Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000079S
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00:01 - Something I saw on social media a while ago
00:03 suddenly blew up into this massive controversy, 00:06 and you'll never guess what it was. 00:08 Today on "Authentic" 00:10 I'm going to tell you what I learned from the mole man. 00:12 [mellow instrumental music] 00:33 A little while ago, 00:34 I stumbled onto this debate 00:36 on social media that kept my attention 00:38 for way longer than it should have. 00:41 It first showed up on another forum, 00:43 but of course somebody took a screenshot 00:45 and shared it with the whole world, 00:47 such is the nature of the internet. 00:49 It was a heartbroken plea from a woman 00:51 whose boyfriend was doing something 00:53 she didn't care for. 00:55 And while I'm tempted to summarize 00:57 this for the sake of expediency, 00:59 I think the only way to accurately 01:00 convey the sense of it, 01:02 is to just read it to you, so here we go. 01:04 I believe this was dated sometime in April of 2022. 01:08 It says, "So I know this is a weird question, 01:11 "but my boyfriend likes to spend a lot of his free time 01:13 "digging a tunnel on some property that he inherited. 01:17 "I haven't seen the full extent of it, 01:18 "but last I saw it was remarkably 01:20 "deep under the surface. 01:22 "He spent roughly a year on it, and it's evident. 01:25 "The front of the thing is deep, wide, well put together. 01:28 "At the front, which is the only part I've seen, 01:30 "he's got cement beams, electric lights, 01:32 "even chairs and a small table. 01:34 "I haven't gone into it, 01:36 "but it looks like the quality 01:37 "severely dropped as the tunnel went further, 01:40 "mostly becoming open dirt with some wood beams 01:42 "holding it up. 01:44 "My biggest concern is his safety. 01:46 "I'm really worried that he's going to dig too deep, 01:48 "and it'll collapse on him or something. 01:50 "I've tried voicing this concern to him, 01:52 "but he just laughs it off 01:54 "and assures me that he'll be fine. 01:56 "Aside from safety concerns, 01:57 "there's also the fact that 01:58 "he doesn't really have a social life, 02:00 "because of this thing. 02:01 "I'm pretty much the only person 02:03 "he still talks to outside of his job, 02:05 "and he doesn't go out and do anything anymore. 02:07 "It used to be that he'd occasionally head out 02:09 "and do some digging on the weekends, 02:11 "but now he spends almost all of his free time out there. 02:14 "He still comes home, 02:16 "but he barely spends any time with me. 02:18 "And I know that he isn't doing anything, 02:20 "but digging that darn hole in the ground. 02:22 "This can't be good for his mental health, 02:24 "but I don't know how to convince him to stop." 02:27 And now comes the kicker. 02:29 "He's always really happy when he comes back from digging, 02:32 "which is why I haven't seriously tried to stop him before. 02:35 "But I was talking to a friend about him, 02:37 "and she told me he might be going crazy. 02:39 "Obviously, I don't think he's insane, 02:41 "but I hadn't considered the mental health aspect of this, 02:44 "and I just don't know what to do." 02:47 Now, this is not the kind of thing 02:49 I'd normally waste my time on, 02:51 but you have to admit, 02:52 this kind of stirs your imagination. 02:54 I mean, what in the world is that boyfriend looking for? 02:57 Does he think there's something valuable under the property? 03:00 Is he some kind of a prepper, 03:02 digging himself a shelter, 03:03 so he can survive the collapse of civilization? 03:06 Or is there a possibility, 03:08 and I know this isn't nice, 03:10 but I also know this absolutely 03:12 popped into some of your heads, 03:14 is there a possibility 03:15 that he's out there digging that tunnel 03:17 just to get away from her? 03:19 [chuckles] Got to wonder. 03:21 You know what my first reaction was? 03:23 "I wish I had a tunnel I could work on," 03:25 and not because I need to get away from my wife. 03:27 In fact, I hit the jackpot in the wife department. 03:30 But there's just something 03:32 really appealing about what that guy was doing. 03:35 It doesn't really matter 03:36 if the tunnel actually goes anywhere, 03:38 or if it serves any kind of practical purpose. 03:40 The joy is in the digging. 03:43 And while some of you are 03:44 going to wonder about my sanity today, 03:47 some of you understand what I'm talking about. 