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The Truth In Love podcast will present God's timeless truth through the lens of His amazing love. We will do this not only through stories of people who have experienced His peace, love, strength, and wisdom through tough circumstances, but also by endeavoring to give the Bible’s answer to life’s great questions, like: Who is God, what's my purpose, who am I, how can I know God, what is heaven and hell, what is truth, and why is the Bible's truth better than my own version of truth? These are legitimate questions folks ask, and we as Christians should have the answers! God has a magnificent plan for every person. We are thrilled to be part of discovering and sharing what His Word reveals to bring hope, peace and great love into the hearts of all humanity. Join us every Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m. CST for The Truth in Love podcast, with your host Kimberly Faith
Welcome to the Truth in Love podcast with your hosts, Kimberly Faith and John Mack. The Truth in Love podcast seeks to present God's timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.
Kimberly Faith:Welcome back to the Truth in Love podcast, And, dad, I'm excited about this this series.
John McLarty:It's always exciting, Kim, to dive into this podcast with you.
Kimberly Faith:And so today's topic is the power of thankfulness and affliction. And, you know, dad, I don't know about you, but it seems like everywhere I go I mean, just we obviously have our own affliction, but we deal with people that are going through stuff. And, when we talk about affliction, we're not just talking about, like, being in prison unjustly accused. We're talking about the argument with your with your best friend. We're talking about maybe you you can't pay your taxes.
Kimberly Faith:We're talking about I don't know. What are some other examples?
John McLarty:The trouble of life. Yeah. Paperwork. Misery. Getting that form filled out.
Kimberly Faith:Getting the letter from the IRS.
John McLarty:Being put on hold for 15 minutes to get a simple task done.
Kimberly Faith:Right. So, you know, when when I was, I think the lord just kind of, one morning, arrested me and said, stop. You are not understanding so a very important principle, and that is the role that thankfulness a thankful heart plays in working through affliction. And, you know, I hadn't I'm had I ever had that really occurred to you because it hadn't occurred to me, really, that those were connected.
John McLarty:Well, the lack of thankfulness is kind of the the beginning of, you know, losing our perspective
Kimberly Faith:Right. For
John McLarty:God. So I I have considered that, but not in relationship to afflictions.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Yeah. You're you're referencing Romans chapter 1 where it it the bible says, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor were thankful, but then became futile in their thoughts and their foolish heart was darkened and darkened, and then basically, they acted like their wives, but they came became fools. Right? That's your references.
Kimberly Faith:Hey. Right. When you're unthankful, there are a lot of bad things happening.
John McLarty:That sets us up for a lot of bad thinking
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Wrong thinking.
Kimberly Faith:Well, I wanna I wanna just, kinda dig into this series because I think living with a thankful heart, living with an attitude of thanksgiving is a discipline, and it's a critical discipline, and and heart heart, I guess, mindset, you know, heart attitude, whatever you wanna call it, to capitalize on the opportunities that are created by affliction instead of, wasting them or simply enduring them in misery. You know, a culture that has, in in my mind, a culture that has, taken God out of the equation, looks at suffering as a complete waste. Yep.
John McLarty:That's a good point. It's it seems like it's part of the renewing of our mind. Yes. It's because it's a purposeful thankfulness.
Kimberly Faith:Yes. It's a it's a discipline. It's a way of thinking.
John McLarty:It's there.
Kimberly Faith:It's going up there. That thankful groove in our brain.
John McLarty:We have to find it sometimes.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. And so I think, anytime the lord is leading me to study something, he always brings me back to the savior first, you know, and it was
John McLarty:Our great example.
Kimberly Faith:Our great example, incarnate god who, you know, lived through all the misery we live through, but yet never sinned. And, so is it is it interesting to you that the Jesus who created all things, right, because the bible says he did, would also give thanks.
John McLarty:That is it's an example. He's he's thankful to his father, and, it's an example to us that even the creator is thankful. Yes. The creator, the the son is thankful to the father.
Kimberly Faith:Well, I think I think this word example that you use is is important because we model things for our children in exaggerated ways that we don't really have to do. You know? Like this morning, we were helping little Claire say words. And we're, you know, purr poll. You know, we're we're modeling that with great exaggeration so that she can learn it.
Kimberly Faith:And I think Jesus, I mean, if you look at a couple of examples, I wanna talk about what I think is the greatest example of his thankfulness, but let's talk about a couple of the other examples that he gave in in being thankful. Any any of them come to mind for you?
John McLarty:Well, I think of the one where he, gave thanks for the bread and fish when he fed the multitudes.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. And he was just setting that's a great example. He was setting an example of having a grateful heart. You know, there was also, when he raised Lazarus from the dead.
