1 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,200 S1: I have a question for you today. The radio backyard fence. 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,200 S1: Do you have a good definition of the word delight? 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,600 S1: We use that word over and over again with Doctor 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,600 S1: Rosalie de rosé, who was with us yesterday, and she 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:23,040 S1: delights in great reading. And that word, I think is 6 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:29,479 S1: a really, really good word delight. What do you delight in? 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,480 S1: Do you have an answer for that? I posted that 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,200 S1: on Facebook and there's some really good responses so far, 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:37,880 S1: and I'd like to hear from you. Let me open 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,320 S1: the phone lines. We have a guest for you today, 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:41,960 S1: but I want you to I want to hear from 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:50,840 S1: you first. But you have to hurry. No. No pressure. Eight. Seven. Seven. Five. Four. Eight. Three. 675. Z. 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:58,000 S1: Number (877) 548-3675. What do you delight in? You call me 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,780 S1: now and tell me what you think. If you need 15 00:01:02,780 --> 00:01:05,620 S1: an oasis in the middle of a parched desert, come 16 00:01:05,620 --> 00:01:08,060 S1: on along. We are delighted. You've joined us today for 17 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:09,900 S1: the program. From the heart to the Heart for the 18 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:14,500 S1: heart online at Chris Fabry live.org. Our team today working overtime. 19 00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:18,059 S1: Ryan McConaughey doing all things technical. Trish as our producer 20 00:01:18,100 --> 00:01:20,780 S1: Lisa is in the chair today. Josh will be answering 21 00:01:20,780 --> 00:01:24,300 S1: your calls. And since we are listener supported, that means 22 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:26,540 S1: you are part of the team here at the back fence. 23 00:01:26,540 --> 00:01:31,500 S1: If you listen and participate. And for those who contribute financially, 24 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:33,940 S1: that's a big one. We have a great thank you. 25 00:01:33,940 --> 00:01:36,420 S1: Right now, the target is the heart of a parent 26 00:01:36,860 --> 00:01:39,979 S1: of an adult child who is estranged. There's some kind 27 00:01:39,980 --> 00:01:43,260 S1: of fracture in the relationship, and you don't know how 28 00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:46,740 S1: to mend that broken place. And I think of that 29 00:01:46,740 --> 00:01:52,460 S1: Japanese art kintsugi that in the broken pottery, the gold 30 00:01:52,460 --> 00:01:55,860 S1: lacquer is placed in the broken places, and the broken 31 00:01:55,860 --> 00:02:00,840 S1: places become not only stronger than they were before, but 32 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,880 S1: also beautiful. And I pray that for you with your 33 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,440 S1: adult child. But I want to give you more than 34 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,119 S1: just a word picture. Doctor Kathy Cook wrote, resolve conflict 35 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,280 S1: and find peace and hope with adult children. I'd love 36 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,640 S1: to send you a copy of that book, and you 37 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,640 S1: may have somebody in your family, your friend group coworker 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,880 S1: who's really hurting. And you know this. I want to 39 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:24,720 S1: send you a copy of that book, and the easiest 40 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,760 S1: way is to go to the website, chris.org, give a 41 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,160 S1: gift of any size, and we'll send a copy your way. 42 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,320 S1: Chris Fabry live.org. You can give a one time gift 43 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,680 S1: or you can become a back fence partner with us. 44 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,880 S1: You can also call our listener line and press the 45 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,320 S1: right number to give a gift. Eight six. Six. Nine five. 46 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:52,359 S1: Fabry is the number to call (866) 953-2279. Get in touch 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,440 S1: today and thank you for helping us continue the conversations 48 00:02:56,660 --> 00:03:02,940 S1: Right here at the radio backyard fence. So, Ryan, are 49 00:03:02,940 --> 00:03:08,419 S1: we ready to. Okay. All right. Well, I didn't know. 50 00:03:08,900 --> 00:03:12,940 S1: I was just just asking the question. So you're the delight. 51 00:03:13,060 --> 00:03:16,220 S1: What is the delight in your life and how do 52 00:03:16,220 --> 00:03:19,140 S1: you define that? I've got a good definition for it. 53 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:22,300 S1: But first, I want you to hear from Stephanie Roselle. 54 00:03:22,580 --> 00:03:26,180 S1: She's the founder of Gospel Spice Ministries, host of the 55 00:03:26,220 --> 00:03:31,579 S1: Gospel Spice podcast. Her personal motto is God's glory, our delight. 56 00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:34,739 S1: That's a good one. Born and raised in France, she's 57 00:03:34,740 --> 00:03:37,260 S1: lived for her one lord over the last two decades 58 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:41,100 S1: on three continents for different countries. She and her family 59 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:45,340 S1: now live in Pennsylvania. Stephanie, welcome to the program. How 60 00:03:45,380 --> 00:03:46,260 S1: are you doing today? 61 00:03:46,980 --> 00:03:49,620 S2: Oh, it's so nice to be with you today. Thank you. 62 00:03:50,420 --> 00:03:53,820 S1: The title of her book is wait for It Awaken 63 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:59,240 S1: the Light. Satisfying your soul's longing for God. Featured resource 64 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,800 S1: Chris fabriclive.org. I think the best place to start then here, 65 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,840 S1: instead of running toward delight. Stephanie. The best place to 66 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,880 S1: start is the atheist and French hedonist. Description about you. 67 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,440 S1: Tell us about Stephanie at 20 before you met Jesus. 68 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,760 S2: That's such a fun question. Thank you for asking. Well, actually, 69 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,480 S2: I was 16 years old when I came to the 70 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,479 S2: US as a foreign exchange student from France. I grew 71 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,240 S2: up fiercely atheist, and by that age, this was the 72 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,640 S2: worldview I had embraced for myself. It wasn't just passed 73 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,839 S2: down from my family, it was my worldview. I was 74 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,880 S2: an atheist and especially believed that Christianity, any religions, but 75 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,840 S2: Christianity in particular was a crutch for the weak. It 76 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,360 S2: was the opiate of the people, and it was definitely 77 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,520 S2: not something I wanted nor needed. Thank you very much. 78 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,880 S2: I was very self-sufficient, very strong and really did not 79 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,860 S2: need anything man made like I thought it was. And 80 00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:59,979 S2: lo and behold, I came to the U.S. and did 81 00:04:59,980 --> 00:05:02,540 S2: my senior year of high school in Pennsylvania, where I'm 82 00:05:02,540 --> 00:05:06,620 S2: currently living. Full circle moment. A few decades later and 83 00:05:06,620 --> 00:05:11,940 S2: my American hosting family just so happened to be very 84 00:05:11,940 --> 00:05:15,260 S2: strong followers of Jesus. What I mean by that is 85 00:05:15,260 --> 00:05:18,419 S2: that they weren't just going to church to go to church. 