Ep 899 ｜ Do the Dead Watch Over Us？ ｜ Q&A
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
171.34285
Summary
Why do so many people say that their loved ones are watching them from heaven? Is that really true? What are my thoughts on postpartum depression? How do we reconcile relationships with people who have hurt us? Answering all of these questions and more on today s episode of Relatable.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Why do so many people say that their loved ones are watching down on them from heaven?
00:00:12.940
How do we reconcile relationships with people who have hurt us?
00:00:17.580
Answering all of these questions and more on today's episode of Relatable, which is
00:00:21.900
brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.
00:00:40.840
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day and week so far.
00:00:44.500
Okay, we've got a Q&A episode today answering all of your fascinating questions.
00:00:49.180
The first question that I want to answer is, why do so many Christians say their loved ones
00:00:56.100
This is a very popular idea, not just within Christianity, but I would say kind of culture
00:01:03.600
at large, believing that after your loved ones die, that they're watching you, that they're
00:01:11.100
And there's a sense of comfort that comes from that.
00:01:13.920
I mean, there have been many testimonies of people who say that after a loved one died,
00:01:18.820
that they have dreams about their loved ones speaking to them, that it almost feels like
00:01:23.780
some kind of visitation, or that your loved one who died maybe becomes your guardian angel.
00:01:32.220
They're making sure that things work out in your life, or they're kind of like a spirit
00:01:39.400
And while all of these things may feel comforting, there's not actually any biblical precedence for
00:01:47.220
So I'll look at a few passages that some people use to try to say that the Bible does indicate
00:01:55.180
that dead people can see us from the afterlife, can see us from heaven, and therefore we can
00:02:04.460
Or they might even use these passages for the justification of the Catholic belief that
00:02:10.020
saints who are in heaven, or even Mary who is in heaven, can deliver our prayers, can hear
00:02:17.900
our prayers and deliver them to God, which is not what Protestants believe because we don't
00:02:25.280
But sticking with this particular question, can our loved ones look down and see us if
00:02:35.740
Some use Hebrews 12, 1, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
00:02:42.180
let us throw off the sin that entangles, run the race, marked out for us.
00:02:45.580
I'm paraphrasing that last part, but the important part, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
00:02:52.800
And people use that verse to say, well, they're witnesses.
00:03:00.200
Or some people might use the parable in Luke 16, 28, the rich man in Lazarus looking from
00:03:09.800
Hades at the poor man who is being comforted in Abraham's bosom and is asking, please,
00:03:17.760
can you warn my brothers who are still on earth?
00:03:20.480
Can you testify to them about what I did not know so they don't end up where I am?
00:03:27.160
Or people might use Revelation 6, 10, where the martyrs call for God to avenge their deaths.
00:03:36.880
And so people use a variety of passages to try to say that people who are dead can see
00:03:43.920
But none of these passages are actually speaking to that.
00:03:46.460
If you look at Hebrews 12, 1, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
00:03:51.560
witnesses, just like with all passages, we have to look at it in context.
00:03:58.380
And Hebrews 11 is looking at the kind of heroes of the faith.
00:04:07.440
And so the witnesses that we are talking about in Hebrews 12, they are witnesses to the life
00:04:18.420
They're not necessarily or they're not witnesses of our lives.
00:04:22.240
There's nothing in this passage that indicates that these people are looking down from heaven,
00:04:27.620
that they are answering our prayers or that their presence is with us in any way.
00:04:31.840
It's actually very clear that they are in heaven.
00:04:34.820
And so these are people who have witnessed what the power of the Holy Spirit can do in
00:04:43.200
And we look to their testimonies for encouragement, but they are not according to scripture with
00:04:53.860
And then if you look at this parable of the rich man in Lazarus, who is asking, hey, can
00:05:00.500
you please testify to my brother so they don't end up in this horrible place?
00:05:04.020
Again, we don't see any indication that he is hearing the prayers or seeing his brothers
00:05:16.100
And there's only so much that we can really draw from a parable.
