influences in our day and age, social media.

We all know this.

We've seen the studies.

The longer and more you are on social media, anxiety goes up, depression goes up, insecurity goes up.

And yet, here we are, we're still doing it.

Did you know the average American, this is not average teenager, not average 20, the average American, like all of us, from 90 down to nine.

The average American spends two and a half hours per day on social media alone.

Now, if you do the math and figure out how much of a year is that, really, it's actually 38 days, 38, 24-hour days on social media.

That the average person in America this year is gonna spend over a month doing this.

And here's the thing, if we could just realize, we seem to think none of that impacts us.

We can take stuff in and it's not that big of a deal.

And the proverb tells us you have to guard and protect your heart because it's not neutral, it actually is influencing, it's shaping your heart, and it starts to come down downstream, and it starts slow, and so we don't really notice it, and then it just begins to grow, and it shapes our character, and it shapes our conduct, and it shapes who we are.

Here's an interesting thing, and yes, I saw this on Instagram.

Um there's a TED talk, um, and this was fascinating.

This this guy did uh he broke down for 18 to 90 years of age, like he's like the average person, like if we give the most generous breakdown, if you live to 90, and uh let me see if I can get at least the the the months correct.

So if you from 18 to 90, if you get to live that long, you're gonna have uh 864 months of life.

And then you begin to break it down, like um, you know, uh a third of that is gonna be your sleeping, you know?

Uh then he broke it down to uh amount of travel, to work, to how much time in the bathroom.

And then there's 334 months left of life when you take away all the rest of it, from 18 to 90.

The average 18-year-old is on course or pace to spend 93% of the time left in front of a screen.

And it's probably most of us are pretty high in that percentage, and yet we don't realize that all of this is shaping and forming and impacting, and then it flows into life, it flows into our relationship, it flows into our emotions, it flows into our talk and our character, it flows out of us.

And another area, TV, movies, kind of all other media, Netflix, Netflix, men ging.

And it's just it's just crazy to me that we think that we can take in content and that it has zero impact on our lives.

And yet, what the truth is, is everything we let in has some forming and some shaping.

The most important decision you make and I make every single day is what we allow into our hearts and to our minds.

TV movies, um, how about music?

Well, Ryan, I just listen to the beat and the music.

I don't listen to the words, it's not really a big deal.

Um and yes, that may be true.

Here's what I remember.

When I was in high school, nirvana was really big.

Anybody like nirvana, love nirvana?

I got into, yeah, three of you know them.

Um uh thank you, Mike, for the strong hand.

Q.

I got into a nirvana phase and I listened to them non-stop.

And I gotta tell you, I was like the most angsty, depressed, like moody teenager.

I mean, teenagers are kind of moody anyways, but but like I was email before email was cool, you know?

Uh it just was like, oh, it smells like teen spirit.

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, another one.

What about friendships?

It's a stream of influence.

You know, the Apostle Paul would quote a famous proverb in his day that bad company corrupts good character.

That we are and become like the people we surround ourselves with.

You know, the old ad is show me your friends and I can show you your future.

And this is both good and bad.

But then, but then let's just begin to go, okay, okay, the other streams of influences, of something that's so powerful for us this year, is what about God's word?

It's a powerful stream of influence.

In fact, study shows that the more time you're in God's word, it is the number one uh determiner for like life change.

And yet, this is the one we struggle with the most.

Psalm 119 says, How can a young person keep their way pure by living according to your word, O Lord?

I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 1 talks about uh the wise person dwells and meditates on the word of God day and night.

That person's like a tree planted by a stream of water, yielding its fruit in season, like there's just this strength and sturdiness because you're rooted in the word of God.

What about worship, prayer, solitude, silence?

Silence is a stream of influence.

If you just took five minutes a day, two minutes a day, and you just paused your heart to be still and to allow the Spirit of God to meet you.

What about godly mentors?

You know, as our kids were hitting the teenage stage, we just wanted to get around families where they did the teenage uh teenage stage well.

Because when you often talk to people and still to this day talk to people, they're like, hey, you know, oh, you're hitting the teenage stage.

Watch out.

That's rough.

Hang in there, it's horrible.

Like, really?

Like, I don't want to get around you, honestly.

We want to get around people, like, yeah, you know what?