03:50 Not too far down the gargantuan thread of posts 03:53 that followed that one, 03:54 somebody inserted a cartoon with two women talking. 03:57 One says to the other, 03:59 "My boyfriend won't stop digging his tunnel." 04:01 And her friend replies, "Boys are weird." 04:04 But then in the next panel there are two men, 04:06 and one asks the other, "You wanna dig?" 04:09 And his friend says, "Yes," exclamation point. 04:12 It made me laugh, 04:13 because I'm absolutely the friend who says, "Yes!" 04:17 Now what I'm going to say is a little simplistic. 04:20 It's a massive generalization, 04:22 but this whole thing does illustrate a fundamental 04:25 difference between the way sexes tend to think about life. 04:29 For thousands of years, 04:31 [light instrumental music] men have scratched their heads 04:32 trying to figure out how women think, 04:34 and for thousands of years, 04:36 women have been doing the same thing 04:37 in the other direction. 04:39 And I realize we can find 04:40 lots of overlap between the sexes 04:43 and clear exceptions to the rule, 04:45 when we examine the whole population, 04:47 so don't write me letters. 04:49 But, for the most part, 04:50 there are definite trends, 04:52 and the evident differences between the sexes 04:55 have been a nonstop source of frustration 04:58 and entertainment on both sides of the fence. 05:02 I mean, I've been living with Jean 05:03 for about three decades now, 05:05 so I can pretty much predict 05:06 what she's going to do 05:07 under any given circumstance. 05:09 I know my wife's bedtime routine 05:11 like the back of my hand. 05:13 It involves no less than 20 separate activities, 05:17 and she always does all of them in exactly 05:19 the same order every single night. 05:22 I know exactly what she's going to do 05:24 and when she's going to do it, 05:26 but I've got to tell you this. 05:27 To this day, I have no idea why. 05:31 All of it makes perfect sense to her, but not to me. 05:35 As you can imagine, the thread below 05:37 this lady's post exploded with comments, 05:39 because I'm not the only one 05:41 who found this subject irresistible, 05:44 and for the most part, the responses were predictable. 05:47 Most of the women condemned the tunnel 05:50 and sympathized with the girlfriend, 05:51 not all of them, but most of them. 05:54 A handful simply said, 05:55 "If he's coming home happy all the time, 05:57 "what's wrong with that?" 05:59 Now most of the men 06:00 were decidedly in favor of the tunnel. 06:03 Reminding us that for men, 06:05 physical work is therapy. 06:07 Most of us don't want to sit in a circle 06:09 and share our feelings, 06:10 or bear our souls to another human being. 06:13 I know that some of you are convinced 06:14 that men would like it if we tried, 06:17 but I can assure you we do not. 06:20 Not everybody deals with problems the same way. 06:24 For example, 06:25 in the winter when I'm really frustrated about something, 06:28 I like to go outside and shovel snow. 06:31 Sometimes I'll even move a pile of heavy wet snow 06:34 just a few feet, because there's something about 06:37 being physically active and doing orderly routine work 06:41 that helps you make sense out of your thoughts. 06:44 This is likely the reason 06:45 I like to read books when I'm walking, 06:47 which is something I discovered the founder of this show, 06:49 the "Voice of Prophecy" also did. 06:52 It takes a little practice to master walking and reading, 06:55 and I'd advise a great deal of caution 06:57 if you're going to do it. 06:58 But I love it, 07:00 because when I'm active and my blood gets pumping, 07:02 my thoughts become sharper 07:04 and better organized. 07:06 Now, for the most part, 07:07 I find that social media threads are a waste of my time, 07:10 and they're largely a festival of uninformed opinions. 07:14 But sometimes all of those throwaway comments you find 07:17 under a post begin to reveal something true 07:20 about human nature. 07:22 One of the respondents suggested 07:24 that men have a deep need to control their environment, 07:27 and personal experience suggests to me that he's right. 07:31 And when we can't control our environment, 07:33 we'll naturally go find something we can control, 07:36 so that we can begin to find order in the midst of chaos. 07:40 The same is true for many women, as my wife pointed out, 07:42 and she puts knitting in that category. 07:45 It's a somewhat mindless activity, 07:47 but it's systematic. 07:49 So it gives a troubled mind 07:50 a much needed sense of order. 