1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Untangling Prayer Podcast. I'm Rachel Wojo, and 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 2: each week we unravel life's notts through prayer. Here you'll 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 2: find practical wisdom and prayer encouragement to guide you through 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 2: life's hardest seasons. Join me as we untangle life's messes together, 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 2: one prayer. 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: At a time. Well, hey there, I'm Rachel, and I'm 8 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: so glad you're here today. Can I tell you something 9 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: that I don't love admitting I get bogged down easily, 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: not usually by the crisis moments, but it's by the 11 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: ordinary details that add up. And I make a list 12 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: on Monday and then live like it all depends on me, 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: And then I wonder whether I'm strong enough for that day. 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: And if that's where you are, worn out from care 15 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: something that you were never really supposed to carry by yourself, 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: then this episode is for you. Today, we're sitting with 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: two of the smallest words in all of Scripture, but 18 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: the most powerful Romans Chapter eight, verse three. Paul says 19 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: the law was powerless to do a certain thing because 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: our flesh weakened it. But he tells us what happened instead, 21 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: just two little words God did before we go further. 22 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,040 Speaker 1: In today's episode, I wanted you to know about something 23 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: that I created for a season like the one I'm 24 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: going to share about in just a few moments. It's 25 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: called The Prey through a Battle Plan. It's a free 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: six step guide for praying through the hardest seasons of 27 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: life when you just don't have the words and you're 28 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: not sure if you can find the strength either. This 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: free guide can be yours at battleprayers dot com. That's 30 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: also where you will find my new book, which releases 31 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: one week from today. I'll say more about that at 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: the end, But now this week's Question in Hard Spaces. 33 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: Each week, I began the episode with a segment called 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: Questions in Hard Spaces, and this week's question came to 35 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: me sort of in an email. I haven't been able 36 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: to put it down this weekend. A woman named Lucy 37 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: wrote to me and her husband has Alzheimer's and he's 38 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: reached the place where he can't comprehend and he cries 39 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: a lot, and he can't tell her why he's crying, 40 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: and that's the part that's really undoing her because she 41 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: doesn't know what he needs and there's nothing she can 42 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,679 Speaker 1: do to fix it, and she told me he was 43 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: a man filled with faith, the kind who would share 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: the Gospel, share Jesus with anybody he met, and she's 45 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: watched him go a little bit further away each day. 46 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: What she wrote to me, and I wanted to be 47 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: sure to say it close to how she said it, 48 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: because I don't want to make it all nice and neat. 49 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: She said, I know that God is with both of us, 50 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: but it's truly hard to stay positive most days. So 51 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: here's the question, how do I stay positive when I'm 52 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: in the thick of the battle. So I want to 53 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,839 Speaker 1: be careful here, because the worst thing that I could 54 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,679 Speaker 1: do for Lucy is try to hand her something cheerful. 55 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: If I toss her a Bible verse like it's a 56 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: band aid or a cough drop and tell her she'll 57 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: feel better soon that I haven't told her the truth. 58 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: But staying positive was never really the assignment. What holds 59 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: a person up in a season like hers is knowing 60 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: that God is with her, And Lucy said, she already 61 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: knows that a woman who can write God is with 62 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: both of us. While she's watching the love of her 63 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: life disappear, She's not losing her faith. She is living it. 64 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: Out there in the hardest place where a person can stand. 65 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: So here's what I wanted to tell Lucy. And if 66 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: you're somewhere near you don't have to work up a 67 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: feeling that you don't have. No one's grating you on 68 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 1: how positive you sound before God. You can be honest. 69 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: You can take that honesty to a God who never 70 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: keeps his distance from our suffering, which is right where 71 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: Romans chapter eight sits with us. Thanks so much for 72 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: being here for questions in hard spaces. We'll be right 73 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: back after this brief word from our sponsors. Thank you 74 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: for tuning in to that word from our sponsors. And 75 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: now I'm diving into the segment of the podcast that 76 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: we call Pray More worry Less. It is a section 77 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: where we just deep dive into one prayer principle. We 78 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: slow down and digest one prayer principle. And today it's 79 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,239 Speaker 1: those two words God did. Look at what verse three 80 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: really says. The law, meaning all the rules, all the 81 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: effort trying to be good enough, was powerless, not because 82 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: there was anything really wrong with the law, but because 83 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: we are weak and we can't pull off keeping laws. 84 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: But Paul didn't leave us sitting in that he knew 85 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: that what the law could not do, God did by 86 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: sending his own son. And I've been studying to speak 87 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: at the Christ and You events this coming weekend. It's 88 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: a women's retreat sponsored by the Word FM and Xenia, Ohio. 89 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: I'd love to see you at the Christ and You Retreat. 