There was some hard parts.

It was awesome though.

It's amazing to see like you, your kid, you know, grow up and uh how they're learning and understanding and becoming an adult and how they're growing.

And so we just began to get around people like that.

My wife led the way in that.

Proverbs says, He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools suffer harm.

What about here?

You have um just church, you're doing it already.

It's a stream of influence, of like, okay, I'm in uh community, I'm growing together, I'm taking a pause out of my week to hear from God, be with God's people, worship him, and encourage one another.

Principle all of life flows from your heart.

And so let me just give you just a few really clear applications.

First, would you identify the streams of influences in your life?

Chances are we just go about life.

We're not really aware of all of this, that it's actually impacting our heart, and the things that we're seeing downstream, if you don't like what you're seeing downstream, go back to your heart.

If you don't like down here, if you want to change right here, go here and then begin to evaluate your streams of influence.

Honestly, there's some people, your friendships, you're like, man, when I'm around them, I don't like who I am.

You you actually might be dating someone that's a bad influence in your life, and you probably need to break up this new year.

You need to go, like, hey, I need to get around some really great people.

You know what?

My social media, I'm gonna I'm gonna put a time limit.

It's not a bad thing.

But it can be an all-consuming thing.

And it becomes a mindless thing, and that's where it becomes dangerous, isn't it?

It's like me and like having a bag of cookies and watching a movie.

The cookies are gone before the movie's done.

Because I just got the whole thing.

It's just mindless.

And we do that daily.

Identify the streams of influence in your life.

Would you ask, like, I need to put a filter on, like, I need to purify that water a little bit.

What are the streams that I need to turn the nozzle of that so I get a steady stream?

Like, I haven't had time in God's word.

I don't, I'm not around some good godly friends or mentors, or I'm not really worshiping.

Like, you know what?

I'm just gonna turn on worship music as I drive to work, or as I sit and wait for the online work to happen.

I don't know, you probably don't drive anymore to work.

Some of you do.

Identify the streams of influence.

The second thing I want you to do, this is a stream of influence.

Join the awakening reading plan.

We're doing a proverb a day.

It's just a chapter of Proverbs.

Here's the amazing thing: Proverbs has 31 chapters.

And guess what?

This is incredible.

January has 31 days.

I know it's pretty magical, isn't it?

Would you join us?

Now, again, this is social media.

I just as a discipline for me, I'm posting every single day the verse of the day and just a simple thought.

If you want to join me on that, it's been so good for my heart.

I was telling Jenny this uh yesterday because it's getting in this habit of like, I don't really know how to do a whole lot of social media, so I'm learning, so you can help me if you want.

But I was just telling her, it's already impacting me because I'm having to think on God's word almost throughout the day.

And okay, how do I share this in just a simple thought?

So now I'm constantly thinking on his word.

It's been powerful, and I'm starting to see that some of my desires are changing, some of my heart responses are changing.

It's slow work.

By the way, this is a slow process.

We want overnight microwave work, like, oh, I just read God's word, and whoo, man, all this problem down here's changed.

It took a lifetime to produce this.

It's gonna take time stopping up some things and starting some things to begin to see the down uh hill flow really change and really grow.

So, would you join the awakening reading plan?

Memorize Proverbs 4.23.

And so, what I want you to do right now, would you write it on this three by five card so that you have the heart on one side and then you have the verse on this side to keep it with you above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

Above all else, guard your heart.

Everything you do flows from it.

It is powerful to put God's word to memory so that we can recall it, the Holy Spirit can bring it to mind, that we meditate on it, that we just think upon it.

That's the way the Apostle Paul talked about life change in Romans chapter 12, verse 2.

Romans 12:2

He says, Don't conform any longer to the pattern of this world.

That's meaning be aware of the areas that are contaminating your soul.

Don't conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.

How?

By the renewing of your mind, getting God's word into your mind, beginning to turn these streams up into your heart and soul.

Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Would you memorize Proverbs?

Would you just review it today and this week as you go?

And then finally, grow in community.

Grow in community.

Get into awakening small group.

So often, one of the things that happens is as we're trying to get unstuck, we we think this is a solo sport.

Remember, one uh he who walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

An abundance of counselors, victory is assured, another proverb.

