All right, what's up everybody. Thanks for coming to the podcast today and especially you you get in the podcast today, found some time, got my wife Amber with me. We are answering your questions at email podcast at grangersmith dot com. And you could also go to whatever platform you're listening to, go to the YouTube platform at some point, not now, but later and comment below on that YouTube video of this to comment on this particular episode whatever we say.
So if you want to double down on something or you say, hey, you're wrong Amber on that, which I am a lot, you could do that. And if you want to start a fresh question, just email podcast at grangersmith dot com, kind of like Jet did and Jet says, Hey, Granger, how's it going. I'm a big fan of your music and your podcast. You need to make some more deer hunting videos soon. Okay. I've been a Christian around six years. I'm homeschooled and play sports through a local homeschool sports team.
I would love to hear about how we should play for Oh excuse me. I always hear about how we should play for an audience of one, give all the glory to God and work as for the Lord. But what are some practical ways I could actually do that. I am not a boastful or cocky player, but I would like to know what I could do so that other Christians would see Christ in me on and off the field. Thanks God, blessed.
Yet, it's really sweet. How old is he doesn't say, okay, well you're great with sports.
So homeschooled, so within a high school age. Yeah. I think it's a great question, and it's a question that not a lot of people ask, but they kind of act on this without asking it, And I think you should ask it. Should you should ask practically, what does it mean to give all the glory to God? What does it mean to play a sport for God? People say, you know, they hold up a trophy and they say, give all the glory to God. Man, you know, I just play for God. But no one really says what does
that mean? If I was interviewing, if I was working for ESPN and that happened, I'd say, oh, well, what does that mean? Yeah, practically, what does that look like? It's really nice to say, it sounds awesome, but what do you mean playing for God? Well? I think if you want to, if you want to play for God and you want to say that you play for God, and you want to show the world that you play for God. You need to be currently transforming, transformed by
God's transforming work in you. So how do you do that? Because because then it doesn't matter if you play sports, if you sing songs, if you work behind a computer all day at work, you could do all things to the glory of God if you're being transformed by him. So that means this answer is now for everyone, not just homeschooled sports players. So we're transformed by God through his word.
Yes, And he seems to maybe look like he is doing that, and so he's asking practically, how can we play for the Lord? So there's something little that we do whenever and our kids are just in you know, school sports. But I think just coming into the game with a spirit of gratitude that we are just even so thankful to be able to play the sport, like thank you Lord for my able body giving, having a spirit of gratitude for the Lord that we can even do what we're doing, that God has given us an
ability to play. And you know, obviously I think starting with prayer, you pray for strength or endurance or speed or anything that you you know, God says we need to ask, but we submit and say, Lord, You've already determined the outcome of this game, but can we just play well, have good sportsman like conduct, play as hard as we can, and ultimately we give the game to you, and if it's in your will for us to win, wonderful and then just show you know, good sportsmanlike conduct
on and off the field.
So where does so you're what you're talking about is humility?
Yeah? Where does that come from being in the word and submitting to God?
And yeah? So so really understanding being being humble really comes from a right understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to him. And that's that might sound deep, but it's not deep. It's actually just super simple. An aunt is humbled by a pickup truck when it's in the middle of the road trying to cross the road, because crossing the road seeing the pickup truck gives it a right understanding of the vast difference between the two things, the ant and the pickup truck.
