Prayer Week 4 • Philippians 4:4-7

Show Notes

Sunday, August 1st • Beau Bradberry

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." — Philippians 4:7

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Beau Bradberry

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Thanks for listening.

Good morning.

Glad to have you guys with us.

If you've got your Bibles, open up to Philippians chapter 4.

While you turn there, I want to echo a couple of things that Pastor Dave said.

First, for the baseball game, would love to have you guys join us that evening, 5 o'clock.

I think 5.05 exactly is the first pitch.

We've got a whole section of seats reserved for us to be there for Willow Ridge Church.

It would be a wonderful time for you to come out there.

Now, I know that it is really, really, really hot right now.

And so when I was talking to the guy on the phone, getting our tickets lined up, he said,

I've got a question for you.

Do you want really good seats that are close to the field, or do you want really good seats

that are in the shade?

And I said, we will take the shade, all right?

So it still may be 105 degrees in the shade, but at least we're not in the dead sun.

And so I want to encourage you to be there with us that evening, and as we can be there together

as a church family.

Also, in September, we're going to be doing something a little different.

God just let on my heart during this season of life to kind of take something on and to

do something.

And so on Sunday nights, where we normally just go to our small groups for adults, I'm

going to be teaching a class here at the church on Colossians.

And so I would love for you, if that interests you or is something that you feel like God could

use in your life right now to join us, it's going to be a little bit different, all right?

If you've got a Sunday school background, it's not going to quite be Sunday school.

If you've got a small group background, it's not going to quite be small group.

We're going to work through every word, every verse in the book of Colossians.

We're going to talk through it all together over 13 weeks.

I will tell you this, heads up, there's going to be some homework, all right?

So you're going to go home and have some things to do during the week, and then come back,

and we're going to work through that, talk through that, teach through that together, and in

all honesty, excited how we can all learn from each other as we work through the book of Colossians.

Well, it is good to be back.

I wasn't able to be with you last Sunday as Aaron and I were up in Asheville preparing

for all of our middle school and high school students to come up there.

I had a realization this weekend.

I've been doing mission trips for a long time.

In fact, it hit me this morning that a few years ago, I flew back from India, and in spite

of all the jet lag that was there, I got up and I preached, I believe, the next day, and

have never been more exhausted after a mission trip than I am right now.

Somebody asked me this morning, they're like, what's that due to it?

Was the work?

Was it hot?

No, I was in the kitchen cooking with Aaron.

It's what we do on this middle school trip.

The hottest it got with the heat index was 86 degrees, all right?

So one afternoon, I took a nap on a rocking chair on a porch, like it was that good, right?

Here's the deal.

I'm getting older and things are catching up with me, so I know what it's all about to

feel this fatigue this morning, but good to be here.

It is remarkable to think over the last several weeks, all that God has done and all that God

had allowed us to do.

You know, several weeks ago, our high schoolers were out in Utah working with the Stockmans

at Hope Valley Church, and working and partnering alongside them, and then for our middle schoolers

to be able to go to Black Mountain and work at Black Mountain Children's Home was just

phenomenal.

And as a senior pastor, you know, you typically don't get the opportunity to do some of these

things.

You typically go on mission trips.

If you go on one, you go on one with adults.

But it's just, I was really fortunate, and we're really blessed that you allow us the

opportunity to go hang out with middle schoolers.

We do something a little different here.

If you don't have a middle schooler, you might not know this, but the rising sixth graders

at most churches, they start the youth group in the fall, but we allow the rising sixth

graders to start a little bit earlier, and then we let them go on the middle school mission

trip.

And it's just a wonderful time to see them come out of their boxes and get to know and see

all these kids interacting.

But I got to tell you all, a conversation.

So as we're watching these fifth graders just kind of bloom and blossom, one of them, and

a lot of you know this kid, his name's Samuel Evans.

I told this story.

I got this permission in the first service to share this.

He said, absolutely.

So Samuel was there on the trip, and Samuel and I really connected, and we were talking.

And Samuel is really in a Rubik's Cube.

So go all the way back to the 70s, right?

Y'all remember the Rubik's Cubes?

Well, that's a thing again, right?

