Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the path. And you're listening to live from the Path coming from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston proper on the first show of 2026. If you're keeping a a manual

calendar or one of those you know, one of those blocks where you get to change the date around depending on what day of the month it is, but instead, you've been tracking the number of episodes live from the path is put out, which is drastically reduced over the years so that it actually will often be less than 28 or 30. Dude, we're less than half? Yeah. We put out 25 episodes last year. Oh my. I mean, we are getting old. Yeah. That's funny. Bunch of weird responsibilities that keep showing up. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's probably alright. The people aren't demanding more. I know this. I have no evidence that the people are demanding more. That's true. Okay. So here's what got going on the program. Now I'm gonna give you a heads up here. If you're looking for

if you're looking for a a delightful kickoff to the New Year, an energizing way of seeing the world with rose glasses, this is probably not the show for you. No. I I just with I'll tell you what we came into the room with. And Mike will do a better job kinda setting this up. But the question I I think some of the crux of the question is is that, like,

the the power how do we think about the power of prayer? Are we is there a doing it right? Why does it seem to work for some people and not other people? And like, if some of the Mike's like, I think annual going through the book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire continues to drag him in a direction that I think is still yet unclear precisely what the destination is. Yeah. Is it roughly fair? I I think that's I think that's accurate. I think there's a lot of power in prayer, and I'm just still convinced that there I'm approaching it not not right. Yeah. Okay. Also, I am reading Isaiah.

It have been for the last, I don't know, thirty days or so. And I was just on the way into the show today, and I I would not I think I cheated. I think I put in the show description there were, like, two crisis of faith in Isaiah. That's just a little bit of a gotcha. Although I actually find them pretty pretty compelling questions. So, like, the goal is to say no scripture is off the table. You should be able to read all the scriptures and take them in and not have to go, oh, I don't wanna think about that. It often happens with the book of Revelation, and there are certainly parts of the Old Testament, Leviticus, that comes to mind on which this may happen. But in Isaiah, there's two two key things that jumped out at me that I wanna work through. The first one is is like some of this prophecy is like seems very exaggerated. High and like either poetic or hyperbolic.

Like the destruction of of peoples or towns or whatever. And like they'll be completely wiped out. And I kinda wonder, I'm I'm trying to think through is like, oh, this god, this is a prophecy. This is supposed to happen. And did it actually happen? And what we're finding is like a lot of these times, like, these these people aren't wiped out. The towns aren't destroyed. And the question was like, is it possible that Jewish or Christian

apologists, people who said like, I want this thing to be true, took what was a very like intended as a literal prophecy and when it did not come true, said, oh, must be poetic or exaggerated or hyperbole. Now I'm not saying I believe that, but I actually think it's a pretty reasonable thing to run through because I'm supposed to trust this thing. I'm giving my life that this scriptures are relaying to me accurate information, and there's there's a handful of things that would have to be dealt with or have to be vetted out if the Bible said something was gonna happen and it did not happen the way the Bible said it was. And so I wanna talk through that. And I'm gonna tell you that like

there is not a there's not a super clean answer here. There's going be some things that I think will wizen how you read the scriptures as we work through that one. The second one is around in Isaiah, you get you just get and this is actually not exclusive to Isaiah, but you just see pictures of God being angry. Like, he's angry with people, and there's justice and veggies. Like, I will come down. I will stamp out you and your kids and set your cities on fire and your and your horses.

And and I I I look at these things. I'm like, man. He's always disliked horses. He's yeah. Always. This is true. He told Israel not to get horses. And every every time they had one, it was like, don't trust trouble. Yeah. They don't trust And so anyway, I was I was thinking through this. And anytime I say something, you're like, he's getting blasphemous. You don't have to follow me. I'm just gonna tell you the things that are going to my mind. Because I'm like, if I think about God being all powerful, all knowing, all good, and he creates this humanity, there's obviously like, I get we have his image, but, like, we're not him. Is it fair to think that like God is to us as we are to goldfish? Like in terms of wisdom. It doesn't seem crazy.

Or God is to us as we are to like a six month old baby. And if you thought like if I got if a six month old baby misbehaved itself and I got like real tore up about it and I'm like screaming at it and punishing it. It's like, how could you do this? And like, I'm gonna burn your toys and kill your friends. Like, jeez. Right? You can't burn little tax. It causes a fume. Right. So so here's so realistically though, if I think if this language is being used and I think, well, like if God is so much more holy and set apart and wise and whatever to me,

how could it be that it's right that he could get so what feels angry and vengeful about a group of people, his creation that you're like, I don't know. Do they even know better? And so anyway, how do I think about that language and about God's character? And if if I've made an imperfect comparison, the question is why? Like, what about the compare like, either the goldfish or the babies? I don't care. Like, if it's wrong, and I think it is, but like why is it wrong? Because like these are common critiques from atheists. And frankly, if you're a person who I I think God created people not nest not for judgment. I think he created people to otherwise you should look at other people in a way of kindness and desire to share good news. I think the judgment is left to him. And so like, I I think we're honestly created to be hit by the judgment on other people like, oh,

because we can't handle that. Like, I think that's for God. And so I actually think he's built new to have that reaction, but we do have to understand his actions. So, anyway, those are the two crisis of faith within Isaiah that I wanted to get through today. And we got some advice on dear life from the path. Hopefully, they're kinda funny because like I said, this setup, it's just not that. I haven't looked it up yet. We'll have to see. Well, hopefully, there's a there's a redeeming comedy hour at the end. Hopefully so. Okay. So, Mike, let's start with, like, I don't know. Do you wanna start with the book? Can you go to like, what what is the what is the what is the prayer tussle? Okay. This happens to me every like, I probably do read fresh wind, fresh fire every year. I don't know. If if you if you haven't read it, it's a it's a book by Jim Simbala, and it's just basically the story of how he Wait a minute. It's Symbala? Yeah. I've been saying Cymbalta like the like the medication

Cymbalta. Is that for is that for dude problems? No. It's allergies, isn't it? Isn't Cymbalta allergies? No idea. I don't know. Maybe that's not as offensive as I thought I would. It's Jim Cymbalta. I was okay. Got it. Okay. Well, like, I I don't wanna steal the thunder from the book, but, like, basically, it's it's it's just about how god has been faithful. Like, he took over a church that was dying, like, really dying, like 10 people in bad neighborhood, no money, all that. And it was the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

And he takes over this church, and he's just depressed and and, like, bummed out and just has no will to continue to be put. He's like, let's just fold. This is terrible. And and God hits him while he's out on a boat and says, look, if basically, look, if you if you are faithful to me in the way that you pray, I will show up. You call on my name and I will show up, and I will do all the things, but you need to pray. And, like, he goes back home and he's like, look, here's the deal. I I don't care what our attendance is on Sunday. Tuesday prayer meeting. And that's where I want us at. And we will be praying, and we will asking the lord. We will tell we need your help. And and that's what we're gonna focus our time. And so and like to this day, the church went from ten ten people

to 15,000 people. Right? Like, they've got multi Grammy winning choir, all this like, and it's not that's not the point of the story. The point of the of of of the book is, like, they've just been faithful in praying all the time. Right? And their prayer meetings aren't like a schedule. Like like, most of our prayer meetings in modern churches are like a gossip session. Here's going in on with my life, just so you guys know. If you could ask God to be in that, that would be great. Right? And it's it's a real simple exchange of ideas. We are not even asking God to do a whole lot. We're basically just going, God, will you be there? You know? And so and that's not how they're praying. Like, they pray in in a really you know, like, we we can't take another step if you don't show up. Mhmm. You know, just like a a desperation tip. So anyway, I find myself reading that usually, I'll read it just before youth group starts

because I wanna pray over the things that we're doing. And I and I'm and of the three legs that I usually recommend to people in having a relationship with God, it's it's always reading it's like spending time with God by reading your Bible, spending time in prayer, and then sitting under some on teaching, then and having a community around you. Like, these are the things. And and I always find that prayer is like it's always the hob the most hobbled leg for me, where I feel like like I do it sometimes I'll do it out of obedience, and I will think I will do this out of obedience. And at the very least, god, I'm offering this time with you. Even if I don't know exactly what I'm asking for or what I'm asking you to do, but I would like to offer like, I'm gonna on purpose carve this time out. But then it turns out to be more of an obedience thing than, like, a need.

Like like, it's a a reactionary prayer that goes, look. I I can't take another step without you. My heart doesn't get there on its own, and so it doesn't. So, anyway, like, if I wrap all that up, like, it always gets my head spinning after I get started reading this book. Like, I'm just don't know that we're approaching me. I'm approaching prayer correctly. Even if I look at our Sunday morning services, I'm like, and this is not a condemnation against anybody. I'm part of the the wheel. You know? But, like, it's mostly teaching and worship. Like, we pray some, you know, in between and then before communion or, like, it's not like we don't like prayer or don't believe in the power of it. But, like, the focus is really musical worship and then teaching. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Prayer prayer is a transition between the other things. Prayer. And it is. And, like, you know, maybe we are guilty of this, and we we've let it slide into the gray a little bit where we're like, we're using it for stage transitions. You know? And we should pray. We know we should pray, but is it really that, God, I need like, we we need your help. We're calling on your name to be part of this service. Or we're like, Lord, thanks people for being here. The worship band's leaving. Here comes the guy. You know I'm saying? Like, you know, maybe we should get could have some more actual heart in there.

