Knowing everything from every corner of the world that we can handle seeing everything in real time as it happens.
Right.
That we can in some way become personally responsible for impacting and changing the course of those things. We have unwittingly bought into this lie.
Yeah.
That we have the capacity in our bodies to be like goddesse.
Well, hello again, and welcome back to the Trim the Wick podcast. I'm, Dan.
And I'm Becky.
And first of all, we want to just say we're praying for those, yes. Who are going through the, who are going through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And, we got a little bit of wind and rain. but, you know, thank goodness we were spared any real damage or anything. But we know that a lot of people, are hurting right now.
We do. And, you know, that's kind of, that's a good jumping off place for what we're going to talk about this week. You know, there's been a lot.
Yes.
We watched the storm come in. we were on the edge of our seats with everybody else kind of going, where's it going to go? My goodness, how big is this going to get? We've lived in hurricane country for years and years and years and years. You know, we were, our daughter was born while we were evacuated during one. So, you know, we know what these things can do, and we know what that is. To sit there and watch something come in knowing that you may not have a home to come home to.
Right.
And, that weighs on your heart when you watch other people going through that. And we, weren't in the eye of it this time. No, but we know people who were.
Yes.
And I, and we're seeing the pictures along with everybody else, and it has led to a lot of conversation around here about, you know, how good is that for us to see all of it in real time? You know, I was up until the night that, it came in that it actually made
00 in the morning.
Yeah.
Watching coverage and you get stuck.
Yeah. And, you know, and this is one of the things, it's like we love information because it helps us prepare, it helps us get ready. You know, we knew pretty, pretty much early in the week that we weren't going to get a direct hit on this one, but we were going to get scraped, you know, kind of, basically, we were on the dirty side, but we were going to get scraped, but, but we knew we weren't going to be in. So having that information,
you know, is great. But there is a point, I believe, when you're, you can be just overly inundated with news and reports and seeing things, you have no control over it. That, I think, is the thing that it's the slippery slope of it because it, builds anxiety, it builds concern. It builds this stuff in you. You can't really do anything. As much as my heart goes out to those who are in Georgia and north Florida and Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina.
It's widespread.
It's going to be in Kentucky and lower Ohio and stuff as it, continues, just to turn and stuff. We know there's storm damage, we know it's bad. But seeing all of the video, all of the pictures, all of the stories, you know, it gets a point where it's just so overwhelming, it's numbing.
Well, and, you know, listening to, because we have been in hurricane areas for years, we have all the channels. We know the Zelle channels to listen to for the Cajun Navy, we know, the scanner channels.
Yeah.
you know, and some of the storm chasers have those police scanner channels running in the background, and you're hearing live 911 calls coming in and calls for help. And it's numbing, but it's a. It's numbing because your nervous system is overwhelmed and it shuts down on you because it's more than you can actually physically take.
Yeah.
And then it begins the mental spiral of, oh, my goodness, I am seeing all this pain, I am seeing all this. And this anxiety wells up in you of what can I do? What can I do? What can I do? And being spurred to action is not a bad thing, but being anxious and, driven is very different from being led by compassion.
Right. And I think that is the difference is, there's a level of being inspired to action, right. Or inspired to doing something positive. And then there seems to be a line when that desire to do something turns into a desire of I'm helpless and I can't do anything, and I'm just going to be in my anxiety and I'm just going, I'm just, I'm numb and I'm, I'm unable,
but it seems like. And I'm going to go back just this past year, what we're going through everything in our country and in the world from the continuing coverage of nonstop coverage of what's happening in, Ukraine and Russia in that war, and is it going to run off into a nuclear war? Is it going to do this during the wintertime? There was going to be no power because all the nuclear reactors were going to explode because of what Russia was doing. And then there was no food, and
then it was going to be. Now starvation is going to take over Africa because they can't get the grain out of Ukraine. And then it was like, now we're going to continue to talk about what's happening in the Middle east and the war. And it has been just, oh, and.