07:52 [gentle music] And as soon as I return 07:53 from the chaos of a really quick break, 07:56 I'll tell you something surprising and useful 07:59 about post-traumatic stress disorder 08:01 and a video game I'm guessing you've played at some point. 08:04 [light instrumental music] 08:06 [bright reflective music] 08:08 - [Announcer] Are you searching for answers 08:10 to life's toughest questions, like, 08:12 "Where is God when we suffer? 08:14 "Can I find real happiness? 08:16 "Does my life really matter to God? 08:19 "Or is there any hope for our chaotic world?" 08:22 The Discover Bible Guides will help you 08:24 find the answers that you're looking for. 08:27 Visit us at biblestudies.com 08:29 or give us a call at 888-456-7933 08:34 for your free Discover Bible Guides. 08:37 Study online on our secure website 08:39 or have the free guides mailed right to your home. 08:42 There is never a cost or obligation. 08:45 The Discover Bible Guides are our free gift to you. 08:49 Find answers and guides like 08:50 "A Second Chance at Life". 08:53 You'll find answers to the things 08:54 that matter the most to you. 08:57 Visit biblestudies.com and begin your journey today 09:00 to discover answers to life's deepest questions. 09:07 - Two-thousand years ago, 09:08 the Roman statesman and luminary Seneca 09:10 wrote to his mother about the incredibly 09:13 stressful events she'd been going through. 09:15 He didn't write to her right away, he said, 09:17 "Because sometimes discussing trauma too early 09:20 "only makes things worse." 09:22 Here's what he wrote. 09:23 "I realized that your grief 09:25 "should not be intruded upon 09:27 "while it was fresh and agonizing, 09:29 "in the case the consolation themselves 09:31 "should rouse and inflame it. 09:33 "For an illness too, 09:35 "nothing is more harmful than premature treatment. 09:38 "So I was waiting until your grief 09:40 "of itself should lose its force, 09:42 "and being softened by time to endure remedies, 09:45 "it would allow itself to be touched and handled." 09:49 You know, if you think about it, he kind of has a point. 09:51 When something really devastating happens, 09:54 at least for me, the last thing 09:56 I want to do is talk about it. 09:58 In fact, I often find myself 10:00 turning down phone calls from people 10:02 who really just want to help me feel better. 10:04 I mean, I know they mean well, 10:06 but discussing the problem 10:08 with somebody when it's really fresh, 10:09 is sometimes a frustrating exercise, 10:12 because I haven't had time to sort things out in my head. 10:15 [light dramatic music] One of the problems with 10:17 traumatic events is that your brain 10:19 just doesn't know where to file the information, 10:22 and so you find it haunting your thoughts day after day, 10:25 hour after hour on an endless feedback loop 10:28 that can really start to torture you. 10:31 And when somebody wants to talk 10:32 in the earliest moments of your torment, 10:35 it doesn't usually help. 10:37 I'm not saying it doesn't help anybody, 10:39 but it certainly doesn't help me. 10:41 And I'm guessing that's also true for a lot of you. 10:44 Ask me again in a couple of months, 10:46 and chances are I'll be far more ready to talk, 10:48 because by then I'll have figured out 10:50 where to file the information, 10:52 and now it's organized. 10:54 Now I don't really know this guy, 10:56 but I'm guessing that it's at least part of the reason 10:59 that mole man is down there underground excavating a tunnel. 11:02 It's a way of organizing your thoughts even though the dirt 11:06 and the shovel might be unrelated to the problems 11:08 you're actually thinking about. 11:10 Back in 2017, 11:12 a group of researchers from the UK and Sweden 11:15 discovered something really interesting 11:16 about traumatic events. 11:18 When victims of a car accident 11:20 were given a game of Tetris to play, 11:22 within the first few hours of the trauma, 11:24 it greatly reduced the potential for PTSD, 11:28 even if all they did was play the game for 20 minutes. 11:32 A psychology professor by the name of Emily Holmes 11:34 found these studies promising. 11:36 As reported in this online article 11:38 published by CPR News, which said, 11:40 "Holmes feels that playing Tetris shortly after an accident 11:44 "can interfere with memory consolidation, 11:46 "or the gradual conversion 11:48 "of short-term memories into more permanent ones. 11:51 "Evidence suggests that there 11:53 "is a window following a trauma, 11:54 "in which a bad memory can be disrupted or avoided, 11:58 "and in which memories can be uncoupled 12:00 "from the brain's emotional centers." 