John McLarty:That's yes. That's a good example too.
Kimberly Faith:I mean, he he gave thanks to God before he even did it. And and, you know if you read of John, John 11 he says father I thank you that you have heard me and I know you always hear me because but because of the people who are standing by I said this that they may believe you sent me Gosh, this prayer is just a reminder that we need to be thankful for the faithfulness of God.
John McLarty:And also that strikes me that you always hear me.
Kimberly Faith:Oh, yeah.
John McLarty:So that's an attitude toward God that we should have, that you always hear me. He's always there for us.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. And that's going back to Romans chapter 1. We be when we become don't acknowledge God for who he is and that he is faithful, that's when our our downward spiral starts, which is what our culture, really where our our the humanistic culture has has arrived at this, you know, there is no God, therefore, there's no reason to thank God, and we have all these foolish, foolish decisions being made at the highest echelons of government, you know, that, you know, that makes zero sense. And I don't wanna get political, but it there's just so many that makes zero sense. You know?
Kimberly Faith:They they defy even science and biology.
John McLarty:Foolish hearts are dark.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. Right. So, and and the thing about affliction is it if if you I don't know if you've made this observation, but it often makes us think less. We we we believe because we realize this is a a tough time, we become very resentful. You know?
Kimberly Faith:I mean
John McLarty:Despondent, and you hear about being mad at God Right. Or depressed and Right. Why did this happen to me?
Kimberly Faith:Yes. And and I and I think that death, especially, tends to make us cynical and doubt God and his faithfulness. Because we don't Sure.
John McLarty:Losing a loved one.
Kimberly Faith:We weren't
John McLarty:Especially unexpectedly.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. We weren't because we weren't created to experience death, really. We were originally created to experience life. Right? And so we know this is a horror.
Kimberly Faith:We know this is a bad thing. And, so I wanna kinda start this this podcast by talking about, I think, the ultimate example of the thankfulness of Jesus, and it it's absolutely mind blowing to me because but it's it's a 100% on point with all the things. When we start talking about the benefits of being thankful during affliction, that this is going to be this is the gold standard, and that is at the last supper.
John McLarty:Oh, yes. Right.
Kimberly Faith:I mean, and and, of course, we can read about this in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, but we're gonna take the the one from Luke. The gospel of Luke records, Jesus, before he he served the lord's he's serving the last supper to them. And it says, then he took the cup, and he gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And then again in Luke, he says, and then he took the bread and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
John McLarty:And when he thanked that he gave thanks for what he knew was about to happen to him Right. Which was a horrific episode about to happen in his life. It it's Actually, in his death.
Kimberly Faith:It it is just you know, here he is even before his horrible torture and death. He's giving thanks to God for the sacrifice of his own body and blood. And and I think the again, I'm not gonna try to pretend to wrap my words around the mind of God, but this to me demonstrates a deep knowledge of the faithfulness of his father, you know, to face this unimaginable suffering. And I I know I think I'm so glad my immediate thought was I'm so glad that God does not give me a knowledge of the suffering I'm going to have to endure. I don't think we could bear it.
Kimberly Faith:Right. You know?
John McLarty:And Jesus knew the tremendous there would be a tremendous outcome for what he was about to go through.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. He had the advantage of being able to see in the future, but it doesn't I I think even, like, if you think about, you know, I have a friend Melissa who I've been on this podcast several times. You think about that 100 mile race and and mentally you prepare for as much as you can, But if you have never run that 100 mile race, it's a much different race than, than if you have prepared for it. You know, irrespective, what Jesus was, you know, whether he knew the full gamut of what was gonna happen. I'm I mean, he's god, so he knows everything, but he was incarnate.
Kimberly Faith:Right? So who knows what he actually knew in his human body. And
John McLarty:knowing that it would bring salvation doesn't diminish that the full extent of what he went through because he took upon himself the sins of the entire world.
Kimberly Faith:Right. I mean, he knew
John McLarty:To the nth degree.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. His immediate degree. His immediate future was to be strict of his human dignity, tortured, horribly crucified, and worst of all, separated from the presence of his father while he bore the sins of the world. That we can't wrap our mind around that because we can't wrap our mind around even our own sin and the mercy of God, the great mercy of God that's from everlasting to everlasting. Right?
Kimberly Faith:We're so finite. We're so finite.
John McLarty:But you know that's a key to helping us have thankfulness, knowing that God loves us
Kimberly Faith:Mhmm.