By the way, there's a constant thing of, there's a new strain of COVID here. There's a new strain of COVID there, and, oh, wait a minute. There's new viral things and there's new. And we don't know how to treat these. And there's. You can't breathe. you get to a place where you can't breathe, and then you also are sitting there going, but I have to know. I have to know what's happening.
Yeah, well, and on top of that, you've got, oh, the price of everything is through the roof. There is so much stress. There is so much of this thing of information, and you're being inundated to the point of what do you do?
Right. Well, and what you and I have been talking about this week around that is that you find yourself in that state of paralysis, which our scientists have been telling us for the last, what, four or five years, that our social media and our media inundation, that 24 hours news cycle thing is doing horrible things to people's dopamine levels and people's neurological rhythms. It's almost like we were not designed to function this way.
Yeah. And we're nothing. The whole thing of this, of having 24 hours of. And I don't want to put it all up on the news cycle because it's not always the news. That's, you know, we don't spend a lot of time watching actual news coverage.
Right.
We're now at the point where we're watching more. You know, we get more of our news from Twitter and.
Right. From the different media outlets that are out, there. Yeah.
You know, Facebook, things like that. We're getting more of our media from social media than we are from the news cycle.
So much more personal, because it's personal anecdotes, it's, I'm going through this, or I videoed this in my backyard. And so you feel that personal connection to people that you're not actually personally connected to.
Right.
And then you feel that personal responsibility, and we were never designed for this.
Right. Because, again, we're still human.
Right.
We're still, under this finite of our mind and who we are, we were created to learn and understand certain things, have knowledge. But when you start looking at different things of scripture and you start going, well, was the tower of Babel all just about the language? You know, it wasn't just about that. They could all speak a single language.
Right. There was a mindset involved there.
It was a mindset of being like God and knowing the things of God. Going back to Adam and Eve, we.
Are going to touch God. Right?
We are going to touch God. We are going to reach a level of ability that we weren't created for.
And our technology is rapidly getting us there, where God is the one who knows everything, who sees everything, has the power to influence and work in everything. He is all the omnis. He's omniscient, he's omnipresent, he's omnipowerful. You know, we're not.
No.
And so, but what's happened is that the capacity of our technology has now led us to believe that we not only are these things, but that we can handle being these things.
Right.
We, can handle knowing everything from every corner of the world. That we can handle seeing everything in real time as it happens. that we can in some way become personally responsible for impacting and changing the course of those things. We have unwittingly bought into this lie.
Yeah.
that we have the capacity in our bodies to be like God.
Yeah. And I think about, remember job? And Job's complaining to God. And if you don't know the story of Job, I encourage you to read it because it's a fascinating understanding, of who man is and who God is. But job is complaining to God. And God kind of reveals to job, pulls back the curtain a little bit and says, hey, job, do you have any concept of what I do and who I am?
like you're complaining about what I'm doing in this situation. Do you have a clue, bud?
But do you have any concept of who God really is? The omnipotence, the omnipresence, the ability to do things, the ability to allow things that grieve you?
Because I see in the end where it's going.
Exactly.
I see the end from the beginning. Can you do that?
Yeah. And we can't.
Yeah.
And we're at a point now, I believe with technology and stuff, we're being inundated to a level where we're seeing things that we are not in the middle of. We are not able to change, we are not able to influence in any.
Way except through prayer.
Except through prayer. And our brains get to the point where we go, we can't do anything. We are numb, we are ineffective. And what it does is it takes our eyes off God. And starts focusing on our inabilities and our weaknesses. And then it creates. I believe what I'm seeing is, it starts creating this enemy mentality where now I have to start lashing out at something or someone because I have now this emotional instability in my life.
I have this emotional thing. I can't do anything. So what I have to do is I have to vilify somebody. And you see this, and I think this real, thing of tribalism that we're seeing that in the United States with the political sphere, but it's with everything.
Yeah. There are divisions cracking all through our country.
It is very rare to actually sit down and have a conversation at all that doesn't turn into some form of.
