The Trust Test - Part 2

Do you ever feel like you're taking an ongoing Trust Test with God? Well, you're not alone. This episode is a journey of faith and a deep dive into the cycle of mistrust and ingratitude that has infected humanity long before the Israelites were on the brink of entering the Promised Land. We discuss the importance of gratitude when in a state of contentment and how this can reinforce our faith in Jehovah Jireh, our Father, The Provider.

But it's not just about trust and gratitude. There's more to our relationship with God. We explore some deep-rooted issues that can create distance. Pride, for instance, can be a major barrier, and we use Paul's letter to Timothy as a guide to unravel the dangers of pride and its potential to breed mistrust. Conversely, we also talk about generosity - not ours, but God's, and how it's His generosity we should share with others. 

We wrap up by discussing humility and trust in our relationship with God, with a focus on how the Holy Spirit continually works on us. We delve into the warning in Deuteronomy 8 about the ruinous consequences of doubt and arrogance. This episode reminds us that true life is linked to a relationship with the Father and how easily we can forget this and focus on unimportant things. Join us as we navigate these challenging spiritual terrains, gain wisdom, and foster a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Father.

Chapters

• 0:07 The Trust Test
• 5:51 Mistrust and Ingratitude
• 19:29 Pride, Trust, and Generosity in Relationship
• 25:32 Humility and Trust in Relationships

Transcript

Dan Schilling: 0:07

Hey, welcome to the Feed Sheep Podcast, where we help you hear God's voice, follow His lead and thrive as a disciple. I'm Dan Schilling and I'll be one of your guides. Now let's get into today's topic. Hey, welcome to FeedSheep Podcast. We're back again for part two, Michael. Good to be with you again for part two here of the Trust Test. Yeah, have you ever taken a test?

Michael Blue: 0:30

like this, a Trust Test? Yeah, yeah.

Dan Schilling: 0:37

Like those fall tests or something.

Michael Blue: 0:39

Yeah.

Dan Schilling: 0:40

Like trust me, do you trust?

Michael Blue: 0:41

me like full test. Yeah, we had a big thing in ninth grade in high school where we had this like trust fall and all kinds of team building type of thing. So, yeah, I hated it. Did they drop you on the ground? I was the guy Like, see, don't trust people.

Dan Schilling: 0:58

Yeah, sorry, now they caught me. Well, we're going to go back into this topic. If you missed the first part, I would encourage you back. We won't spend a lot of time here going back over it. But this is an issue that I know each one of us, wherever at in life, are on this journey or on this process of taking this test, this Trust Test, and every day we have an opportunity to say am I going to be passing this test? And I don't think he's looking at us trying to like. Sometimes we think that he's up there right now, you're failing, You're not doing it, you're not meeting the standard. But I recognize in my own journey that it's not something that I'm going to get an A-plus and be done with it, right. So what's? On to the next thing? I don't ever have to go back and revisit that, but this is a continual journey while I'm on this side of eternity of continuing to grow in that Trust M as Jehovah, jire the provider. So yeah, yeah.

Michael Blue: 2:14

That's really good. Sorry, I'm looking outside and it's raining in Texas, which is the first time in life.

Dan Schilling: 2:25

Yeah, yeah, this is happening, you guys are having the dry spell there this summer.

Michael Blue: 2:32

Yeah, but it even reminds me, as we think of this Trust Test and you think, of the times when God shut off rain, and there are times and seasons of dryness when we say God, where are you? And it feels empty I mean, there's even books, right, there's a term for it in many people's lives of the dark night of the soul.

Dan Schilling: 2:57

Yes, You're telling me the book.

Michael Blue: 2:58

Yes, there's a book I read called when the Well Runs Dry, and it's these ideas of these times of dryness where those are actually some of the best training grounds for trust. Yes, I talk about a trust fall. One of the things you have to trust is because I don't know if they're still standing behind me with their arms out.

Dan Schilling: 3:18

I got to go backwards.

Michael Blue: 3:20

Yes, and so when I can see, I can maybe trust a little bit easier. But when I don't see, when I don't have that, it strengthens that muscle, as we talked about last time.