But basically, I guess maybe the thing that that I was wondering is like, what I don't believe is I don't believe there's a there's a cracked code to it. I don't believe if you pray the right prayer, all of a sudden, god's eyebrow goes up and goes, they got it. I will do the things. Know? Checkpot. They got me. You know? I also don't know that it's not a movement of the holy spirit that puts your heart in a place that recognizes how desperately you need God. Like, I can intellectually tell you how desperately I need God. I don't think that we're built to wallow around all the time and go, oh, Lord, I need you so badly on this day. You know? But, like, to feel it down in your very sinews that you need God to be a part of the thing that you're doing. I

don't I don't know that you get there without the holy spirit helping you get there, because I don't think I could get there on my own free will. Otherwise, I'd I'd I'd already be there, I think, most of the time. I'm like, that's what I want. And so if I believe that it's a movement of God that puts your heart in a posture that way, or like if you read if you end up reading this book, like, is just extremely faithful in all the things. And they weren't like, hey, we wanna be a 10,000 person church. They're like, we want to help like, there's there's a lot of prostitutes down in the salt mines, and we wanna be able to help them. And we wanna be able to continue to this outreach ministry. And then and then we we bust them in, and then they're just giving their lives to Jesus. Like, the first time they show up, and people are just, hey. Yeah. I'm I'm I'm convicted sinner, you know, and, like, all this stuff. And they're like, it has nothing to do with the sermon. Like, there's there's the the Bible's been preached for thousands of years, and, like, the words are god's. But, like, it doesn't matter how I put them together or what I say. If the holy spirit's not there, it's not gonna do it. And the only way that we invite the holy spirit and god to do his work is through prayer. And so I keep thinking, like, is this most hobbled leg of my faith, the, like, the sounds like I'm the key. You know what I'm saying? Like but you know what I'm getting at? Like, it just seems like this thing that I would I so want to be more intentional in my spiritual life, but I don't want it necessarily to be just a spiritual habit.

I want it to be a spiritual groaning. Right? Like a like not a desperate is probably the wrong word, but it's the right word. You know? Like like just I I I'm so aware that I need God in all these things. Like and that's even the the the opening of the sermon on the mount. You know? Like, if you're poor in spirit, if you recognize this and I'm like, I don't know that I recognize this to the depth that I actually would find that my prayers are not being hindered or they're being you know, they could actually do the work. And let's say that I even get convinced of this. How am I gonna convince, like, the the the boilerplate church people to come to pray with me like this, to not only have a guy, like, get fired up about it, but 20 people. And now the all of god's people are praying in this. Like, it just seems so awesome. And, like but it seems so far away from the way that I grow up, the way that I currently look at god, the way that most of church services run. You know, and, like, it just seems like either it's a a gimmickly flash,

you know, that that people will chase all their lives and it never needed to be all that. It was a simple like, we just had could have a simple faith that prayed earnestly, that even did recitable prayers from the old testament. And god's like, I hear those offerings. You know? But, like, when god talks about prayers, like, Jesus calls the the temple a house of prayer, the holy spirit shows up on Pentecost when they're sitting around praying. When they're talking about the book of revelation, what's god's holding up in big old bowls? The prayers. You know, he's not like, I'm keeping sermons up here. You know what saying? Like, he's like, I said, there's a couple good ones in here I can throw back down. He's like, those prayers are the incense up to me. You know? And so, like, like, I don't know. Like, I I what I don't want is, like, all these things start swirling in my head, and I'm like, I don't know how to do this. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't I I'm not saying God you're like, God's on the hook for repeating whatever faithfulness he did at that time period with those group of people. But I do think that they were faithful in prayer. You know? And I'm like, I just feel like super convicted that I'm not, but I don't know how to be more. You know? So maybe my question is is, like, is it is it just

this is gonna sound wrong, but it's like is that type of prayer, that thought, is it just like another fad of Christianity where you're like, oh, you know, if we would just pray if we all had awesome Tuesday night prayer meetings, revival would come. You know? Yeah. Or is it like a deepening of a faith that goes like like like, the the sermons are great, but if I don't show up, it doesn't matter. The worship is great, but if I don't show up, it doesn't matter. You know? And so, like, the prayer thing seems like the it should be proportionally the biggest thing. But, like, I've like, I can't even sit in a prayer for more than five minutes most of the time. My mind goes blank or I don't know what to say. I start measuring my own words. And if I'm like, Lord, I'll let you speak. And then all of sudden, I'm thinking about something else. You know what I'm saying? Like, we're just not conditioned to be in that space and then actually be able to do it well. I wonder

okay. You got this is just occurring to me. So you maybe this is not right. But, like, if you think of the three the three elements in in in church services, you got the teaching and the worship, and let's take prayer as the third one. The the prayer sorry. Two things are going on because I think it's some of it may be unique to Western context. And and then, Dan, I think you can maybe you have some stories about this from like a Zimbabwe situation where where prayer, I think, actually is much more emphasized at times. Is

that prayer is the is the reliance part. Prayer is the part where you're going, God, I actually I can't do the things off my own hand and I don't want to. I am I need you to your point, Mike, I need you to to to do these things. I put my trust into you. It's the thing where you're actually giving up your own agency and saying I need God to do it. Places where you largely solve your own problems or at least have the perception that you do

don't relate to that posture as much as people who have nothing. Of people who are when they see a storm roll over the mountains, they see a connection to Yahweh and his interaction with the world. And we see a storm roll over the hills and go, well, it's May and Iowa. That's how it happens. And like both of those are actually can be true to a to a certain extent. But like, I I wonder if a bit of our separate or or or I don't it's not lack of investment. I know everybody's praying. I just you're not praying with an urgency that it matters because so much feels like it's within your control that it's not like if I don't go to that prayer meeting on Tuesday,

my mortgage won't get paid or, like, this relationship will never be solved. Like, because you just have a bootstraps mentality that, like, oh, but I'm also trying these five other things that may work out. Is it Yeah. Does that make sense, Dan? Yeah. I I guess I can from my own experience, I've done this so many times through the years that that I have to battle within me of making sure prayer isn't a gimmick. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You read the book, you're like, well, man, that works. We're doing a Tuesday night prayer thing. Right. Yeah. I read a book, Red Moon Rising. We're doing twenty four seven prayer, and and they're not gonna we're not gonna be able to stop them from praying. Yeah. You know? It's like, okay. You're you're pushing it to get to the second week. You know? And then when we still do those, but it's never had the whatever I was looking for, you know, I remember different times. I was like, okay, we're going on prayer walks and we're going to attack a particular street. And

people will say, man, I can't believe everybody's coming in from 3rd Street. It's like, well, we were praying for it, you know? And sometimes I saw some of that happen, but at least in my experience, I think I have to battle internally while I'm praying from this is a cool gimmick or a cool tool or a church

growth thing Yep. As opposed to I am crying out to God on behalf of these people or or just just plain crying out to God. You you know? And God, you do what you want. I you're you're God. You know? I'm not praying that they come to my church. Maybe they'll gonna go to church down the road. Am I oh, am I okay with You know? Those Methodist Christians. No. But not that one. But I think that that means going from my own personal. Like, that's where I have battle. And when I see things really take a turn tends to be when I back out enough and say, God, this isn't about me. This isn't about the church I'm at. This isn't, and this is just you having your will done on earth, and I'm praying that you move in this area.

And that's hard to maintain because you you don't sometimes you don't even see the results. Yeah. You know, you're like or then you hear the, oh, the church down the road is really growing like crazy. Like, what about us? Know? And it's like, you're missing the point. You know, God's kingdom is growing. So maybe maybe that's the hardest part too is like, it's so hard to to because we wanna measure it. Right? That because we wanna say prayer is effective. Right? And even the bible's like, boldly approach the throne. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? God said, your your prayers are incense to me. I listen. I take them all in. And you're like, so either you take them in or you don't do anything, or you take them in and I don't have the ability to measure. Yeah. And God's like, yeah. I didn't tell you to measure. You know? And and, like, may maybe the maybe the whole point

I don't know if it's the whole point. I think there's I think it's greater than that. I don't think there's a black and white to it. Right? But I think because it's a relationship with God. Right? And it's and it's having an intentionality that goes, like, I I I really because we could pull off a worship service if God didn't show up. But the question is the worship actually didn't happen. Music was played. That's true. Yeah. Or, like, words were spoken. That's true. Like but we can we measure that in a real worldly five senses kinda way and go, did a band play that played songs that exalted God's name? Sure did. Did worship happen? I don't actually know. You know what I'm saying? Like Mhmm. Did did we say, look, if you don't show up, we we could probably just put these instruments down. We'd be better off smoking in the parking lot than we would be trying to go up here without you. And if if that's a heart mode that we could, you know, that we could be in, then then it feels like like our prayers are are tuned to more to what his heart is. You know? But like like to your point, when you when you're like, god, I just it feels so when I when I listen to, like even in the Bible, even David. Right? He prays for very specific things. Yeah. He's not copping out. You know what I'm saying? He's not like, God, your will just be done, whatever. He's like, that guy's trying to kill me. I want you to stop him. I want you to kill him, and I want you to kill his cousins. And this is what I want. You know what I'm saying? And, like, he's gonna bull Paul prays this way. Right? Like and and and, like, the like, exhorts the church to pray this way. And and so I maybe I'm trying to battle between, like, what is safe for me is God is easy to defend if my prayers are never pointed. You know? And if I go, God's will is always God's will. Right? Well, God's will was gonna kill the Israelites too. And Moses is like, hey, man. What do you think if we what do think if we not do that? You know what I'm saying? And so, like, it just feels like there like, there's a lack of faith that won't pray appointed prayer and go, God, this is I'm asking you to get involved in this because I can't do it. I can't bring these people to know you without you, but I want to see them known by you. Yeah. And I want to see them like like you know them and they know you. And so I'm asking you to show up. Do you get what I'm saying? Like, is it kind of a a cop out not to pray? When you think of

Jesus prayed before telling Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and then he calls Lazarus out of the tomb. And, like, he already had the pre prayer, so he knew what was gonna happen. Mhmm. So he, with complete confidence, said, Lazarus, come forth. Like, come on. Yeah. May maybe half our problem is we're not doing the pre prayer of god. Tell me what to pray for. Yeah. I I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud. I know. I that's what I'm saying. Like, because, like, do you know how awesome it would like, once again,

this the story is not to, like, say Jim Cymbalta is the best man ever. Right. It's to look at God being faithful and people coming to know him in in and I'm like, it's remember we were talking about that holy spirit weirdo from, like Yeah. Two months ago where I'm like, we're setting up we're setting up more programs and discipleship classes. And these this guy's just been like, the holy spirit says you need to turn yourself around, dude. You're running from God. And he's like, I'm convicted. I repent him instantly. I'd like to give my whole life to Jesus. And you're like, what the heck ever? Why are we doing these classes? You know what I'm saying? And so, like, Paul will do the same thing. Of course, Jesus does the same thing. Like like, I would never it'd be like, god's Mike, I want you to to call Lazarus out of this tomb. I'm like, I don't know if I heard that right. God, your will be done in Lazarus' life. And then I would just sit around awkwardly wondering if he might come out of the tomb. You know? And so the question is is, like, I'm not Jesus. Right? But I am a follower of God, and I do have the holy spirit in me. So, like, am I a chicken? You know what saying? Like, do I not have faith in the power of this thing, or don't I? Yeah. So so here's where the tricky is probably not the word I should be using. But, like, for every expression that you can think about of people praying and these examples that we're talking about, they're biblical examples of doing it. So Jesus prays

beforehand. Like Dan's example in Lazarus, he calls Lazarus out. Lazarus comes out. You're like, yeah, bold. Look at it. Paid off. And then Jesus prays in the in the garden and says, may you take this cup from me? You don't get a verbal response from the father. We don't get anything in scripture where he goes, no. You shall proceed. Yeah. It just happens. Yeah. And so like it's the equivalent of your of your examples. If you go to the tube and go, you know, God, if you wanna let Lazarus out of here, great. But your will be done. Now let's all watch and see what happens. And Jesus seems to be okay with that. You've got people praying these really, really big prayers and repentance for nations.