And so he has a bunch of different Rubik's Cubes, and one of the Rubik's Cubes he has only

has four squares on each side.

And so he had that one up at the dining hall with him, and so I was kind of messing with

it and trying to figure it out, move it around, and I couldn't do it.

I couldn't figure it out.

I've never been able to figure out a Rubik's Cube in my life.

And so I handed it to him.

I said, Samuel, I can't figure this thing out.

And within seconds, he's just sitting there doing this, and then boom, it's there.

And I said, man, like, I need a Rubik's Cube that I can do that to.

And he said, oh, there's a perfect Rubik's Cube for you.

He said, I can make you one.

And he told me the kind of Rubik's Cube that it is.

And I said, well, Samuel, I can't do a Rubik's Cube.

How do you know that I can do that Rubik's Cube?

And he goes, oh, because it has all the same colors.

Like, it's just one color on the whole thing.

And I said, you can make that?

And he said, yeah.

I said, I'll pay for it.

So he's making me one, and I'm excited about it.

He said he can make five more.

And so if you want one of those as well, let me know.

We'll put your order in, and Samuel can get that made for you.

But just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time.

So, all right.

With that said, let's go ahead and jump in.

Philippians chapter 4, starting in verse 4.

Paul writes, and he says,

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say rejoice.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So, for the last several weeks, we've been doing our series on prayer.

And I hope that you've been, for all of you that have registered and signed up, I hope you're committing and following through on maintaining that time and that hour.

For those of you who didn't sign up, I hope during this, man, the Lord's pressing in on your heart, and you're growing as well in your prayer time.

I hope we're persevering and pushing through all that.

I was talking to one of our adult leaders on the mission trip, and they had signed up for like a 3 a.m. time.

And he said to me the next morning, he said, whew, that was a really, really hard prayer time last night.

And I said, what do you mean?

Like, what was the Lord doing during that prayer time?

He's like, no, no, no, no, not like that.

I'm just so exhausted that I woke up, and it was like, pray for five minutes, snore for 10 minutes.

Pray for five minutes, snore for 10 minutes.

I'm like, man, hey, the Lord knows your heart.

We're good to go on that, right?

But I hope you're pressing through for that.

And what we're seeing is God wants to use prayer to grow us.

God wants to use prayer to deepen us.

That week one we talked about to be devoted to prayer, and it's this commitment that we have,

and it's an endurance that we push through and that we press through, and then it builds us up,

and it strengthens us, and that's the concept of being devoted.

You get the imagery of an athlete pushing through some of the most difficult feats they have to do

so that they can gain the prize, and we see this with prayer, being devoted and pressing through,

dedicating, building in a discipline.

But we've also talked about prayer without ceasing, and that's not that.

That's not an hour, but it's moment-by-moment conversations that you can have with the Lord

because he's always there.

He's always listening as we see God pressing through in that.

And what I want us to see and continue on, and this is largely what we're going to focus in on this message this morning,

is this, that prayer shows our dependency on God.

Prayer is a statement of a lot of the things that we're going to say,

but one of the things that prayer will reveal is our dependency on the Lord.

Now, when we think through that, one of the things I want to press our hearts toward

because there's going to be a lot of action in this message this morning outside of the actions of prayer.

And what I mean by that is when we deepen in, when prayer shows our dependency on the Lord,

there's going to be tangible fruit that you and I experience in our life because of this.

And what I want us to see is that we're going to experience the life, the calling, the transformation God has for us

the more that we depend and deepen our relationship with Him.

The more we press into Him, the more we grow our roots down into Him,

the more we're obedient to Him, the more that we trust Him,

the more that we depend, God, the more that you and I get to experience the life that God has for us.

Now, I want to be careful.

That life that God has for us may not always be what we hope it to be.

God never promises His people that there won't be suffering or persecution or trials.

He doesn't promise us that.

But what we can know is that we'll be fully found and fully centered in God's will

the more we depend on Him and deepen our verse, our, I'm sorry, our life into Him.

Now, Paul starts out with a verse that we read a couple weeks ago.

Philippians 4, 4, rejoice in the Lord.

Again, I will say rejoice.