Dan Schilling: 3:34

Yes, Well, let's just hit the points. We have five points that we want to make here in these episodes. The first two we covered in the last episode, which is that my mistrust limits my character growth and that character growth of trust. But I think it's also that character of humility and my willingness to say I am not the provider, I know my role. My position is not to take care of everything, and the danger is is that I start to start thinking that it's my job.

Dan Schilling: 4:06

Now, I do believe we have a part right, I mean we. There's a aspect of our journey of when we are led by the spirit. We spin one another on towards love and good deeds. There are things that he will have us do, but it's not that we talked about in a podcast before, about the be then do. It's not do. First it's, there's an outcome of the being, and so when I'm with my father, he may have some things, but I'm missing out on opportunities, and that's our second point is that mistrust leads to missed opportunities and those opportunities to allow him to show himself to me as Jehovah Jireh, and that many times I don't want to put myself and allow myself to even be in a situation where I'm going to need to trust him.

Michael Blue: 4:53

So, absolutely, yeah, it's a. It's a place that we, as you said last time, you know it's. We don't want to be in a place to need to trust God, but we want to be able to trust God. Yes, and unfortunately, you know, those things are not mutually exclusive. They have to come together to learn to trust. I have to trust.

Dan Schilling: 5:14

Yes. So let's much pray for us. And then we're going to get right into the three points three, four and five.

Michael Blue: 5:21

then for today, Sure, I got thanks for time again together, where we get to look at the fact that you are trustworthy, that you, you are worthy of us putting our confidence in, that you don't ever leave us, you never forsake us, and so we can come boldly before you and know that you will provide. So give us wisdom as we talk through this minister, to our hearts, as we seek to draw near to you. Jesus name, amen, amen.

Dan Schilling: 5:47

All right, so we're going to pick up here. We've gone through. This is Deuteronomy eight. Again, we're reading out the new living translation and we're going to pick up now, starting in verse six. So we got a versus one through five last time, so we're going to start here in verse six and we're going to the point we want to get to in this. One is that mistrust leads to ingratitude, so why don't you start reading for us there in verse six?

Michael Blue: 6:19

All right, so obey the commands of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him. Again, just to remind, this is Moses talking to Israelites? He's they're about to go into the promised land, and Moses is not right, so he's giving us final instruction.

Michael Blue: 6:31

So he says so obey the commands of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him. So the Lord, your God, is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees and pomegranates, of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone and copper is abundant in the hills. When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord, your God, for the good land he has forgiven you, amtrakis, he has given you.

Dan Schilling: 7:09

Yes, well sometimes it's forgiven too, yeah, yeah. Well, this again, what I want to draw out here is that our mistrust can lead to ingratitude. I mean, he's taking them to a place of provision, of abundance. Right, this is going to be a place. Many would even say this is like what the United States of America is, right, just a country of plenty. Right, we have resources. We have beautiful resources, hills, minerals, just beautiful opportunities in front of us.

Dan Schilling: 7:51

But the danger is, like many times throughout Scripture, there's been this cycle that happens Throughout Scripture is, I said, if you kind of started at the bottom here, where the people of Israel are, if it was on a compass, maybe you'd say they're at the bottom and they're going to start heading up and they start moving their heart to trust in the provider. So if trust in the provider was where West is, so they're moving up towards that trust in the provider and then when they reach you know that growth and that journey of trusting in Him, when their heart gets so close to that, then what happens is sometimes, throughout Bible, we see this where they start putting their trust in the provision which leads them on this cycle. And so when you look through Scripture, you keep seeing this cycle where they keep going around and around and around, where they would get stripped of everything. They would say, okay, god, show us, help us. And so Moses is trying to say to him hey guys, by the way, when you get there, you know this is what's going to be like, but we're going to see in just a moment here this other, you know next part of the Scripture is you're going to most likely you're going to be on the same cycle again and I don't want to see you get on that cycle. But just be, make sure that when you get there, that you're full of praise. And what we've seen in every one of these incidents you know. When you have been going through the book of Kings right now, it's like how many times you know or even the book of Judges and what it says.

Dan Schilling: 9:18

And again they did what was evil in the sight of Lord.