86 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:22,940 S2: Jesus was the cornerstone of their life. It was, you know, 87 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:26,420 S2: their faith was the linchpin of all their relationships. And 88 00:05:26,420 --> 00:05:32,220 S2: so through them, I discovered Jesus, and he was compelling 89 00:05:32,580 --> 00:05:36,980 S2: and irresistible. And that is a very scary place to 90 00:05:36,980 --> 00:05:40,420 S2: be for an atheist. I very quickly became convinced of 91 00:05:40,460 --> 00:05:43,980 S2: the historical truth of the resurrection, which again, is not 92 00:05:43,980 --> 00:05:47,659 S2: something that makes her an atheist comfortable. Long story short, 93 00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:50,500 S2: I ended up giving my life to Jesus after I 94 00:05:50,540 --> 00:05:54,160 S2: discovered that he was trustworthy. and we can talk about 95 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,560 S2: that a bit more if you desire. And I went 96 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,480 S2: back to France a few months after that, convinced I 97 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,520 S2: was the very first French Christian ever because I had 98 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,920 S2: never met one. I've met a few since. So that's 99 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:09,360 S2: how the story started, Chris. 100 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,839 S1: And you'd never had a Pascal before? Right. 101 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,840 S2: So, see, that's the thing in France, at least at 102 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,840 S2: the time, on the secular school benches of the, you know, 103 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,520 S2: of high school, I had studied Pascal as a mathematician 104 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,920 S2: and as a philosopher, but not as a theologian. So 105 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,560 S2: the faith component of his life had never been. I 106 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,039 S2: had never heard about it. 107 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,440 S1: What did your parents think? Because, you know, you hear 108 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,159 S1: people who convert to some other religion from Christianity and 109 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,880 S1: how that hurts the parents and what's going on here. 110 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,880 S1: What did your parents think about you turning away from atheism? 111 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,440 S2: Mhm. Such a good question. And I love how you're 112 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,600 S2: implying that atheism is a religion, because it really is. Um, well, 113 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:54,219 S2: you know, initially they thought it was a phase that 114 00:06:54,220 --> 00:06:57,220 S2: I was going to grow out of that maybe I 115 00:06:57,220 --> 00:06:59,660 S2: had been trying to become a little more American. And 116 00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:02,340 S2: because my American mom and dad were Christians, maybe they 117 00:07:02,339 --> 00:07:04,740 S2: thought I was just trying to fit in with a culture. 118 00:07:05,140 --> 00:07:08,460 S2: They soon discovered that, stubborn as I had been in 119 00:07:08,460 --> 00:07:12,380 S2: my atheism, I could be even more stubborn in my Christianity. 120 00:07:12,420 --> 00:07:16,020 S2: And so this became a bit of a difficult point 121 00:07:16,020 --> 00:07:19,220 S2: for the rest of his life. My father was quite 122 00:07:19,220 --> 00:07:22,820 S2: mad at me, to be honest with you. He really 123 00:07:23,220 --> 00:07:25,740 S2: was not very happy at all. And that led to 124 00:07:25,780 --> 00:07:30,620 S2: all sorts of, um, difficult times. My mom still thinks 125 00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:32,580 S2: it's a phase I'm going to outgrow, and it's been 126 00:07:32,580 --> 00:07:33,460 S2: 33 years. 127 00:07:33,460 --> 00:07:37,700 S1: So has she read the Wiccan Delight yet? 128 00:07:38,340 --> 00:07:40,740 S2: Oh she hasn't she doesn't speak English. So that's going 129 00:07:40,740 --> 00:07:43,180 S2: to be a little difficult. Plus. Yeah. I don't think 130 00:07:43,180 --> 00:07:44,060 S2: she's interested. 131 00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:46,820 S1: When did you learn English? Did you learn it in 132 00:07:46,820 --> 00:07:48,540 S1: France before you came to the U.S.? 133 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:52,080 S2: Um, well, I had a, you know, a smattering of 134 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,680 S2: French in school, but at the time my accent was very, very, 135 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,640 S2: very strong. And so I had to live in the U.S. 136 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,960 S2: for some time to get rid of that accent and well, somewhat, 137 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,520 S2: and then really learn English. So it was it was 138 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:06,920 S2: during my senior year of high school. 139 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,920 S1: So the, the family, you know, and some people say, well, 140 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,560 S1: I bet they really proselytized you and they made you. 141 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:17,880 S1: It sounds like from what I've read of your story 142 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,560 S1: and heard you online, that you had you met people 143 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,640 S1: who would, um, argument is not the right word, but 144 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:31,200 S1: would have these intellectual discussions about God and about the resurrection, 145 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,520 S1: about the Bible, etc., and that engaged you. Right. 146 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:38,559 S2: Absolutely. So I really came from a bit of an 147 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,920 S2: intellectual background. So what happened, you know, in the head 148 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,840 S2: really mattered to me. So, um, you know, I loved 149 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,620 S2: discussing worldviews and philosophy. And so I think we initially 150 00:08:49,620 --> 00:08:56,500 S2: met on that ground of theological worldview conversations. Um, so 151 00:08:56,540 --> 00:09:00,700 S2: there was the head component, definitely. But then there was 152 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:03,300 S2: also the heart component. And I think that's really the 153 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:05,820 S2: combination of the two that was powerful because I would 154 00:09:05,820 --> 00:09:09,220 S2: have late night conversations with them. They, at the time, 155 00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:11,819 S2: they had toddlers at home. So they were busy. They 156 00:09:11,820 --> 00:09:14,500 S2: were a young family busy with kids. And so, um, 157 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:16,059 S2: you know, after they would put the kids to bed, 158 00:09:16,059 --> 00:09:19,059 S2: we would have late night conversations on all matter of 159 00:09:19,380 --> 00:09:22,300 S2: things of the faith and worldview. But then they were 160 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:28,020 S2: also very loving. So their faith was something that was 161 00:09:28,020 --> 00:09:33,060 S2: intellectually strong, but also in terms of the way they 162 00:09:33,059 --> 00:09:35,260 S2: were living, they were really living it out. So I 163 00:09:35,260 --> 00:09:37,580 S2: would see them, for example, because I spent a whole 164 00:09:37,580 --> 00:09:41,100 S2: year living with them, I would see them have good times, 165 00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:44,180 S2: but I would also see them argue as a couple. 166 00:09:44,179 --> 00:09:47,260 S2: I would see them, you know, having to wrestle with 167 00:09:47,260 --> 00:09:50,720 S2: their children through some of the disobedience of their children 168 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,160 S2: in the toddler years. But what was crazy was that 169 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:59,560 S2: I would also see them forgive and reconcile and put 170 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,240 S2: the other first, and really look to what was best 171 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,000 S2: for the other rather than themselves. Even at some times, 172 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,680 S2: what it seemed to me was at great cost to themselves. 173 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,800 S2: And then they did the same to me. They extended 174 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,840 S2: grace and kindness and love to me. And this was 175 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:23,560 S2: all honestly, really undeserved. It was very compelling. Love truly 176 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:26,319 S2: is a powerful, apologetic Chris. 177 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,080 S1: Yes, it really is. I feel like I've known Stephanie 178 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,680 S1: all my life because the things that you're saying here 179 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,320 S1: are hit so deeply. And then coming from the French culture, 180 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,920 S1: which is in a lot of ways a, a delightful, 181 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:46,580 S1: delicious food culture, you have written that into this book, awaken, 182 00:10:46,580 --> 00:10:50,780 S1: Delight Satisfying your Soul's Longing for God. So I want 183 00:10:50,780 --> 00:10:53,980 S1: you to think about that question. What brings you delight today? 