John McLarty:And that all things work for good to those that love him, and that there's going to be that god loves us, and there's gonna be a good a good outcome even through afflictions and because of afflictions sometimes.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Right. And and, you know, keep in mind, we're throughout this this, these couple of, podcasts that we do on on thankfulness and affliction, the power of thankfulness and affliction. We're never saying ever that evil is good or that, you know, God created moral evil. You know, there's natural evil, there's moral evil, and without getting into a that's a whole another discussion, obviously.
Kimberly Faith:We can know, though, that that what God does God is faithful to us, just like Jesus knew of his father's faithfulness, not because of what we do or what happens to us, but because of who he is. His nature, his character makes him faithful. He cannot lie. He is always the same. He is righteous, just, and loving.
Kimberly Faith:We can always count on that, and he's always gonna act according to his nature. And when he says he's redeemed us, he didn't redeem us so that we could our suffering will be without meaning, without purpose. Because Jesus' suffering had a purpose. It was an eternal purpose and his glorious purpose. And so the whole idea that you know we want to kind of talk about and flesh out is what are these benefits what are these purposes that we can have produced in our life through being thankful having a thankful heart during affliction and you know just as an aside I don't want to say that this is a conversation you have with somebody whose kid just died you know this is not necessarily somebody you this is something a discipline to learn this is not you know there's a there's an appropriate time to learn some of these things and hear these things and you know if you're listening and and you've got a friend who just lost their their son, for example, you know, I I this is not a recommendation to run to them with this podcast and say, oh, you can be thankful for this.
Kimberly Faith:You know? Because the fact is we have to grieve.
John McLarty:I think one of the great testimonies is is ourselves under affliction or trouble if we can find thankfulness and show joy.
Kimberly Faith:Mhmm.
John McLarty:But this it's it's more of an example to others instead of we're going to preach this to others.
Kimberly Faith:Yes. And so you've mentioned joy, which is one of the first benefits we wanna talk about, in becoming thankful in affliction. You know, the the very, inspired apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 520. He said, giving thanks always for all things under God and the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I I never considered that all things to to also include trouble.
Kimberly Faith:Have you?
John McLarty:No. But I think it has to include it.
Kimberly Faith:I think so too.
John McLarty:For because it says for all things.
Kimberly Faith:Right. So how do we I think, when I when I was kind of studying through this, I was thinking, okay, god. Yeah. Let's get real here. How do I have a mindset of thankfulness when I get that nasty letter, when I am confronted with a problem that just overwhelms me, when somebody I love has betrayed me?
Kimberly Faith:How do I make my first reaction, my first response, giving thanks?
John McLarty:Like, by by thinking about who God is and his character Yeah. And that he he's allowing things to happen, or in some cases, causing things to happen
Kimberly Faith:Mhmm.
John McLarty:For our good. Yeah. Because he loves us, and he he wants to either show us something or use it to show somebody else
Kimberly Faith:Mhmm.
John McLarty:The the way of grace or the way the path of peacefulness
Kimberly Faith:Right. So
John McLarty:that we can rejoice in troubles.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:So it's kind of this default position that God's good.
Kimberly Faith:Yes. He is. And and it's kind of, you know, if you've been a if you're a parent or let's say you're an athletic trainer or let's say you're a drill sergeant, you know, all those roles, you're constantly the people that are under you, that God has put under you. That's your goal, if if your motivation is correct, to to produce a child that can function on their own, produce, you know, a an athlete that can win the marathon, produce a marine who can, you know, serve well under fire. And in order to serve well under fire, you've gotta be under some fire.
Kimberly Faith:You can't just have, you know, a padded existence.
John McLarty:Yeah. So those leaders' goal is for those people under them to have success
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Not to have defeat.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:And that's God's goal for us, is success.
Kimberly Faith:That's a premise. You know? Because we that reminds me of the, the verse where Jesus said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more does the father and I can't remember where it's found, but it I'm paraphrasing. Wanna give good gifts to his children? Well, one of the good gifts he gives us is the ability to grow to be strong.
Kimberly Faith:Right? And in the context of joy and another thing I I think about is not just the character of God, but the benefits, okay, which is what we're gonna talk about. You know? If if you are looking at 2 paths and you see down the road on one path, there's frustration, anger, disappointment, envy, retaliation. Right?
Kimberly Faith:And you see, down the the other path, there's love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, wisdom, strength, and you have the same burden no matter which path you go down. Well, the end result is very motivating. And the fact is, if you're giving thanks in times of trouble, then you can't also be frustrated Right. Angry, disappointed, envious in retaliation. And but you can have love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, meekness, strength, wisdom, and the direction of God.