Dan Schilling: 9:19

We keep going through this cycle around and around, and I think for many of us today that same cycle exists. And what happens, at least in my own journey, michael, and what I was saying last time is I forget how much he's done for me in days past, right, I start losing sight of how he has revealed himself to me as Jehovah Jire in the past, today in the present, and has promised me even for the future. And just thinking about what you were teaching a few episodes ago about Abraham and about the promise and holding on to that promise. And many times, you know, we know God has said I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. David said never saw the righteous forsaken begging for bread. So we believe that he's trust. We see in the scriptures that he's trustworthy, but what we've been talking about is the word mistrust, or that suspicion that he's not going to do that, and what that happens then is then this heart of ingratitude starts to take root in the midst of this process.

Michael Blue: 10:29

Yeah, we begin to think, you know, even thinking about all the description of all these things, we begin to think, oh, those olives, that olive oil came from my olives, right, except the olives existed in that land given to them by God. But very quickly, I'm sure you think it's your work, your industry, all of these things, and I think that it's just this cycle that we see all throughout history. As you read that and we're talking, I was reminded of John Wesley's quote during the revivals in the 19th century. He said this. He says I fear, wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore, I do, do I not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue long?

Michael Blue: 11:17

For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger and love of the world and all its branches. And so, as he's watching this revival happen, he's effectively saying what Moses said to these people is this is going to, you're going to walk in here and you're going to have a land where nothing is lacking. Yes, iron and stone are the same. Copper is abundant, like you know. You have everything you need, but when you become full, be sure to praise the Lord, your God, for the good land he has given to you. Yes, yes, and don't let pride and anger and these things come in. Yes, and so it does it's, it's for whatever reason. It leads to ingratitude because I think we begin to see it as our provision. Right, like you said in the last episode, there's no Dan Jaira, there's no Michael Jaira in the Bible. There's Jehovah Jaira, god provider. Yes, yes, but if I produced it on my own and with my own hands, then I'd lose gratitude.

Dan Schilling: 12:21

Yes, Well, because I don't. I that lack of humility. What he said he was taking them there for we looked in that last, you know, because he humbled you to take you here, right, he was to teach you that character trait of humility that helps me recognize that it is his provision. He gave me life today. He gave me breath. He gave me not just the bread that's in front of me, but that word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father, that direction, that leadership, that guidance that I need every day.

Dan Schilling: 12:58

The danger is is when I don't recognize that it came from him anymore, right, and I started thinking oh, I'm the source, it is Dan Jaira, it's the source of wisdom, dan Jaira, the source, I mean the prevent, not just the provision of my material things, but the provision of wisdom and insight and knowledge and understanding. All of a sudden, why do I need to go to him? I can provide myself all of those things, and that leads me to a. Why should I be grateful to him? I'm the one who's doing it right, and that's a dangerous place. That's what mistrust. Or when my trust is no longer placed upon him for that daily bread, not just, again, physical things, but that word that I need from so dangerous place.

Dan Schilling: 13:44

But I find myself, unfortunately, many times again in this place where the problem isn't God and really the problem isn't around me. The problem is, you know, looking in the mirror, right that I have been Turning to myself and trying to figure, and the reason I'm feeling that anxiety and stress and pressure and all the things that are going on around me is because I Don't know how I'm gonna. How am I gonna deal with it? How am I gonna deal the situation? And he's inviting me to come to that table and Enjoy that fresh bread and that fellowship with him, where he can not only meet my needs and give me to rest, but just say I got this right.

Michael Blue: 14:28

Yeah, and I think that there, the important thing is, god has a lot of goodness for us, right? I mean, we could fall prey to the, this idea of, well, I just need to run from everything, but there is good, warm bread in his presence. But it always comes with this warning of you know, the tendency is that when we're full, we don't praise God, for we don't walk in his ways, we don't fear him, yes, and we we become suspicious of one who may ask us to give it away you know, you have enough.

Michael Blue: 15:03

Yes, yes, let's share, obey Mike, as part of what the commands are. There's a lot of sharing in those commands. Yes, there's, there's. We won't have time for that today, but yes, and so I become, I start to clutch, yes, the good things he's given me.