184 00:10:54,340 --> 00:10:58,700 S1: How would you define that word delight? As you look 185 00:10:58,700 --> 00:11:02,740 S1: at your own life, have you lost the delight that 186 00:11:02,740 --> 00:11:06,939 S1: you have had in God? Or have you ever known that? 187 00:11:06,940 --> 00:11:09,900 S1: Have you ever known what it is like to delight 188 00:11:09,900 --> 00:11:13,540 S1: yourself in the Lord? Stephanie writes about that in the 189 00:11:13,540 --> 00:11:18,860 S1: book Awakened Delight. Featured resource Chris fabry.org. I'll open the 190 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:20,780 S1: phone lines. You have a question or comment you want 191 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:28,699 S1: to tell me about? What makes you delighted today? (877) 548-3675. 192 00:11:28,740 --> 00:11:43,940 S1: More straight ahead on Moody Radio. Stephanie Roussell is the 193 00:11:43,940 --> 00:11:48,200 S1: founder of Gospel Spice Ministries, the author of Awaken the 194 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:53,560 S1: Light Satisfying Your Soul's Longing for God. Highly recommended by 195 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,760 S1: yours truly. And if you go to Chris Fabry live.org, 196 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,560 S1: you can scroll down and see it right there. Awaken 197 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:04,040 S1: the light. One more question about, you know, becoming coming 198 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:08,280 S1: from an atheist background, become a Christian. Do you this 199 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,360 S1: is this sounds like a weird question, even as I 200 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:12,640 S1: ask it, but I think you'll get what I'm talking about. 201 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,800 S1: Do you look different today because of the delight that 202 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,360 S1: you have found? In other words, did it. Did your 203 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,640 S1: countenance change? Did anybody say to you at 20 or 21, hey, 204 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:27,240 S1: you look different. There's something different about you. 205 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,600 S3: MM. I don't know about 20 or 21. I think 206 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,319 S3: it took a few more years than that because I 207 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,600 S3: was really, you know, a piece of work. So I 208 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,760 S3: think a bit later, but definitely, you know, um, I 209 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:47,300 S3: used to be a very Arrogant, self-centered, self-sufficient person because 210 00:12:47,300 --> 00:12:50,020 S3: that was what atheism teaches you, right? I mean, in 211 00:12:50,020 --> 00:12:52,780 S3: a dog eat dog sort of world, you do whatever 212 00:12:52,780 --> 00:12:55,740 S3: it takes to stay on top. And, um, I really, 213 00:12:56,059 --> 00:12:59,700 S3: I honestly was mean. And this was out of, you know, 214 00:13:00,020 --> 00:13:02,580 S3: I could go back to all sorts of family issues 215 00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:04,460 S3: and dysfunctional family and all of that. But at the 216 00:13:04,460 --> 00:13:05,780 S3: end of the day, I don't think I was a 217 00:13:05,780 --> 00:13:11,140 S3: very pleasant person to be with. And so when someone 218 00:13:11,140 --> 00:13:14,660 S3: comes up to me these days, especially, I remember it happens, 219 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:17,300 S3: you know, when I have the privilege of teaching at 220 00:13:17,300 --> 00:13:20,260 S3: events or in churches, and sometimes people come up to 221 00:13:20,260 --> 00:13:24,380 S3: me after I've taught and they they say that they 222 00:13:24,380 --> 00:13:27,740 S3: can sense that I've really delight in the Lord. And, 223 00:13:28,460 --> 00:13:31,820 S3: you know, that just blows my mind because that's not 224 00:13:31,820 --> 00:13:35,340 S3: something that I'm trying to manufacture. It is something that 225 00:13:35,340 --> 00:13:38,460 S3: he is doing. It is completely God at work in 226 00:13:38,460 --> 00:13:41,100 S3: and through us. He promises to transform us when we 227 00:13:41,100 --> 00:13:43,560 S3: trust him. And I think I'm kind of living proof 228 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,360 S3: of that. And I take no credit because I kind 229 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,240 S3: of have to pinch myself that I get to delight 230 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:55,880 S3: in God and I get to. Sometimes it's sometimes it's visible. 231 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:00,120 S3: I think when you really enjoy someone deeply, when he 232 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,880 S3: is the reason for your life, it shows. And so 233 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,120 S3: even though I have actually. And I still am struggling 234 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,760 S3: with chronic pain, so sometimes I do look like I'm 235 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,479 S3: in pain because I am. But most of the time, 236 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,520 S3: you know, Chris, when you meet someone who radiates joy 237 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,520 S3: in Christ, there's something deeply transformative about that. And I've 238 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,360 S3: met many such people. And honestly, when someone tells me 239 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,520 S3: I'm like that, I don't really know what to say. 240 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:29,640 S3: I have to wrap my head around that one still. 241 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,400 S1: Yes. Well, I can see it in the videos that 242 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,120 S1: you've done and even in in your writing, it comes 243 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,400 S1: through in your words. But there is a sparkle in 244 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,540 S1: your eyes. There is this light that that kind of 245 00:14:42,580 --> 00:14:47,340 S1: comes that you can sense that there's something, there's something different, 246 00:14:47,340 --> 00:14:51,180 S1: and you use that word transformation. That's it. This is 247 00:14:51,180 --> 00:14:53,980 S1: not about getting on the hamster wheel and making God 248 00:14:53,980 --> 00:14:56,620 S1: more happy with you today than he was yesterday, because 249 00:14:56,620 --> 00:15:01,060 S1: you're toeing the line or you're doing more, or you're busy, busy, busy. Uh, 250 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:06,220 S1: it is about receiving grace and mercy and then living. 251 00:15:06,220 --> 00:15:08,180 S1: It's living loved, isn't it? 252 00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:14,860 S3: Oh. Amen. Absolutely. That's it. You're absolutely right. You know, and, 253 00:15:14,860 --> 00:15:18,020 S3: and I, I went down that path for a while 254 00:15:18,060 --> 00:15:21,500 S3: because I'm a type A overachiever. I want to prove 255 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,580 S3: my worth. I want people to be happy with me. 256 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:26,300 S3: I'm a bit of a people person, people pleaser. And 257 00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:30,220 S3: so it's so easy for me to fall down the 258 00:15:30,260 --> 00:15:34,980 S3: rut of performance and of really thinking that there is 259 00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:37,740 S3: something I need to do in order for God to 260 00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:41,760 S3: like me. I mean, Scripture teaches us that God loves us, right? 261 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,360 S3: So we take that as this blanket statement. And for, 262 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,200 S3: for a while, I remember feeling like, you know, I 263 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,520 S3: got into the gates through the gates of heaven because 264 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,600 S3: it was kind of a group deal. And I got 265 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,720 S3: in on the group deal in Christ. You know, I 266 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:00,400 S3: kind of snuck in somehow, but no. And so God, sure, 267 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,920 S3: God loves us, but God likes us a whole lot too. 268 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,280 S3: He delights in us. He enjoys our presence. And for me, 269 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:13,600 S3: what really helped me move away from a performance Christianity, 270 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,760 S3: from a need to prove myself. Because that was again, 271 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,480 S3: from atheism. You have to prove yourself all the time, right? 