So we understand who God is and the vastness, the greatness, the holiness that he is. As we engage more and more with the Bible, and this is something that you and I really this was a kind of a foreign idea to us. And as we started to learn that everything in our lives is different now because of the transforming work of the Word of God, it all comes down to that, like, if you're going to say, what's
the main difference that the Lord did to you? Since you changed everything, since you changed everything and I changed everything, what's the main difference that you actually did? Because it's God's work, But what's the difference in what you did? And we could say, you know, church, we could say prayer, we can say a lot of things, but the main
difference is reading His word. That's what transformed us. So really everything we've said so far, jet if you are creating a time every day to read His word, setting aside, not in a Bible study, not on Sunday morning church, not with your parents, not with a FCA group. Those are young life group, those are all great things, and you should do. You should do those. Those are great things, critical things. But more important than all of that is
your own personal reading time. In fact, we're on this right now with London. You know, she's thirteen and she goes through this period of time when she's setting aside her own reading time, she's taking notes, underlining, you know, circling things, highlighting, and then she goes through a period of not doing that, and just the other day we're like, hey, what's your Bible reading time look like? And she's like,
I haven't done it. And the further you get from that, the harder it is yet to play sports for the glory of God or to live and do anything to the glory of God, because because you start disconnecting from the knowledge of Him, which comes from this Word. So that's just all that. Everything we've said in the last eight minutes is read your Bible, understand who God is, and the outflowing of that will go into everything you do, including playing sports. You just breathing.
I did was I was going to. I just didn't know if we should just end it there. I just I saw something that Tim Tebow's mother had told him one time, and it was just, you know, many people give glory to God when they win, but can you still give glory to God when you lose? And so that's just that mind shift. But that also comes from being in the Word and having the fruits of the spirit.
Yeah, that's good. Next question comes from Adam. Hey Granger, I'm a huge fan of the podcast in your music. My name is Adam. I'm currently single. I do have some questions. I've been single for a little over five years now, and after a rough breakup and rebuilding myself, I feel that I'm ready to put myself back out there and try to meet someone new. I've joined dating apps as my work schedule gets really busy and I'm
socially awkward at meeting people for the first time. So my question is this, how do I, a twenty three year old go about meeting anyone or dating apps worth it? And if not, where would the best place be to find someone? Man? Adam answered this question a lot. Well, I don't know if you've heard my podcast in a while, babe, what but I sure have missed these questions from Adam. Okay, I used to get these all the time. There's been a little I haven't. I don't think I've answered one
of these. For those of y'all that have listened a long time, you know, I don't know it's been It might.
Have been the last time I was on right very long.
While I love these questions and it's actually been a while. So hey, Adam, thank you, thank you for kind of renewing the old tradition of the Granger Smith podcast, the how do I meet someone after five years? Okay, let's talk about it. So he's been single five years, that's a good, healthy time. We'll start there. If you said I've been healthy, I've been single for five months, different story, you know, but five years, like, okay, you're you're ready,
You're ready, And that's typically not what people say. Usually it's i've been single for five days. Now what should I do? I've been single for five weeks? What should I do? It's like, you shouldn't do anything, you should not date anybody but old Adam, he's given it five years. I like that. This second thing I want to say is Adam, twenty three is not old. I know that it feels old. And I know this, especially if you're looking at the last time you're in a relationship, you
were eighteen and now you're twenty three. You're very different now and you're thinking to yourself, Man, I don't know if I'm ever going to meet somebody. Last time I dated somebody else was a teenager. Now I'm twenty three, you know, in the clock's ticking, that's just not the case. You still have, you have so much life ahead of you. But that's not his question. His question is after he's properly rebuilt, he's got his feet back under him. His
question is really our dating apps. Okay, it's funny. We had this conversation last night. We had a couple staying with us in our barn last night, in which we do quite often these days. We have people come and families come and stay with us. And they met on a dating app. Do you remember which one?
That was Plenty of Fish.
Plenty of Fish. I don't know that. What is that?
Well, that's what they said. That was the dating app back in the day for just hooking up. So they were a little embarrass about that, but.
Yeah, that's before they're.
Chritians, befo, they're Christians.
Yeah, And they were like, I know, you talk about this on your podcast, you talk about you don't like dating apps. And I was like I was to their surprise. I told them we met on an app Facebook.
It wasn't technically a dating app, it.
Wasn't a dating app, but it was yeah.
Yeah.
So they were like, she was like why what. I don't think she knew that. So Adam, your question is are they are dating apps worth it? And if not, where would be the best place to meet someone? So you're not asking it are they good or bad? I think after five years you got a heavy work schedule, you think you're socially awkward. That that's debatable because I don't know you, but it's probably not the case. A lot of people say they're socially awkward.
You might feel that way because he hasn't dated in five years, so you would feel a little awkward.