John McLarty:That joy is that joy from thankfulness, even under affliction, is really a testimony Yes. Because it's it's not the expected reaction.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Right.
John McLarty:But God tells us to, it's a a verse most people know. Rejoice in the Lord always. And, again, I say rejoice. Mhmm.
Kimberly Faith:But
John McLarty:then later on, it says, and the peace of God, which passes understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So we only do that through our relationship with God. He gives us a peace Right. That passes understanding. It's not a human
Kimberly Faith:It's clearly him.
John McLarty:It's clearly him. It's not a human reaction.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. Which is goes back to, you know, our our standard our SOP as Christians is to glorify God.
John McLarty:Right.
Kimberly Faith:Right? I mean, that's our goal. That's our that's our mission. Right? And and everything else falls in with that.
Kimberly Faith:I think about, you know, an unthankful heart. I mean, it is a hotbed for the seeds of sin to grow and and to produce perpetual dissatisfaction, which joy and just just by way of, you know, the way I understand joy in the bible, it's not giddy, happy, silliness. It's satisfaction.
John McLarty:So think about this. Think about the testimony of a life that's picture someone that's a trust fund baby, and they just jet set all around the world. You know, they're on Facebook, and, you know, they're like, here I am on the beach in Hawaii. Right. Here I am in Spain.
John McLarty:Here I am in Eiffel Tower, and I'm my life's just great. I'm full of joy. Well, that's not impressive. Right. It's like, well, so
Kimberly Faith:motivating. Right.
John McLarty:Right? But here's Paul and Silas in prison praising the Lord Mhmm. With joy, and that gets our attention. So, like, how can that be?
Kimberly Faith:Well and and and just like the at Hollywood, okay, the movie industry, nobody creates a great blockbuster of somebody just jet setting around the world with no problems.
John McLarty:No problems.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. Right. I mean Exactly. The greatest the greatest movies are overcoming adversity.
John McLarty:Overcoming adversity.
Kimberly Faith:And and the greatest satisfaction we find, even in just watching a movie, is, man, I wanna be I wanna be like that person. The problem is that that our our secular culture creates that as the ultimate goal, just overcoming adversity. And God gives us the gift of being able to give him the credit and the glory, when we overcome adversity because we know based on study, especially the beatitudes study, you know, that being poor in spirit means we ain't got nothing without God. You know? Right.
Kimberly Faith:It's like me taking credit for a Monet when I didn't paint it. You know, we don't know what no. This is not my life. This is God's life. Right?
Kimberly Faith:And the great thing about that is that when we can give God the glory for in the in the triumphs we can also give him the responsibility of the problems
John McLarty:right
Kimberly Faith:because we trust this character
John McLarty:we trust this character
Kimberly Faith:So it's impossible to lose your lose your joy in affliction when you have a thankful heart. That's that's pretty profound.
John McLarty:It is. It all comes back to trusting in him. Right. Resting on him.
Kimberly Faith:I think I think one of the things that the Lord kind of opened my eyes to with this saty in affliction is that, you know, no one's gonna avoid this. We we've all got to climb the mountain of affliction many, many, many times in our life, sometimes daily. And affliction is kind of a I I wanted to use a term that was was as, descriptive as possible. Some of the afflictions are light, some of them are heavy. Obviously, like the I used the example of death of a child.
Kimberly Faith:That's obviously something that is probably one of the worst things to go through. And but then you have daily afflictions. Right?
John McLarty:Yeah. I I think that's a good point to make to everybody's we don't wanna diminish those horrific afflictions, someone being tortured.
Kimberly Faith:Right. It's
John McLarty:obviously different than someone that just had got a disturbing alarming letter from the IRS. That's right. But life is full of trouble. Life is full even things and things we're not in prison being tortured. Right.
John McLarty:We could still I mean, Satan's the great enemy. Satan's the discuranger. He wants to get us off our game.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:So even here in the USA, where we have a pretty good life, we let things afflict us
Kimberly Faith:Yes.
John McLarty:Just to get us
Kimberly Faith:1st world problems.
John McLarty:Yes. 1st world problems. And and and And they can knock us off, take our take the joy away from us
Kimberly Faith:That's right.
John McLarty:And ruin our testimony.
Kimberly Faith:And it's what you're you know, everybody's affliction I think the size of your mountain is measured by the size of your God. And when God we have a mindset, like the mind of Christ, which which is so good. That's what's so good about this beatitude study is we the problem becomes put is put in perspective by the size of who God is in our mind. And suddenly, gosh, you know, I I, you know, I I I get you get a letter like we'll use the IRS thing. You get a letter from the IRS.