Well, you got to pick a side on this, right?
You have to pick a side or you're my enemy now.
Yeah.
We can't just disagree and move on and be friends. No, we disagree. And now I hate you, and I can't have you as my friend.
And yet, I've come to this because of something that I've seen that is not actually in my immediate sphere. It's somewhere out there in the world. But because you don't see the thing that's out there in the world the way I see it, or you don't see the approach to correcting it or influencing it the same way I see it now. We can't even talk.
And so it's making humanity think that we are like God in that capacity has led to division, it has led to infighting, and it has led to something that we've caught ourselves in this week and have actively had to go, okay, lord, I repent of that. I'm gonna close the Twitter feed, and I'm gonna go do what's before me to do.
Right.
you know, we've noticed that it has become a place where if we're not very, very aware of where our minds are going and where our focus is, we can focus so much on those things out in the world that we legitimately. We need to take those things to God, set them before him, because he's the only one that can do anything about them. Right. we're not there. Us knowing about it isn't going to change anything. We can't impact the situation at all.
Personally and tangibly. We must go to prayer with it.
Yeah.
but then the things that we can impact personally, the places where God actually has put us, the places where our feet are walking, the relationships that we are in and can impact, we're neglecting those because our eyes are out there on all the stuff we can't do. It's a really effective tool of the enemy to get us to think that we need to know all the stuff, be virtually present in everything that's happening, even though we are powerless to impact it.
Yeah.
It takes us out of our here and now and where God wants us to be effective.
That's the thing, I think that really is the danger of all of this, this over inundation and this thing of not being able. Because what you do is you throw your hands up and you realize you walk right by the man who's paralytic right next to you.
Right.
You pass right by him because you're so focused on, well, this other stuff and this other thing, I can't. I don't even see the thing that's.
Right in front of me that's right there. Yeah.
That I need to reach my hand out to and pray for healing or I need to help my neighbor or I need to. That, I think, is the. The isolation of this and that's, you know, that's the damning part of all of this, is that we lose focus on what we should be doing because we're so much focused on things that we can't do.
Right. So the big question is, so what do we do about that? Right? And I think it's one of the reasons we wanted to have this discussion today is because it's something that we're working through ourselves. We're recognizing this in ourselves and going, whoa, this is really impacting some of how we're stepping forward. You know, there's. We know that there is a path in front of us, that God has laid, and we know that there are some very clear steps we're supposed to be
taking. We know that there are people in our lives that God has called us to be in close relationship with, and we need to be doing the work to build those relationships. But if we're stuck, we can't do that. So what do we do? And I think, you know, one of the things we wanted to do with this today is to kind of bring the discussion we're having to you guys and go, hey, are you aware of where that's happening in your life? Are you seeing it?
Yeah.
because I think it's that whole thing of, you can't fix what you don't see. We're seeing that very clearly that this is, this has been a tactic that in the spiritual realm that the enemy is using against the body of Christ to make us ineffective.
Yeah.
So we need to be very, very aware of this tactic that, listen, you gotta look at, ah, where your focus is. Where are you dwelling with your mind? And if it's not on Christ, if it's on all of these other extraneous things. And yeah, there are things that are out there. They are very real things. But are they the things that are in the places where God
has called you to walk in impact? And if they're not, and they come across the screen of your eyes, then you need to commit those to the Lord who is powerful enough to do something about it. And then you need to go, okay, but lord, where am m I to walk?
Yeah.
So kind of a call to intentionality in your thought life. Like, where are you looking? How much are you consuming of this stuff that the enemy's offering up to you?
Yeah, well, you've got to be able to, number one, focus on what God's called you to do.
Yeah.
And I've always thought, believe this, through my life we've done this, is that when, when God calls you and sets you on a path, you're on that path. And to stay focused. And it makes other decisions easier if they don't fall in line with that path.
Turn neither to the right nor to the left. Right.