12:03 Now, I'm certainly not a qualified psychologist 12:06 by any stretch of the imagination, 12:09 and as an amateur I know just enough 12:11 to be a little dangerous. 12:13 But, honestly, 12:14 this research does make sense to me. 12:17 Quite apart from the fact that I could hear 12:19 the Tetris music playing in my head 12:20 when I read that story, 12:22 and you're welcome because you can probably hear it now too, 12:25 apart from that, this research struck a chord with me. 12:28 It makes a lot of sense. 12:31 [light dramatic music] 12:32 In fact, I've been in a few car wrecks, 12:34 including a bad one that I caused 12:36 when I was just a few days shy of my 17th birthday. 12:39 For the next few weeks, 12:40 every time I closed my eyes, 12:42 I saw nothing but car accident. 12:45 I could see the moment the car became airborne, 12:47 I could hear the screams of my passengers 12:50 and hear the horrible sound of steel 12:52 grinding against steel. 12:54 And I could feel the impact when the car 12:56 was stopped by a tree at the bottom of a cliff. 13:00 And in the beginning, 13:00 it felt like that playback loop 13:03 was never ever going to stop. 13:06 It was an experience that was so unusual, 13:08 so out of step with my day-to-day life, 13:10 that my brain didn't know what to do with it. 13:13 I mean, if you ask a stunt man 13:14 if his dreams are haunted by his work, 13:16 the answer's probably no, 13:18 unless there was something particularly horrible 13:20 when somebody was hurt or killed. 13:22 But for the most part, 13:24 this is what these guys do every single day, 13:25 so they can sleep comfortably at night. 13:27 Their world makes perfect sense. 13:30 But crashing cars was not what I do on a daily basis, 13:33 and so the memory haunted me. 13:35 The scenes appeared on the stage 13:37 of my mind uncontrollably, 13:39 reemerging when I least expected it. 13:42 I had no way to make sense of them. 13:44 I mean, over time the problem went away, 13:47 but there are people whose trauma 13:48 continues to haunt them for many, many years. 13:51 And from where I sit, and remember I'm not an expert, 13:55 but from where I sit, it seems like part of the problem 13:58 is that we just don't know what to do with the information, 14:02 and that's where a game of Tetris really makes sense. 14:05 I mean, think about it. 14:07 A game like Tetris requires you to make order out of chaos. 14:10 Tetris is a game where geometric shapes 14:12 are falling out of the sky, 14:14 and you have to rotate and guide them, 14:15 so that they all fit together like puzzle pieces 14:18 at the bottom of the screen. 14:20 Again, it's order out of chaos. 14:22 [gentle music] 14:23 And while the chaos you faced 14:25 in real life isn't quite like that, 14:27 your brain can still sense that you're working on it. 14:30 That you're restoring order, 14:31 and maybe, just maybe, the act of organizing random blocks 14:36 puts your random thoughts into some kind of order as well, 14:38 because your brain thinks it's finally dealing with it. 14:42 It's not, unlike the notepad, I keep close to my bed. 14:46 I've been a horrible sleeper my whole life, 14:48 and one of the things that disrupts my sleep 14:50 on a regular basis is unfinished business. 14:53 A random thought will pop into my head 14:56 in the middle of the night reminding me 14:57 of an unfinished task. 14:59 And, of course, at two o'clock in the morning, 15:01 there's not much I can do about it. 15:03 I can't make a phone call and ask someone to help me. 15:06 I can't call a meeting to discuss the problem with staff, 15:09 and so it haunts me like a broken tooth 15:11 at the back of my mouth that my tongue 15:13 just can't stop playing with. 15:16 So what do I do? 15:17 I write it down. 15:19 It might be as simple as writing, 15:20 "Ask Ruben about our production schedule," 15:22 or, "Ask Kyle when he needs the details 15:24 "for the brochure we're going to produce." 15:27 Then the minute I write it down, 15:28 my brain marks it as handled, 15:30 and let's go of it. 15:32 So maybe doing something like 15:33 Tetris convinces your brain 15:35 that you've handled the issue, 15:36 and it can begin to relax. 15:38 You might not be able to walk away from the problem, 15:41 but at least now you've done something, 15:43 and your mind begins to perceive 15:45 a little more order. 