And then you've got God saying, I I care about the hairs on your head. And so the person who goes, look man, I'm really struggling with staying awake in my lunch hour between at my job. And we're like, why are we praying for this? Because God cares about And how could you possibly pray unceasingly without mentioning this random crap that you're farting around doing in a given day? And so like, the thing is, is that like, it's not like we've got them. It's not like someone has like got this thing way wrong. All of these are expressions that have biblical backing and how Christians have prayed over the years or whatever. Like it's all right.

But I think the posture maybe in the shift of what you're talking about is like having complete confidence. Okay, this is a bad example. But just think of God as a financial planner. And for every $5 that ever came off your gruddy little hands,

you just handed it to the guy and went, he's got it. And and people are like, hey. Is it is it making money? Don't know. I just I gave it to the man, and I trust the man. My job is to give it to him. His job is to do what he's supposed to do with it. And sometimes the check shows up in the mail and sometimes I get to hear about it. And you're like, but why wouldn't you keep such a closer eye on your money? How do you know if you can trust him? That's a problem with an earthly financial planner. That is not the problem with the king of the world. And so, like, I I think the confidence comes from I think God does bless us and that we were talking even before the show of, like, a very clear physical healing

in in Dan's proximity, like, within the last few weeks. Like, clear. Yeah. Yeah. This is a miracle. Everyone would say it was a miracle. The doctor who looked at it, like, all the things. Right? And so, like, sometimes God lets you see it. A lot of times, you don't get to see it. A lot of times, the thing that you want like, for every time that we get to see something shrinks or something goes away or a heart gets healed, there's a ten thousand people who died of the heart attack anyway, who wept at the hospital bed and begged God for a change. And then three hours later, we're planning a funeral. Like, I and so those things were like, well, how do I deal with this? Here's the thing. Those are hard human questions for humans. But if your posturing was like, I gave it to the guy.

Mhmm. And I gave it to the guy. And that was my job is to unceasingly give it to the guy. And then I said, just whatever you wanna bless me with, great. I'm in. Otherwise, I trust you with this thing. And so it you like, you would pray the same thing over and over and over again. And you would say like I give them the small things. Nothing's too small. Nothing's too big. I just trusted that God would handle it. And I think there's a human frailty in it. There there is for me to going, well, like how do I know whether I'm doing it right? Now you would know that that's a dumb question. Like you know that in your bones it's dumb. But like as you're looking out it's like am I praying right? Well no. Obviously like you're doing it it's fine. Like whatever fallible offering you have. But that really isn't it's a deflected question that I'm kind of asking of God that I have studiously as a Christian put on myself. Well, maybe I'm doing it wrong. But really my question is, God, why didn't you answer that? Yeah. Yeah. Why didn't and like even in your theology would tell you, I know it's okay that he didn't. I trust that he didn't. But it doesn't mean it doesn't like the human emotion that comes with like, I wanted this was a good. I was asking for good. You put this on my heart to do and I prayed and it didn't happen. Why not? And we try to solve a human problem that is really

a godly prerogative. And I think the guy, I think a person who can get to the point where they actually feel no culpability for the responses to the prayer, just the obedience that comes with praying. Mhmm. That's the freedom.

But I think it's difficult because you love and care about all the things that you're praying about. Yeah. That's my thought. So so like the pragmatic part of me goes, then where's the hope in the prayer for for an individual? Mhmm. Right? So, like, if like, even the healings part. Right? I'm like, healings, you know, financial success, whatever, all the worldly crap. I'm like, I don't care. Do it or don't do it. Like, you're a generous father. Mhmm. But when I but when we're praying for people to know him,

that matches his heart. And if if it's like, well, God will do what he's going to do, then why is it then why the hopeful prayer otherwise? If his hand's not gonna move, if he I suppose if he's not gonna show it to me, even if he does or doesn't, you know what I'm saying? Like, is it just an exercise to filter you as a follower of Christ? You know, like to go, this is just what we do. It teaches you how to how to trust the father. So, like, when you end up in heaven, that's how the economy runs. It runs on trusting the father all the time. And so it's a self, like, it's God stretching you to be more like Jesus who trusts the father implicitly. You know? But it it feels like that's not how prayer is described in most of the Bible. Well, I think it's a both end. So so, like, God could answer zero like, he could take no action based upon any human petition, and he's still God. True. Right? And so he doesn't have to do any of those things. He's a good father. We know that. He gives good gifts. That's right. I I think what's difficult about the stuff that you don't care about are the things where it feels most likely God can do these, does do these things

in such a way that you can see it and enjoy it. I think the difficulty in praying for people that they would know Him, yes He wants it, but He could force everyone to know Him now, like right now. And you know that He wants that because James tells you He wants that. It's His desire that. And so what I'm asking for is a subversion of someone's will that I actually had the ability to say, I choose to follow Jesus. And I'm asking I'm not like, you know, it's not really what you're praying for, but it kind of is because the impact is to say, God, I just want you to grab them and make them believe in you even though he implicitly did not do that as long as you're not a Calvinist with the rest of the world.

And so what you are actually asking to the thing that he could show you is his presence in in their life, his continued refining in you and interact with those people, the presence of other people that he sent that way. But what you're probably not going to get is this very direct like Saul falling off the horse moment with most people with that prayer because we know like, alright, my theological belief is is that like he he will not grab, like steal someone out of into loving him.

So like and and maybe you're right. Maybe if if you look at like, if if you read any of the major revival stories in the last thousand years, right, like the Asbury revival, the one in London, and then even even the fresh wind, fresh fire thing. Right? Like, they were all bathed in prayer, and they were like, that was the that was the birth of them. You know? And so, like, in my simple mind, I go, well, you know what? If that you know, I can do that. If that's I mean, whatever. What am I gonna lose? There's no lose here. I just will pray, and we're gonna pray for big revival, and this is what we should do. And, like, why Because we'll just ask him. And if he says whatever, you know, that's then I'm not gonna do it in your lifetime, but I will do it in the lifetime after. Maybe you'll get to see it in heaven. I don't know. There's a chasm. I'm not sure I want you looking over that chasm, but whatever. You know? And so I maybe the maybe I'm trying to figure out a way in my mind that doesn't feel so chaotic, right, in in the approach to it. I I like I I still think that there's probably lessons

or stretches for us, especially in maybe in Western churches to to, like, are we taking are we taking the power out of prayer? As it as it is not just a self, you know, refining bit of being a future citizen of heaven. Right? Like, it it it is the language of which we talk to an almighty creator being, and it does have some a lot a lot of weight to it, I guess. And there's but like, are we praying out of duty or we or out of a desperate need for? Right? Are we calling on the name of the Lord or are we just acknowledging that we know the Lord? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. No. So so I think yeah. We shouldn't distract from one of the key points, which is like, if we're not praying

like it moves God's hand, then we're not praying. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like there's clear We're talking. Yes. Yes. That that's right. And like, it doesn't mean that you can force God's hand or that he would even think about it in those like, wouldn't say if my kids ask me for a good thing, I wouldn't like, you're forcing my hand here. Cereal for everybody. Like, I I like, it's it's not that I think even God thinks about it that way. Cereal's an extravagance at your house, of which the kids have tried to cajole you into. For

sure. For sure. Because I I gotta take the heat from my wife when she goes, could you let the meat through for breakfast? We live in the black and white version of It's a Wonderful Life. For sure. And so like I do think that is the lesson is that like not, oh, I bet a good, a better pastor than me could think of like a whimsical way to say this. But like it's something like not all prayer

like moves God's hand, but all prayer is faithful and obedient. Like it's something like that, like is a right recognition of who God is and is faithful in and of it self. It's righteous in and of itself that you're praying. All prayer enters the throne room. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know? I always often when I'm praying, I imagine that scene. Knew Dan's a I knew Dan's doing. But I always imagine that scene with the with the bulls, you know, and the angel and the scepter, and it talks about the throne room where there's rumblings and peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, and

the father takes this prayer and he answers it and he gives it back, the angel hurls it to the earth, there's earthquake and rumblings and peals of thunders and lightning. And I think there is something happened. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Something is happening. I can't see it. I don't know it. Sometimes I can see it. But whether I can or can't, I all I know is with all my heart, something has happened. The foundations are shaking. Something has happened. We take a minute out of every service, worship service here where we have the little app, and you go in. There's a prayer global, it's called. And everybody goes to a different part of the world. We're praying for one minute for revival whatever place. That gives statistics and populations and how many people are believers and that kind of stuff. And I think, I honestly believe with our little church, for revival throughout the world, that there are people who have come to Christ in the past year. We're like 57%

of the way through the globe right now of going state by state. And I just think because we are petitioning the father, and he wants that too, that he's raising up evangelists, he's raising up teachers, and he's raising up preachers and teachers, and I really believe that. And

I tell people, man, we're gonna get to heaven one day and we're gonna see people and they're gonna say, thanks for praying. We're here because you prayed. And I'm like, I'm okay, never seeing it till then, but whatever. I don't care. We're gonna keep praying because we believe it's that powerful that we're we're shaking the foundations of the spiritual world throughout the globe when we do that. So it goes back to some of the examples you were using earlier, hey, did this targeted prayer walk work? Of course. Yeah. It worked. Did these prayer rooms twenty four seven prayer rooms work that lasted six days and not fourteen? Of course.