Kimberly Faith:And it's like, you know, God, this is yeah. This is a problem. But my law practice belongs to you, so you'll solve it. And let me pray now for the people, all the children in the world who are being trafficked. Because they have real problems you know we don't lose that joy and satisfaction and we're enabled then to do greater things like intervene for people who have even bigger problems
John McLarty:Yeah. That's a discipline. I I use that if I have something happened that I call trouble.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Then I think about, well, there's Christians in North Korean prison camps.
Kimberly Faith:Mhmm.
John McLarty:And what am I doing worrying about, you know, a problem with my the engine in my car Right. Or something that might cost, you know, beat us trouble. Or
Kimberly Faith:Right. It's Well, this mindset of thankfulness gives us God's perspective. And when we have God's perspective, he you know, we we think then then we can it's like we have a true scale to measure things by. You know? Because he is he is, he's the light.
Kimberly Faith:And he shines the light into and we realize that if our first world problems are are, you know, easily besetting us and and robbing us of our joy, then we're having Kim's perspective. We're having the perspective of our world world culture. You know, I wrote a devotional early I don't know. I think it was in January about about, you know, there was an article about how buying sheets online was making was derailing my life. You know, I'm thinking, are we really here?
Kimberly Faith:Is this really who we are? But the fact is we all are. We all get derailed by somebody cuts us off in traffic. You know? And if we have the mind of Christ and and I don't wanna you know, again, I'm not trying to trivialize this, but then it changes everything so much because we have a heart of gratitude.
Kimberly Faith:So the the the horror of sin is put in perspective, and we're not so self focused. We're focused on, wow. I'm just so grateful he didn't he didn't hit me. You know? And, Lord, help that person.
Kimberly Faith:If they're in a hurry because they're on the way to the ER, help them get there safely. You don't know what's going on with that person who cut you off in traffic. But if you get yourself out of the equation because you have not lost your joy, it's a perspective changer.
John McLarty:Or if trouble happens, if you think, well, where's the ministry in this?
Kimberly Faith:Right. Right.
John McLarty:So your car broke down someplace. Your, you know, your, battery didn't start, and then you think, well, this is either trouble, or who am I going to be able to minister to?
Kimberly Faith:Exactly. You
John McLarty:know, getting help or this delay or whatever.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Which leads to this other benefit, which is victory.
John McLarty:Right.
Kimberly Faith:Right? It's it's like we've talked about, okay, one of one of the great, great benefits, in being thankful during affliction is joy. Another great benefit is victory. We experience victory everywhere we go because we have an enemy that's already defeated. And and and we have the Lord Jesus Christ who who conquered our worst enemy, which is death, eternal death.
Kimberly Faith:Right? And so when you how would you tie in victory with with having a thankful heart and affliction?
John McLarty:Well, I think of, Paul, he had a lot of trouble in his life. And, I mean, real afflictions. I mean, being shipwrecked and stoned and tossed out for dead. Right. And, I just thought of a verse here in Philippians.
John McLarty:He was telling the he was in house imprisonment at the time in Rome, and he was telling the Philippians, I want you to understand, brethren, that the things that have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So he was telling them, I'm okay, and all these things that you've heard about me and the afflictions I'm going through, they've been for the furtherance of the gospel. That's powerful. So because that goal is that that mission we have in life.
Kimberly Faith:Right. It's it's kinda and this is a
John McLarty:things in perspective.
Kimberly Faith:A ridiculous example. But let's say you're a a unit that's out, you know, trying to to root out, a cell of Taliban. Right? And, you know, your shoelace is untied and and or something so trivial like that or your stomach's grumbling and because you haven't had, you know, enough to eat And you somehow throw a fit in the middle of the mission because of some first world problem. Right?
Kimberly Faith:And and the whole mission is is derailed or or or diverted or, you know, hurt because you're you're in the middle of a fit. Right? Because you're not thankful for that you get to be part of something bigger than yourself, really.
John McLarty:That that's a good example of the the problems, you you might say, we have in the USA.
Kimberly Faith:Right. You
John McLarty:know, we're we're not being hauled off into prison camps and tortured for Christ.
Kimberly Faith:Such an opportunity. I I also think about the the, the apostle Paul just you know, that that man, he suffered so many things and we don't even really know all the things, we just know the things that are recorded in scripture. I imagine him choosing Jesus, in opposition to the, the the Jewish culture and the Jewish religion probably isolated him from his family. I heard a, messianic Jewish preacher, Lon Solomon, say one time he he believes that the apostle Paul was actually married, because of the the the way that their culture was, you couldn't attain the the the position that Paul had had, unless you were married. I don't know if that's true or not, but I just thought, you know, you don't even hear about his wife.