And so I want to give it just kind of a little bit of a recap,

but it's because it's going to continue on what we're doing this morning.

Paul says rejoice.

Again, I say rejoice.

So why the double?

Why does Paul say it twice?

Why doesn't Paul just say as he pens the letter, rejoice in the Lord?

Well, Paul does something in the language here that's important for us to know.

And we talked about this.

Paul says rejoice in the Lord sometimes, right?

No, he says rejoice in the Lord always.

And now, if he puts a, there's a semicolon right there that we see in our translation.

Because there's a pause there.

And what I want us to see is that in that moment, as Paul's writing that, he's anticipating where your mind went and where my mind goes when I read that.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and then we give a rebuttal.

But what about this?

But what about this?

But what about this?

And you and I can bring things in our life that are painful, that are hurting, that are bothersome as we struggle through that.

And so, Paul, anticipating that that is going to be the reaction of the heart of man, says, I'm going to answer that question before you ask it.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I say rejoice in the anticipation of the question.

But then he goes on, verse 5.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

So, what does that mean?

Well, a translation that maybe helps us understand reasonableness is gentleness.

Don't be quick-tempered.

Don't be quick to accuse.

Don't be quick to assume.

Be gentle.

Be reasonable.

Let people know that this is who you are.

And I love this to who?

Because let's be honest.

There are some people in our life and in our world that's easy to be reasonable with.

And then there's others, right?

And so, as he goes through, he says, I want to clarify this.

Always rejoice and be gentle, be reasonable to everyone.

Everyone.

Now, think about your life.

Think about mine.

Be reasonable to everyone.

Rejoice always.

But yet, the conflict that surrounds us in our world seems like this is an impossible task.

The conflict that we live in, the conflict that we experience.

And I don't know, I've been on this planet 42 years.

Some of you have been here longer.

Some of you have been here shorter.

But I've never lived in a time where I felt like not only was there so much conflict, but that conflict was the expectation.

That conflict is the norm.

That conflict is what we long for and that we desire.

And we're just waiting for it to happen.

And when it does, then that's when things are right.

But Paul says, no, no, no.

Not for us.

Rejoice always.

Be reasonable with everyone.

And then he's going to hit us up with verse 6.

And this one, I'll spend a little bit more time.

It says, the Lord is at hand, verse 6, to not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God.

So, Paul says, in all the things that are going around, do not be anxious, do not worry about anything.

Now, he's given some strong words here.

Paul's given us some absolutes in the command that he has.

There's no wiggle room for the Christian.

It's not rejoice sometimes.

It's not be reasonable to people who's easy to.

It's not don't worry about most things, but it's don't worry, don't be anxious about anything.

Big things, little things, in between things.

On all of the things that we respond to, Paul gives the command, do not worry about anything.

All right?

Now, if you're a person in here or watching online that struggles with worry, I want to just be honest with you just for a second.

All right?

This is a whole lot of me looking in the mirror this morning.

I'm not free from it.

This isn't something that I'm like, man, I had done, perfected this.

If you don't believe me, ask my wife, right?

I struggle with worry, too.

I'm in this.

But there's no wiggle room around it.

Do not be anxious about anything.

And so we have to dig in with this.

Don't worry.

Easier said than done.

What do we do when we worry?

I thought of three things, at least in my life, that I do when I worry, and all lead me back to where I begin.

The first thing, I think, is as people that we do when we worry, we stress and we shut down, right?

There's a dynamic.

There's a situation.

There's something that's going on.

The stress begins to consume us.

The stress begins to overwhelm us.

And so we stress and we shut down.

We isolate.

We lock ourselves up.

We get a big tub of cookies and cream, ice cream.

We cut on Netflix, and we don't leave our bedroom for three weeks, right?

Like, that's what we do.

Been there, done that, got the belly to prove it, all right?

That's what we do.

Another thing that we do, we try to plan.

I'm going to control this.

I'm going to get a plan, and this is what I'm going to do.

So we create spreadsheets.

We create flow charts.

We create action steps, and we sit down, and we say, this is consuming me.

I'm worrying.

This is what is going on.

This is what is happening.

And so I'm going to grab control of this, and I'm going to go forward.