272 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,800 S3: And so I kind of carried that into my faith 273 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,000 S3: and discovering grace. The grace we have in Christ Jesus 274 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,760 S3: is something that I am still unpacking every day. But 275 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,840 S3: to discover that there's absolutely nothing I can do for 276 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,400 S3: God to love me more. I can't earn his love 277 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,500 S3: on my best day. He doesn't love me more when 278 00:16:38,500 --> 00:16:40,900 S3: I'm doing all the right things. But then the flip 279 00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:43,060 S3: side of that, there's also nothing I can do for 280 00:16:43,060 --> 00:16:46,900 S3: God to love me less. On my worst day, he 281 00:16:46,900 --> 00:16:50,460 S3: doesn't love me any less. He's not disappointed in me. 282 00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:52,980 S3: I can be disappointed in myself, and we can unpack 283 00:16:53,020 --> 00:16:56,060 S3: that if you wish. But God cannot be disappointed in us. 284 00:16:56,060 --> 00:16:58,980 S3: So if there's absolutely nothing we can do for God 285 00:16:58,980 --> 00:17:01,020 S3: to love us more and nothing we can do for 286 00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:04,500 S3: God to love us less, then what remains is grace 287 00:17:04,700 --> 00:17:09,419 S3: and rest in Christ. And when we put our bags down, ah, 288 00:17:09,660 --> 00:17:12,939 S3: we can finally be at peace. And maybe our countenance 289 00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:17,020 S3: changes because we're finally at rest for the first time ever. 290 00:17:17,260 --> 00:17:20,460 S1: Yes. Well, and the reason and that is, that is 291 00:17:20,619 --> 00:17:22,860 S1: I've struggled to do the same thing. To wrap my 292 00:17:22,859 --> 00:17:27,340 S1: mind around what you just said about the love of God. 293 00:17:27,340 --> 00:17:29,380 S1: But if it's true, and you make this point in 294 00:17:29,380 --> 00:17:32,780 S1: the book, if it's true that when God looked at 295 00:17:32,780 --> 00:17:35,500 S1: Jesus and there were a couple of places in the 296 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:38,320 S1: New Testament where he says, this is my son, in 297 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:42,040 S1: whom I am well pleased, or in whom I delight in. 298 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,360 S1: If I am in Christ. If I am hidden in Christ, 299 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:51,640 S1: and I am fully forgiven, fully given all the. You 300 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:56,159 S1: know what? What Jesus has. His righteousness is on imputed 301 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:01,359 S1: to me. If that's really true, then God delights in me, right? 302 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,600 S3: Isn't that completely insane, though? I mean. 303 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,520 S4: I love it so much. 304 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,280 S3: It's absolutely crazy. I think we honestly spend all of 305 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:14,919 S3: our Christian life trying to understand with our hearts what 306 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:17,760 S3: we can we say with our mouth because this is 307 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:19,560 S3: so easy to say, right? I mean, you said that 308 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,840 S3: in about two minutes and you're absolutely right. But for me, 309 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,640 S3: it's literally taking me a lifetime, a lifetime to wrap 310 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,560 S3: my head around the truth of that, that we are 311 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,760 S3: in Christ. This is such a ubiquitous statement, you know, 312 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,660 S3: in the writings of Paul in particular. And God does 313 00:18:36,660 --> 00:18:39,780 S3: say to Jesus at least three times in the gospels, 314 00:18:39,780 --> 00:18:43,060 S3: this is my son in whom I delight. And yes, 315 00:18:43,060 --> 00:18:46,980 S3: because we are in Christ by grace. This is not 316 00:18:46,980 --> 00:18:49,340 S3: something we've earned. This is not something we can lose. 317 00:18:49,340 --> 00:18:53,220 S3: This is something we learn to lean into and rest into. 318 00:18:53,619 --> 00:18:59,100 S3: Then yes, we can say, this is Chris in whom 319 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:05,620 S3: God delights. This is Stephanie in whom God delights. Imagine that. 320 00:19:05,859 --> 00:19:10,300 S1: Yes. Okay. So define the word delight, then, if that's 321 00:19:10,300 --> 00:19:14,900 S1: how God views us, his children. And that's what we 322 00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:18,260 S1: are called to do to to delight ourselves. Psalm 374 323 00:19:18,260 --> 00:19:21,860 S1: delight ourselves in the Lord. Then what does delight mean? 324 00:19:21,859 --> 00:19:23,379 S1: Can you give me a definition? 325 00:19:23,980 --> 00:19:26,660 S3: Mhm. Well, let me take you to the French language 326 00:19:26,660 --> 00:19:29,740 S3: and culture for just a second there. So one of 327 00:19:29,740 --> 00:19:32,980 S3: the beauties of speaking two languages fluently is that my 328 00:19:32,980 --> 00:19:35,400 S3: brain kind of goes back and forth between them. And 329 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:38,840 S3: sometimes that enriches our experience of Scripture. So this verse 330 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,080 S3: you just quoted, delight yourself in the Lord, and he 331 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,920 S3: will give you the desires of your heart in French. 332 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,120 S3: That word delight is the word delights. Can you say 333 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:49,080 S3: that for me? Delicious. 334 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:49,719 S1: Delicious. 335 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,280 S3: There you go. Does that remind you of another English word, perhaps? 336 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:54,480 S1: Delicious. 337 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,360 S4: Yes, sir. Absolutely. 338 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,280 S3: So see, in in English you have two very distinct 339 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:08,719 S3: concepts delight, delightfulness and delicious deliciousness. But in French, both 340 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:14,159 S3: of these words are the same word. Delicious. So in French, 341 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,080 S3: when we say that God is delightful, we also say 342 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:21,760 S3: that God is delicious. It's the same word. So in French, 343 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,920 S3: delight yourself in the Lord literally means find the Lord 344 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:31,240 S3: God to be delicious and delightful. So then when Psalm 345 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,500 S3: 348 enjoins us to taste and see that the Lord 346 00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:38,660 S3: is good in French. It makes complete sense. Of course, 347 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:40,660 S3: you taste and see that God is good because he's 348 00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:44,100 S3: delicious and delightful. So the idea that I'm trying to 349 00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:48,060 S3: convey here is that delight is something that God has 350 00:20:48,060 --> 00:20:52,419 S3: given us that encompasses body, soul, and spirit. The French 351 00:20:52,420 --> 00:20:56,899 S3: culture is known for its enjoyment of good food and 352 00:20:56,900 --> 00:20:59,740 S3: all forms of beauty. And I think that beauty, just 353 00:20:59,740 --> 00:21:03,140 S3: like love, is a powerful apologetic and that when we 354 00:21:03,180 --> 00:21:07,580 S3: delight in God, we discover something that encompasses body, soul 355 00:21:07,580 --> 00:21:10,820 S3: and spirit. It's the head and the heart, because delight 356 00:21:10,820 --> 00:21:14,060 S3: is something that is experienced, but it is something that 357 00:21:14,060 --> 00:21:18,580 S3: is biblically, theologically, absolutely true. So, you know, it's very 358 00:21:18,580 --> 00:21:21,620 S3: difficult to define delight. It's kind of like asking me 359 00:21:21,619 --> 00:21:25,740 S3: to describe the sunset. It's impossible. So if we lack 360 00:21:25,740 --> 00:21:30,939 S3: words to describe a sunset or a baby's laugh, I mean, 361 00:21:30,980 --> 00:21:34,639 S3: good luck describing a baby's laugh. It is indescribable. In 362 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,200 S3: the same way, we can approximate delight in God. And 363 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,000 S3: so I would say that delight in God is rooted 364 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,360 S3: in Jesus. There's absolutely no way we can awaken and 365 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,200 S3: sustain our delight in God apart from Christ Jesus. And 366 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,040 S3: that is wonderful news. I would say that delight is 367 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,080 S3: almost like a quiet revolution that is going to reshape 368 00:21:55,080 --> 00:22:00,440 S3: how we endure pain. That's a key component. How we 369 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,840 S3: love others and how we understand ourselves as well. And 370 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,040 S3: I would say that delight isn't the same thing as 371 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,679 S3: just a feeling or just an emotion. It is so 372 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,159 S3: much more than, you know, this extra helping of joy 373 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:16,800 S3: that we can get if we go to church on 374 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:21,920 S3: Sunday mornings and delight in God, is going to deeply 375 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,960 S3: shape our identity. I think that's one of the biggest 376 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,919 S3: promises of Scripture. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, 377 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,500 S3: he will give us the desires of our heart. And 378 00:22:33,500 --> 00:22:37,020 S3: that means that's going to reshape our identity. It is 379 00:22:37,060 --> 00:22:41,540 S3: this resilient identity that we cultivate when we make delight 380 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:45,899 S3: in God, the centrality of our faith. Um, and it's 381 00:22:45,900 --> 00:22:50,459 S3: a mix of trust, of satisfaction in God. It's a 382 00:22:50,460 --> 00:22:54,820 S3: mix of intimacy with him that is tested through life 383 00:22:54,820 --> 00:22:58,940 S3: and especially through hardship, I would say. And so when 384 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:02,659 S3: we delight ourselves in the Lord, I think we can 385 00:23:02,660 --> 00:23:10,140 S3: rest in that prevents burnout. It expands our resilience because 386 00:23:10,660 --> 00:23:15,140 S3: it becomes the foundation for everything we do, and especially 387 00:23:15,140 --> 00:23:17,420 S3: the way we serve others in the name of Jesus. 388 00:23:17,820 --> 00:23:20,460 S1: It combats anxiety, too, doesn't it? 389 00:23:21,420 --> 00:23:23,419 S3: Well, I think it does. You know. 390 00:23:23,460 --> 00:23:24,340 S4: I really think. 391 00:23:24,340 --> 00:23:30,570 S3: It does because anxiety is oftentimes rooted in, you know, 392 00:23:30,609 --> 00:23:35,370 S3: our own, not enoughness, if that's a word. Yes. And 393 00:23:35,369 --> 00:23:39,129 S3: and I think delight in God reminds me that it's 394 00:23:39,130 --> 00:23:42,050 S3: perfectly okay for me not to be enough. Our culture 395 00:23:42,050 --> 00:23:44,409 S3: tells us, you know, you are enough. You are worth it. 396 00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:46,850 S3: You deserve it. No no no no no, we are 397 00:23:46,850 --> 00:23:49,689 S3: not enough. We are not enough. And that is the 398 00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:53,450 S3: best possible news. Because that's when we start clinging to Jesus, 399 00:23:53,450 --> 00:23:56,770 S3: who is more than enough. And when we delight in him, 400 00:23:56,770 --> 00:24:01,250 S3: then not being enough. Oh, that is true freedom. I 401 00:24:01,250 --> 00:24:04,850 S3: call that the freedom of being dust, right? We are 402 00:24:04,890 --> 00:24:07,970 S3: dust because God made us out of dust. If you 403 00:24:07,970 --> 00:24:09,689 S3: think about it all the way back in Genesis, so 404 00:24:09,690 --> 00:24:11,330 S3: I'm a Bible teacher so I can get a little 405 00:24:11,369 --> 00:24:13,530 S3: geeky when it comes to scriptures. So stop me at 406 00:24:13,530 --> 00:24:16,010 S3: any point. But when we go back in Genesis, we 407 00:24:16,010 --> 00:24:20,490 S3: see God creating all of creation with a word, right? 408 00:24:20,530 --> 00:24:24,170 S3: He speaks everything into existence, but not us. He doesn't 409 00:24:24,170 --> 00:24:28,870 S3: speak mankind into existence. He shapes us out of dust, 410 00:24:28,910 --> 00:24:32,030 S3: of dirt clay that he's already created. So we are 411 00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:35,430 S3: kind of like second hand creation, if you will. We're 412 00:24:35,430 --> 00:24:38,470 S3: not actually spoken into existence like the rest of creation. 413 00:24:38,470 --> 00:24:41,790 S3: We have been fashioned out of something that already existed. 414 00:24:41,990 --> 00:24:44,710 S3: That is very humbling. In some ways. It makes it 415 00:24:44,710 --> 00:24:47,870 S3: sound almost as if we were second class because we are. 416 00:24:47,910 --> 00:24:50,510 S3: We have not been spoken into existence. We have been 417 00:24:50,510 --> 00:24:55,510 S3: made from something that already existed. Dust. That's humbling. But 418 00:24:55,510 --> 00:24:59,550 S3: that's also deeply freeing because, Lord, remember that we are dust. 419 00:24:59,590 --> 00:25:02,790 S3: Of course we mess up. We're second hand creation. But 420 00:25:02,790 --> 00:25:05,910 S3: that's not where the story of creation stops. If anything, 421 00:25:06,310 --> 00:25:09,229 S3: it only starts there because then Scripture goes on to 422 00:25:09,270 --> 00:25:12,310 S3: explain that we are the only ones who are created 423 00:25:12,430 --> 00:25:18,030 S3: in the image of God. Fish, plants, beautiful. You know, dogs. 424 00:25:18,030 --> 00:25:20,510 S3: Beautiful as they might be, they are not created in 425 00:25:20,510 --> 00:25:23,310 S3: the image of God the way we are. So in 426 00:25:23,350 --> 00:25:27,130 S3: that way, we are the most important part of creation. 427 00:25:27,130 --> 00:25:27,650 S3: So we. 428 00:25:27,650 --> 00:25:27,810 S4: Are. 429 00:25:28,130 --> 00:25:28,409 S5: Live in. 430 00:25:28,890 --> 00:25:31,090 S1: Stephanie. Here's the other thing about this is that the 431 00:25:31,090 --> 00:25:35,850 S1: light is infectious and it's it's infectious from you today. 432 00:25:35,850 --> 00:25:39,570 S1: I can hear the smile in your voice. And I 433 00:25:39,570 --> 00:25:43,730 S1: want to awaken that delight, especially for somebody who's living, 434 00:25:43,810 --> 00:25:46,650 S1: listening right now. And you've been living under the weight 435 00:25:46,650 --> 00:25:49,170 S1: of a lot of pain and struggle and delight is 436 00:25:49,170 --> 00:26:05,090 S1: very far away. It's not. Stay with us. We're talking 437 00:26:05,090 --> 00:26:10,210 S1: about delight and awakening delight today with Stephanie Roselle. And 438 00:26:10,210 --> 00:26:12,290 S1: I asked a question at the beginning of the program. 439 00:26:12,290 --> 00:26:16,649 S1: What do you delight in on Facebook? Penny says, I 440 00:26:16,690 --> 00:26:21,090 S1: delight in hand stitching, so I make small quilted hearts. 441 00:26:21,090 --> 00:26:23,890 S1: I give them to others as random acts of kindness. 442 00:26:24,210 --> 00:26:26,670 S1: Some are tagged with the message of keep this heart 443 00:26:26,670 --> 00:26:29,150 S1: or share it. And now I've added a message that 444 00:26:29,150 --> 00:26:32,550 S1: Jesus loves you. I can do my favorite crafting items 445 00:26:32,550 --> 00:26:35,990 S1: while giving to others in kindness and in Jesus name. 446 00:26:36,470 --> 00:26:39,669 S1: Rick says, I delight in hiking in the mountains, whether 447 00:26:39,670 --> 00:26:43,270 S1: they're here in New England or in the Rockies. I 448 00:26:43,310 --> 00:26:45,710 S1: delight in good health so I can keep playing pickleball 449 00:26:45,710 --> 00:26:49,990 S1: and racquetball. I delight in the Lord's faithfulness. What do 450 00:26:49,990 --> 00:26:52,590 S1: you delight in? Jill says, I delight in having my 451 00:26:52,590 --> 00:26:55,310 S1: family around me, which is rare since part of them 452 00:26:55,310 --> 00:26:59,710 S1: live out of state. I also delight in music, so 453 00:27:00,030 --> 00:27:03,990 S1: we don't have a really a hard time in understanding 454 00:27:04,390 --> 00:27:10,430 S1: what delight is. It captures your attention. It captures your focus. Stephanie. 455 00:27:10,430 --> 00:27:12,550 S1: I had this experience. I've told this before, but it 456 00:27:12,550 --> 00:27:14,390 S1: was at a farmers market and there was a long 457 00:27:14,390 --> 00:27:17,350 S1: line of people at a vegetable stand. And I couldn't 458 00:27:17,350 --> 00:27:19,870 S1: figure out why the stand was, you know, the people 459 00:27:19,869 --> 00:27:22,910 S1: weren't moving. Come on. There was only one person who 460 00:27:22,910 --> 00:27:26,650 S1: was checking, you know, everybody out taking the money. And 461 00:27:26,650 --> 00:27:28,930 S1: so I got out of line and I went up 462 00:27:29,450 --> 00:27:33,410 S1: and there were the woman who was taking, you know, 463 00:27:33,450 --> 00:27:37,050 S1: the lettuce and everything was weighing it and doing that, 464 00:27:37,250 --> 00:27:43,010 S1: but she had her head down in whatever the rutabagas 465 00:27:43,010 --> 00:27:48,250 S1: or potatoes. And the lady who had given her this, 466 00:27:48,450 --> 00:27:51,129 S1: her head was down there and they were looking at something. 