Kimberly Faith:But if that's true, you I imagine everybody he grew up around, all his people, all his tribe, he had to leave them all behind. And we don't hear about that. We hear about the stonings, which are horrible, obviously, the the beatings, you know, the shipwreck, like you said. But then he writes in in second Corinthians 12, he says, unless I should be exalted above measure, though, through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, less I should be exalted above measure. And for this thing, I besought the lord three times.
Kimberly Faith:And when it says besought, I think he begged the Lord to make it depart. And then Jesus said to him, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in my I mean, my strength is made perfect in weakness. And then Paul responds, most gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, of persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Kimberly Faith:Wow. I you talk about victory. No one gives the victory like god. Right?
John McLarty:That's really the perfect passage for what we're talking about. Paul saying, I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon
Kimberly Faith:me. Mhmm.
John McLarty:And then combine that with all these things have befallen me for the furtherance of the gospel.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:So it takes pleasure in his infirmities and persecutions.
Kimberly Faith:Well, it takes us back to the first, attitude that Christ taught us, being poor in spirit.
John McLarty:Poor in spirit.
Kimberly Faith:Because Paul was saying, look, it's obvious I need to depend upon God for everything. You know, he had received whatever the great revelation was. I'm sure part of it was what we read in the New Testament. But, you know, he had such great privilege with God to carry out his work. But the reason he had that is because he was completely dependent upon God.
Kimberly Faith:It was all God. It was not Paul.
John McLarty:And that can be such a a game changer for, even with our small infirmities here in the USA. Right.
Kimberly Faith:But, you know,
John McLarty:we we we are in a great country, and our typically, our problems are small, but we have tragedies. I mean, the the this,
Kimberly Faith:The plane crash.
John McLarty:The plane crash. I mean, that's horrific. Beyond horrific. Yeah.
Kimberly Faith:2 plane crashes in the same, like, day back to back.
John McLarty:So there are great there are great struggles.
Kimberly Faith:Well, I think, I don't know. I I look at the opportunities that are created through affliction if we again, the only way we're going to become thankful for affliction is if we have the mindset of being poor in spirit, which is what Jesus taught us, which is dependent upon God 100%. The problem is with our own strength, in our own strength, when we think we are strong, suddenly, we're operating on our own. We're like the lone soldier who's gone off the path of the mission operating by ourselves instead of with the power of the the unit under the command. Right?
Kimberly Faith:When we're under the command of Christ and we allow ourselves to be in the affliction suddenly is put we're we have all the the the firepower of the Holy Spirit behind us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is is the power that's in us, and we're operating in sync with that power.
John McLarty:Well, I think I think this goes back to where we started that this it's a discipline. Mhmm. A discipline of thankfulness that can give us this correct attitude.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Because when you hear about something that has no answer, like the the plane crash Right. And the loss and the funerals, and we've had that, you know, close church members that die suddenly. Mhmm. And and one of their perspective is maybe somebody can be saved. Right.
John McLarty:Maybe a family member is going to come hear the message of Christ. Yeah. And this this tragedy, this loss, something good can come from it.
Kimberly Faith:I think I think I I like that that you bring up that point because I had a close friend who lost her son, a man in his forties who had 3 young boys and, last year. And, you know, she said this to me. She said, you know, at the funeral, his wife actually gave the message and gave the gospel. And she said it would be it's the only time that many of the lost family would have ever heard the gospel, in in, you know, that she ever knows that she's known about. And think about she kept saying, if my son's life, which was short on this earth anyway, you know, even if he'd lived at 80 or 90 or 100, That's a short blip on the radar screen when compared to the eternity that someone else may have gained with Jesus.
Kimberly Faith:You know, in eternity, we can't put our mind around it because we think in terms of decades, right, or maybe even a century if we're lucky. But I I just to me this attitude that Paul had is something that like you said we have to discipline ourselves we have to thank God as soon as we wake up thank God before our feet hit the ground. We thank God at the beginning of each prayer. We thank God. We thank him when we drive to work.
Kimberly Faith:We thank him throughout the day. We thank him as we lay our head down at night. We thank for all the things that are going on, our health, a job, heat in the winter, salvation, even our breath. And as obstacles arise, we have to discipline ourselves to say thank you, Lord. I know that you're gonna give me an opportunity for victory because of who you are.
John McLarty:So attitude of thankfulness.