Of course it is. And it's it's like there's there's a human need and desire to go, okay, but in what way did they work? Could I have done it better? Like, there's this refining thing that goes on. Am I using ministry time and money? Like, they're very practical concerns. No one's asking me to write a book over about it. Yeah. Right. It hasn't worked that well. But I wonder how much they're are they heavenly concerns? Like, how many of those things are are attempts to refine the means as opposed to just go on the means must work? Well, I I mean, and no one in, like, up to Jesus' time, old testament like style, no one's like, I don't know if this Shema is doing anything. Right. It's probably time to bail on it. Yeah. Like,

day? Are you sure we do it every day? Right. And they didn't feel a way about it. Right? The doorpost. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I don't You spelled here wrong. I just Yeah. And so, like, I so maybe may like, maybe it's weird because there's both like, there should be what what you were saying? I'd be it stuck with me. Well, two things stuck with me. I will never I will never forget the proclamation that there are no sermons in the bowls. That reorients my life a little.

I'll remember that always. But the second thing is, is that like how can it feel like less chaotic? And

this is where I'm trying to I'm walking tenderly because I know the answer isn't gonna feel right. But like, the chaos is often the expectation, but you should also pray with expectation. And so like it's or maybe it's praying with hope and then leaving

it with trust. And the expectation is less of an expectation thing. It's a hope thing. And then you're you're just simply not accountable. There's all kind there's a billion things in the world that I'm not on the hook for. And maybe I've taken to a certain extent some responsibility when when the Brooklyn Tabernacle doesn't go, we're going to we're gonna show up on Tuesday and through our actions, we're gonna call his daughter back to church and she's gonna feel it in the moment that we're praying for her. That's not what they said. They're like, we're gonna show up and do this thing. That's what we're gonna do. Yeah. That's all we know to do. Mhmm. Yeah. And and and and like when he and yes, you pray for her. Exactly. Like, absolutely you pray with specificity.

You ask God for like whatever. It's not like to your point, it's not magic to trigger it, and it's also not a failure to say it wrong. God, I want you to heal this person of the thing. And he goes, I'm not gonna do that because that's not what they need. But like, it's just like if my kid goes, Dan, I'm really, really hungry. Can I have a popsicle? I'm like, you're really, really hungry and your stomach hurts. You should have a piece of chicken and not the cereal. Right? Like, would would answer it. I would because the thing was right. They're hungry. You shouldn't do the popsicle. And so I I just I just wonder if there's there's both a sense of pray like, can pray boldly approaching the throne in hope, and then you need to release any responsibility from there about except for go ahead and keep praying. Yeah. Every time I go through one of the hospitals in town has a children's hospital. Right? And there's like a regular hospital, and it's like in the middle, you can walk through it to go from one area to the other. And every time I'm in the children's part, I will pray that God will heal every single child in that hospital up up up the floors. And and and part of that prayer is like, don't obviously, they don't even know I'm here. So it's not like, oh, Dan the healer. Know? So none of that's going on. But I want it to be obvious that it was from God. So put that God, you do it however you want to do that. And one of these days, I'm just going to see the elevators just

crowded with people coming home. You know, I keep thinking that, but I don't know. Either way, I pray it. I pray it. You know? And there's kids up there with cancer, kids with preborn, you know, all the different stuff. You know? And I just I just I just keep I just feel like that's something to pray for. Every time I'm there, I do that. So you think about, like, I mean, how many times, Mike, you've walked around the town of of Pleasantville and around the schools of Pleasantville. And, like, why do we do that and not just do it at home? Because this is all we got. We got our physical bodies to go. God, I care about this. It's the same reason you hold the hand of a dying person. Don't call them from your house and go, I'm praying for you from here, boys. Sorry about your loss. I was you. Right. You're a you're a created physical being who's created good and, like, you're gonna take your physical bones and you're gonna walk the street. You're gonna hold the hand. And, like, actually, it was one of the things that I was maybe wasn't convicted of, but I just at the start of last year, I'm like, I I wanna pray with my whole self. And I didn't do it. I don't think I did it. I'd like, I showed up to a few things. I went prayed at the school once. But, like, I just thought like, I'd like I wanna go more places, and I wanna look more people in the eye, and I wanna just Yeah. Like use other my full self in a moment of going, I don't know. I hope. Yeah. And I trust you with it. And the what I can't force

I can't do it. I can't change the outcome except for to pray for you. And the only thing that's within my power is to haul my cheeks over to that place and ask for it. Yeah. And that's it. Yeah. And so maybe that's it. Maybe that's all it is. I I I've been doing this forever, you know, preaching. And and this is probably the first year that I've actually followed through with the thought I've had that I should pray for this person. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I always pray for people. But, like, on Sunday morning when they're talking to me, you know, was like, I always like, man, I'll be praying for you. And I do. Yeah. But it's like, I just something in me this year is like, no. We're let's go down to get to pray. You know? It's like, well, it's not that hard. Right. You know? But but but I I I have, for whatever reason, have not followed through to that point until really this year, which is kind of a shame. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, Mike Mike, what's Les, as you think about that discussion, takeaways either for you, for the room, what do you think? I think there

I think that the way that this settles into someone's heart does matter where they're at in life. Right? Like, this conversation looks different in the trench than it does after God brought the daughter home. Sure. You know what I'm saying? And so, I like, it's real possible that the trench

like, there's some fog of war in there. You know I'm saying? That, like, makes something that is that is simple and holy and, like, where where where I think if you're not in the trench, you're like, just be obedient. You're like, yeah. Serve me well. Things look pretty good. Like Yeah. Yeah. Obedience has always done well for me, you know? And, like, not that my opinion is the only one that matters, but it's fairly obvious if I can look back on the track of my life that, like, as I was obedient, God God was there because God is the opposite of chaos. You know? Yep. But then when the when the world shows up a little bit or there's some chaos and then you're praying from a trench, you're like, maybe you just start to look back and go, is it possible I don't understand this at all? You know what saying? That I got that I'm misunderstanding the way that that we're to approach praying for things or whatever. And so, like, it's it's a cyclical human experience. Right? There's there's trenches and mountains, and it just and it kinda goes. And so it could be really possible that, like, I've I've I've read this book and felt this way not in a trench, and I was just more energized by it. I'm like, we gotta be praying. Yeah. You know? And then, like, when I read it when I'm standing in a trench, I go, we've got this all wrong. We've we've gotta we've gotta do this. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, it's it's probably more of a human fallibility than it is a confusion created

within the scriptures or within, you know, in any of those things. It's probably more of a human weakness that goes, well, if if faithfulness and praying in in a way how I've been doing it, it's put us in the trench. So Yeah. Maybe we should review

and see if there's a if I if if we're misunderstanding the way that this is supposed to work. And the truth is is like, you're probably not. You've given some of the givens that maybe we've put on the table that go, look, we we really need Jesus. You know what I'm saying? Like, we really need to actually call on his name. But at the end of the day, it's it's the same prayer and the same God and the same standing whether you happen to be on top of a mountain at the moment or dragging through a trench somewhere. Yeah. That's actually a really great point because, like, this is a t shirt. Jesus prayed himself onto a cross. Paul prayed himself into a beating. Yeah. James prayed himself off being thrown off a temple. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is, like, there just isn't it's not a good indication as to whether you're praying faithfully Yeah. Whether there's trouble in your life. And most of the trouble, like, in

our in our context, most of the trouble is actually witnessing and having to take part in somebody else's trouble. Yeah. Right? Because like this whole room could be destitute and we'd be like, well, we can't afford microphones but we'll put the show on on the corner and hope someone walks by. Right? Like I don't think that's disenfranchising to this group. What is disenfranchising is to see people you care about tell Jesus they don't care about him.

It's to see, it's to have a faithful message that saves and someone go, I'd rather not Or I reject that. Or that have see the means of the people and the of yourself and the people around you to provide physical and spiritual rescue to the world and go, yeah, I'm gonna serve myself, I think. That's hard. That's the thing that pains me. And so it's difficult then

I think as we think about those types of things like those are trenches that you're likely always praying for to a certain regard. They're gonna be sometimes very, very close to you and sometimes maybe a few steps away. But, yeah, prayer got every Christian into some level of difficulty and they didn't it wasn't because they weren't praying right. Yeah. You know? And so okay. Alright. Hey. Maybe you got some thoughts on that. Hit us up on the old life from the path complaint lane one. Pick pick up that if you've not read read Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, I I actually am I I was thinking about listening to you talk about it. So,

when we just real quick example, when we started house church stuff, like, it was one of the things actually we we were intentional about. I'm like, we think and maybe we even came from thinking about that book in some context, which is like we should prayer should at least have an equal footing. And we do, it's just like we generally do a few songs. Sometimes the prayer goes so long and over, like I don't teach that day because we were praying. And so like, well, it seems real studious, but like, and a lot of times it's conversation and we're wrestling with the things God is doing and like, it's right. And so like we tried to be intentional about that, but like, I don't know, are we always praying with the hope that it mattered? Like, can we slip into life updates? I think we can. But again, it's not that God doesn't care about it, but like is there and I'm not sure that there's like a prescribed

balance, but like I think, like do we have are we praying with enough hope that means we're bringing the things out? Right? Like I don't know if I want everybody to pray on this because I don't know about what. I'm not sure what God is going to do. Like I could see that and like in a protection of God's character we've actually denied his character.