467 00:27:51,130 --> 00:27:53,770 S1: I couldn't figure out what is holding up this line. 468 00:27:54,250 --> 00:27:57,690 S1: And do you know what it was? It was in 469 00:27:57,690 --> 00:28:02,290 S1: the spring, and it was the first ladybug that they 470 00:28:02,330 --> 00:28:05,889 S1: had seen. And there was this little ladybug, and it 471 00:28:05,890 --> 00:28:09,330 S1: had caught their attention. And the the woman who was, 472 00:28:09,369 --> 00:28:12,050 S1: you know, checking the things out, she took the ladybug 473 00:28:12,050 --> 00:28:14,770 S1: on her finger and let it crawl up there. That's 474 00:28:14,770 --> 00:28:18,250 S1: why it was taken so long. But that is the 475 00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:22,350 S1: best way I can describe delight to somebody else. What 476 00:28:22,350 --> 00:28:22,950 S1: do you think? 477 00:28:24,230 --> 00:28:28,550 S3: Delight is finding a ladybug in the potatoes? Yes, sir. 478 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:33,109 S3: That's delight, I absolutely agree. I love all these descriptions 479 00:28:33,109 --> 00:28:35,190 S3: you just gave. I can relate to so many of them. 480 00:28:35,230 --> 00:28:37,390 S3: Of the people who just wrote all of that. That 481 00:28:37,390 --> 00:28:42,390 S3: is so true. Family and friendships and hiking nature, all 482 00:28:42,390 --> 00:28:45,910 S3: of God's creation. These are all such beautiful ways to 483 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:49,070 S3: experience delight. You know, the way I like to think 484 00:28:49,070 --> 00:28:52,950 S3: about it, Chris, is it's a little bit like vanilla. Now, 485 00:28:53,150 --> 00:28:56,550 S3: a lot of people think of vanilla as plain vanilla. 486 00:28:56,550 --> 00:29:01,150 S3: It's something boring not worth mentioning, but that's because we 487 00:29:01,150 --> 00:29:05,870 S3: have forgotten really how good vanilla can be. Vanilla is 488 00:29:06,150 --> 00:29:09,510 S3: when you taste really high quality vanilla paste in particular, 489 00:29:09,670 --> 00:29:13,270 S3: it actually is a flavor explosion waiting to happen. It 490 00:29:13,270 --> 00:29:16,830 S3: is the furthest thing from bland or boring, and actually 491 00:29:16,830 --> 00:29:21,170 S3: to the point that Americans call the vanilla. Well, you know, 492 00:29:21,210 --> 00:29:22,450 S3: French vanilla. 493 00:29:22,450 --> 00:29:23,930 S4: So there's that. 494 00:29:24,090 --> 00:29:25,690 S5: You had to get that in there didn't you? 495 00:29:25,730 --> 00:29:30,890 S4: Yes I did didn't I? Right. Uh, so my point is. 496 00:29:30,930 --> 00:29:35,530 S3: Vanilla is something that we are unable to actually describe 497 00:29:35,530 --> 00:29:37,770 S3: in terms of flavors because it's so complex. And in 498 00:29:37,770 --> 00:29:40,490 S3: terms of scent, when we taste it, it can be 499 00:29:40,490 --> 00:29:42,850 S3: life changing. And I think that in the same way, 500 00:29:43,090 --> 00:29:46,930 S3: God gives us the really good vanilla of many good 501 00:29:46,930 --> 00:29:50,730 S3: things like hiking, like a ladybug in the potatoes, like 502 00:29:50,730 --> 00:29:54,010 S3: spending time with family and, you know, or hand stitching, 503 00:29:54,010 --> 00:29:57,050 S3: cross stitching, like this lady mentioned. All these things are 504 00:29:57,250 --> 00:30:02,770 S3: like beautiful, good vanilla that helps us understand delight in God. 505 00:30:02,770 --> 00:30:06,209 S3: But then there's the highest grade vanilla that goes a 506 00:30:06,210 --> 00:30:09,410 S3: step beyond. And that is kind of rare to acquire. 507 00:30:09,410 --> 00:30:11,170 S3: And if you have the chance of tasting it, it 508 00:30:11,170 --> 00:30:14,850 S3: is truly extraordinary. And it is this very thick, rich 509 00:30:14,890 --> 00:30:18,450 S3: vanilla paste usually. And when you taste that, it makes 510 00:30:18,450 --> 00:30:21,750 S3: all the other vanilla you've ever tasted, especially fake vanilla 511 00:30:21,750 --> 00:30:24,350 S3: or imitation vanilla. It makes you kind of hate the 512 00:30:24,350 --> 00:30:27,230 S3: stuff because it's so bad. And I hate imitation vanilla 513 00:30:27,270 --> 00:30:29,350 S3: because it's a pet peeve of mine because of that. 514 00:30:29,350 --> 00:30:32,670 S3: But it's that's what delight in God is. We have 515 00:30:32,670 --> 00:30:35,430 S3: the good vanilla of all the good things he's given us, 516 00:30:35,430 --> 00:30:37,870 S3: the hikes in the parks, the enjoyment of nature, the 517 00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:40,390 S3: enjoyment of family and friends, and of good food and 518 00:30:40,430 --> 00:30:44,110 S3: of helping others. And then there's the super high grade 519 00:30:44,110 --> 00:30:48,390 S3: vanilla of relationship with him and all of these other 520 00:30:48,390 --> 00:30:52,470 S3: delights or pointers or stick figures that help us approximate 521 00:30:52,510 --> 00:30:55,030 S3: what delight in God looks like, so that when we 522 00:30:55,030 --> 00:30:58,150 S3: taste it, we recognize it for what it is like 523 00:30:58,150 --> 00:30:59,590 S3: this extravagant vanilla. 524 00:31:00,110 --> 00:31:02,550 S5: Yes, that's a really great word picture. 525 00:31:02,550 --> 00:31:05,310 S1: I got to remember that one. Especially the French Vanilla 526 00:31:05,510 --> 00:31:10,710 S1: Awakened Delight by Stephanie Roussel is our featured resource at 527 00:31:10,710 --> 00:31:16,630 S1: Chris fabry.org. Jacqueline is in Mississippi. Jacqueline, why'd you call today? 528 00:31:19,890 --> 00:31:23,330 S1: And now I don't hear Jacqueline. Okay. All right. Um. 529 00:31:23,890 --> 00:31:26,730 S1: Does the enemy hate delight? 530 00:31:29,370 --> 00:31:33,730 S4: Absolutely. Because it points us to God. I think Satan is. 531 00:31:33,730 --> 00:31:37,730 S3: Opposed to anything that is beautiful or lovely or true. 532 00:31:37,890 --> 00:31:41,450 S3: And delight is all of these things. Delight is rooted 533 00:31:41,450 --> 00:31:44,810 S3: in God. I don't think we are able to experience 534 00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:47,970 S3: any form of delight if it wasn't for God's good 535 00:31:47,970 --> 00:31:51,570 S3: gifts for us all. The example you gave the gentleman 536 00:31:51,570 --> 00:31:54,090 S3: who likes hikes, well, that's because he has a body 537 00:31:54,090 --> 00:31:56,250 S3: that allows him to hike. He has eyes to see 538 00:31:56,250 --> 00:31:59,330 S3: the beauty around him, feet to carry him places. The 539 00:31:59,330 --> 00:32:02,050 S3: person who cross stitches. That's because she has hands to 540 00:32:02,050 --> 00:32:04,890 S3: do that. The person who enjoys spending time with her family. 541 00:32:04,890 --> 00:32:06,930 S3: That's because she has a body, and they do too. 542 00:32:06,970 --> 00:32:09,690 S3: That allows them to enjoy one another in that way. 543 00:32:09,850 --> 00:32:13,250 S3: So we enjoy God. We delight in God because he 544 00:32:13,250 --> 00:32:17,270 S3: has placed that ability within us and Satan hates it. 545 00:32:17,310 --> 00:32:19,750 S3: He's the destructor of all good things. And so he's 546 00:32:19,750 --> 00:32:23,470 S3: going to do everything he can to annihilate delight from 547 00:32:23,470 --> 00:32:25,310 S3: our lives in any way, shape, or form. And if 548 00:32:25,310 --> 00:32:28,270 S3: he can't do that, then he's going to tempt us 549 00:32:28,270 --> 00:32:33,190 S3: to find delight in fake vanilla, in imitation vanilla, which 550 00:32:33,190 --> 00:32:37,270 S3: is toxic and truly quite flavorless. It's just it's overwhelming. 551 00:32:37,670 --> 00:32:41,910 S3: And these toxic addictions can look like healthy things to us. Like, 552 00:32:41,950 --> 00:32:46,550 S3: you know, we can be addicted to shopping or scrolling, 553 00:32:46,550 --> 00:32:49,150 S3: or we can be addicted to much more painful things 554 00:32:49,190 --> 00:32:53,590 S3: like actual addictions of drugs and alcohol and other things. 555 00:32:53,590 --> 00:32:56,910 S3: So yes, Satan, if he cannot destroy delight, he will 556 00:32:56,910 --> 00:33:00,110 S3: replace it with a fake. That's really terrible for us. 557 00:33:00,590 --> 00:33:04,670 S1: Yeah, that's a, that's a good reminder. And, and there 558 00:33:04,670 --> 00:33:07,590 S1: may be somebody listening right now and you say, you 559 00:33:07,630 --> 00:33:12,990 S1: see that? And I've, I've settled for the lesser thing 560 00:33:13,030 --> 00:33:16,650 S1: rather than the real thing, which is delighting in God. 561 00:33:16,930 --> 00:33:18,690 S1: How do you get there? We're going to talk about that, 562 00:33:18,690 --> 00:33:20,930 S1: but I want to get back to Jacqueline. Jacqueline, go 563 00:33:20,930 --> 00:33:21,450 S1: right ahead. 564 00:33:22,330 --> 00:33:25,570 S6: Well, praise the Lord. I'm enjoying the show. And I 565 00:33:25,570 --> 00:33:29,170 S6: just wanted to say I'm a 33 year cancer survivor. 566 00:33:29,450 --> 00:33:34,330 S6: And my delight is just being meditating, being quiet, listening 567 00:33:34,330 --> 00:33:37,850 S6: and taking, just breathing, being by myself to listen to 568 00:33:37,890 --> 00:33:40,850 S6: what God has to say. And Stephanie, I want to 569 00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:46,410 S6: share this with you. The delight means declaring everything living 570 00:33:46,410 --> 00:33:51,450 S6: in the God holy truth. When everything is going and 571 00:33:51,450 --> 00:33:54,330 S6: you know you're about to leave here and you're stage 572 00:33:54,330 --> 00:33:57,770 S6: four cancer, you know what you're thinking about. Did I 573 00:33:57,770 --> 00:34:00,610 S6: do everything right? And when you leave you back on 574 00:34:00,610 --> 00:34:03,850 S6: this side like I am and I thank God for it, 575 00:34:03,890 --> 00:34:08,210 S6: it's praising the Lord, taking everything to the Lord in prayer. 576 00:34:08,210 --> 00:34:10,850 S6: And I just want to thank you for what you're saying. 