00:05:20.660
And then you've got Revelation, the martyrs calling for God to avenge their deaths.
00:05:27.140
Again, there's no indication here that martyrs are actually the ones who are dead or seeing
00:05:33.260
And so we just don't see biblical support for that idea or the idea that people become
00:05:43.040
I understand that there are things that we say to try to comfort ourselves in death or
00:05:50.300
And I don't think right after death is the time to correct someone's theology in that
00:05:55.760
I do think it's important to talk about in general.
00:05:58.360
I don't think we should just say, well, whatever makes someone feel good, because look, theology
00:06:03.380
And so it's important to correct our theology on this, although I do think that there is
00:06:09.940
The reality is, and this is where the real comfort comes from, usually like false teachings,
00:06:16.880
They indicate our need for something that can really only be found in Christ, something that
00:06:24.660
And so if what you are seeking, if what you are needing is comfort, is presence, is guidance,
00:06:32.880
And you like the idea of that coming from a higher, like ethereal being that can see more
00:06:42.700
I mean, there is a reason, many reasons why God refers to himself as our father if we have
00:07:03.960
Psalm 139 says that he purposed, planned every single day of our life before any of
00:07:13.820
We see in scripture that he knows everything, that he sees everything, that he is not limited
00:07:18.420
by time or space, that he actually is suspended in the eternal now, meaning that he is not limited
00:07:26.800
He's not on this linear timeline that you and I are, something that we can't even fully
00:07:31.240
comprehend, because right now we are, you know, limited by those constraints that God is not
00:07:38.240
So it's hard for us to even understand the eternality of his character.
00:07:43.040
But wow, if we're looking for power, like if we're looking for providence, if we are looking
00:07:48.260
to be comforted by something that is bigger, that is greater than us, that is mysterious,
00:07:54.580
and yet loves us and knows us and cares about what's best for us, then let's look to God
00:08:00.860
himself, whom we can have an intimate relationship with through Christ, who brings to us through
00:08:08.280
his death and resurrection by grace, through faith, reconciliation with the Holy God, restoration
00:08:17.940
And it is uncomfortable to think about, wow, our loved one who we loved so much here on
00:08:24.900
earth, who we knew so well that they are in heaven and they're preoccupied with something
00:08:31.040
If they are in heaven, they are totally and completely and joyfully consumed by the worship
00:08:44.380
We don't want them to be worried with the anxieties of this life.
00:08:52.080
And if they are in the presence of Christ, they've got a lot going on.
00:08:55.620
They've got a lot going on that doesn't have to do with us.
00:08:58.060
Now we will recognize our loved ones in heaven.
00:09:00.980
So there is, there may be, you know, joyous reunions there, but if you want to take comfort
00:09:07.020
in one, your own providence and someone who's watching out for you, take comfort Christian in
00:09:13.000
that there is a God who sees you and knows you and loves you very much.
00:09:17.580
And Romans 8, 28 says that he's working all things together for the good of those who love
00:09:31.740
But in the end, all things work together for the good of those who love him and for the glory
00:09:40.240
The other piece of comfort that we should have rather than thinking that our loved ones
00:09:44.000
are somehow intertwined in our lives is that they are consumed by the glory and the peace
00:09:48.260
of God finally and fully and are fully whole and fully healed.
00:09:52.460
And they don't have to mess with the temporal worries that we have here on earth.
00:09:57.360
So typically like the longings that are superficially fulfilled by false doctrines, they speak to
00:10:07.040
something that we actually need, but are always much more profoundly answered and satisfied
00:10:13.040
by the truth and what the gospel actually brings us.
00:10:21.600
And again, a time and a place for that kind of correction, but it absolutely does matter.
00:10:27.320
Let us not put our hope and our comfort in lesser things when Christ is the one who fully satisfies.
00:10:32.600
Thoughts on, this is different, you know, lots of variety here.
00:10:51.240
So postpartum depression is a thing I think that we have neglected, probably ignored and
00:11:01.960
minimized for a while, but that is talked about a lot more.