Faithful people. And I'm not and I don't think anybody thought, oh, I better hold that. Like they're not thinking about it that way but like I I bet we've got room to 10 x our thought of like, we praying as hopeful people that think this thing mattered? Yeah. So like, I think we've totally got room to do that. I also actually think there's room. This is what I've been thinking about this for the last probably six to eight weeks of I I think I think people I know some like real big churches have like prayer pastors but like as we think about like leading and worship,

like I don't know, helping people focus how they think about and pray things is probably pretty powerful. I don't know why we we have this belief that, like, well, they need lead and kind of all these things, but for prayer, no way. Free for all. Fireworks. Everyone will I was just thinking the same thing. I feel like these shepherds like like, got us sheep are out there just ramming our face into the ground going, I don't know. The Jews seem to just, like, get these prescribed prayers. I'm on the hook for sounding cool Yeah. Or coming up with this deep gospel language, you know? And really, like, I just wanted to skip it all and go to groans like the like the Bible be offering. I just wanna be like, you know, and then let the Lord fill it in. And and maybe, like, I'm making this up as I go. But, like, I'm thinking about if you're if you're leading a prayer gathering with people, you could even just prompts to go, hey, man, like, it's time to voice your lament. Like, what the what are the things that are on your heart that like, God, this thing is killing me. I'm just it's breaking my heart and I'm off and I'm just giving it to you. Like, it's it's like sometimes even like if I stop and think while I'm praying,

I can kind of go through some of these things and it's much more full and rich. If I'm just praying to the things that I thought of, it's mostly probably about me. It's probably about the first two things that are on my calendar for the day. And then maybe some broad thing about I remember that he's awesome, and I hope his awesomeness comes through my voice. And like, I probably have a much deeper set of things to pray about if I was prompted or if I had a list or something. So I think it's okay. It's okay to guide. It's not like it's inorganic. I it's fine. And so, anyway, so things to think about as pawn rings. Alright. You listen to life from the path. Here's what we got going. So 10:20. What are we doing here? Fifty minutes. Okay. I'm gonna have to bust through these, which I think is fine. And so, potential crisis crises of faith in the book of Isaiah. So I'm going to read you just a little bit of an example. I'm not sure this is the best one, but this is Isaiah 29. Woe to Jerusalem. It's gonna look like woe to Ariel, but I think it's woe to Ariel,

the city where David camped. Continue year after year. Let the festivals recur. I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to me like an Ariel. It's gotta be a play on words. What is it? Hold on. Altar or lion of God? Obscure. Anyway, I will camp in a circle around you. I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. You will be brought down. You will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low on the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground. Your speech will whisper from the dust. Your many foes will be like fine dust, and many of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be punished by the lord of armies with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire. All the many nations going out to battle against Aurea, all the attackers, the siege works against her, and those who oppress her will then be like a dream, a vision of the night. It will be like a hungry one who dreams like he is eating, then wakes and is still hungry. Like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking, then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water. So it will be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion. Stop and be astonished. Blind yourselves and be blind. They are drunk but not with wine. They stagger but not with beer. For Yahweh has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep. He has shut your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. Okay. So anyway, you've got this. This

is a criticism against Jerusalem. Okay? Against God's people. Using it in an obscure city. I actually don't we just went through first and second Samuel. I don't remember him camping at this place. They must be in the Kings. Yeah. Anyway, I'm listening to this, and then like if you follow it, afterward, like he's got this prophecy against Babylon and Assyria. And so I'm listening to these things and I'm like, okay, okay, did these happen? Like did this occur to this town? Well first of all, it's not wiped off the map. Like we know of Noah Israelite city. Like you could go to this area today and there's people there. It's a populated, it's not a wasteland

where like this was destroyed by Yahweh God of the Israelites three thousand years ago and no one has built upon it since. There's is no place where this is happening. Right? And so, it feels like very elevated language. And so, I am listening to it. I am like, okay, well, and there is another, this is a particularly hard, more tricky example in, I want to say Ezekiel 26 with a prophecy against Tyre. Like, if you think about from a New Testament, Jesus is talking about Tyre and Sidon. And

this prophecy against Tyre says the Babylonians are gonna come in and it's gonna destroy the city and will never be rebuilt. Okay? Prophecy is probably happening at what? Six hundred, seven hundred BC or something like that. Jesus is talking about this city like it exists and can be visited during his time. And so I'm thinking about the prophecy of Ezekiel. I'm thinking about the prophecies of Isaiah. And I'm like, you know, if I didn't believe this, if I didn't believe in in in God

or I but I was trying to prop up this image, I would go, oh, well, you know, it wasn't like he was actually gonna destroy these cities. This prophetic language is very poetic. It's very hyperbolic. So you should not take it literally. And that is a way that you can make it sound like it's not a true prophecy. Like you shouldn't expect it to come true because it's poetic. And I the part of the reason this is on my mind is because I keep seeing these things come across the old Facebook feed. And it's like the guy who swore on the Quran. Right? And they're like, yeah. These the the liberals are all celebrating Madame who swore on the Koran for his inauguration

there in New York. They're like, except for he don't know what's unless you know what's in it. And it's like these images of like harshness to women and God and children. I'm like, boys, as a Christian, like you should be careful here because like how you're handling that text, you have the same questions to answer for in some of your Old Testament texts. And so like I'm this is where I'm you gotta be cautious about what you're reading because like there's an apologetics question for both of these texts. I don't believe in the Quran. I am just telling you, your critique is going to land in your own house with some of the stuff that you are pulling out here. Like didn't God wipe out entire cities including women and children? You have to like there is an answer. You have to answer for it. So anyway, I am thinking about these things. And so the question then is is, like, is it possible that this prophetic language was used and it was used to cover up the fact that the prophecies didn't actually come true? I think it's a fair question. Now the the way that I well, first of all, I guess, has this ever does this ever hit you, fellas? You ever read a thing and you're like, I don't I

don't know, man. Did that thing actually happen? I mean, once you start getting into prophets, it's way above my speed. I just I like the way god describes some of the justice he's handing out. And then after that, I'm and then towards the end of Isaiah, some hopeful stuff. And I'm like, oh, yeah. Yep. I can grab onto this. And then everything else, I'm like, I don't know. He seems mad. Yeah. You know I'm saying? Like, uncle got on a bender and just started spouting off at the mouth, and he was like, you talked for an hour. And at the end, I was like, I think he's pretty upset. That's all I got. You know? I I I always assume maybe it's a timing thing. Like, somewhere along the line, none of the was gonna be destroyed, and then they repented. So god said, never mind. Yep. So without doing the research or, you know, I'd have to dig in to see specific situations. I just think, oh, they must have changed. God changed his heart in there somewhere Yeah. Is my initial thought. Yeah. So there so there are and there are a few options. Like, you could say, like, take Tyre for example. There is no biblical story that follows up that gives a sense of repentance. Although, that Nineveh is a great example. Right? God said this just because God said a thing was gonna happen doesn't mean it can't can't be changed. Use Mike's Moses prayed and God relented even over his own people. Right? Mhmm. Okay. Yeah. Obviously.

And and even with an Isaiah, you're getting the sense for all these things are gonna happen, and then there is there's a there's a it's not a a relenting as much as there is like, it'll there's an end. There's an end to it. You could say could come up with the standard answer which is like it's prophetic. How do we know it's prophetic? Because like you're you've got these very heavenly images that then future prophets or even the New Testament authors, they they will refer back to these things and they don't have a problem with it all. Even though it's very clear that like the sky did not fall or whatever the prognostication was. And so they treat it like poetic

or hyperbolic language and they don't have a problem leaning back on it. They do it unabashedly. So they're not like, well, better cover that up. Right. They They think about it in a way that they have a confidence in that otherwise you could use as confident. That's kind of the standard answer. I I do think the tire thing is actually a little bit harder. Isaiah, I I think is mostly that actually. I think it's it's it's generally clear poetic language because of the the stuff that's being used, what it's calling to the heavenly images. And it is attention grabbing. And I think it's fine to contend a little bit to go, yeah, but is it okay to like, what is an effect like exaggerate to get someone's attention? Because you would call that a lie in a courtroom

today. You feel like OJ Simpson murdered four people. His whole house was consumed in fire when really he murdered two people. You would be like, sir, it's not right what you said. But it is a different time. It's a different language. Like they thought about it differently. So like, okay, I'm good with that. The Ezekiel thing is actually a little bit harder because it was a very clear prophecy. There is none of this flowery, heavenly language, none of these non earthly beings or whatever. It feels like a very clear prophecy. Tyre was attacked by Babylon like the scripture said they were. It just was not destroyed forever and ever. And

so your other options in there are like, is it possible? Like is your prophet fallible? Like, so could God give the prophet a direction and the prophet goes, yes, and it's going be destroyed forever. When God didn't say it was going to be destroyed forever, but your prophet provided some level of commentary of which he's overextended what God said. Is that possible? Here's the thing. I don't want it to be possible because it makes things a little bit gray. But Mike, do you remember because we covered this recently in church

where David goes talks to the prophet at the time and he goes, hey man, I'm gonna build this temple for Yahweh. And the prophet's like, yeah, go for it. And then he prays that night or God comes to him that night and goes, tell David, no, we can't do it. And so the prophet was wrong. Right? He's still a human. Yeah. He's still a human being and he can say a wrong thing. I think because it's snuggled so close to something that did come true, I think it becomes it feels a little icky to me as an answer. But like the other possible like otherwise you gotta go, well, God gave a prophecy that was gonna destroy it forever and either okay with hyperbolic language or God doesn't exist or he didn't do what he said he was gonna do. Obviously, those are difficult answers if any of those things are true. And so

I I think you have to you have to be careful then. Guess here's the broad point. Are there answers to these questions? Yes. Do they complicate or make a little bit gray how you think about your scripture? Do you go every word that's on here has to be one literally true? No. Because they use poetic language. And like, are there is there evidence of fallible humans in the process represented within the scriptures? Yes, the answer is yes to that too, even prophets. But the Bible itself exposes that. Like we see that these prophets don't actually always get God correctly. So I think it's that Ezekiel is harder than Isaiah, but I think that's how I resolve that. If you've ever run into that, I think it's a right contention. I actually think you're asking the right questions. Because like if my life is based upon this thing, I gotta kinda know what I'm working with

in here. And that doesn't change my belief on the infallibility of scripture. But I do think you have to be fair with it because actually it's the folks who don't like wrestle with those types of things. You get into fundamentalist territory where actually you're not thinking with the brain and spirit that God gave you. You're actually being kind of puppeted around by a story that was probably deeper than what you gave it. And so there's just a cautionary. Second crisis of faith potentially in the book of Isaiah. God seems angry, like very, very mad with these people and their behavior. And the example I gave at the start of the show, I adjust it. The question is is like, given that God is like holy, holy, holy from his creation, wise in ways that we can't be wise and whatever.