577 00:34:10,850 --> 00:34:13,330 S6: But most of all, the joy the Lord is our 578 00:34:13,330 --> 00:34:17,029 S6: strength and joy means Jesus, others and you. And that 579 00:34:17,030 --> 00:34:19,350 S6: is my delight. Not taking. 580 00:34:19,350 --> 00:34:20,390 S7: Any said it well. 581 00:34:20,390 --> 00:34:23,590 S1: Jacqueline, I'm so glad and I'm so glad you're here. 582 00:34:23,590 --> 00:34:26,350 S1: Still here to say that? To express that. What do 583 00:34:26,350 --> 00:34:27,190 S1: you say, Stephanie? 584 00:34:27,989 --> 00:34:31,790 S3: Oh, wow. Thank you so much, Jacqueline. I really have 585 00:34:31,790 --> 00:34:36,950 S3: the greatest respect for you and admiration. And thank you 586 00:34:36,950 --> 00:34:40,310 S3: for your faithfulness to the Lord. Thank you for shining 587 00:34:40,310 --> 00:34:42,790 S3: him so brightly. Clearly, you delight in him and that 588 00:34:42,790 --> 00:34:44,550 S3: makes me so happy. Thank you. 589 00:34:44,830 --> 00:34:48,149 S1: I think she's touched on something, though, that she said, 590 00:34:48,190 --> 00:34:51,950 S1: I get quiet and I get alone with God. I 591 00:34:51,989 --> 00:34:54,910 S1: think one of the biggest barriers to delight in my 592 00:34:54,910 --> 00:34:58,910 S1: own life and in those around me, is the busyness 593 00:34:58,910 --> 00:35:03,430 S1: of life, the hurry, the packed schedules, the to do lists. 594 00:35:03,430 --> 00:35:06,390 S1: I gotta get all this done. Then I can relax. 595 00:35:06,750 --> 00:35:11,029 S1: So it's the hamster wheel I mentioned that before is 596 00:35:11,030 --> 00:35:14,530 S1: not a really good place to look for delight because 597 00:35:14,530 --> 00:35:16,850 S1: we're so going so fast. What do you think? 598 00:35:17,570 --> 00:35:21,770 S3: Mhm. Amen. I would say to that, that Jesus never hurried. 599 00:35:21,890 --> 00:35:26,290 S3: Yet he got everything done. So what can we learn 600 00:35:26,290 --> 00:35:29,169 S3: about that? Our culture does tell us that we have 601 00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:32,490 S3: to move always faster. And it's not getting any better. 602 00:35:32,489 --> 00:35:37,250 S3: It's ever, ever faster. It's exhausting. And it's not the gospel. Right? Uh, 603 00:35:37,410 --> 00:35:40,770 S3: we get taught even sometimes from the pulpit that in 604 00:35:40,770 --> 00:35:42,730 S3: order to love the Lord our God with all of 605 00:35:42,730 --> 00:35:45,370 S3: our mind, soul, and strength, then we have to perform 606 00:35:45,370 --> 00:35:47,210 S3: to the max every day. We have to go to 607 00:35:47,250 --> 00:35:51,530 S3: bed absolutely exhausted from having served God and loved him well, 608 00:35:51,530 --> 00:35:54,489 S3: and that we can never rest. That is not the gospel. 609 00:35:54,810 --> 00:35:57,610 S3: When we do that, we find ourselves exhausted from trying 610 00:35:57,610 --> 00:36:01,330 S3: to manufacture these spiritual feelings of, well, I should feel 611 00:36:01,370 --> 00:36:04,210 S3: like I'm doing great because I'm doing all these things 612 00:36:04,210 --> 00:36:07,810 S3: for God. I think Jesus invites us to take a 613 00:36:07,810 --> 00:36:14,750 S3: step back and to really Embrace our place in his kingdom. 614 00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:20,670 S3: He has not called us to achieve. And this is talking. Remember, 615 00:36:20,670 --> 00:36:24,069 S3: I'm a recovering type A control freak. High achiever. Okay, 616 00:36:24,110 --> 00:36:25,910 S3: so it's not like I'm saying this from a place 617 00:36:25,910 --> 00:36:29,830 S3: of not understanding this, but it's this idea of, you know, 618 00:36:30,030 --> 00:36:33,910 S3: let's be honest, Jesus doesn't need me for his kingdom. 619 00:36:34,310 --> 00:36:37,310 S3: He's chosen me, but he certainly does not need me. 620 00:36:37,350 --> 00:36:40,590 S3: He's choosing to invite me to partner with him, with, 621 00:36:40,670 --> 00:36:43,310 S3: you know, to step into what he's doing. But he 622 00:36:43,310 --> 00:36:47,189 S3: really does not need my help. Certainly not. So when 623 00:36:47,190 --> 00:36:50,509 S3: we obey God faithfully, but we still feel empty. When 624 00:36:50,510 --> 00:36:54,990 S3: we have prayed faithfully and we feel spiritually dry, maybe 625 00:36:55,030 --> 00:36:58,989 S3: it's because, you know, the problem isn't our faith, but 626 00:36:58,989 --> 00:37:01,830 S3: it's the way we've learned to pursue God. It's not 627 00:37:01,830 --> 00:37:04,110 S3: that we don't love God. Maybe it is that we've 628 00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:06,989 S3: never learned, or we have forgotten how to receive and 629 00:37:06,989 --> 00:37:11,650 S3: experience him as our deepest delight. Because remember Psalm 374 630 00:37:11,969 --> 00:37:16,010 S3: delight yourself in the Lord, and then the second half, 631 00:37:16,290 --> 00:37:19,730 S3: and he will give you the desires of your heart. 632 00:37:19,770 --> 00:37:22,049 S3: Now what are the desires of our heart if it 633 00:37:22,050 --> 00:37:25,890 S3: is to accomplish more? Really? Is that really what we want? 634 00:37:26,530 --> 00:37:29,890 S3: Scripture teaches that the deepest desire of our heart should 635 00:37:29,890 --> 00:37:33,770 S3: be God Himself. That's where we satisfy. Our soul's longing 636 00:37:33,770 --> 00:37:36,650 S3: is when. When we realize that he is the deepest 637 00:37:36,650 --> 00:37:39,649 S3: desire of our heart. When we delight in him, he 638 00:37:39,650 --> 00:37:43,689 S3: gives us the deepest desire of our hearts, namely himself. 639 00:37:43,969 --> 00:37:49,010 S3: We encounter him as being ever increasingly more delightful. And 640 00:37:49,410 --> 00:37:52,850 S3: when you taste something that is truly delightful, you go 641 00:37:52,850 --> 00:37:55,009 S3: back for more. And we want to go back for 642 00:37:55,010 --> 00:37:56,770 S3: more of God. When we do that, I think the 643 00:37:56,810 --> 00:37:59,890 S3: hamster wheel somehow vanishes. 644 00:38:01,290 --> 00:38:04,370 S1: Well, we don't we don't hang on to the performance. 645 00:38:04,370 --> 00:38:09,350 S1: We're not we're not playing a part anymore. We're finally 646 00:38:09,390 --> 00:38:12,710 S1: seeing the transformation that you talked about. You know, when 647 00:38:12,710 --> 00:38:14,830 S1: you're 20 years old and you heard the truth of 648 00:38:14,830 --> 00:38:18,630 S1: the gospel and responded to that till today, that's been 649 00:38:18,630 --> 00:38:21,390 S1: a couple of decades at least. And and you've seen 650 00:38:21,390 --> 00:38:25,390 S1: him change you from the inside out. And delight is 651 00:38:25,390 --> 00:38:29,550 S1: a part of that. It is not just the end result. 652 00:38:29,550 --> 00:38:32,390 S1: It's kind of the overflow that you're talking about. That's 653 00:38:32,390 --> 00:38:35,750 S1: Stephanie Rozelle. I've got more questions for her. This is 654 00:38:35,750 --> 00:38:42,029 S1: a great resource titled Awaken Delight Satisfying Your Soul's Longing 655 00:38:42,030 --> 00:38:45,950 S1: for God. Jennifer Rothschild writes the introduction, and you can 656 00:38:45,950 --> 00:38:49,510 S1: find out more about it at the website. Chris febrility.org. 657 00:38:50,430 --> 00:39:06,670 S1: More straight ahead on Moody Radio. Delight embraces true reality 658 00:39:07,030 --> 00:39:10,930 S1: and not some far away something fiction that we're trying 659 00:39:10,930 --> 00:39:17,210 S1: to drum up. Delight embraces true reality. When we genuinely 660 00:39:17,210 --> 00:39:22,129 S1: delight in God, then his heart shapes our heart, and 661 00:39:22,130 --> 00:39:26,569 S1: what matters to him shapes what matters to us. That 662 00:39:26,570 --> 00:39:30,930 S1: comes straight from the book titled Awakened Delight Satisfying Your 663 00:39:30,930 --> 00:39:34,650 S1: Soul's Longing for God, by Stephanie Rozelle, and you can 664 00:39:34,650 --> 00:39:36,890 S1: find out more about her and link to her website 665 00:39:36,890 --> 00:39:43,650 S1: at kris.org. Chris Fabry live.org. Can you give me a 666 00:39:43,650 --> 00:39:46,089 S1: couple of just a few minutes left here, but can 667 00:39:46,090 --> 00:39:48,890 S1: you give me a step to take for someone who's 668 00:39:48,890 --> 00:39:52,770 S1: listening today and they say, I, I feel numb to delight. 669 00:39:52,770 --> 00:39:57,690 S1: I can't delight for whatever reason. What can that person do? 670 00:39:58,770 --> 00:40:01,250 S3: Mhm. Well, first, I would say, you know, it's I'm 671 00:40:01,290 --> 00:40:03,970 S3: so glad that you're aware that you're numb to delight 672 00:40:03,969 --> 00:40:06,549 S3: because many of us go through life never even realizing that. 673 00:40:06,550 --> 00:40:09,910 S3: So there's, there's a self-awareness that is worth celebrating there. 674 00:40:10,150 --> 00:40:12,350 S3: And I would say quite simply, why don't you ask 675 00:40:12,350 --> 00:40:15,029 S3: God about it? Because he's the one who, you know, 676 00:40:15,070 --> 00:40:18,149 S3: some 374 delight yourself in the Lord, and he will 677 00:40:18,150 --> 00:40:19,989 S3: give you the desires of your heart. So if your 678 00:40:19,989 --> 00:40:22,910 S3: desire is to delight in him, you tell him, you 679 00:40:22,910 --> 00:40:25,670 S3: let him, you know, work his magic, quote unquote, by 680 00:40:25,670 --> 00:40:27,670 S3: the Holy Spirit. He is the one who's going to 681 00:40:27,710 --> 00:40:30,710 S3: awaken your delight in him that's going to be rooted 682 00:40:30,710 --> 00:40:34,029 S3: in his delight of you in Christ Jesus. So I 683 00:40:34,030 --> 00:40:37,390 S3: would say the second step is to realize that Christ 684 00:40:37,390 --> 00:40:40,669 S3: is absolutely essential to delight in God. It's only in 685 00:40:40,670 --> 00:40:44,190 S3: him that it's possible. So root your desire to delight 686 00:40:44,190 --> 00:40:47,310 S3: in God in Jesus. Spend time with Jesus, you know, 687 00:40:47,350 --> 00:40:49,630 S3: read about him in Scripture, talk to him in prayer. 