And so to the best of our earthly, limited, broken ability, we try to fix what we're incapable of fixing.

Where does it bring us back to?

The last thing, and this is hard in the context in the community of church, but I think this is important.

We reach out to others.

We reach out to others.

And I'm not saying that we shouldn't reach out to others.

We should reach out to others, but we shouldn't reach out to others in the absence of reaching out to the Lord.

We reach out to others with their broken, limited perspectives as well.

But Paul's saying, when you worry, and maybe even before you worry, there's built in a discipline and practice that's there, that can grow you and persevere you through this.

So look back at the verse.

But in everything, in everything, in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

And so the answer to worry is prayer.

So let's look at this for just a second.

We should live our lives in the continual posture that we're building up the spiritual arthritis in our knees because we spend so much time down on them crying out before the Lord.

Paul doesn't say, Paul doesn't say, in some things.

Paul says, but in everything.

Everything by prayer.

In everything by prayer.

So I would argue with us that prayer is not only the position in the worry, but prayer is the position before the worry.

It's like trying to get healthy again.

It's like when we let go and we allow our bodies through lack of diet, through lack of exercise, through lack of taking care of ourself, and then the doctor sits down with us and he says, this has gone too far.

Now it's time to do something.

For most of us, it's too late.

We're trying to play catch up in a game that we can't.

And when we get like this within prayer, the world's falling down on us.

We just want to come because the worry is building us up.

And now is the time to cry out before the Lord.

And God's understanding, but I've been here the whole time.

And so why haven't we built it in to begin with?

So when worry begins to build, yes, pray.

But if we've lived our life in the devotion to prayer that we've been called to, to pray without ceasing like we've been commanded to,

then we can position our life within this that when the dam is breaking and the water is coming,

we've already positioned ourselves in the confidence we need in the Lord.

But then in verse 7, look at this, we get a promise.

Verse 7, we get a promise.

And the peace of God will surpass all understanding, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

And so what Paul says is that in this life, when this is who we are, when this is the dependence that we've had,

always with everyone in everything, what the Lord promises and what the Lord gives is victory over worry.

Now that doesn't mean the situation goes away, always.

It doesn't mean the struggle is gone, always.

But what it does mean is we can live in the fact that you and I, in Christ Jesus, are victorious.

Not only in eternity, but right now.

That we can live in the peace of God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will currently guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And this is what we do.

And so with everything, but in everything, back to verse 6, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

And so a couple ways I think we need to be diving through that we need to be able to pray.

Number one, what Paul tells us here is that we need to declare our needs.

With supplication, let your requests be known to God in all of them.

Could we just for a moment understand that God knows things about us that we don't even know?

And so what we think, the position of our hearts, the position of the things that we need, that we can cry out to God.

He says, but in everything, in everything, but not only in our needs, but in our thanksgiving.

And that we search our hearts with this.

One of the things that I've just noticed so much about myself, because almost in all of these prayer commands that Paul gives, brings back to thanksgiving.

It brings back to thanksgiving.

And what I've noticed in my life is that there are a lot of things that I lack thanksgiving.

That I, in my busyness, no, let's take away the nice words.

In my sin that I miss.

And I'm not thankful to the Lord for all these times.

It's easy for me to notice the big things.

It's easy for me to notice the moment.

But we can stand here and we can look out and see that.

And God hit me with that this week.

One of the nights we were having some small groups and I had the opportunity to sit in one of the small groups.

And one of the adult leaders was talking and he was sharing.

And we were talking about the glory of God.

It was a great conversation to watch middle school students have with adults.

It was wonderful.

And this adult leader said this.

He said, have you just ever taken a moment to notice the beauty of the sun and the flowers?

And it struck me, like, in the simplicity of that moment, to declare the thanksgiving for the Lord.

So we're sitting here and you're like, man, Bo, and I've been this way, man.

An hour is a long time.

But is it?

But is it?

Of all of the things that we have to be thankful for?

Of all of the things that we have, is it?

But in everything, in all things.

And that when this is the positioning of our heart, the promise that we have from Paul is that we gain the peace of God.

That the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

That in this, we're given eternal peace with God, but in this moment.

And this isn't an earthly peace.

It's God's peace that he grants us.