15:49 Now, of course I really have no idea why Mr. Mole Man 15:51 is actually under the ground digging, 15:52 but I can tell you that it appeals to me simply because 15:56 that looks like my kind of therapy, 15:58 which brings me to the Bible, 16:00 because it has a lot to say about the subject of worry. 16:04 There's a well-loved expression 16:05 in one of Peter's letters, and it reads like this. 16:09 "Therefore, humble yourselves 16:10 "under the mighty hand of God, 16:12 "that he may exalt you in due time. 16:14 "Casting all your care upon him, 16:17 "for he caress for you." 16:19 The Greek word for care is "merimna", 16:22 and it literally means anxiety. 16:25 This was written at a time when the Roman Empire 16:28 was just becoming aware of the existence of Christians, 16:30 and the emperor didn't like them. 16:33 Peter died in fact, under the reign of Nero, 16:35 who took special delight in killing Christians 16:38 in very inventive and diabolical ways. 16:41 He had some of them sewn into animal skins 16:43 and dropped in front of a hungry pack of dogs. 16:46 There were others that he dipped in tar 16:47 and hung from crosses, 16:49 so that he could light them on fire 16:50 and use them as nightlights in the arena. 16:53 It was a very stressful time to be a Christian, 16:56 and you can be sure there was no shortage of trauma 16:59 that believers suffered. 17:01 And how does Peter suggest they handle it? 17:04 By releasing their cares to God, 17:06 and I'll be right back after this break 17:09 to talk about that. 17:10 [gentle music] 17:12 - [Announcer] Here at the "Voice of Prophecy", 17:14 we're committed to creating top-quality programming 17:16 for the whole family. 17:18 Like our audio adventure series "Discovery Mountain". 17:21 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program 17:23 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 17:26 Your family will enjoy the faith-building stories 17:28 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 17:31 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 17:34 and fresh content every week, 17:36 there's always a new adventure 17:37 just on the horizon. 17:42 - Sometimes the advice 17:43 that Christians like to give each other 17:44 during really trying times isn't really very helpful. 17:49 It's a little like Job's friends, 17:51 who came to help him grieve his incredible loss. 17:54 These guys really meant well, 17:56 but what they were doing with the things they said 17:59 was kind of heaping salt into his wounds. 18:02 I mean, statements like, 18:03 "Job, have you considered 18:04 "that this is probably your fault?" 18:06 That's not particularly helpful when somebody's hurting, 18:09 because trust me hurting people 18:11 have already considered that. 18:14 I've discovered over the years that people 18:16 are usually afraid to go and visit somebody 18:18 who has suffered incredible loss, 18:20 because, well, they don't know what to say. 18:24 So let me put your mind at ease. 18:25 I can tell you after decades 18:26 of sitting with grieving families, 18:29 it's not what you say that matters 18:31 nearly as much as the fact that you showed up. 18:34 Unless, of course, you say something really hurtful, 18:37 which I promise you they will remember. 18:40 And often when the wound is fresh, 18:42 saying less actually proves to be more. 18:46 I mean, that's exactly what Seneca wrote to his mother. 18:48 "I would've written sooner, 18:50 "but I didn't want to make things worse." 18:53 So sometimes, as my wife can tell you, 18:56 I really don't want to talk about things 18:58 when I'm troubled by them, 19:00 but I will talk to God, 19:02 and I don't always have the words 19:03 to express what I'm feeling. 19:05 And in that case, I fall back on something 19:07 I found in Romans chapter eight where Paul says this. 19:11 Listen, "Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. 19:17 "For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, 19:19 "but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us 19:23 "with groanings which cannot be uttered." 19:26 So, in other words, 19:28 it doesn't matter if I don't have the vocabulary 19:31 to express what I'm feeling, because God does. 19:35 He knows full well what it's like to live 19:37 here on this planet, because he's been here, 19:40 and he struggled to the point of actually 19:42 sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane. 19:46 Listen to what the author 19:47 of the book of Hebrews tells us about Jesus. 