Dan Schilling: 15:20

Yes, and then what happens many times is I've been sharing with a guy at breakfast this morning with I said you, the problem is is I get so worried about my own stuff that I miss the calling that God has, you know, said to me now I want you to take some of this fresh bread and I want you to go share it with some other folks today. Right, and the goal isn't to get them to like you and look at you like oh, or for them to become dependent on you to deliver them the bread. The actual goal is to invite them back to the father's table, to have them come to their seat at the father's table, for them to have that same opportunity, that same relationship, with a father at the table eating the fresh bread, enjoying the fellowship. And then they actually get to do the exact same thing to take some of that bread and go share that Life, that encouragement, that word that brought you life, that brought you encouragement. Now you can take that and feed Someone else with it. Yeah, so it's good.

Dan Schilling: 16:32

Yeah, well, let's keep going, because now we're gonna get to the warning which is like oh what, what do we got to look out for? So let's look at this, starting in verse 11 again, this is Deuteronomy 8.

Michael Blue: 16:43

So let's read there.

Dan Schilling: 16:44

I'm gonna read down through 15 this time, All right but that is the time to be careful.

Michael Blue: 16:50

Beware that in your plenty, you do not forget the Lord, your God, and disobey his commands, regulations and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful, do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord, your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions.

Dan Schilling: 17:21

Where it was so hot and dry, he gave you water from the rock and Well, this to me is like such a reminder of the United States of America. Sometimes, like you know, we've as a country you know we're a couple, a hundred years old Folks that came here had, you know, many next to nothing immigrants coming and getting established. But they came to this country and they began to work hard and and Do all kinds of things, industries and farms and things all over this country. They became Full and and prosperous, you know, built nice homes, you know, they increased in their, not just their flocks and herds, but their wealth, their silver and gold, and, and now we are at a place where We've multiplied so much, we have a generation of Folks have become entitled to thinking well, of course I deserve it, of course I should have everything, of course I'm Entitled to have, you know, my portfolio grow, you know, 20 plus percent, or my business to grow, this, this, this.

Dan Schilling: 18:36

Anyways, the warning again is saying you know just when that happens. Don't look to yourself, but the cycles they were just talking about before, it just keeps happening, right, we just keep our heart and trust moves away from the provider toward the provision and we start heading south and they use the asterstripus, and to me I think that's one of the things that you know. At some point in time you say, historically, it's probably not a I'm not a doomsday, or for the United States of America at some point, just historically, like every other nation has done. It usually comes around a cycle and at some point and you say look what we're doing as a country, look our fiscal. You know choices and things we do, the debt and all the things that we're doing. At some point in time it's probably gonna catch up with us.

Michael Blue: 19:26

Right, yeah, absolutely. And you know, the key thing here, I think, is this pride right To not become proud and forget God. And if you think about people in your life who are arrogant and prideful and all those it creates it does. It creates relational distance between you and another person and it just has to. It's an abrasive. It's a me centered, me first idea. You know I'm special and so you know. Pride then leads to arrogance and looking down on other people and thinking less of others, as you think more highly of yourself than you ought. And so when we do this with God, right, imagine being prideful in the face of God and how much that actually creates when there is already such a difference between who he is and who we are. I mean, it's one thing for me to be prideful versus you, dan, no offense versus me to be prideful against God.

Michael Blue: 20:21

Yes yes, and so it's going to put a rift in our relationship. If I think I'm the one who multiplied, I'm the one who you know was smart in my breeding efforts to build these flocks and herds. I'm the one who's multiplied these things and with my hands I constructed this beautiful house.

Dan Schilling: 20:42

Yes. So how many years ago was this written? I mean, how was this like? Spoken from Moses, would you say? I like 4,000, I think Ish, 4,000 years ago. All right, that's been a long time ago. So it's not like this is new, right? I mean, like what I'm saying about the United States, it's not like this is like you can go through your Bible and just see this. You know cyclical process for thousands of years happen again and again.

Dan Schilling: 21:07

But what I want to also bring out is I don't know when this was written you probably do, but this first Timothy, you know, say yeah, it was 2,000 years ago, 2,000 years ago. So we'll get 4,000 years ago, 2,000 years ago and probably some present day thing we just talked about. But let's look at this verse here. Why don't you read this Kind of the same thing that was just a warning, if you will in the Deuteronomy passage here in 1 Timothy 6, this is gonna be in verses 17 down through 19. And again, what we're thinking about here is how mistrust creates relational distance. So we're gonna think about that in this scripture as well.