It's God's peace that he gives us.

It's God's peace that we mature in.

And it's God's peace that is different than the world's peace.

Because as the circumstances of the world are still there, we can rest in the peace of God.

You know, earlier we said rejoice.

And what we talk about when we understand is rejoice is the reason why we can rejoice in all things is that our joy does not come from our circumstances.

But our joy is found in God and God alone.

And so when we understand that that's where our joy comes from, we understand that that's where our peace comes from as well.

That we can still have conflict here.

We can still live in chaos here.

We can still live in strife here.

But in that, for the man and woman of God deepening in Christ, what is found is the peace of God.

Because my peace does not rest in any of you.

My peace does not rest in anything outside of here.

My peace does not rest in what the CDC will or won't say this week.

My peace does not rest in who did or who did not get elected.

My peace does not rest in my wife and my kids and my circumstances.

My peace is found in Christ and in Christ alone.

And Jesus was pretty passionate about this too.

In Matthew 6, I'm going to start reading to you, verse 25.

Jesus says,

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.

What you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body.

What you will put on.

Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns.

And yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Now, I underline this in my Bible.

I'd encourage you to do it as well.

Are you not of more value than they?

Right?

Can I tell you something I love?

I love birds.

How many we got at our house?

We got 10 birds.

Picking up 12 more this week.

Just, yep.

Don't shake your head now.

That's what I'm doing.

I've been determined, right?

We got chickens.

I'm picking up quail this week.

All right?

We got a bird that lives inside.

I love birds.

Love them.

Love to watch them interact and make noises and move around.

Love them.

Love them.

But here's what I know.

Birds aren't made in the image and likeness of God.

But we are.

But we are.

Are you not more of value than they?

Verse 27.

And which of you being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown

in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So here's what it's boiling down to.

When we begin to worry, when we begin to live in anxiety, as someone been there, done that,

our issue is our faith.

Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what

shall we wear?

Verse 32.

For the Gentiles seek after these things.

And your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

That when you and I, when we live in worry, that when you and I, when we live in anxiety,

what Jesus is saying, we're doing what the Gentiles do.

We're doing what is opposite of God's people.

We're doing what people do when they don't know him.

And we're living in this.

And so what Jesus calls us to, what Paul's pointing us to, is to live in peace.

To live in peace.

That we live in the posture from him to us, and not in this around us.

We don't live in strife.

We don't live in stress.

We don't live in conflict.

We live in peace when we trust God.

That's why Paul writes in Romans,

Let me just kind of pause here on this verse for just a moment.

I apologize that it's not on the screen.

We oftentimes quote and say this verse with an expectation.

And the expectation is this.

We know that for those who love God, all things work together for the good.

And I'm going to find out what that is.

But in the context in which Paul writes this, is talking about the future glory.

And so to trust God is not to say that we know that for those who love God,

all things work together for the good, and I can believe this because you'll show me.

But the context of this verse says, I can believe this even if you don't show me.

Even if I never find out.

Even if I never know what's going on in the good of my suffering,

in the good of the chaos, in the good of all this,

that I can still trust that all things work together for the good,

even if I'm never going to find out about it.

And so we live in the reality that peace is for us, even in the midst of this.

So how do we do this?

How do you and I, in the midst of whatever is going on,

in the midst of our lives, of the chaos,

begin to live in, strive for, cry out for,

depend on the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I'm going to read one last passage in Psalm 37,

but I want us to see this.

That peace is grown in depth of relationship.

Psalm 37, verse 1.

The psalmist writes,

fret not for your, fret not yourself because of evildoers.

Worry not.

Don't be anxious.

Don't be concerned because of evildoers.

Do not be envious of wrongdoers.

For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord and trust in him and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as light and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices.

When I looked at this, this past week as we were up at Black Mountain,

had a table set up in the kitchen where Aaron and I would get work done

and I was working on my message and she was over there.

I think you were making a dessert at that time for the kids for the night.

And I'm reading through this and as the psalmist writes,

I understand what he's talking about is in the depth of this relationship of verse 3,

right?

Trust in the Lord.