00:11:05.780
Now, I do want to, I do want to differentiate and I'm not speaking as a psychologist or psychiatrist
00:11:14.440
I'm also speaking as someone who interviews and talks to a lot of very learned experts in
00:11:21.840
this field because unfortunately, psychology, psychiatry, it's all become political.
00:11:27.180
And so there are conversations to be had about the pharmaceutical companies and about the
00:11:32.400
marketing and about the medical industry and how all of these things play into the different
00:11:37.640
diagnoses that we are told that we have and all of that.
00:11:41.440
So as I say my opinion, I'm speaking as someone who is just an amateur myself, just a, you
00:11:48.480
know, a normal plebe, but who cares about that stuff and who has had children.
00:11:55.060
So, um, I do think postpartum depression is an important thing to name, an important thing
00:12:01.900
At the same time, I don't want to medicalize something that is normal.
00:12:08.200
It is normal for you to feel very emotional, even teary and stressed and tired in the postpartum
00:12:20.040
period that now just wait, I'm not minimizing real actual depression.
00:12:26.200
But I am telling you just because you feel those things, just because it's difficult, just because
00:12:31.180
you might even feel like sometimes you're losing your mind does not mean that you have
00:12:34.940
medical diagnosis, does not necessarily mean that you need to go on any kind of medication.
00:12:40.280
Maybe you need to see a counselor just in general.
00:12:43.800
I think some, as long as it's a biblical counselor, that can be a good idea.
00:12:50.400
That's probably the biggest thing that I see that moms, after they give birth, they won't
00:13:07.380
Don't do the things that don't have to be done.
00:13:11.660
So maybe all those things are true, but also don't make yourself even more anxious with
00:13:17.600
trying to diagnose yourself with something when maybe it's not really a diagnosis.
00:13:22.300
It is very, very normal, very common, and I think very okay for you to go through a period
00:13:33.700
Not just because, wow, you've had so much physical change over the past few months and
00:13:39.800
over just the past few days if you just gave birth.
00:13:44.960
And not just that, but there's a lot of emotions that don't even have to do with hormones that
00:13:51.680
Oh my goodness, that's such a significant period in your life.
00:13:54.640
There's probably a lot of pain, maybe a lot of hardship, a lot of stress, a lot of adrenaline,
00:13:59.660
a lot of maybe fear, and then a whole lot of happiness and a whole lot of love and a
00:14:06.020
Like no matter what you're going through, if you have a combination of all of those things
00:14:10.440
within like a 24-hour period, that is going to be very significant.
00:14:16.680
So if you feel a little bit jarred after that, add on top of that all of the hormones that
00:14:23.000
change, like when your baby, and sorry, a little graphic for the guys, but your placenta
00:14:27.760
leaves your body and then you immediately start producing milk and breastfeeding, there is so
00:14:33.900
much hormonal change that has to come from that.
00:14:38.120
And then you're recovering possibly from an epidural.
00:14:42.580
You've got medication, pain medication that maybe you're dealing with.
00:14:46.160
You're still dealing with the pain after effects of that, whether it was a natural birth or
00:14:54.400
You might be dealing with the pain of breastfeeding or the stress of breastfeeding.
00:14:58.240
And then you're also, maybe you have other kids and they don't understand.
00:15:03.660
They want to, you know, they want to be cuddled.
00:15:07.560
And then depending on your financial situation, there are so many factors.
00:15:12.720
So if you feel a little sad or really sad, like if you feel stressed, if you feel tired
00:15:17.640
because you're not sleeping, all of those things are normal.
00:15:21.240
I'm not saying that they're okay and that they feel good or that you should just ignore
00:15:28.260
However, okay, so here's where I get to something else.
00:15:31.280
There is a difference, I believe, in my amateur opinion, between that and the very normal
00:15:37.580
ups and downs, emotional ups and downs, physical ups and downs of postpartum, which by the
00:15:44.740
I think postpartum is like a year plus, by the way.
00:15:49.020
I think that that whole hormonal, mental, emotional, even spiritual, physical adjustment
00:15:54.580
period lasts for a year plus, depending on how your birth went and stuff.