Michael Blue: 21:52

Yeah, and this is Paul's writing a letter to Timothy, kind of his apprentice or a guy he had discipled pastor and he wrote this he said teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

Dan Schilling: 22:26

Yes, when I think what happens again I'll point the finger at myself is years ago I heard a teacher who was saying that the problem is most of us, when we look at these scriptures, we don't think they're talking to us, right, so I'm not rich. I mean, I'm not like Elon Musk or I'm not like whoever who has more than right. So everybody feels like they're not rich because they're comparing themself up to somebody else, so it's like right, and then that ain't talking to me. But the defining this of rich is to have more than you need. We may have talked about this in the past. If I have a rich brownie, it has too much, maybe chocolate or sugar. A car that's running rich has too much oil or fuel, so it has more than it needs. And so he's talking to those of us who have more than we need. And so just, that's me right. And so now that I recognize this is talking to me, I can be careful that one I don't become proud and my heart doesn't move like that same morning we looked at Deuteronomy that my heart doesn't move over to the stuff that he's entrusted to me. But we can see it again and again and again that it happens.

Dan Schilling: 23:40

And what? The admonition here again in 1 Timothy, the same that was given to us in Deuteronomy and the same that we wanna give to ourselves and to you today, if you're listening is that it doesn't want it. And it's because we lose sight of who Jehovah Jireh is. I mean he wants us to. When I love what it says, that he richly gives all we need for our enjoyment, he wants you to enjoy it, give thanks for it, be grateful for what you've been provided for. But when he taps on you and says, hey, here's what I'd like you to go do with, that, this would be good. We don't say, like you were saying earlier, I think we clutch onto it, it's like, no, I don't wanna do that, that's for me, right? And then I miss out on participating in that relational connection that I don't get to enjoy. Why he gave it to me?

Dan Schilling: 24:31

This teacher also said. The problem is we make the assumption it's for our consumption. God gave it to him, of course. It's all for me, right? I mean to share it like this is for me, and then I'm missing out. And I'm missing out on the opportunity to share. And you and I've talked about this many times that the goal isn't to share because I'm generous. The goal is to lead people to understand it's his generosity, he's the giver, it's all his. I'm just the delivery person, I'm just the one bringing that bread and sharing it with you.

Dan Schilling: 25:03

Not just physical bread or material, but that word, that bread from the father, and by doing it we're storing up for ourselves a treasure. Why? Because we're using what he's given to help people connect to their father. This is a gift from your father to you. He wants you to know he loves you, cares for you, and he wants you to come be with him at his table. He wants you to have a seat at this table and that future, that foundation, that if we do that.

Dan Schilling: 25:32

I've been thinking about this passage in Daniel when it says that 12, 3, that those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever, and that that to me, has become kind of my, one of my goal, versus like I want to. I want to be One who leads many others to righteousness, and not maybe a term that people think like religiously, but in real, light relationship, that they are in relationship with the father sitting at the table and join the bread with him, that place of righteousness yeah Well, and I think it's important and this is what I oftentimes forget and have a hard time keeping in my forefront as the promise that they may experience true life Is this promise.

Michael Blue: 26:16

So we, we kind of build our lives thinking that the that we're experiencing something that's quote wretched, to use that word again that's wretched and full and all of that, when we're missing Kind of the true life. And I don't have the great confront me, but my guess is this word is zoe for life and the term zoe life refers to our eternal life is connected to God. It's different. There's three terms for life in the Greek site suke, and I don't remember. One is our soul, basically, and one's our body, like our Physical needs that we have yes, and then they have the zoe life which is our, is life.

Michael Blue: 26:52

The eternal life is as connected to God and it's true life. And so this is this is the, this is the promise and this is the kind of the thing that we're Pointing towards. But it's really easy to Take our eyes and shift them away from that and onto the things and away from them.