But as I started writing down some takeaways, some truths, some commands that we see of this,

I thought, you know, there's a lot that can be said about growing in this relationship with the Lord

but also growing in this relationship with my spouse.

But as the groom speaks of the bride and what the groom has called the bride to be,

that when these happen in my life, the graciousness that God gives is when I see this in my life

and I see the depth of relationship that Aaron and I can live in and experience in these things,

it points me even more to the depth of the relationship that I can have with the Lord.

And so one of the commands that the psalmist gives us in here,

in this depth of relationship that we're to see where this comes from,

that is the first thing he says is trust.

It's trust.

Every relationship built in and rooted in trust.

And so I thought about this with worry.

Why do I worry?

Because I don't trust.

That I want to hold on and not release.

That I want to do it my way and not trust that God knows better.

That I'm right and he's wrong.

Now while I would never say that, that that's what my posturing is,

that's what my belief is, and it manifests itself in this way.

From the very first verse, fret not yourself because of evildoers,

not be envious of wrongdoers.

Verse two, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

God's going to take care of it.

Trust him.

Trust him.

They do this, trust in the Lord and do good.

Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Trust.

The second thing, the second command, delight in.

Verse four, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

So what does that mean?

What does it look like to delight in something?

So Aaron and I, we left on Saturday, a day before, so that we could go up.

And it takes three trips to the grocery store to buy enough food for 42 people is what we found out, right?

So we go up early so we can do shopping so that we can be ready for when the team comes down.

And in that evening, we always go out to dinner at a local restaurant.

So we found one and we went and sat outside for two and a half hours.

And we just talked.

We just talked.

And sometimes we didn't talk.

We just sat there and looked out at the mountains and were there.

And if you're asking, you're like, well, Bo, what did y'all do?

We really didn't do anything.

But we just delighted in being in the presence of one another.

We delighted in the simplicity of the conversations we had.

We delighted as we learn more and more about each other's hearts.

And that only happened as we were in together.

And so delight in the Lord, can we pause and remove the busyness and just say in those moments,

I'm just going to be with God and have thoughts of Him and strive to know Him more and to be there.

Next, verse 5, commit your way to the Lord.

Trust in Him and He will act.

I want to look at commit in two different ways.

The first way I want to look at commit is this.

As the groom commits to the bride, we commit to the Lord and He commits to us.

So there is no other.

There is none that I search.

There is none that I seek.

There is none that I long for.

That if Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life,

then I stop trying to seek anything else that claims to be that.

But not only am I committed to Him in that way,

but I'm also committed to Him in actions.

Commit your ways to the Lord.

So it's no longer about my way of doing things.

It's about His way.

It's about being committed not to the suggestions that we find in this book,

but we're committed to the commands that He calls us to.

And it's where we find ourselves.

And then lastly, and I love this one.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Verse 7,

Well, if you're married, you spend time waiting, right?

We wait for Him to wake up in the morning.

You wait for each other to get ready to go.

You wait for each other to come home from work.

You'll wait for each other as one goes into a store and you walk around with them.

You wait for them as they go to do their hobbies.

And you wait for them.

And in the waiting for them,

what you're doing is you're anticipating when you get to see them,

when they return.

And in the building of that,

there's a deepening in the relationship of the waiting

and an anticipation that's there.

And God says that in this,

that we will wait patiently for Him and to be still.

About six months before Aaron and I got married,

I'd met Aaron's dad, not six months before,

I met Aaron's dad early on when we started dating.

And shortly after we started dating,

Aaron's dad found out that he was going to be deployed.

This was during the Iraq War in the early 2000s.

And so we didn't have a lot of time to get to know each other.

But we were able to spend some time together.

And then once he was deployed, Aaron and I got engaged.

And then Aaron and I were going to wait

until he got home from his deployment to get married.

Because my father-in-law, not only was he a military,

but he was a pastor.

Pretty kind of intimidating guy for me, right?

I got to deal with military,

but I also got to deal with pastor in this world.

And so it's kind of difficult.

And so trying to get to know him through a computer screen

was even more difficult.

But when I spent some time with Aaron,

we didn't have Zoom back then.

In fact, I don't even remember what the military had.

But as he was deployed on most nights,

he'd be able to get on his computer.