Yeah, I think I would put I would look at it like your fishing, and you've got a trot line out, and you've got some jugs and some catfish heads on on the hooks, and you might as well put out the whole bunch of catfish heads in the jugs and and go check the jugs every once in a while. But don't I would say, not only catfish heads are you working with you? You got to get out and you got to cast a line. You know, you got to get a bait caster. And why are you looking
at me like that? This is my podcast, This is the things I say.
I love it.
You got to put a lure on there and a crank bait everyone in a while, maybe a purple worm, and you got to get into some of the some of the moss that you can't get to with those drugs, and you got to get your purple worm, you know, kind of working you know, like a Texas rig, you know, working it through the moss exactly and at them. Yeah. So so yeah, get the jugs out there. It's the catfish heads. That's okay, Go check them every once in a while. Don't rely on that. No fisherman would rely
only on that, all right? Next question that.
Dating apps I wouldn't say are bad, but you you might not get to obviously know the real person you know on a dating app, I would say, I don't know. If you're involved in a church, I think a church is a great way to meet somebody. Go have a community of people around you and meet somebody organically through somebody else, Like, hey, I have a friend who knows this person who I think you would be a great match. Something like that. But you can go cast your purple worm.
Is that how you answered this last question? Where would be the best place to meet someone? What are you saying?
Yeah, I would say through friends because they can vet the other person out, and or family. You know, I have this friend who has a daughter who might be perfect for you, but that involves you getting out, you know, and trying not to feel socially awkward, going out with some friends, or getting involved in in a hobby or a local community place or a church.
I could say this because it's a safe spot. Meaning I know a lot of people listen to this podcast, but my kids don't listen to this podcast, so I could say that stuff about them and they will never know. But I was with Pastor Chad, who's like one of the OG guests on this podcast. He's in Montana now and I was with him and he said, we're walking
through the mountains at Glacier National Park. He goes, Hey, you gonna set up my son and your daughter, And surprisingly I was like, yeah, I think that's I think that'd be a good deal. You know. As a dad, I'm like, yeah, I think, obviously we're joke. We're both joking. But I We did talk briefly about how arranged marriages typically worked. The divorce rate was very, very low in an arranged marriage because it's to the point of what
you just said. Really, the best place to meet someone is collectively your friends and family bring them to you and they say or her in this case Jet or Adam. So your friends and family are unbiased. They don't, they're not falling for tricks. They they're not going to deal with someone with a heavy baggage.
They want the best for you.
They literally just want the best for you. They want you to be happy, cared for, and they want the best for you. They don't care about the frivolous things. They're not going to deal with heavy baggage. They're not going to deal with big, big things that are gonna you know, maybe even religious issues that would would keep you to apart because you're too disjointed. They they're gonna bring to you the right person. That's why arranged marriages
works for so long. That's why Pastor Chad and I are going to actually do this.
We talk about that with people that we know in their daughters, like, oh I could we could see that, we could do that, we could have them as in laws.
Yeah. Yeah. Love is as unromantic as it as it might sound. Love is a decision, and this idea of soulmates, there's only one out there. Hey, this question goes back to Jet as well, that this question probably goes with everyone here this idea, this romantic idea of a job or a sport or a hobby or a spouse, that there's only one for you and you're made for this one. I am living proof of this with my job. I
am happy right now. I have joy and I have contentment, and I'm literally not doing the one thing that I have done for the two decades, and that is tour and play music to people. And so you would think, in theory on paper, you take away this one thing from an American that he's built his whole life on and he would be depressed. And I've totally debunked that. It's the same thing with a house, Adam. So stop thinking in terms of there's only one special girl out there,
and is she on a dating app? Is she at the end of that jug with the catfish yet I don't know. Instead, find someone that you're compatible with, that you get along with, that you're good friends with, that of course, that you're physically attracted to, and just marrier. And it's Christians we say, make sure she loves Jesus and she's chasing after Jesus. So that's what I say. You know, if you're a Christian Adam and don't overthink it and just make a decision. I'm going to love
this woman the rest of my life. Yeah, this is the most unromantic way you could possibly put it, but that's just the truth.