688 00:40:49,630 --> 00:40:54,230 S3: And then I would say cultivate habits, um, spiritual disciplines 689 00:40:54,230 --> 00:40:57,110 S3: that are going to help you continue on this path 690 00:40:57,110 --> 00:41:00,270 S3: of delight. But don't start there. Because if we start 691 00:41:00,270 --> 00:41:02,750 S3: with to do lists and checklists, then they kind of 692 00:41:02,790 --> 00:41:05,890 S3: become the, the end, the goal for many of us. 693 00:41:05,890 --> 00:41:09,730 S3: So ask God to awaken delight in you. 694 00:41:11,050 --> 00:41:13,610 S1: How do you and Jacqueline touched on this with being 695 00:41:13,610 --> 00:41:16,090 S1: a cancer survivor, but how do you deal with sickness, 696 00:41:16,090 --> 00:41:21,050 S1: with affliction, with loss, with pain, depression, with somebody who 697 00:41:21,969 --> 00:41:25,210 S1: is an injustice to you? How do you deal with 698 00:41:25,210 --> 00:41:27,049 S1: that and hang on to delight? 699 00:41:27,770 --> 00:41:29,850 S3: That's the crux of the matter, isn't it, though? That's 700 00:41:29,850 --> 00:41:32,930 S3: really the problem. It's hard to delight in God when 701 00:41:32,969 --> 00:41:35,250 S3: things go hard. And so in the book, I talk 702 00:41:35,290 --> 00:41:37,370 S3: about that a lot. I talk about my own experience, 703 00:41:37,370 --> 00:41:39,410 S3: and you listed a lot of the things that I've 704 00:41:39,410 --> 00:41:42,290 S3: been going through. So I relate to that. I would say, 705 00:41:42,570 --> 00:41:44,810 S3: and I'm going to go to a garden analogy. My 706 00:41:44,810 --> 00:41:48,410 S3: husband is a gardener, and I have discovered through him 707 00:41:48,410 --> 00:41:51,650 S3: the importance of pruning. And when we go through seasons 708 00:41:51,650 --> 00:41:54,730 S3: of suffering and pain, Jesus and Paul in particular. But 709 00:41:54,730 --> 00:41:57,930 S3: Jesus really describes these as a form of pruning from 710 00:41:57,930 --> 00:42:01,569 S3: the father, right? And so when a gardener buys a 711 00:42:01,570 --> 00:42:04,870 S3: new tree in a garden and that this tree has 712 00:42:04,870 --> 00:42:07,390 S3: never been well taken care of. This is us at 713 00:42:07,390 --> 00:42:10,390 S3: salvation when we were, you know, the possession of the 714 00:42:10,390 --> 00:42:14,350 S3: enemy of darkness. And we were, you know, lost to 715 00:42:14,390 --> 00:42:17,230 S3: to God. And he purchases us at great cost. And 716 00:42:17,230 --> 00:42:20,590 S3: now we are a tree belonging to his garden. When 717 00:42:20,630 --> 00:42:23,589 S3: a gardener gets to this tree that's never been well 718 00:42:23,630 --> 00:42:26,469 S3: taken care of before, the gardener is first going to 719 00:42:26,510 --> 00:42:29,510 S3: remove all of the dead branches from the tree, the 720 00:42:29,510 --> 00:42:32,310 S3: dead branches that are weighing the tree down, that are 721 00:42:32,350 --> 00:42:35,270 S3: choking it. And it might be painful for the tree 722 00:42:35,270 --> 00:42:38,950 S3: to have those dead branches being pruned, but it mostly 723 00:42:38,950 --> 00:42:42,390 S3: feels good because now the tree feels lighter and has 724 00:42:42,390 --> 00:42:45,709 S3: more energy and doesn't have this dead weight hanging off 725 00:42:45,710 --> 00:42:48,549 S3: of it. That's early on in our Christian life. That's 726 00:42:48,550 --> 00:42:52,150 S3: when God removes entire areas of sin from our lives. 727 00:42:52,150 --> 00:42:54,230 S3: It can be a little painful, but it mostly feels 728 00:42:54,230 --> 00:42:58,870 S3: good that now we are carrying less weight. But very quickly, 729 00:42:59,270 --> 00:43:01,270 S3: the good gardener is going to go back to the 730 00:43:01,270 --> 00:43:03,770 S3: street that is now pruned of all the dead branches 731 00:43:03,770 --> 00:43:06,890 S3: and is going to look at the live branches. The 732 00:43:06,890 --> 00:43:10,730 S3: branches that are full of sap and fruit maybe, and 733 00:43:10,730 --> 00:43:14,609 S3: blossom and leaf. But the gardener realizes very quickly that 734 00:43:14,610 --> 00:43:17,049 S3: if this tree has never been taken care of, there 735 00:43:17,050 --> 00:43:20,609 S3: are too many live branches. The sap is distracted. It's 736 00:43:20,610 --> 00:43:22,930 S3: going in too many different directions. And these might be 737 00:43:22,930 --> 00:43:25,410 S3: good directions, but they're not the best. So a good 738 00:43:25,450 --> 00:43:30,930 S3: gardener knows what shape the tree should have to maximize fruitfulness. 739 00:43:31,170 --> 00:43:34,170 S3: John 15 abide in me, because without me you can 740 00:43:34,170 --> 00:43:36,730 S3: do nothing and you will bear much fruit. I'm paraphrasing, 741 00:43:36,730 --> 00:43:39,450 S3: but this is Jesus saying the goal of the gardener 742 00:43:39,450 --> 00:43:42,210 S3: is the maximum fruitfulness of the tree. And so the 743 00:43:42,210 --> 00:43:48,290 S3: gardener will cut live branches that are passing with life, 744 00:43:48,290 --> 00:43:51,930 S3: that are even maybe bearing fruit. That's when the real 745 00:43:51,930 --> 00:43:55,090 S3: hardship and the real pain comes in. Because if you, 746 00:43:55,090 --> 00:43:59,129 S3: like me, have ever experienced the father, the gardener, cutting 747 00:43:59,170 --> 00:44:01,950 S3: a limb off of your tree. Off of your life. 748 00:44:01,950 --> 00:44:04,670 S3: And if it felt like death to you, like it 749 00:44:04,670 --> 00:44:07,509 S3: did to me, that's because it was. It was the 750 00:44:07,510 --> 00:44:11,270 S3: gardener removing a live limb. So of course it was 751 00:44:11,270 --> 00:44:14,350 S3: a form of death. But he did that with an 752 00:44:14,350 --> 00:44:18,430 S3: eye to future fruitfulness. This may have been a good branch, 753 00:44:18,430 --> 00:44:21,150 S3: but it wasn't the best. And so he's using pain 754 00:44:21,150 --> 00:44:24,670 S3: and suffering to remove those those live branches that are 755 00:44:24,670 --> 00:44:27,470 S3: not ideal. Now, one more thing I've learned from my 756 00:44:27,469 --> 00:44:31,310 S3: gardening husband is that a really, really good gardener isn't 757 00:44:31,310 --> 00:44:34,670 S3: going to leave a tree that has just been pruned 758 00:44:34,910 --> 00:44:37,870 S3: by itself, because the tree has now a scar on 759 00:44:37,870 --> 00:44:41,750 S3: its trunk, and it could easily have fungus or rain 760 00:44:41,750 --> 00:44:44,750 S3: go in and really infect and maybe even kill the tree. 761 00:44:44,750 --> 00:44:47,710 S3: So a very good gardener, as soon as he cuts 762 00:44:47,710 --> 00:44:51,750 S3: off a live limb from a tree, will apply a sealant, 763 00:44:51,790 --> 00:44:55,350 S3: a protective sealant that's going to help the tree scar 764 00:44:55,510 --> 00:44:58,830 S3: and do much better. Now we have a seal. It's 765 00:44:58,830 --> 00:45:02,130 S3: called the seal of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus takes 766 00:45:02,130 --> 00:45:05,089 S3: such good care of us in our trials and our pruning, 767 00:45:05,370 --> 00:45:08,529 S3: that he applies the Holy Spirit as the sealant to 768 00:45:08,570 --> 00:45:11,850 S3: maximize our fruitfulness in the future. That's how I'm learning 769 00:45:11,850 --> 00:45:14,609 S3: to approach seasons of pain and suffering and delight in 770 00:45:14,610 --> 00:45:15,450 S3: God through them. 771 00:45:16,610 --> 00:45:21,089 S1: And there's also a section in here you say delight 772 00:45:21,090 --> 00:45:25,690 S1: hides within the folds of lament, waiting to be discovered 773 00:45:25,690 --> 00:45:29,209 S1: and awakened. So if you are even going through that 774 00:45:29,210 --> 00:45:34,810 S1: valley right now, there is delight in the middle of 775 00:45:34,810 --> 00:45:38,770 S1: the valley. And isn't that part of what Psalm 23 says? 776 00:45:38,810 --> 00:45:42,130 S1: You know your presence is with me. So if that's 777 00:45:42,130 --> 00:45:47,170 S1: what delight is his presence, then you can experience that 778 00:45:47,170 --> 00:45:50,690 S1: in the highest highs and the lowest lows. Uh, I 779 00:45:50,690 --> 00:45:55,490 S1: have so many questions for you, Stephanie. Fascinating story. Thank 780 00:45:55,489 --> 00:45:57,729 S1: you for spending the time with us today. God bless 781 00:45:57,730 --> 00:45:59,910 S1: you friend. Come back and see us real soon, okay? 782 00:46:00,630 --> 00:46:01,990 S3: Thank you Chris, so much. 783 00:46:02,989 --> 00:46:09,030 S1: Stephanie Roselle, Awaken delight is our featured resource at Chris favorite.org. 784 00:46:09,670 --> 00:46:14,469 S1: Satisfying your soul's longing for God. Featured resource. Again, just 785 00:46:14,469 --> 00:46:19,510 S1: go to Chris dot ORG. Our hope for you today. 786 00:46:19,790 --> 00:46:22,270 S1: And maybe there's somebody you know in in your sphere. 787 00:46:22,270 --> 00:46:25,350 S1: Maybe this is not you, but there's somebody who just 788 00:46:25,350 --> 00:46:29,350 S1: feels like there is no delight in their life whatsoever. 789 00:46:29,390 --> 00:46:31,589 S1: There's a lot of hope and there's a lot of 790 00:46:31,590 --> 00:46:35,189 S1: help in this, in this resource. Again, go to Chris 791 00:46:35,230 --> 00:46:40,950 S1: Fabry live.org. My pal Doctor Love language himself, Doctor Gary Chapman, 792 00:46:40,950 --> 00:46:43,390 S1: is going to join us tomorrow right here on Chris 793 00:46:43,430 --> 00:46:47,070 S1: Fabry live production of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody 794 00:46:47,070 --> 00:46:48,430 S1: Bible Institute.