19:50 "For we do not have a High Priest 19:52 "who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 19:55 "but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 19:59 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace 20:02 "that we may obtain mercy 20:04 "and find grace to help in time of need." 20:08 The Bible reveals a personal God who gets us 20:12 because he's not a stranger to suffering. 20:15 He entered this chaotic world of ours, 20:18 a world that made no sense, 20:20 a world that was ripped apart by trauma, 20:23 [light instrumental music] and he made sense out of it. 20:25 And then he invites you 20:26 to share what's killing you, 20:29 to bring those haunting thoughts 20:30 that refuse to stop torturing you 20:32 and share them with him. 20:34 "Cast your cares upon him," Peter writes, 20:37 "because he cares for you." 20:39 And sometimes when the pain is too deep for words, 20:43 when my voice begins to falter 20:45 because I don't know how to handle what I'm talking about, 20:49 I actually take out my laptop and I begin to write. 20:52 And I address it to God as if it was an email 20:55 that he was going to receive in a matter of seconds. 20:58 [gentle instrumental music] 20:59 And wouldn't you know it? 21:00 There's just something about 21:02 the very act of organizing my thoughts 21:04 and presenting them to somebody bigger than myself 21:07 that begins to melt my anxiety. 21:10 My brain actually begins to let go of it, 21:12 because it senses that I'm dealing with it. 21:15 I take those thoughts and I put them somewhere 21:18 by the act of placing them in God's hands. 21:21 You know, I'm suddenly reminded of something 21:23 that you find over in the book of Isaiah 21:26 in chapter 43 where God says, 21:28 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. 21:31 "I have called you by your name. 21:33 "You are mine. 21:34 "When you pass through the waters, 21:36 "I will be with you, 21:37 "and through the rivers, 21:38 "they shall not overflow you. 21:40 "When you walk through fire, 21:41 "you shall not be burned, 21:43 "nor shall the flame scorch you. 21:45 "For I am the Lord your God, 21:47 "the Holy One of Israel." 21:50 "Lord, how in the world am I going to handle this?" 21:53 God answers, "You can't handle it, so let go of it. 21:57 "I know your brain needs a place to put this anxiety, 22:00 "so why don't you leave it with me?" 22:03 Now, of course, that's easier said than done, 22:05 and I suppose that's one of the reasons 22:07 that I tend to write things down 22:09 because I can always go back 22:11 and remind myself that the problem isn't mine anymore. 22:14 I gave it away to somebody else, 22:16 and now it's stored in the best place possible. 22:21 In the 23rd Psalm, 22:22 easily the best known and most loved of all the Psalms, 22:25 David says this, 22:27 "Yea, though I walk through 22:29 "the valley of the shadow of death, 22:31 "I will fear no evil. 22:32 "For you are with me. 22:33 "You're rod and your staff they comfort me." 22:38 Take a careful look at what that says. 22:40 As you likely know, 22:41 because it's been read on a thousand special occasions, 22:44 the poem begins with the words, 22:45 "The Lord is my shepherd. 22:47 "I shall not want." 22:49 So when it mentions a rod and a staff, 22:52 it's actually using pastoral language. 22:54 It's a picture of a shepherd guiding his sheep, 22:56 bringing order out of chaos. 22:59 Left to themselves, sheep will scatter. 23:01 They'll go off in a dozen different directions. 23:03 That's why sheepdogs are so valuable. 23:06 They know how to corral the sheep 23:08 and keep them going in the right direction. 23:10 This psalm uses the language of order, 23:13 and it's better than a sheepdog. 23:15 This is God moving the random blocks of your life 23:18 into something that will make a lot more sense. 23:21 All right, it's time for one last break, 23:23 and then I'll come back and wrap things up. 23:26 [gentle music] 23:29 - [Announcer] Life can throw a lot at us. 23:31 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 23:35 but that's where the Bible comes in. 23:37 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 23:40 Here at the "Voice of Prophecy", 23:42 we've created the Discover Bible Guides 23:44 to be your guide to the Bible. 