00:15:59.820
But there is a difference between that, which I think is normal and should be dealt with in
00:16:05.220
a variety of ways that maybe don't have to do with medication at all or even professional
00:16:11.020
help at all, and then the depression, the psychosis, the anxiety that gets to the point
00:16:24.880
You don't even feel like you can leave the house because you are so anxious about something
00:16:30.180
You start having psychotic episodes or psychotic thoughts about harming yourself or harming other
00:16:40.120
I personally haven't experienced these things, but this has happened to women, women who
00:16:44.700
are good moms, women who are Christians, women who are very stable people.
00:16:49.540
Something happens in postpartum and they are mean to their families.
00:16:57.500
They feel an aversion towards the people who love them.
00:17:02.180
They start acting out and saying things that are totally not in line with their character.
00:17:06.420
So postpartum depression, anxiety, psychosis are real things.
00:17:10.120
Where these things become so overwhelming, so persistent, consistent, debilitating, and
00:17:15.360
seemingly unfixable, even when the external factors are all kind of like put into place
00:17:21.640
and all of that, that may need professional help.
00:17:25.380
And it's really important to know that there should not be embarrassment when it comes to
00:17:32.840
There should not be shame when it comes to naming what you actually have.
00:17:38.860
And you know, sometimes hindsight is 20-20 and you don't realize that you're in one of
00:17:42.960
those, that you have one of those diagnoses or you have something like that.
00:17:47.400
And now I'm not someone who is going to say, this just depends on case by case.
00:17:51.680
And I'm really glad that I don't have the authority and don't claim the authority to this.
00:17:55.700
I'm not even saying that like medication is always necessary in those cases.
00:18:03.960
And obviously you have to go to your provider and see about that.
00:18:07.600
But I'm just saying those things do need to be addressed.
00:18:14.340
And you need more than anything in that moment when you realize this has gone too far.
00:18:24.360
I can't even function at all like a normal human.
00:18:28.520
You need, first of all, someone else beside you to take that seriously, very seriously.
00:18:36.960
You are a great mom and we are going to get you the help that you need.
00:18:43.340
Looking back at my last two births, as I'm recording this, I don't know when it's going
00:18:48.360
I'm pregnant, so I haven't had my third baby yet.
00:18:51.660
But looking back at my first two births, I realized that my first one, I don't know.
00:18:57.820
I still don't know if I had official postpartum depression and anxiety.
00:19:01.540
But comparing now, now that I can compare after my first birth and after my second, I realize
00:19:07.720
that how I felt after my first birth, I was really, really low.
00:19:13.960
And I think I just thought that it was baby blues.
00:19:16.780
And now looking back at how much I was crying, how debilitating my anxiety was, how constantly
00:19:24.620
scared I was that something was going to happen to my baby, that I was one of those people
00:19:30.660
I was one of those people that did not want to leave my house.
00:19:33.140
I was one of those people that was so scared that someone was going to touch her and get
00:19:37.380
I was so like germaphobic, which, okay, that's okay.
00:19:41.260
I guess to some degree, you do want to protect your child from those things.
00:19:45.380
But it was to the point to where I could not enjoy anything.
00:19:50.520
I couldn't enjoy other people interacting with my child.
00:19:53.660
I couldn't enjoy leaving my child and resting and doing what I needed to do.
00:20:08.040
I had that instant connection of just overwhelming love.
00:20:11.000
And I know some people like struggle with that, depending on how the birth went.
00:20:17.720
I had the immediate love, the immediate connection, the immediate feeling of just like protection
00:20:27.200
But with my first, I was so, so anxious and just so down.
00:20:32.780
And I think I had like a traumatic birth that didn't go how I wanted it to.
00:20:39.120
And then with my second, like I felt good physically.
00:20:44.040
Physically, I felt really good after my second one, like the day off.
00:20:49.920
I dealt with like a lot of pain in my recovery with my first.
00:20:57.780
Like my husband noted like right after I had the second, like, wow, like you are different.