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com slash Granger sitting here with my wife Amber. If you want to follow her, just find her. She's everywhere.
Maybe this is what we have to do to have a date, is do a podcast. We can actually come up here by ourselves and have a conversation.
So we got on AI this morning. Was it this morning or yesterday? And it started with I don't know how this started with was with my brothers and we said, we started saying, draw a picture of Granger Smith and all the things that he loves. And it was like these you know, it was like guys in overalls and like across a bible, a small bible, always a barn, a windmill, guitars, belt buckle, cowboy hat, always a microphone. And then I said, and draw Amber Smith and the
things that she loves. And it was like huge bibles, a huge crosses and kids everywhere. And I was like, Wow, you're so much a I like you so much better than me. This next question if you want to email us email podcast at grangersmith dot com. It comes from Xandria. Yeah, it's a pretty name. X A N D R. I A like it, don't hear that too often. We're just talking about my grandmother today. Her name is Yeah, I've never met a Nettie.
Mine was Dorian Beatrice.
Wow, that's a good name. So Andrews says, Hey, Grangeur, my husband listened to your podcast every week and we listened once together recently, and maybe want to reach out and ask a question. Lastly, I've been creating or lately, I've been creating social media content on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. As a stay at home mom, I feel like I should be doing more to help with income with how hard today's society is. So I've been wanting to pursue social media for several years now in hopes to make
money on it. However, sometimes I have anxiety of doing it and getting in the way of spending time with my children or me. Often you are using it too often. I feel like with everything I'm doing, I should always be creating content, and if I don't, I feel like I'm failing for reference. My content is just stay at home mom related. My question for you is would creating content and wanting to pursue it while trying to gain a large following and make more money for my family,
be biblical or right of me. I battle it. So I also battle with maybe I'm just making excuses and I don't want to be consistent with it. It's a back and forth, constant battle. And another real reason behind me doing it is wanting to make money from it. Thank You's Andrea, Babe. I struggle with my not using my glasses.
Well I can see why now because I put them on the other night and I was like, wow.
I actually see Yeah, I don't. My vision is still twenty twenty, but I have a what was it called stigmatism, and the glasses clear up when I'm looking at this iPad and I've been using it the last several times. Now I notice like I'm reading slower without them. This question's perfect for you.
We were just talking about this. Yeah, I have felt convicted lately. I have just heard different podcasts and just different speakers and just in my time in the word of you know, should I delete social media?
And you know?
And you and I had this discussion, Well, that's part of our income, you know, that's how we make certain parts of our income. But I can to her question. She's feeling anxious about it. She's not you know, she's wrestling with it, and her her main thing is she wants to make money, which is not bad, like as a wife, you know, you want to bring in something, but her role, as in how God created her, is to be home with the family, with the kids, and
that's her main ministry is that. And I admire her for wanting to bring in income and help her husband because I feel the same way. But if she doesn't have a piece about it, if she feels uneasy about it or anxious about it, it might be time to just take a pause and kind of wait, because it doesn't feel like that's something that her heart is truly in for the right reasons. I guess if that makes sense, And if it is pulling you away from your children, I struggle with that too because I do work on
Instagram and social media. Yeah, and I feel that sometimes like this is taking away from some of my time with the kids, which would also be a good time to talk about what we just implemented in our house.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that her being anxious, and I think that's a good indication that this was probably not for you. I think if you said I love social media, I love doing this, I'm really gung ho about it. I would say, well, then keep going, because the truth is it's extremely hard to get to a place where you could actually make money on social media. You do it,
but it took you a long time. Even you're building a platform before we were even dating, really, and so to get to a point where you could endorse a product, for instance, what's the latest product you've endorsed and actually made money on? Because you do some things for Maverick where you just get a toy, but yeah, we're actually get money.
I don't get money. Well, that's one thing is I just like to help people. I like to get codes away, so I don't always ask for income. I'm trying to think the last thing that I did were I actually made money. I think vitamins. It was like some sort of health vitamin that I was endorsed doorsing.