Dan Schilling: 27:09

Really, the real one thing that matters, and that's the experience of true life, yes, Well, and and you and I have been in this space when, from the financial side of it too but just when these other things happen To come into our life, meaning I have more than I need, just like the do-around me passage, or in here, when I have more than I need, I come to this place of plenty and my heart starts to leave.

Dan Schilling: 27:34

And when my heart starts to leave, then I'm that relational distance starts to happen. I'm no longer, because these other things start to become the priority. You said that are they become the thing has my time, my attention, I'm no longer hearing the voice, and when I'm no longer here in the voice, I'm not following him, and when I'm not following, I'm not thriving, right. And so this is why, again, that we want to encourage you all, in ourselves here as well, on this journey, is we don't want to miss out on the relationship, the time together with the father at the table enjoying the fresh bread. Yeah, so it's good. Yeah, well, let's. Uh, we're at one more point to go here and we're gonna go back to Deuteronomy 8 and we're gonna finish up here and Verse 16, and we'll go down through the end, 20.

Michael Blue: 28:31

All right. So it says. He fed you with manna and the wilderness of food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so that you would never say to yourself I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy. Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. But I assure you of this if you ever forget the Lord, your God, and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you certainly, or you will certainly, be destroyed. Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord, your God.

Dan Schilling: 29:12

Yes, and so point number five here is that mistrust leads to pride and destruction. And Again you say well, you've been talking about this pride thing. Well, it's interesting, there's three times in this section of portion of scripture in Chapter 8, from 1 to 20. In verse 2, he talks about why he took him. There was for humbling.

Dan Schilling: 29:41

Verse 3, he again says yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry. And then again here in verse 16, that he did this to humble you. So I think he's trying to get a point across here that when he mentioned several times, right, that the goal is that we grow and walk in humility and I've been, michael, in this season of life, continuing to recognize that humility is not something I grab a hold of and then I have it that it really is something that the Holy Spirit is imparting to me day by day, moment by moment, and there might be a moment that I where humility comes in and it's exemplified, but it can leave in about a millisecond and I'm finding myself in many aspects of life being continually challenged of how much pride still exists in here and why he's working on that aspect.

Dan Schilling: 30:39

But it's because of my. I don't trust him Like. Many of my areas right now are impatience of waiting, like it seems like every aspect of my life. I'm always like getting behind somebody who like doesn't go through the light and stops, or I'm behind somebody in a line. I go to the gas station, I get in line at Sam's Club and that person in front of me can't figure out how to get the card in and they're sitting there for 15 minutes and I'm like, oh God, help me, what am I? And when I'm realized it's all pride. I, you know, I'm not willing just to rest in him in so many ways and I'm not willing just to say, god, I trust your timing and provision, I'll trust you that you're going to take care of it. I want it now, I want to get it. I want that. What I said last time about that make bacon eat next time's bread.

Michael Blue: 31:26

I want it now because I want to get to this next point and I'm not willing just to humble myself and I wonder, if we think about so many of these things, we're talking about even getting through a line, so much of them are pointed towards the future.

Michael Blue: 31:41

Right, we're longing for a different future, we're longing to be done, we're always pointing to the future, and I think that's where kind of the humility comes in and it strips us from what we talked about last time, and that's being willing to be in the presence in the present.

Michael Blue: 31:57

Yes, right, and so when I, and so all of these things, largely take me out of the present, where I'm unwilling to experience the presence of God, when I'm unwilling to experience the presence of the Father, because I'm longing or pining for something else, and so I miss, you know, even in the line I may miss an opportunity that God has appointed me in that place, with this man who's struggling to put his card in, to be loving even to him, I'm not even saying, you know, give him, I'm sure they got, but just to be kind, yes, and so we were people who are. So we obviously exist in the present, but we often live in the future or we live in the past, and neither one of those are very good places to live and God doesn't call us to live in either one of those he calls us to live in his presence, right there at the table, as we wait for him, as we trust him, and so even our hurry can lead us into this, like you said, out of humility and into pride.

Dan Schilling: 32:55

Yes, well, and it's because I think I'm like I got something more important to go to do, be a part of, you know, an agenda, you know. And the danger in that thinking and I got stuff to do, I got, I got a lot of things, I got to get done today because I'm taking care of myself, and this thinking starts to be pervasive is I can take care of myself. And you know, we grew up in a country where it's kind of like hey, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, get your. You know, get out. It's meant to be, it's up to me.