23:45 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 23:48 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 23:51 and they're absolutely free. 23:53 So jump online now, or give us a call, 23:55 and start your journey of discovery. 23:59 - Well, there you go. 24:00 I've done it again. 24:01 I've blathered on and on and on 24:02 until I've just about run out of time. 24:05 But maybe before we're finished, 24:07 let me go back to the tunneling boyfriend 24:09 one last time. 24:11 I really don't know what it is about that tunnel that 24:13 that guy loves, because we've never met, 24:16 but I can guess. 24:18 I might be wrong, but I can guess. 24:20 There's nothing down there under the ground 24:22 except for hard work and his private thoughts. 24:26 He's down there bringing order out of chaos, 24:29 and that just happens to be one of the deepest needs 24:32 that you and I have. 24:34 And this is really one of the reasons 24:36 that I've learned to love reading the Bible. 24:40 This is a bluntly honest book, 24:43 and it reveals the human condition exactly the way it is. 24:47 It doesn't sugarcoat it. 24:49 You'll find all the same trauma 24:51 that you find in 21st century life. 24:53 This book talks about things like murder and betrayal, 24:57 and even rejection by family. 24:59 In fact, the gospel accounts show us that Jesus himself 25:03 went through all those things and more. 25:06 Far from being pie in the sky, 25:08 this book is an honest, 25:10 a real depiction of what human life is like, 25:15 but then it offers us some peace of mind, 25:17 a way to organize the trauma of this world 25:19 and begin to make sense out of it. 25:22 In Psalm 46, 25:24 the psalmist writes these words, 25:27 "God is our refuge and strength, 25:29 "a very present help and trouble. 25:32 "Therefore, we will not fear, 25:34 "even though the earth be removed, 25:36 "and though the mountains be carried 25:37 "into the midst of the sea, 25:39 "though its waters roar and be troubled, 25:41 "though the mountains shake with its swelling." 25:45 Look, I'd love to sit here today 25:47 and tell you that I've mastered all of this, 25:49 but that wouldn't be true. 25:51 I'm still learning how to control anxiety, 25:54 but I can tell you this. 25:55 Knowing that somebody out there 25:57 can still see the sense of my life 25:59 [light instrumental music] on the days that I can't, 26:01 that makes all the difference in the world, 26:03 because now I've got somewhere 26:05 to take my chaotic thoughts and file them. 26:08 They're somewhere to put them. 26:10 I have full permission to lean 26:12 into the pain of this life and confront it, 26:15 which many people will tell you is one of the fastest ways 26:19 to begin the healing process. 26:21 Some people look for distractions 26:24 in an effort to cheat their grief and anxiety, 26:27 but as a good friend of mine pointed out 26:29 after tragically losing his wife, 26:32 it is almost always better to face your grief head on. 26:36 Take it, place it under the heading "God's Problem", 26:41 and leave it with him. 26:42 Now, it's organized. 26:44 It's categorized, [light hopeful music] 26:45 and at least partially dealt with. 26:48 "Be anxious for nothing," Paul once wrote, 26:50 "but in everything by prayer and supplication, 26:53 "with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, 26:57 "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding 27:01 "will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." 27:05 You know, in the opening chapter of the book of Ezekiel, 27:08 the prophet saw this whirlwind. 27:09 I mean, the very definition of chaos, 27:12 and it was a prophetic representation 27:14 of the world he found himself living in. 27:16 He was in Babylonian exile, 27:19 but then he looked up above the storm, 27:21 and he saw the throne of God up there, 27:23 and realized there is someone out there 27:26 who can handle it. 27:28 You know, some people go and dig tunnels. 27:32 Other people like me go and shovel heavy wet snow 27:36 or do something physical to help organize their thoughts. 27:39 Other people learn the ancient art of prayer, 27:42 and as they learn to pray, 27:44 they discover something remarkable. 27:46 You can take all the chaos of this world, 27:49 the chaos, the pain, the anxiety of your life, 27:52 and hand it over to somebody who's got it under control, 27:56 and at that moment you'll discover 27:58 you really can have peace of mind. 28:01 Thanks for joining me for today's episode of "Authentic". 28:04 We'll see you again next week. 28:06 [mellow instrumental music] |
Revised 2023-09-10