Is it is it really fair that he has this what what is represented to us as an emotional reaction when one he he knew this was coming. When he created the world, it's not like he didn't know what was gonna happen. And so like, why? Why is it explained to me in this way? Because when I relate anger, I relate anger in one, it

feels uncontrolled to like as I think about modern anger. Some ways, feels uncontrolled like you shouldn't, you should be able to control your anger differently. Two, it's like how can you be angry at people who don't necessarily know any better at least relative to you? And like if you knew it was gonna happen,

anger seems to come with surprise. Like, how could you be acting this way? So here's okay. You gave the example at the beginning of the show that it's like us to goldfish or us to like a six month baby. Yes. Actually think it resolves if the example is us to a 20 year old. Okay. Okay. Yep. Yep. You're right. You're you're right. Because I think this ultimately comes to it. But why do you think that? I think that because like I I think God is angry because he said, maybe you maybe you innately wouldn't know the difference, but you know who I am Mhmm. And you didn't ask me. Mhmm. You did not come to me to ask for clarification. You knew I was available. You knew I was God of the creation. And instead of saying, oh, what should I do? God that knows the things, you stubbornly cut your own trail and put yourselves in this ridiculous situation. You could have asked. Yeah. Yes.

I think that's right. And I do think like some of it is is as word challenges is that like we human anger is not the same thing as God. Like God's God's interaction or the righting of wrongs is implicitly righteous whereas our anger often is not. Sometimes we have a righteous anger, but often it's not. And it's not angry like God is uncontrollable in his disdain

for humanity or that he was surprised by it. It's like it's kind of an imperfect representation of thinking like God's fierce desire for righteousness and His character permeating into the world and

such abuse of that should not be tolerated. Like one of the things, and I remember before I even started trying to think through this, I thought, I'm guessing, I'm wondering if part of my of a blind spot here for me and even modern in modernity is we just do not have a deep enough concept of what of evil. I just don't see it. I don't experience it. I don't have to look it in the face. When God looks out and said, look, these nations are like the critiques often in the prophets, every one of the prophets has something to say about Israel's reaction to the poor and to the widows. And so what kind of God would I be following if he's like disinterested

in the plight of the widows and doesn't hold to account human beings who have the clear direction that he's given to actually care for those around him. And they are willfully abusing people around them for their own service. What would I expect God to do? To be real passive about that? Like that would be unjustified. He's patient in a way that I sometimes struggle with on what he permits into the world. But when he takes the action, you would have the audacity to look at him and go, what are you so riled up about? He's like, they're they're

mistreating women and children and the poor and the unfortunate all for their own self aggrandizement and the worship of demons and evil. What other posture would I expect Yahweh to have? And so, I think Mike's right. My

framing is wrong. It's too childish. Do humans have an agency and a moral accountability that goldfish do not and six month olds do not? And so I think I think the comparison is closer to right. It's not fair to look at the humans as if they did not know differently. Yeah. They knew better and continue to act for their own self benefit. And why wouldn't you be angry about that? Yeah. Be like like if you're like, your kid comes home with 200,

and you're like, where did you get that money? Well, I needed $200, so I stole it from a guy down the road. And, like, that's not a mistake. I would be instantly angry. I'd be like, I have $200. Why didn't you ask me Yeah. Before you put this evil you did this thing into the world. And that that's that's God's reaction to Israel. Like, I'm right here. I told you I was here. I sent a guy to tell you I was here. You beat him up. You killed him. Right? Yeah. I sent people here to tell you I have the $200, and instead you stole it and and and and brought evil upon someone else. All wearing a hat with a box of scripture on it that just said, you know, Yahweh's kid right off the front of that. Yeah. Going, what do Yahweh's kids do? They beat people up and take their $200 and spit on widows. Yeah. No wonder he's bad. Mad. That's the thing. Like, that that makes God's righteous anger. You're like, this wasn't a mistake. This wasn't a, hey. They didn't know better. Like, they instead of their first this goes back to the prayer thing, though, too. Right? Instead of their first thought being,

I need dad's help. Hey, dad. I need $200. God's like, I know you need $200. I got $200. I love you. Out the door. Go you know what I'm saying? Instead, they're like, I will solve this $200 problem on my own. I have this problem handled. And if it requires me to steal it from someone else, so be it. I need the 200. You know? Yeah. And like yeah. I think God has gotta be mad about that. Yeah. I was kinda thinking along the same line. I was thinking like a five year old that Yeah. Yeah. A five year old might be dancing around being silly and spill a glass of milk, and they didn't they're just oh, I didn't see that coming. Yeah. Or sometimes they'll pick it up and throw it against the wall. Yeah. Well, you get angry at throwing it against the wall because they they know better than that. Yes. Yes. You know, they didn't they can't help some of the stuff they do, but some stuff they do, you know, out of rebellion. Yeah. And and and all the critiques, not all maybe it's too much. I'd to go back and read them again. But like, it feels like the vast majority critiques that the prophets have that they're relaying on from God are really about how the people of God are treating other people. Yeah. And then ultimately, then Babylon, how Babylon treats his people. Like, it's interesting because he's like, I called him in. And then I took them to account for how they treated my people. But like, it's it's all about like, so to extend Dan's example, it'd be the five year old taking the glass of milk and chucking it at his sister's head. Yeah. And you're like, of course you would be angry. Like this will not be tolerated. And like what kind of dad would you have if he's like, well, I think it's all right. Mostly be bullied. Yeah. Right. And so like I get it. I understand at the high level,

I actually, I think it's a valid question. I'll put it that way. I think it's a right question. It's like, how do I understand his reaction? And then when we talk about it, you're like, okay. Yeah. I do it. Like, that does make sense to me. And I don't know what recourse I would or what how I would propose to think about it any differently. Now I I think it's reasonable, and it's a conversation we've had previously, and then we could save it extendedly for another day. It's like, okay. How does it extend to the whole nation? Like, is it every man, woman, and cow? Like, okay. I I get it. Like, I think those are good. Cows rolling with $200. You're like, what the heck? Dude. In Jonah, even the animals repent. There's sackcloth on the animals. And so like, I'm just saying like, is it when he wipes out all the things, you're like, oh, I mean, did it need to extend to everybody? I find that a slightly separate question. But like, just yeah. The things that occurred to me as I was reading through Isaiah and what I don't want is to approach Isaiah and go, it's fine to say, well, God does what he wants. That's true. But like, that is also kind of the Reformed example. Like go, Well, there is always mystery. I mean okay. But you are being a little bit cheap with your theology. Like I want to read Isaiah and be emboldened

by the character of Yahweh, not skip it because I'm like, well, I don't seems real harsh, but he does what he pleases. Take me to Amos. Maybe if I combine what you're saying with some of our prayer discussion, right? Like, I always think of a classic example for faith is like, is just like a chair. Right? A chair that's sitting there, you know, and you're like, I have faith that's a chair. It smells like a chair. I can touch it. I think it's a chair. But if you don't ever sit in that chair, you had no faith in the chair in the first place. Right? Like, your faith shows up when you started using it as the chair. And so like, you should be able to confidently put your cheeks on this thing if that's what your faith is. And so like being able to walk through Isaiah and being able to pray boldly, like that's you putting your cheeks on the chair and not just acting like you could tell others how great the chair is. They're like, do you ever sit in it? No, man. We just talk about how great it is all the time. We're not actually sure if it's structural integrity, whether it could hold us, whether it could do anything. Like, but I've been told this chair is great and does all kinds of stuff. You know? But, like, it should be pretty obvious as your faith goes out into the world because they will find you sitting on it. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? That's the faith part. That's the faith with works. Right? The work is sitting in a chair. Right. Right. And and it does actually so when I was I was this was literally happening on the way I was driving in. And like the phrase that was going through my mind is that like, you're accusing God of being a bully. And I'm praying this thing. I was like, God, you know that's not what I'm it is what I'm saying actually. It's the thing that the impression is coming in, and I'm asking you, I know you're not you're bigger than my question,

and I don't actually believe this, but if I'm dealing with the text at its fate, I need you to help me. It didn't take but thirty minutes. Like twenty minutes to thirty minutes, like thinking through it, praying through it. Like and and I got to a thing where like some other dude who's trying to throw, you know, God back in my face and go, your God's a bully. I'm like, actually, I see a God that goes, I will not tolerate. Yeah. He hates injustice. Yeah. That's right. And like, what kind of God are you looking for? Or like, do you hate injustice that much? I'm like, what are you doing about it? And so like what is this? What becomes like a strong heavy bat from someone who like wants to throw you off the path. Like it's a sling that goes right back at them. I just don't what did you expect God to do in some of these situations? In fact, some of the questions is it like, again, God, where this is happening in the world today, I thank you for your patience with me, but I'm asking, is there anything we can do about your patience with that? Because like maybe it's time for to step in again. And maybe it's time for me to do it as his arms and legs. I don't know. And so anyway, I just jump into those. And if you run into that stuff and you wanna submit it to the complaint line, whatever, we can take a crack at it. I just let's put the whole scripture on the table. (515) 517-0085. That's 515517085.