Dan Schilling: 33:27

You know, I gotta, I gotta get it done. I gotta, you know, drive this thing. I gotta drive this ministry, we gotta make it accomplish things, we gotta do this, we gotta do this. And what happens is I, I, I miss being at the table because I start figuring out how I'm going to take care of it. I'm, I'm, I'm no longer wanting to be dependent on him and what that provision, not just again, of of physical needs, but that, that word that proceeds from him, and what it leads me to is a place of destruction, so that I can't even love and care for people when I'm in the gas line.

Dan Schilling: 34:06

I can't you know I mean like I'm so caught up in myself and my goals, my drive, my whatever. I'm missing that place of rest, that place with my father to say what's, what's the hurry Right?

Dan Schilling: 34:19

Love on these people, care for them serve them, humble yourself, and so I'm a mess, but praise God that he's still at work, right, he who began the good work as faithful to complete it in us, and so just grateful for what he's doing in this season. I believe he's drawing me to a place that he does not want me to live in, this place of mistrust. I'm grateful for that.

Michael Blue: 34:48

That's good.

Dan Schilling: 34:51

Well, let's, let's go back over these five points again, just as a recap from the two times you want to read through those. You got them there.

Michael Blue: 35:03

Yeah, so the the five points are mistrust limits my character growth. The second one is mistrust leads to missed opportunities and missing God's miraculous provision and things. Mistrust leads me to disobedience so I start trying to do things my way. Mistrust causes strained communication, actually causes relational distance. Sorry about that. Mistrust causes relational distance.

Dan Schilling: 35:29

I changed that.

Michael Blue: 35:32

Mistrust leads to pride and destruction, and so those are kind of the five, five things. So you know, all in all, I think we determine that mistrust isn't a good thing, yeah.

Dan Schilling: 35:42

Well, and and what it's again, as we differentiated those two of mistrust and distrust, is that I, I'm I'm not having the confidence in him because I've misplaced that confidence and may have misplaced that confidence into myself, into my own understanding, my own knowledge, my own wisdom, my own, you know, taking care of myself, whatever it is, and he's trying to draw me into a place of, of dependence and a place of surrender, humility. You know, again, if I want to really hear, follow and thrive, as we've been talking about, that thriving happens when I'm at his table. So I just want to give you a couple of action steps. If you're with us right now, just you take some time and just go and say Holy Spirit, would you help me? I want to grow in my trust from my father. I want to come sit at that table, I want to have that intimacy and I want to hear his voice, I want to follow him.

Michael Blue: 36:55

I want to thrive.

Dan Schilling: 36:58

So would you allow me to just experience that picture, that pleasure of being with the father and I do believe that's his desire as well, that he wants you to come and take a seat at that table.

Dan Schilling: 37:12

And the other thing is just that when we get in those tough spots to say, holy Spirit, would you just speak that reminder to me, would you just that you're trustworthy, that I can trust you, no matter what it is that you're facing. I know things I'm facing right now. Just this is an encouragement I believe God's trying to give me, and I want to give it to you as well. You can trust me, you don't have to be suspicious. I want to take care of you Today. I have to take care of you in the past. I'll take care of you today and in the future as well. So, and if you would one other action step, just if this has been encouragement to you today, just to share it with your friends, family, on your social media or email or whatever feed that you'd like to share things with if you would share that with them, as they would be encouraged in their journey to trust God as well.

Michael Blue: 38:02

So, Michael, any closing thoughts?

Dan Schilling: 38:05

for us today.

Michael Blue: 38:08

I think he sums it up well. I mean, I think we long to trust God and he is trustworthy, and so let's act that way. I know you and I have a lot of growth to do and we can all grow together in this. I want to pray for us to close up today All right. God, thanks so much for your patience with us. Thank you that you have seen this happen for 4,000 plus years. So we run away as you provide, and so I just pray that we can learn from all of those examples and we can trust you through provision and through lack and whatever situation we are in. So I just pray that you give us the ability to see you as you are more clearly. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

Dan Schilling: 38:52

Hey, thanks for doing the FeedSheep podcast. We'll see you again next time.