Kimberly Faith:Right. And I and I think that if we, you know, we can learn to view things the way we're supposed to view things, but we have to discipline them. I I I kinda like the the this idea the Holy Spirit gave me of having you have 2 paths, you know, the same burden and at the end of each path, you can see the result of either the, you know, the benefits of the fruit of the spirit walking this affliction and maybe the opportunity to to have some of these things like joy and victory or you can see the drudgery, the the envy, the the whatever resignation of whatever the negative parts of of bearing affliction without a great purpose are. And it's a choice.
John McLarty:Thinking of a couple places in the bible. Well, I think one in Romans, but Paul is talking about putting on the new man or putting on the old. It's it's a decision.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:In this situation, I'm going to put on the new man. I'm going to change my perspective. I'm going to align myself with with God and the biblical perspective. And, you know, it's not I think it's, was it the life of Joseph where he says what was meant for evil, God turned turned toward good Mhmm. Isn't being, you know, thrown into the pit by his brothers, but he ends up being, in, favored by a pharaoh and
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:And, you know, saving his whole family, actually. But so it's not to say that these things aren't a plane crash or a terrorist attack. It's not evil. It is evil.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. It is evil.
John McLarty:But God can take evil.
Kimberly Faith:And work it
John McLarty:against He didn't cause it, but he can take evil and use it for good.
Kimberly Faith:And work it against
John McLarty:that perspective.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. I mean, and you know before we finish up this podcast I I do wanna cover one other, one other aspect of of the benefits of having a thankful heart in affliction and that is growth. You know I think that if if we don't use affliction as an opportunity to grow in the fruit of the spirit, to grow in, our the the way we depend upon God, the the attitudes of Christ, You know? You know, when when we again, I I like to use the the example of the gym. It's you're putting your body under distress.
Kimberly Faith:You're doing that. You're voluntarily doing that so that you can gain a higher level of physical fitness. Well, if if, you know, the Bible talks about, you know, the lord whoever lord loves, he chastens and scourges, which is kind of, of, you know, no one wants to think about chastening and scourging. Those are old, you know, kind of old testament, new testament terms for we're gonna discipline of our kids if we love them. Well, if we even if we love ourselves, we're gonna discipline ourselves to do certain things.
Kimberly Faith:And I think it's I think it's a great tragedy to view the discipline of God from self destructive habits as that God is bad.
John McLarty:That's a total perspective changer of afflictions because it's a such a great example. Muscles are human fleshly muscles will not grow
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Will not strengthen unless they're put under stress.
Kimberly Faith:Yes.
John McLarty:They will just they will atrophy. They will become flabby.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:So that stress is essential Yes. For growth, and growth is good.
Kimberly Faith:Yeah. And you and you look at yourself in the mirror after 6 months of stressing out your muscles, you go, you know what? I like that.
John McLarty:Right.
Kimberly Faith:And but we get stuck in our physical in our physical, and we can't it's like that like Satan tricks us and the world culture deceives us into thinking that we shouldn't think the exact same way about our spiritual growth. So we used to get stuck on our physical and that's one of the reasons that we're we failed to be really thankful during afflictions because we're so stuck on, oh my gosh, the IRS sent me a letter. I'm gonna not have enough money to pay my taxes.
John McLarty:So in other words, trials can be good. Instead of taking us off off of our game, we can be thankful for them because they're part of our growth.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:That's just a game changer.
Kimberly Faith:That's a huge game. Matter of fact, it's such a game it was such a game changer for me and it still is it in my, my prayer in my prayer list, which this year I asked the Lord to develop my prayer list for me. One of the I have a whole section of things I'm thankful for and one of the things is I I I thank the Lord for the trouble he sent me because and I'm I'm thanking him ahead of time for the trouble he's going to allow in my life because I know it's going to give me a different opportunity to glorify him.
John McLarty:And that would just shock most people Yes. If you express that, like, thank you for this trial, Lord. Right. Thank you for this financial setback or disaster.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Right. And and and the person who has who's pursuing the attitudes of Christ, knows the difference between a a chastening that is just it's just punishment by some kind of cruel person and a chastening because of love. Because you know the character of God. Right.
Kimberly Faith:You know that God I mean I can't even imagine one of my kids thinking, mom, you spanked me, you know, when they were younger younger because for no good reason, and because you hate me, you know? Well, no. You were playing in the street, and I'd already told you not to play in the street, and, you know, you didn't seem to get it. So, yeah, I warmed up your hiney because you need to know that there's gonna be, you know, this is a this is a preview of the tragedy that could happen if you don't learn this lesson. And and I think a person who is pursuing the very critical attitudes of Christ knows that if, I mean, look, our own stupidity causes most of our affliction.