Would you mind telling us on would you tell us on this podcast how much you made from those vitamins?
If I can remember it ranges. I mean maybe fifteen hundred to three thousand for a post or something like that.
Okay, how many times have you done that this year? I'm trying to make a point. Yeah, I don't know My point My point is, Andrea is this, Amber has been doing it for a long time. She does it at a pretty high level, and she's not making enough money to call it a full time job. Yeah, that you do a lot of other things, right, I.
Do, like speaking engagements and things like that. Other I make other income, but.
Just social media wouldn't be considered a full time job.
It's fun supplemental income from like fun days for the kids.
But to make an extra ten k a year, fifteen k a year, even up to twenty k a year extra, that's incredible and a huge blessing, but it's not. It's not you full time working. Right And so if Xandria thinks that she's going to do this and would that would be more than a regular job. You're looking at Amber, who is one of the top at the game. You know, learn about that, but yeah, I mean you're you do it at a higher level. You're probably top two percent
of women that promote products. The one percent is making one hundred grand two hundred grand a year.
I will say this also, Xandria, that the payment that I was making a couple years ago has significantly gone down. Like brands don't have the money that they used to have, Like women used to make ten thy twenty thousand on one post and now it has significantly gone down. So I think people think that you're going to go out and make all this money and it's not quite what it used to be.
Yeah. Yeah, So so once again, don't hear me wrong in anything. I'm saying. It's a huge blessing. Amber makes money doing post, I personally don't. I don't make any money on social media at all. I have chosen to not take that route because one you do it, and I want both of us to do it. So I use social media to build up my brand, so really mainly for EEE. When it comes to money, we hope that ee does well, which is another very difficult task.
Running an apparel company e commerce without a storefront is very difficult to continue year after year after year keeping it going. So I don't personally charge anything for social media, and you do occasional things. And so that's my advice to is Andrew. My encouragement is it's maybe not the grass is maybe not as green as you think it is. Yeah, the ceiling is maybe a lot smaller than you think it is. You might hit your head a.
Little sooner, and like you said, if you love it and you and you and you have a good like a platform that you could make money on, then you could set aside a specific times of the day to film your content and then you can be present with your kids. Like there's ways to do it, but it just doesn't feel like you have peace about it.
So we'll continue on the same question because I think this is bringing up a bigger issue. If you're ables Andrea, if you're able to to get in grow, because you got to grow your platform before you could before you could actually make money on it. How many followers do you have on Instagram?
It's about two hundred and ninety, So.
IF's Andrea has seven hundred, no brand's going to touch her. If she has fifteen hundred, they're still not really going to touch her. So you got to build it first. That takes years, and then once you build it, then you got to work. So what the what the bigger issue usually is you go on to build or to grow it, to post content and you get stuck because because of the algorithm pulled you in and there goes
thirty minutes of your time. You just got caught looking at social media for thirty minutes, you know, going down a rabbit hole. So this is this is a problem with content creators. For instance, let me put it this way. When I post a clip from this podcast, typically these days, the most things I posted to either something about Maverick or something from this podcast. And I'll do Paul who edits this, We'll give me a little clip and we'll work on it together, and I'll add the captions to it,
and I'll go post it on the different platforms. When you post on TikTok, this is a trick that they do. When you post while it's uploading, it starts playing someone else's as you watch video. It makes you watch it and the little dial is posting your video so you can't X out of it. I mean literally, the only thing you could do if you don't want to get hooked on TikTok is you hit post and put it down and walk away and let it upload. But it's
going to show you a video. Not only is it going to show you a video, but it knows you, and it's going to show you a video that you either love or that you despise. And if you despise it, you're going to watch it because it's so despicable. It knows you, The algorithm knows you. So that's really annoyed me that I will hit post and I'll flip my phone and put it face down on the table because I don't want to spend ten minutes getting caught, you know,
by this mind game that TikTok got me. So that's a problem with content creators is getting suck down the rabbit hole literally while we're posting. There are different apps that could post for you, but that makes it difficult too, because then you can't you can't see how the previous engagement was, and so you don't really know what the posts in the future. Here's my point. Amber and I found this thing called the Brick and some friends told me about it when I was in Saint Louis on
a speaking engagement, and I ended up buying it. It's for forty nine bucks and it's a little three D printed plastic brick and then with a magnet on the back, and you put it on the fridge and you download an app and the app can block all the distracting social media. You tell it what the block, and so you do all social media. You could do YouTube. You could do not the podcast app. You want to keep that one always on, but you could block anything that
might be distracting to you. And then you go and you touch your phone to the brick and it turns it on, and you can't unbrick it unless you touch that that little plastic device on your refrigerator or wherever you put it. And it's really cool. So I'll come in here to my for instance, my podcast room in here.