Exactly. And so the staying focused on what God has for you, staying focused on what is the mission God has called you to do. And then, like you're saying, when these other things pop in, you know, you can either deflect them and go, you know what? I see that. That's horrible. Heavenly father, God, cover that. I trust you.
That's a key one, isn't it?
I trust you that you're going to handle this.
I don't have to get tangled up in fixing it because I'm not you and I can't do it anyway.
Exactly. I don't even have to go deep into it. But, I trust that you're going to handle this, you're going to fix this. And if it is something that you're going to be asking of me, let me know that if not, next time.
I trust you.
I trust you and I'm moving forward in what I'm doing because we've got to stay true to what God has called us to do because, we've noticed this with our life, is that there is so much. When you connect with people, when you connect with individuals, there's gonna be a lot that pulls you.
Yeah. Ah.
So you've gotta stay focused to what God's. It's doing what God's called you to do, not just doing what's good.
Yeah. And it feels sometimes like you're being cold and dispassionate about the pain and suffering in the world, but you're not. You're entrusting it to the one who can heal all of that. And then you are working to pour into the things that he's called you to pour into in your sphere. And you're trusting that he's got people in those places, too, because he is the omnipotent God.
Right.
He is the ever present God in all of those spheres. And just because I'm seeing it doesn't mean I'm the one that's got to do something about it. He's probably got somebody right there that's more immediate. What is it? There is a friend that's closer than a brother.
Right.
Like, we've had those friends in our lives where when we've lived half of a nation away from family. My brother was on another continent for a long time. You know, we had friends who filled those gaps. And we need to begin again to have trust in our God that he has people placed in those places, for such a time as this, in that place.
Right.
and we're placed where. We're placed for such a time as this, where we are.
If God's calling you to be a part of, okay, you're supposed to actively participate in this. I know there are so many groups out there who are disaster relief groups. And you mentioned Cajun Navy. I know that for years. the baptist men were amazing.
And they still do chainsaw wielding people. They go out there.
They go out there and they're trained, and they're ready to go at the, you know, the first time. Ah, a, tree falls, and they get in the truck and go, do that.
That's what God's called to. That is your calling. Absolutely.
If God tells you to say, hey, support them by sending them a check of $100 or whatever, do that. But don't dwell.
Right.
Don't dwell on something that you can't do anything about because it's just going to paralyze you.
Right. You dwell in the shadow of the almighty.
Yes.
And you rest underneath his wings. And you do. And you step and you go in the hard and sacrificial places that he's called you to go, but you don't sit there and become covered in despair of all the things that you can't go and aren't called to. You, need to trust him that he's called others to that, and you need to lend your prayer support to that. And then you need to walk in power and authority where you are.
Yep. Yep. Because God has a mission and a purpose for every individual person.
Yeah.
And one of Satan's big things is he wants to knock you off your mission and he wants to distract you and he wants to throw a wrench in your work. And so we want to encourage you with that. That's something that we're constantly encouraging with each other.
Yeah. And, you know, this week you've been like, babe?
Yeah.
What you looking at?
Yeah. With a little bit too much, screen time on this, we need to move on to something else, and that's what we need to do.
Yep.
And we need to encourage one another.
So, so this is our encouragement to you. If you're, if you're finding that your overwhelming emotion lately is despair and overwhelm, know that that's not compatible with faith and trust.
Right.
And that is not compatible with where you are called to walk. So just rebuke that enemy and refuse to participate. Right. Don't, don't come into agreement with him. Turn off whatever outlet you're watching.
Yep.
Close out whatever screens you need to close out. Pick your head up, focus on Jesus Christ and do what he's asked of you to do today.
Because the peace that passes all understanding comes from him.
That's right.
That's where we kind of want to leave you guys this week. We want to encourage you with that. And, part of the living in this planet at this time dealing with what we're dealing with and our everyday. And we just want to encourage you with that. I guess that's it. And we'll see you guys next week.
And we're praying that the peace of God will cover you and that you will cast your anxieties on him this week.
All right, love you. Bye bye.