00:21:07.760
You're so much more, you're so much more okay than after our first, even like how I was walking,
00:21:14.240
how I was talking, how I was dealing with things.
00:21:15.960
And I didn't go through that constant like, oh my gosh, I can't leave the house.
00:21:28.160
And it wasn't until I had that postpartum experience that I looked back at my first and
00:21:46.180
But I also didn't realize, and this is something that y'all can look into.
00:21:49.260
I don't have the study in front of me, but pitocin, that's the synthetic form of oxytocin,
00:21:55.780
which is what your body is creating in lots of different situations, but requires for
00:22:04.500
But pitocin is something that they can give you intravenously to cause contractions, whether
00:22:12.860
you are after birth, whether you're trying to eject the placenta or after birth, if they're
00:22:19.460
trying to get you to stop bleeding or during birth, like if you're getting induced and you
00:22:27.820
Pitocin can actually increase your chances of postpartum depression.
00:22:31.660
I don't know exactly scientifically why that is.
00:22:34.180
I'm guessing it's just inserting a synthetic hormone into your body.
00:22:38.140
It can have a particular reaction, a particular response.
00:22:42.640
Not very much of it, but I had it for a few hours.
00:22:46.600
So I don't know if for me that was a contributor or if it was just my second child and that's
00:22:56.040
just, you know, how I, it was just easier because you're like, oh, I have a track record
00:23:03.500
I think I can do it a second time or what it was.
00:23:07.980
So anyway, that's my long-winded answer about postpartum depression and my personal experiences.
00:23:19.620
Um, but yeah, I, I would just, I would just encourage you one to not dwell on it too much
00:23:25.280
if you just have like normal baby blues, but two to take stock of your emotions and to take
00:23:30.560
stock of your thoughts and to take stock of like how you're really doing and have someone
00:23:36.800
in your life, whether it's your spouse, whether it's your mom, whether it's your sister or
00:23:42.620
And look, if you're about to give birth, maybe go ahead and tell that person now, whoever your
00:23:46.960
person is, um, Hey, like, I'm going to need you to be kind of like, I need you to like,
00:23:56.100
I need you to like, make sure that I'm doing okay.
00:23:58.760
Because you might not always be the best indicator of that because sometimes we're too close to
00:24:04.780
So you need someone to be able to zoom out who really knows you.
00:24:11.580
Um, especially if someone knew you in your last births and things like that.
00:24:40.680
Uh, the Catholic church for a while was, I'm not Catholic, but I know that they were for
00:24:45.440
a while totally against cremation because of the doctrine or because of the, um, biblical
00:24:53.580
But I'm not, I don't think that that is a good reason.
00:24:58.360
Maybe that's not the only reason for, um, that's not the only reason that the Catholic
00:25:03.280
So I'm not saying that, but I still see people, Protestant or Catholic kind of saying that today
00:25:07.360
about the resurrection of the bodies and that we shouldn't be cremated because of that,
00:25:15.680
And so it's disrespectful to image bearers and to the design that the body has made.
00:25:22.020
Um, you know, I don't, I don't know anyone in my family who has been cremated.
00:25:26.860
I don't know anyone in my family who wants to be cremated.
00:25:29.720
I don't necessarily think that that's the best option, but I'm not saying that there's
00:25:35.660
biblical foundation for that or that I'm like authoritative on that.
00:25:39.260
That's just kind of an opinion that I have that I don't know.
00:25:43.300
I don't think I would want to destroy the body, but I, I'm not worried at all about the
00:25:50.120
Look, there are people who, I mean, there are martyrs who were burned to life.
00:25:53.980
So they were basically cremated and there are people who die in all kinds of terrible
00:25:59.980
accidents where their bodies are basically destroyed.
00:26:04.140
I think the power of God, if he can raise people from the dead, like he can make beauty
00:26:18.820
Personally though, and I'm sure there are some other reasons that people had, I would not,
00:26:27.920
So I'm going to tell, I'm going to let you in on a secret that we podcasters have is that
00:26:32.700
we don't really listen to other podcasts very often.