We're upstairs in my house, and I'll come up here and be working or be studying for seminary or reading or doing our recording after midnight, and I'll upload a I'll upload a video to a man, my producer, and while it's uploading, I'll pull up my phone to see if there's any news on Texas A and M football or something, and I'll be like, oh, I'm bricked. Yeah, I can't see it. And so it just keeps me accountable. And how you liked it.
It's really eye opening too. I was bricked out the other day, and how many times I grabbed for my phone to look And you realize how often you're doing it just mindlessly, you know, And I would try to pick it up and look at Instagram and it's like, oh, I'm bricked out. But it was so nice. I think we were bricked for seven something hours the other day.
Yeah, it's really awesome. So we'll I'll keep you updated on that. We're only one weekend to this bricking thing, so yeah, I think it's really cool. I'll keep everybody updated. But I think Jandre, I I think that.
Was a good Just storry about it and talk to your husband.
Yeah. Nice question from anonymous Hey Granger, came across your podcast from my friend's post. I'm in a very dark place and I don't know how to fix it. Found out my daughters were molested by their uncle, and my youngest daughter was molested not just by her uncle, but two older cousins as well. For three years. I put an app on their phone because she was getting so cold and mean to us, and I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Well, that's when I found
out about the abuse. In twenty nineteen, my sister refused to believe my daughters and advocated to extended family to convince them that my daughters were lying. My whole world has turned upside down with our family. I was so angry with God. How could he bless me with these beautiful babies and then let such horrific things happen to them? My mom was as far My mom went as far as selling the family cabin, which is where the abuse was happening. How do I ask God to help me?
I'm so angry and hurt and feel lost.
Oh Like, I just feel like you just have to sit in that for a minute and just say how like that is terrible and I'm so sorry that you and your family are going through that, that your daughters were subjected to that, that they have had to hold that or felt, you know, scared or angry or shame or anything that they might feel from that. I'm so sorry that you're having to go through that, and also
that they're not being believed. You know. That's that's so hard in a family, and it's so common that sadly, it's so common. I mean so many of my friends and family things things have happened to me. I mean so many, so many things have happened to people, and I am it's you are right to be angry. You're right to be angry in that. I just feel like I just had to sit there for a minute in.
That Yeah, And I think part of why you're saying we should sit there for a second is the fact that it is just common, horrifically common in this world.
And you want to that is your question, like, Lord, where are you in that? How is this? Like why would you allow something like this to happen?
How could you bless me with these two beautiful babies and let such horrific things happen to them?
And I will say there are three main reasons that things like this happen. And one is that we just live in a fall and broken world and it's not the way that the world is supposed to be. Two is that we are subjected by other people's sin, like other people are sinful. What happened is sin and wrong. And three is that we have a real enemy who is out to destroy everything about the family and everything
about us. And we don't understand why that type of horrific stuff happens the side of heaven, but we can know that God will make it right in the end, and that there are hopefully things that you can get in place to get your girls help, to work on familial issues, to work on forgiveness, because that's going to be a big one for you to work on forgiving them, but also you want them to be safe, Like you want justice to be done, but you don't want to
take out. You don't want to be vengeful yourself. You know, the Bible says vengeance is the Lord's So this is going to take a lot of prayer, probably a lot of counseling. You know, a lot of work is going to go through unpacking all of this as you move forward. But as in our first question, I mean, you be rooted in the word of God and pray to the Lord. Lord, show me how to walk through this, Show me how to help my girls, Show me how to forgive when
all I want to do is rage. God. I need you in this moment because I can't do it on my own.