Like, get around people who are moving in the same direction, have the same heart towards you that are that you go, like, hey, we're gonna grow together.

You might already have five or six people in your life.

You can start your own group.

You don't have to join an existing one.

But get into an awakening small group.

And one of the big areas in our survey we did in the fall where people were stuck was in the area of finances.

Feeling stuck financially, feeling under financial pressure, don't know how to navigate life well here, feeling, you know, like how do we experience financial freedom?

So we're gonna do a whole series called Freed Up.

It comes with an app, it's really cool, that's like tailored just to you to help you grow, help us grow, help us grow in this area.

Get into community and grow.

Don't do it alone.

Life change happens best, not in rows like this, but in circles as we grow together in community.

Uh, several years ago, I did my first, and as of now, my last triathlon.

Um, I had hopes of doing another one, but uh, it just hasn't happened yet.

COVID and things like that.

Uh but I did a triathlon and I had four of my buddies were doing it together.

And I remember the day, you did I I didn't train a lot, but I did a little training.

I remember the day we're so excited, get up early, it's dark, drive down there, we're getting our bikes set, and a triathlon has three events swimming, biking, and running.

And so I'm excited for this moment, and you know, we're all hyped, and you're starting to see the sun come up, and you you wear this um like little wetsuit thing.

I had rented it, it was a little too small.

I should have tried it on at the store, but anyways, and I hop in the water, we're kind of floating, it's it's just magical moments, you know.

I'm talking to uh the guys next to me, like, isn't this great?

This is gonna be amazing, you know.

And then the horn goes up, you know, and so so then I just start swimming.

And I'm a pretty good swimmer, I surf.

Uh, I'm not I'm no Olympic swimmer, but I'm I'm a strong swimmer, so I'm like, this is gonna be easy, and like, oh Jesus, this is serene.

And so I'm I'm swimming, I'm like thanking God, I'm like having this like spiritual moment, and all of a sudden, boom, I get hit in the face.

I'm like, what in the world?

Someone swimming next to me, just their hand came down and hit me in the face.

I'm like, oh, it's fine, it's all right, I'm gonna walk back in, you know, and so then I'm swimming again and I get kicked, and then I get hit again, and now I'm like kind of like thrown off.

And I had something in the water that uh to up to this point I hadn't hadn't experienced before.

I had a full-on, full-fledged panic attack.

The the wetsuit was a little too tight, so it was pushing in on my throat, so I was struggling to breathe, and then all of a sudden in the water, I begin to flail.

Like I'm like, I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm like starting to flail, and then I'm like trying to take the wetsuit off in the water.

Um, there's guys in kayaks, uh I swear, like 20 yards away.

I'm like, come on, dude, get over here.

You're supposed to keep me from dying.

They didn't move, they didn't move.

I started to wave to one, and I know a lie.

I was this close from quitting.

I wanted to give up.

And then I remembered there's four other guys with me.

There's four other guys going through the same thing, and if they're going through it with me, I can get through this.

And gosh darn it, I'm really good at floating.

And so if I have to float this whole thing on my back, I'm gonna float it on my back.

There's something so powerful because the reality is as we take this journey to get unstuck, as you take this journey through some of the big significant areas, there's gonna be a quick start, there's gonna be fresh motivation, but then you're gonna hit a wall, you're gonna hit a moment where you're going like, I'm tired, I wanna give up, I wanna give in, I can't do this anymore.

I've tried and it hasn't worked.

And what you need is you need some people around you that you're linked arms, that you're moving in the same direction, that are strong when you're weak, and that you can be strong when they're struggling.

Don't go it alone.

Do you have your crew?

Do you have your squad this year?

If you don't, get into a crew, and above all else, guard your heart for everything you do.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word, your wisdom.

That you didn't leave us just to try to figure things out, but you actually gave us a path to take.

I pray for my friends right now.

I don't know all the things that they're struggling with or stuck with, and the hurt and the heartache and the pain and the disappointment.

Right now, would you meet them?

Would you speak to them?

Would you breathe hope and would you breathe life?

And would you surround them with three, four people to link arms with, to do life with, to experience your grace and strength with.

In Jesus' name, amen.

We hope you are blessed by this message.

Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded.

And hey, we'd love to connect with you.

Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.