00:26:36.160
Um, I, now I love, there are other podcasts that I love.
00:26:43.660
It takes a freaking long time to get ready for this podcast and then to record this podcast.
00:26:48.440
And sometimes we're recording multiple podcasts in a day because I got to go out of town.
00:26:52.200
I got something to do or I got maternity leave.
00:26:58.420
I don't typically, and then after that, like I'm, I'm full on doing other things.
00:27:06.880
People who like listen to podcasts and like mother at the same time, more power to you.
00:27:15.500
I got to put my brain to like one thing at a time.
00:27:19.200
Um, and so, yeah, that part just not possible for me.
00:27:24.040
Um, so I will listen if there's like, I'll listen to Megan Kelly's podcast, which is amazing.
00:27:31.860
Um, I will listen sometimes to Ben Shapiro's podcast.
00:27:41.480
Or if there's a specific podcast episode that someone sends me, I will listen to that.
00:27:46.600
But typically it's, I don't listen to a podcast episode unless it's like,
00:27:51.760
Ooh, this is a subject that I really want to hear explained or that I need broken down.
00:27:57.080
Or I want to hear this particular person's take on that.
00:28:00.920
So, I mean, there's a wide variety of people that I would listen to for that.
00:28:05.280
I mean, there are different podcasts at Blaze TV.
00:28:07.780
There are other, the other podcasts at the Daily Wire.
00:28:10.300
I've probably listened to like all of these podcasts at least a few times.
00:28:15.040
It depends on what that person's talking about.
00:28:19.480
If it's a guest that I really want to hear from, very rarely listen to the whole thing,
00:28:26.060
Um, so yeah, that, and I would say that it's true of most podcasters and we all support each
00:28:33.560
Liz Wheeler and I were talking about this the other day.
00:28:45.100
It's just because we don't have time in the day.
00:28:50.640
I honestly, as far as listening to podcasts, because I'm probably like your average podcast
00:28:54.940
listener because there are the avid podcast listeners, but that's not very many people.
00:28:59.940
I saw a Pew Research thing the other day that was like only 20% of Americans even ever listen
00:29:05.540
to podcasts and a much smaller percentage of that listen to a podcast every day, like 5%
00:29:17.140
I, and it's amazing to me how many people listen to this podcast every single day.
00:29:22.760
And you listen to other, some of you listen to other podcasts too, which is incredible.
00:29:27.020
I also, if I'm going to listen to one, I turned it on 1.5 times or two times.
00:29:33.000
I feel like that's probably a bad indication of how your brain works.
00:29:37.720
I don't think it's an indication that, wow, you're so smart and you can process things so
00:29:41.300
I think it means you have a short attention span.
00:29:44.240
And now if I try, I can't do it with Ben Shapiro.
00:29:48.220
So if I try to speed them up, I can't understand them at all.
00:29:51.360
But like, if I have to go back and listen to this podcast for some reason, I just want
00:29:55.660
to like, you know, decide social media clips or see if there's anything in there that I
00:30:14.360
And the fact like when you guys post screenshots of listening to this and it's on one times,
00:30:20.900
I'm like, oh my gosh, they have to listen to my, what sounds like drunk Allie.
00:30:28.980
I know y'all think I talk fast anyway, which I don't think that I do, but it just depends.
00:30:55.180
Let's see how to reconcile relationships with family members who have hurt you.
00:31:00.120
So reconciliation, I think can be beautifully redemptive, but it is not always necessary
00:31:11.720
If that person is hostile to you and your family and your safety, true safety, I'm not
00:31:18.980
just talking about like your emotional state, although that's important, but I'm talking
00:31:23.860
about like really they're hostile to you, then you do not have to be reconciled to them.
00:31:28.940
Reconciliation is not always a necessary part of forgiveness.
00:31:37.780
God can do that with any like family relationship that he wants to restore.
00:31:45.740
Um, but it's not always possible and it's not always necessary.
00:31:51.160
The important thing is for you to release that person from your grip of resentment and bitterness.