Absolutely looking something else, Yeah, I think it's it's always good to go to the Psalms. Yeah, with with with things like that, or the Book of Limitations, because we have lost in this in our culture. We've lost the ability and the the technique of lamenting. We we live somehow in a world probably because of social media and and and dumb media that has kind of conditioned us that things things need to always be good. And if they're good, they're from God. And if they're not, let's
let's freak out. Yeah, and we we have forgotten that for thousands of years the people of God have lamented their suffering back to Him through through song, prayer, crying out, and through the lamenting, we know there is healing. Healing in many ways you could say cannot happen without fully lamenting. And it's the same thing that what I just said in modern day philosophy is, Yeah, I don't think you've worked it out yet. I don't think he's worked out
his grief yet. If people say that, you wouldn't have said that in the ancient times, you would have said they have not fully lamented. Like Psalm thirteen, How long, o Lord, will you forget me forever? How long would you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? That's you consider and answer me. Oh God, light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.
Lest my enemy say I have prevailed over him, Lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But Verse five I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. We have to remember how to lament. Jesus said on the Cross Psalm twenty two. He literally quoted Psalm twenty two. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning? Oh?
My God? I cry by day but you do not answer, And by night but I find no rest. What you asked me, Anonymous, was how could he bless me with these beautiful babies and then let these horrible things happen. I would encourage you, Anonymous, to ask him. Don't forget to ask him. I know you ask other people. I know you've asked this podcast, But don't forget to ask him, because he could take it. He wants you to be in communion with him. And it's not only in the
happy times. In fact, that would be horrible to only go to God in the happy times. In fact, I'll say, on top of that, hardly anybody does. People that go to Him in the happy times are people that have lamented to him in the sorrowful times, because that's usually when people go, where is God? So go to him, Go to your knees and go, God, how could you bless me with these beautiful babies and let such horrific things happen? Where are you? God? Have you forgotten this?
Do you not hear me? God? But the key to all this is address him.
Yeah, you go to the Lord. I was going to say, don't allow this to harden your heart and make you angry and jaded at God. Run to him because he's the only one that's going to be able to heal you, heal your girls. He is the only one that will make it right. Even if it's not right here this side of heaven, he will make it right in eternity. But they do need to be safe, you know, like you do.
That's a different Okay, got a different part of the conversation. I'm speaking to her right now. I'm speaking to her question, and her question.
Is was this a woman? I feel it was a man.
It's anonymous.
Oh, I don't know. I thought I thought it was coming from a dad for some reason.
I don't know.
Maybe I just went there in my mind.
Yeah, I went to the mother. You went to the Father. I don't know who it is, but the question is, at the very end, how do I ask God to help me? I'm so angry and hurt and feel lost. You go to him with.
That, You get on your knees and you beg the Lord to help.
You, and you understand that he has spoken. He's not speaking to you. I don't know how many times I've said this, through the clouds or through the wind. He's going to speak to you, like he has spoken to everyone through his word. And so you go to his word and you see what he says, including the laments, and then you go back to him and you repeat what the laments say back to him. How could you bless me with these beautiful babies? Where are you? God? Will you ever save me? Do you even hear me?
And continue to lament to him? And through that, I promise you, coming from experience, coming from experience, you will find healing in that. God is merciful to those who are crying out to him.
And there are terrible, tragic things that happen all the time, all the time, every day, and I'm so sorry that your family is enduring that right now. But you said, go to him, that is the only place that you will find healing and hope and peace in the evil things of this world.
Yeah, we'll end with alle but thank you all for emailing and I love It's an honor to walk through these with you, and to rejoice with you, and wrestle with you and sometimes lament with you. Love you'all, See you next Monday. Thanks for joining me on the Granger Smith podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You could
help me out by rating this podcast on iTunes. If you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel, hit that little like button and notification spell so that you never miss anytime I upload a video.
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