Kimberly Faith:You know, I I I didn't I didn't gain weight because I was doing healthy things. Right? Or I didn't, you know, I didn't, if if if I had a problem, I could bring up the IRS. I don't know why. I just I just paid my taxes.
Kimberly Faith:Maybe that's why. But if I didn't pay my on our mind. Yeah. If I didn't pay my taxes, it should be no shock to me. The IRS wants to audit me.
Kimberly Faith:You know? So we you know, this this chastening of God, it's not like it's some big it should be some big surprise if it's because we did something stupid or we sinned. But the the beatitudes of Christ, you know, they they teach us to mourn sin, to to realize that sin is the cause of everything horrible that happens in everybody's life. So we're gonna mourn it like we mourn the death of a child and we're gonna stay away from it, which brings us closer to God and then places us in this this mindset of, okay, whatever happens to me, that's not my fault. God's gonna take care of it because I'm already trusting him, because of developing these attitudes of Christ.
Kimberly Faith:Does that that make sense?
John McLarty:So that's an affliction like, King David talked about in Psalms. Right. Because I before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:So some afflictions just come upon us because trouble's in the world.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:It's just we need this perspective of thankfulness. But some afflictions may be to correct our behavior.
Kimberly Faith:Yes. Yes. And I I tell you, I can give an example that, several years ago, the holy spirit was drawing me away from practicing domestic relations law. Mhmm. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that area of law.
Kimberly Faith:I'm just It was just a soul sucker, honestly. I just I I got to help a lot of people. I got to help a lot of children. I got to do a lot of things, but God just had a different plan for my life, and I resisted. And the reason I resisted again, this is a first world problem.
Kimberly Faith:I was like well you know this is 75% of my income god how am I gonna pay the bills right that's legitimate concern so what I did was I kind of tried to find my own way around it you know I thought well I'm gonna hire somebody else to take care of this area of law well like I I saw we took on, like, 50 contested cases, and then she quit. So here I am. She gave me 2 weeks notice. I have 50 contested cases that I had to get rid of. Well, you know, it took me about 2 years of kind of this chasing from God for me to figure out I needed to I needed to come into line and, and then the pandemic hit in 2020 and so I mean I'm gonna tell you 2 years of hand to mouth in my office I I finally said, you know what?
Kimberly Faith:I'm gonna do this, God. I'm gonna follow what you're telling me now. If I had quit 2 years earlier, I would have had 2 years to prepare for the pandemic that, you know, everybody's businesses suffered in the pandemic. And and then I would have had time to prepare for that but I didn't listen and so but you know I'm but today I'm super chase I'm super grateful that God actually chasing me and forced me out of that that domestic relations practice because if I hadn't done that then there's no way that Go Face Strong would be operating at the level it is today and we wouldn't be doing this podcast because I wouldn't have time because I'd be working all the time and so god has you know I look back and say thank you lord for that that was hard but thank you for that because now I'm where I am today doing so free to do his work so that's just one example of how god has given this growth in my life
John McLarty:Right.
Kimberly Faith:And and even the joy and the victory. You know?
John McLarty:And that's a a key part of growth is to is I think of the verse where it says, my sheep know my voice. Mhmm. Just to understand when an affliction is just because there's sin in the world, there's trouble in the world
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:Hurricane comes through, tornado, or God specifically is wanting to correct us.
Kimberly Faith:Right. The difference in moral evil and natural evil. Right?
John McLarty:Yeah. Yeah. One is to correct us, and one is just to give us an attitude of gratitude
Kimberly Faith:Yeah.
John McLarty:Even when just just a bad thing happens.
Kimberly Faith:And an opportunity.
John McLarty:Just a yeah. There's just bad things floating around in the world.
Kimberly Faith:Right.
John McLarty:You know, germs that get into our body and make us sick.
Kimberly Faith:Right. Yeah. One gives us an opportunity for growth because we're the chasing element of that, but the other one gives us an opportunity for a great story.
John McLarty:Right.
Kimberly Faith:And so we're gonna Yeah. We're gonna wrap this podcast up. And, and the next podcast, we're going to go ahead and finish out the different benefits of having thankful heart or being thankful in affliction. So thank you for joining us. We hope you have a great week.
Kimberly Faith:We hope you join us next week for the next part of this series and the power of thankfulness in affliction.
John McLarty:Great job.
Jacob Paul:You've been listening to the Truth in Love podcast with your hosts, Kimberly Faith and John Mack. To discover more answers to the big questions in life, visit us atgofaithstrong.com.