00:32:03.280
But you also did not deserve the forgiveness that God gave you through Christ.
00:32:09.180
Whatever someone did to us, real or exaggerated, sometimes we exaggerate the offense that people
00:32:16.700
have committed against us, but sometimes we're right on.
00:32:20.000
They really have offended us and hurt us in some way.
00:32:22.520
Whatever offense that someone has committed against us, it is nothing like the offense
00:32:27.980
that we have committed against a holy God as sinners.
00:32:30.780
And if he was gracious enough, it's the perfect being that he is to forgive us, to make a way
00:32:36.820
for us to be restored, to be made new, to be made right before him and to come into relationship
00:32:44.120
If he did that to us while we were yet sinners, while we were his enemies, while we were scoffers,
00:32:50.660
while we hated him, then of course we have the power, the ability to forgive someone else
00:32:58.180
whose infraction, whose offense was much smaller in the grand scheme of things than the offense
00:33:04.460
that we committed against God by being sinners.
00:33:08.080
And so that reality allows us to realize, I almost said reminds, but allows us to realize
00:33:20.480
We're not as holy or as self-righteous as we think that we are, that we cannot extend
00:33:31.120
And forgiveness does not mean that what they did was okay.
00:33:35.920
It doesn't mean that we weren't impacted by that betrayal, that rejection, that downright
00:33:41.380
wickedness or meanness, whatever it was that they did toward us.
00:33:46.860
It just means that one, like we understand where we are orienting ourselves rightly in light of
00:33:55.720
who we are in Christ and the gospel of forgiveness that he's bestowed on us, but also like who we
00:34:05.200
are in relation to other people and how quickly this life goes by.
00:34:10.080
And it allows us to realize too, that life is, it's much too short to be entrapped by bitterness
00:34:19.360
We are not to be dictated by bitterness and resentment, and we are actually burdening our
00:34:28.660
When we hold grudges, oh, I'm preaching to the choir.
00:34:31.680
I can think of several people right now, not family members, but who have hurt me in the
00:34:36.200
past, who I still, I'm like, I don't like that person.
00:34:42.740
And I say that, you know, quote clearly, good person.
00:34:45.440
Like I still see that person acting a fool and just being a slimy human being.
00:34:55.640
I have bitterness against people because of the offense that they've committed to me.
00:34:59.920
I have not allowed that part of the gospel to seep into my heart and to realize there
00:35:04.840
is really no reason for me to continue to hold that against him when God holds nothing
00:35:10.320
And also like that bitterness is weighing me down.
00:35:16.140
It is making it difficult for me to live totally freely.
00:35:19.700
It's difficult for me to be completely spiritually liberated because that hardness of heart is
00:35:27.100
That heaviness, that weight that bitterness brings is still there.
00:35:30.580
And that inhibits like a truly joyful and peaceful life in Christ.
00:35:36.360
That's like a, I mean, that's a gospel issue in my heart and in the hearts of other people
00:35:54.400
And the righteous will live on forever because of God's mercy and grace.
00:35:59.880
And hopefully the person that we are withholding our forgiveness from, hopefully they will be
00:36:12.760
God is going to exact revenge where he needs to exact revenge.
00:36:17.700
He is not going to allow what someone did to you to somehow thwart his plan for your life.
00:36:26.060
The power that they really have over you is the authority that they've claimed on your
00:36:32.220
heart through the grudge or the resentment or the bitterness that you still carry for them.
00:36:39.340
If you can talk to that person, if you can have a conversation where you really speak truth and
00:36:43.840
love, where you don't compromise, you don't acquiesce, but you do show them that you care
00:36:50.880
And God can use that if he wants to use that and he can bring restoration there.
00:36:54.420
But the most important thing is, is that we allow God to free us from the bitterness and
00:36:58.660
resentment that we are carrying because of the offense that they did commit against us.
00:37:08.680
Hey guys, if you love this podcast, please leave us a five-star review wherever you listen
00:37:29.220
And if you haven't yet, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.