Call or text. Maybe you have a crisis of faith and ask the pastor just something where you're like, well, I learned this. I put this on the table, and god showed me a way. And so you wanna talk about it? We'd love to hear from you. Alright. Ready? Yep. Let's do it. Dear liar from the past. Man, I am a very overweight woman, but down 50 pounds from my top weight and continuing at a consistent but slow rate to lose. Okay. My a one c is now down to prediabetic, so I know my efforts are making a difference. I recently had a terrible bout of sciatica and pain in my arthritic knee, which kept me from some anticipated travel.

A good, so I thought friend who was affected by my cancellation suggested that perhaps my weight was causing the sciatica and arthritis. And if I lost more weight, things would go better. Duh. Lots of thin people suffer from sciatica and arthritis, and it felt to me that her comment was condescending, hurtful, and disrespectful. I don't know what I feel other than like throwing a canned ham at her. She has done this before. When another dear friend died, I expressed my grief and teared up. This same, Quotes, friend suggested I would do better if I got out more and socialized.

This was during COVID. Is there anything I can say to her? Should I ignore her comments and press on with the Quotes friendship, or is it time to move on? I'd like to tell her off, but I see no value in counting her more sub subtle form with overt aggression. Is there a single good, deadly one liner I could have used? Okay. We're gonna get to the the crux of this thing. But first, I wanna suggest to you that is ironic or

comically shallow as this obese person to propose throwing a canned ham at someone. I'm just of all the things you could have said. Exactly. It's stereotypical that the fat guy would go, I'm gonna hit him with food. Right. Especially something that is obviously very salty and unhealthy for you like a canned ham. Okay. Here's here's what's interesting

is I I actually think you're you're over you're overreacting. This person seems a little insensitive to me for sure. Is it possible that if you are extremely overweight, if you are obese, it probably is contributing to all kinds of health problems. It doesn't mean that they are exclusive problems that only overweight people have. And I'm not sure why this friend would bother offering this suggestion. They should have just kept their mouth shut.

But like it would it would if Doesn't it kinda depend how close of a friend you are? You know I'm saying? Like if Dan rolls in here at four bills and goes, man, I got winded coming up the stairs. But like, Dan, you think it might have to something to do with the fact you four bills? You know I'm saying? If I know him well and he's my good friend Right. Like, I feel like I could say that to a guy and, like, I mean, you know I love you, but, like, you four bills, Dan. Yeah. Come on. Yeah. Although, like, I just I think about if you're close enough to a person, do you really think it hasn't come up before? Like, I don't know of a person who's heavier, who doesn't have a rough idea that most of their health problems are being exasperated at least Right. By their size. Yeah. And so I I I I and and like, they're probably upset that you canceled the trip. And especially if someone canceled the trip

because of something that you found to be preventable, like like if you're supposed to go on a cruise and you're constantly eating gum off the stairwell in the public train and you got sick. And you were like, dude, this wouldn't happen if you stop eating gum from the public stairwell. Yeah. Like, I get it. I now this seems different. It's a lifestyle choice. You're trying. It seems very insensitive as a friend Yeah. To to to to do this kind of thing. But they must be close enough because you're willing to go with, like, travel plans. But I I don't know. I I I wouldn't I wouldn't over I'd be careful that you don't overreact.

It is obvious. It's probably true to a certain extent. Whatever skinny person you said has got the sciatica. I just probably not the same thing. It probably is contributing. It's certainly not helping. And so To be fair, like some people have overweight problems because of other health problems. Right? Like, doesn't matter what they try to do. It's not like they're just guilty of, you know, ruffles and beanie weenies. Yeah. And like everything was under their choice. Now I think there's accountability in there and all that stuff. Right? But at the end of the day, some people have health problems and weight problems that like their thyroid's all messed up or whatever. You know what I'm saying? And so like, it's not one extreme or the other. You could be super healthy if you just put your mind to it, bro. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's stuff that contributes to that. But wouldn't you know that as a close friend? Like Well, that that's what I'm saying. It matters how close of a friend you are. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, these discussions are way different depending on what how close your relationship is with somebody. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know, like with the I guess suppose the other example, like a friend dies and you're I mean, maybe you're super dramatic person. Here's the thing. No one goes, I'm super dramatic. I wailed about this thing for for months. Yeah. Yeah. They're not saying that. Like this, maybe this is like a real, like the only friends you got who tells it straight. I mean, once again, like if the friend died of COVID, let's say the friend died of anything. Right? Just your friend died. Like, first of all, people are across the board terrible at trying to give advice on how to deal with grief. Grief is a tough animal and people react to it differently and it heals when it heals. Right? And so someone just going, once you think about taking a walk, you know, get some time outside just to free up your mind, free up your body, get some fresh air in your lungs or whatever. It's not necessarily like offensive. You know what I'm saying? Like, maybe it's ill advised. I don't have no idea what exactly

the problem is, but like, I mean, it doesn't hurt to go outside and take a quick trip around and, you know, just try to take the world in in a different area than just sitting around feeling feeling sad. Yeah. You know? So, like, I don't find that to be that offensive either. So far, I don't find this friend to be out of line or being an over overbearing jerk about some stuff here? I think they're a little insensitive probably. If they know you and they know you react this way, I mean, maybe they could cut it a little bit differently, but I I would certainly wouldn't go scorched earth on it. Yeah. Dan, you think you hold on to the friendship? I I will. I mean, mean, you know the person's they're obviously a direct personality. They they just speak directly about stuff, so this shouldn't have been a shock. Keep keep the friendship, but you can back off if you feel better. But Yeah. I mean, it's not that they're they're not doing it out of hatred or to be mean. They're just

Yeah. Saying things they probably could say differently. So Hey, Chuck. Don't cut it to me straight so quick. You know I'm a sensitive person. Well, mean, here's the thing, though. It's like, is your friend ever been married? You know what I'm saying? Like, you don't like, I'm a direct person, but, like, it doesn't mean I fire out with whatever whatever I think to my wife all the time. You know what I'm saying? Or my boss. You know what I'm saying? Like, I have the ability to go, well, maybe I'll hold on to that thought for a second. You know what I'm saying? Like Yeah. I can say the thing that I wanna say without sharpening it before I say it. You know what I'm saying? Like, some truths are just sharp on their own, but like there's no gain in the sharpness. And so like, if like, it seems to me just flat out. Like, you ask these things as questions like, hey, my friend died. I'm not I'm feeling depressed. Like, my friend died of COVID. I'm like, hey, have you ever I mean, you wanna go like take a walk with me? I'll come out there. Maybe we'll just take a stroll outside and see what's what. Like, that's the same advice as you should go outside. Sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself isn't helping you. Yeah. Right? But like, it does it's the same thing both ways, but like, you could have said it like you gave a crap. You know what I'm saying? And like offered to be part of the solution. So maybe you're right. Maybe they're just they're either a really direct personality that's unaware of themselves, you know, or like they just wanna be right. And so like either one we don't have a whole lot of time for people that just wanna right. But the problem is is that you're the question you're asking is, how can I be right? Can I hit them with this one line zinger? And maybe they'll hurt like I hurt. Your friendship sucks. You know what I'm saying? Like, you two I don't even know if you like each other. Right? If you're just trying to one up people, go out to the grocery store and beat up on the fruit produce guy. You know what I'm saying? Like, you don't have to pick the guy that is, like, your actual friend. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Segular says, as I see it, you have two ways to play this hand. The next time this person says something grossly insensitive,

tell her it's it's their third strike and repeat what you have written to me about what comes out of their mouth. Or simply do yourself a favor and from now on, ice her ice ice them out. She may have been trying to help in some weird way or they're clueless. Wow. It's kinda extreme. Yeah. Boy. Either put them on a program of three strikes and you're out or just skip that and just cut them out right now. Either way, they're on their way out. I saw I saw a I saw a thing on the old Facebook, and it was it was today. And it was something to the extent of like, the the the point was to say, hey. Look, man. If the if the priority societally is to go look, man. You gotta cut all the stuff out that doesn't bring you joy, that doesn't create that spark in your life. And their point was like, okay. Well, then who's cleaning toilets? Who's who's wiping the butts of the elderly? Like, who's who who's who's like it's it's it's not like who's weeping with those who are dying? Who's making peace where it's hard? Like

and so I guess if our or heard the the the thrust of that advice is basically is that it's not incumbent upon a human being to have to deal with it. To just go suck it up and let her go. Or go like, take what's good and let pass what's not. And it just goes well, like if it they're like Marie Kondo ing relationships in their life. Like, if every phone call don't bring me joy, I could it. Yeah. I like, it's a really broad thought, but the truth is is like, if the ultimate if the ultimate thought is I'm trying to figure out how to get to separation here. Right? No matter what comes your way, you're gonna use it as ammo for the separation. Yeah. You know? And so, like, if your end goal is to cause a separation between the things that don't bring you joy or in your like, you're gonna fight you're gonna start labeling them as not bringing you joy. You know what saying? Because the end goal was separation. You already set the finish line that the separate was gonna happen. Like, I'm gonna get rid of these things. Yeah. And so then you're just looking for ammo to back up the conclusion you already made. Like, that's a horrible way to live. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. One more. Here we go. Yep. Dear life from the path.

I am in my early thirties and happy in certain aspects of my life. I really I recently moved to a house and married a man I love very much. I have friends, hobbies, and dreams. One of these dreams is to be a novelist, although I do marketing for a tech company right now. This brings me to my problem. I have been feeling depressed by my work. Working in tech marketing is not something I enjoy. It's something I have done in recent years to pay the bills. My job is high stress and fast moving, and people can be impatient. Typically, I keep any work induced depression at bay by running, writing, and spending time with loved ones. But lately, these haven't lessened the negative feelings I have from work as much. In fact, I have begun feeling less joy in the things I typically do with my free time. I feel like a failure for trying to write a novel in the midst of so much work. I'm afraid if I quit my job, I won't be able to make mortgage payments and will burden my husband with an unfair amount of stress. He is also unhappy at his tech job, but doing it helps support us. Getting a new job won't fix this because I've felt I've felt down in other tech marketing jobs that pay me enough to afford our house and save up for having a a child, another dream. How can I get out from under this rain cloud? Do I want too much out of life? It's not too much. It's just the wrong thing.