90 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: For more information, email me at at Rachel Wojo dot com. 91 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: But there's a commentary from Stanley Horton that opened up 92 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: this section of scripture to me. He points out that 93 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: Jesus was a who went into temptation in the very 94 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: places where I fail, where you fail, where Eve failed, 95 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: and Jesus didn't fail. He showed us something about sin. 96 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: He showed us that sin comes by our nature and 97 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: by our choice. We kind of like to say, oh 98 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: I couldn't help, but it was just too much, or 99 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,119 Speaker 1: I'm only human. But Jesus was fully human and fully God. 100 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: He carried the guilt for all of the times that 101 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 1: we couldn't straight to the cross. And that's what those 102 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: two words hold. God did what we could not do 103 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 1: for ourselves. He covered our failing. Now, if you sit 104 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: next to where Lucy is right now, and maybe you are, 105 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: maybe your husband doesn't have Alzheimer's. But there's another problem 106 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: in your world. The Bible doesn't hold back. James tells 107 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: us that sin, when it's finished, bring forth death. Things 108 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: break on this planet, our bodies do, our mind's do. 109 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: Lucy's watching a man that she loves dearly be ripped 110 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: away from her, and I cannot pretend that away. What 111 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: I can tell you is that the victory's already won. 112 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: Jesus didn't only break since power from condemnation, but he 113 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: went to death and came out on the other side. So, 114 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: while Lucy, you are in that slow unraveling, I know 115 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: that you do not need a nice thought to get 116 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: through the afternoon. But I want you to know the 117 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: unraveling does not have the final say. There will be 118 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: a day when there is no more night. Your God 119 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: will redeem. He's writing a story of rescue, but it 120 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: happens one grace filled moment at a time. So what 121 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: do you do when you're in the thick of it. 122 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: You don't clinch your jaw and force yourself to feel upbeat. 123 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: You remember that the outcome have never rested on you 124 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: in the first place. God did the thing you can't do, 125 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: and he hasn't stopped and won't stop doing the things 126 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: that you cannot do. For our final segment, I wanted 127 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: to share an answer prayer story. I always do that 128 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: each week, and this week it's mine and it sticks 129 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: with the same email. Lucy had no idea what her 130 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: email would do for me when I received it. You know, 131 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: I walked twenty two years after herological decline with my 132 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: daughter Taylor, in twenty two years of watching a body 133 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: that I loved stop doing what we wanted it to do. 134 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: And I've asked got plenty of things about those years, 135 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: But underneath all of that, the prayer that I have 136 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: always prayed was God, redeem it. Please don't let it 137 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: be for nothing, Use it for something. And then this 138 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: woman I've never met emails me last week out of 139 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: her own battle and tell me that my words encouraged 140 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: her because she knows that I've been there, and I 141 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: couldn't have written one word that reached Lucy if I 142 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: hadn't walked what I've walked. The very thing that I 143 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: would have given anything to undo is the thing that 144 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: lets me meet her where she is. So I'm not 145 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: going to sit here and tell you that it was 146 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: all worth it. I can't say that losing Taylor was 147 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: not worth it. I don't think God asks me to 148 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: pretend that it was. But I can't tell you that 149 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't wasted. God has not wasted it. He took 150 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: twenty two years I never would have chosen, and He's 151 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: used them to make me somebody who could sit down 152 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: next to Lucy in the dark and honestly say, I know, 153 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: but God did. That's what I mean when I say 154 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 1: that God redeems the full thing, real restoration, the no 155 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: more night kind of restoration is not going to happen 156 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: on this side of heaven. But Lucy's husband, my tailor, 157 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: all of it is waiting on heaven for complete healing. However, 158 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: an email like Lucy's is a retemptive moment of grace 159 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: along the way, a small piece of rescue handed back 160 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,319 Speaker 1: to me. Until Heaven is our home. That's what our 161 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 1: God does, one grace filled moment at a time. If 162 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: you're in the thick of the battle right now, whether 163 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,080 Speaker 1: you're Lucy, or you're caring for someone who's slipping away, 164 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: or you're just worn down by some other kind of fight, 165 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: a child in prison, divorce, I have written something for you. 166 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 1: My new book, Praying Through Life's Battles is ninety Days 167 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: to Strengthen Your Faith. It re leases on August twenty fifth. 168 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: It's ninety days of honest prayer for the weary, for 169 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 1: the warring, and for the winning. Built for those seasons 170 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: when staying positive isn't the point, but staying with God. 171 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,359 Speaker 1: You can pre order it right now at battleprayers dot com. 172 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: You can also get that free Pray through a Battle 173 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 1: plan right there at battleprayers dot com in the same place. 174 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: I hope that you will take advantage of those resources. 175 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me on the Untangling 176 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 1: Prayer Podcast today. I pray that today's episode has encouraged 177 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 1: to do right where you are, and until next time, 178 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: remember God sees you, he hears you, and he knows 179 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: your needs. 180 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to the Untangling Life podcast with 181 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,959 Speaker 3: Rachel Wojo. If you enjoyed this podcast episode, be sure 182 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 3: to subscribe for show notes and free. 183 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,080 Speaker 2: Resources, visit Rachelwojo dot com. 184 00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 3: See you again soon.