And we would get on the computer there in Jackson, South Carolina.

And we would have a conversation.

And in that, while he was deployed,

I had the opportunity to get to know him.

Well, I'll never forget one night.

I'd known earlier, a couple weeks before,

this was about six months, I think,

before we had gotten married,

Aaron had gone out

and she had gotten her bridal portraits taken.

And she had sent her dad,

there's a lot of things that were different

as he was being deployed.

She had sent her dad a picture

of her in her wedding gown

so that he could see her.

And he had printed it out

and placed it on his wall behind his desk.

Well, one night,

we're on the computer

and I'm talking with him.

And Aaron's there

and her mom's there.

I don't know if you remember this,

but Aaron goes,

oh no,

and like cuts off the computer screen

and tells me to get out.

What happened, right?

What'd I do?

And she said,

did you see it?

And I said,

see what?

And she looked at me

in a look that I'd never seen before.

She said,

did you see it?

I said,

I have no clue

what you were talking about.

She said,

if you saw it,

tell me,

I need to know,

did you see it?

And I said,

I don't think so,

but I don't know

what we're talking about.

Could you tell me

what I'm supposed to say

if I saw or not?

And she said,

I took a picture,

they took a picture

of me in my wedding dress

and I sent it to my dad

and my dad

printed it out

and had it on the wall

and it was hanging

right behind him.

Did you see it?

And I said,

no,

Aaron,

I didn't see it

and I'll never forget her words.

She said,

good,

because I want you to wait

to see me.

A few months later,

her dad's back

from deployment.

We're getting married.

Matlock Baptist Church,

Jackson,

South Carolina.

I'm back in a back room

watching the U.S. Open,

Phil Mickelson

was winning

and I get the knock.

It's time.

So I go out there,

standing on that nice,

bright blue carpet,

you know,

and the door opens.

And everything

that I'd waited for

was standing right there.

It's that time

most beautiful picture

I'd ever seen.

It just gets better

every day.

And that's an earthly love.

And God says,

wait,

wait for me.

Because the groom

is going to come

and take his bride

and wait

and wait

and wait

and as beautiful

as that day was,

will pale

in comparison

to when Christ returns.

And in that,

in spite of what

you're going through,

in spite of what

you're facing,

in spite of what

a doctor has said,

in spite of a hurt

that you've experienced,

is why you and I

can have peace

that surpasses

all understanding.

Because you don't wait

for someone

that never returns.

You'll wait

for someone

who comes back.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you so much

for your love for us.

Lord, I thank you

that you know

what our hearts

are prone to do.

Lord, how we can

take our eyes

off you

and surround them

in the circumstances

of this world.

Lord, I thank you

that my joy

and my peace

are not dependent

on anything.

anything of this earth,

anything of this world,

but they are found

in you

and in you alone.

And so in the midst

of the struggle,

I can rejoice.

In the midst

of the struggle,

I can find peace.

In the midst

of the persecution,

in the midst

of the doubt,

in the midst

of the tears,

in the midst

of the concern,

because Lord,

you are there.

and my joy

is in you

and my hope

is in you

and my faith

is in you

and my peace

is in you.

It all comes

from you

and that you

love us

and you call

us

and you save

us

and it's all

from you.

And so Lord,

in our faith

where we're doubting,

in our faith

where we're struggling,

Lord,

may we be

like the dad

who cries out

and says,

I believe,

help my unbelief.

Lord,

may we trust

in you

and not in

ourselves

and not in

our circumstances

and not in

others,

but may our

trust be found

in you

and you alone.

Lord,

may we delight

ourselves

in you,

being with you,

thinking about you,

talking to you,

listening to you,

knowing about you.

Lord,

may we delight

in you.

Lord,

may we commit

ourselves to you,

to your way,

to your will,

to your commands,

to who you are.

and Lord,

in the midst

of the struggle,

could we just

wait for you?

In the midst

of it all,

to know that one day

you will come.

You will get

your bride.

Can we just

wait for you?

Jesus,

thank you so much

for saving

lost,

broken,

sinners like me.

Listen to you,

let me pray.

Stand.

Thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you

enjoyed listening

to this week's message.

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Thank you.