You need to quit that job. You need to buy a cheaper house or an apartment so that you don't feel such a heavy burden. You need to find something that doesn't make you hate the world around you, and go ahead and write that novel. As a matter of you're you're you're working through, like, core human difficulties. What do you value? What does it mean to be happy?

Do you pursue like, is it do the ends justify the means in in how you live your life? How do you think about sharing that life with somebody else? These are all great themes for a novel. And so I would say praise God for the material. But I mean, I wouldn't like, what do you love so much about your house that you wanna do a job you hate?

You know what I'm saying? Like Yeah. If you here's here's the way I think about it. I talking to someone else about this last week. So I I work I work in a job at an insurance company. I don't feel very strongly about insurance companies. Feel like we're selling fake promises to people. It's how the whole industry works. Okay? But I wouldn't have grown up going, you know what I how I wanna contribute to the world? Freaking insurance. I have no desire to go hopping between insurance companies to make more money or do something like this. This is all like I don't know. I'm not inspired by it. But but I can tell you that, like, my job allows my wife to stay home, and we value her ability to homeschool. So that's what we do. My house can fit my children. We have a little bit more land than most people have. It means I can have a big dog and 15 chickens or 25 chickens, whatever I got. And I could walk around

topless if I wanted to, and no one would see me. Nice. Neighbors that close. Yikes. There you go. Often. Thursday night. So anyway, like so if if those are the things I value, is a job that is maybe not super inspiring worth it for the things I value? Yes. Yes. I don't lament that. I mean, it would be nice if I could otherwise have those things and a job that also was super inspiring. But, like, it also means that, like, we we run a our our house church I've been a pastor at a house church for eight years. I take there's no money in this. I don't take in any money. I'm not a banker. And so there's no infrastructure. I don't have to God just provided in a different way. And so that money can go out to do other things into the world. And so I love everything about all of those things I just said. And so I don't I don't pout about that job. I'm thankful for it. It gives me those other things. If you if that same equation isn't true for you,

then you gotta get out of it. Like, if it's not worth it for the house that you have, then you should move to a different house and take a job that doesn't even kill you. And then go ahead and write the novel. Get get a job that you don't have to think about it once it once it the day ends. You can, like, write that novel up. Go work at the Kroger. Like, I've just I it's it's you put yourself in this situation. You have every mechanism to get out of it. So you just gotta decide what you value and then take it from there. Yeah. She's given herself two choices, either the novel or this job I hate. There's a whole lot of other jobs in the middle. Yeah. Exactly right. You you you can do some of those other jobs and do your novels still. So I I agree with you. I mean, just once again, this might be Luddite. It might coming back into into fray. But, like, a hundred years ago, you you're gonna work just twelve hours whether it brings you joy or not. Because someone gotta cut the firewood. Someone gotta milk the cow. Someone gotta get to corn over here. Someone's got you know what I'm saying? Like,

the society has progressed where it feels like the work is a burden to you. Right? And then, like, you get the opportunity to feel a way about it. And, like, that is true. Like, all those things are facts. But at the end of the day, if you if you take your entire situation and move it back a hundred, a hundred and twenty five years or whatever, like, you didn't get to not have joy with cutting firewood. You you just went cold. You know what I'm saying? So, like, it doesn't matter whether you liked it or didn't like it. It is how the firewood now granted, now we've just moved the firewood into natural gas, and the food shows up by an Uber guy. And like, it's all the same things, but you've traded all of it is now just located at this mustache twister you work for. And that's how you're doing all those stuff. And so you're a fool to invest too much of how you feel about it in what is a necessity. Now, granted, like I think everything you said was true. You can knock the house down, right? Like you don't have to live where you live. You don't have to drive the car. You don't have to have all the obligations you chose. Find all the things that you chose and go, did I really mean this to the level of which I've committed myself? Yeah. I think that's a fair recollection. But at the end of the day, right, I don't care if you're a man or a woman. I don't care if you wanna run it as a patriarch household. The gals were still up at 6AM feeding chickens, getting babies out of bed, darning clothes, washing stuff. You know I'm saying? It was twelve hours worth of work. Everybody worked

all the time. Actually okay. This is gonna generate the complaints, but, like, I literally was thinking about this a week ago Is I was we were on we've been on Christmas break. I wasn't working. And so, like, I'm like, I'm gonna do I'll make breakfast this week or whatever. I'm not sure I did all week. I think I got most days. But it got me to thinking is that, like, you know, 150, 200 ago, most of the time this would have been the ladies, and they would have been making three meals a day, and they would have not done a ton else during the waking hours. Mhmm. Because it took a long time to prepare the meals. You had to go get the eggs. You had to go, like, you know, cure the bacon. Pull the water out of the well. Yeah. To wash the dishes, it was tough. To wash the I saw somebody had one of those old school tub washing machines out in their yard as a decoration. And, like, I just throw crap into a tub and hit go. This woman's out you know? Don't even get me started on this. I just passed a garden center yesterday, and I thought, why are we using, like, antique crap? We're basically saying this is what it was like in the old days. Everybody was a junkyard slob. Right? They just took, like an old washing machine and put it in the middle of their yard, and they're like, I don't need this anymore. And, like, that's the style we're going for? Junk junkyard slob from a 100 ago? Hey. This bike's missing a tire. Let's just throw it over here next to the shed. And then they're just leaving antique crap all over the place like this is how it was a hundred years ago. We were like, we would have passed that guy a hundred years ago and went, clean up your yard, Earl. Why is all this crap in the middle of your place? Why are you keeping that wagon wheel? It's broken. Put it on the wagon or throw it away. Right. There's, like, half a tractor. Yes. The guy's and he's got some flowers planted in it. There's a broken down washtub that leaks water, and they're like, why why is this still here?

But, like so so, you know, you'd spend if you were a lady, you'd spend a lot of your day cooking. You you may be schooling your kids or you may be like sending them away. Your husband probably don't have but two changes of clothes, especially if he's working a blue collar job, which most of them were, or he's just hunting and doing all the stuff for his family. And generally speaking, you're gonna wash it. So he's gonna come home, which means you're gonna fire up scrubbing this thing and hanging it so it's dry in the morning when he can use it. And like the the the thought was it didn't have anything to do with like ladies particular, but the thought was like, think of all the things a woman in that day did not even consider like she was missing out on. There was not even a thought. And now think about, like, we went on a we talked about this on the show a while back, on a cruise recently. And, like, whenever you go on vacation, like, one of the best things is, like, you're not worrying about food. You're either buying it somewhere or, like, it's available at the hotel or something like that. And you're like, oh, what a relief. So we can do all these 50 things or whatever. And just like two hundred years ago, your whole life was consumed

with bacon crack like bacon food, scrubbing some clothes, and then it was nighttime at 07:30, so you couldn't read or whatever. And so, like, you just went to bed. And so I just like, this this FOMO of all the things going on in the world is like not even conceivable two hundred years ago. Yeah. And and like there's such a pressure to go, you'll fight over who's gonna make dinner and you'll fight over who's gonna do all these things because someone's got so much stuff to do. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I should not have so much to do. Not that there isn't so much you could do, but I just gotta take like 98% of it off the table. I cannot do all of that.

And like the more exposure you get to the entirety of the world, the more it gives you one the burden of all the crappy things that are going on. But this belief that you could you could participate in all the things and like it's not sinful to do any of these things. I'm just telling you what it creates in your mind is you start hating the everyday privilege of feeding your family or shooting the badger that you're you're gonna go eat or scrubbing your own duds or like what all the other things that you directly are contributing to and you're you're pining to be part of all these other activities that don't actually do that. As a matter of fact, they pull you away from the core blessings that are otherwise you would have taken part of two hundred years ago. Yeah. Come on. Preach. We go. Luddite mic is back in action. I I I don't know how to solve that from a like, obviously, things have gotten more and more advanced. It's not like the eighteen fifties lady went, I ain't using that wash tub. I prefer to do it with my fingernails. Like Right. People use the technologies that came. Yeah. The guy bought a new axe. He got the gun when it was available. So like they weren't Luddite either. But at some point you actually it's probably industrial revolution. You got separated from your own hand and its tool

providing the thing, and then that opened up a wide world of your disassociation from contributing to your own welfare, which is probably not in some ways is not good. Okay. Secular says, a solution might work for you would be a part time job in tech that would help you pay the mortgage while affording you free time to pursue your writing. Give yourself a one year deadline, see if there's any interest in what you have produced, and proceed from there. I wish you luck. Yeah. I I do actually think before you do anything rash, like, yourself a practical target. I I remember talking about this with with my daughter and and Mike's daughter. They they were interested in writing, and I'm like, dude, you gotta finish something before you're 18. Like, this will be the mark of whether you're serious or not. And they did. They got it done. Was super impressed. You know, I've talked about this on the show maybe a year. It was about a year ago. You can still find her on Amazon. Look for 1,000 balloons by Emma and Evelyn Foust, and you could go pick that up. You can still get it on the Amazon. It's a it's a good read. But anyway, like, the point was is that, like, everyone wants to do these grandiose things. Most people who wanna write a novel never do. And so, like, set some goal for yourself that's very tangible to go, if I can do this, then I'm I'm good to make a run at it. If I can't commit to this and I'm passionate about it, then maybe don't quit your job or rearrange your entire lifestyle on something that you don't even know whether you you can tolerate. You know? So, yeah, that's that's the more practical advice on the author situation. Okay.

You've been listening to Live From The Path. We appreciate you hanging out with us at this very first show of the new year. Maybe you got feedback for us. You love the show. You hated the show. You think we should do more episodes in a year. You think it's alright if we do less. Whatever. Hit us up in the bye bye bye's in our life on the path complaint line. (515) 517-0085. Call or text. We'd love to hear from you, and we'll leave you to the wins. But in the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will hand the ends. You've been listening to Was live. Live from the past. Judgment in the cloud. Plowshares turn to stores. The harvest going sour. The merchants wait a seed stacking three by the hour. The shepherd from Tico with no crown, fair.