In this episode of I Can’t, He Can, I start a new series called Faith Under Fire, inspired by the Sound Mind Ladies Group study I’m leading this Saturday. In part one, I walk through sections one and two: what our responses to life’s trials reveal about our faith, and how solid our foundation is in Jesus when trouble hits. I read and reflect on James 1:2–4, Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Matthew 14:22–33 (Peter walking on water), and I challenge us to take honest inventory of where we are emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. I also discuss how idols can show up in crisis and share scriptures on anxiety and trust, then point to Jehoshaphat’s response in 2 Chronicles 20 as a model for keeping our eyes on God.

All right, everyone.

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Welcome back to another

episode of I Can't, He Can.

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Happy Monday to you all.

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I'm so excited that you're here,

and excited to start a new series.

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This is not going to be the Sound

Mind series where we continue

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Revelation chapters 8 and 9.

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I do have that coming

down the pipeline for you.

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But today, we are actually going to

start in the Sound Mind ladies group

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study that I am doing this Saturday.

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So before we actually dive in, I'm

going to let you know what we're

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gonna be talking about today, which is

going to be part one of this series.

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This series is called Faith Under Fire.

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Now, The things we're going

to touch on today specifically

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is in section one and two.

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Section one is, what does my response to

life's test, disruptions, bad times, etc.,

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reveal about my faith?

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And section two is, how solid

is your foundation, and how

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do you respond to trouble?

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So if you're ready, let's go ahead and

start this new series of Faith Under Fire

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All right, you guys.

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You know what time it is.

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Not the Sound Mind series today, though.

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I feel like we are taking forever

in Revelation, but that is okay.

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We are spacing things out accordingly,

and we are giving ample room and

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time for topics that I have had

on my heart for a very long time.

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And with the changes that are being made

to our podcast, because this isn't just

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mine, this is the Lord's podcast, this

is our podcast, so that's why I feel

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like I have to explain things sometimes.

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But with the changes that are coming,

you will see that I am spacing things

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out a little bit more, and I am

inserting a little bit of the old type

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of format, from the original episodes.

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And today, I actually have prepared

for you the Sound Mind ladies

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group study that I am going to,

be doing with them this Saturday.

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And while it seems

extensive, it's really not.

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It's broken up into seven sections.

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each lady is going to go home,

take their section of the study,

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answer the questions, look

at the story that I outlined

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And then we are going to meet up

this Saturday, and we are each

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going to read it, and just kind of

go back and forth how we always do.

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the Sound Mind Study Group, that's how…

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I just, I don't know why.

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I just, I call it that.

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Like, I'm so grateful that the Lord

gives us a sound mind, and it always

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stuck with me, so that's what I call it.

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But our ladies group,

Is, I believe, very firm.

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And I'm very proud of what it has turned

into, because it's such a small but

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amazing community of women that really

do love God, but most of all love Him

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so much that all they wanna do is just

be better and do better every day.

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So today's podcast and today's

episode is called Faith Under Fire.

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Now, why is it called Faith Under Fire?

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Well, if it's not self-explanatory

enough, we that are walking with the

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Lord, from the moment we say yes to

Jesus Christ, "You are my Lord and my

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Savior, I give you my life, I surrender

everything to you," from that moment,

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our faith is quite literally under fire.

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That is where the tests of tests

come in, and no one can dispute that

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because it's, it's such a real thing.

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And I know the more we walk with the

Lord, I know the more that we start

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seeing that there is a spiritual realm of

sorts, and we are dealing with that daily.

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So that is why I named this study

and this episode Faith Under Fire.

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Now, I feel like my thoughts are much more

composed, when I'm reading from my notes.

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but if anyone watching this would like

to have this study, I can send it to you.

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Please email me,

[email protected].

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but I'm going to read and then

just answer from my point of view.

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So please be patient with me,

I will be splitting up, this

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episode in part one and part two.

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I really want all the

scriptures to be read,

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So I don't wanna cut anything out

and I think it deserves a very

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tight-knit and compartmentalized

structure for this episode.

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So I hope that you guys stay tuned

throughout part one of this episode,

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and I hope and pray that you also come

back and enjoy part two of this study

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So without further ado, we are going

to begin our study of Faith Under Fire

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So the first question that we must ask

ourselves is: What does my response to

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life's tests, disruptions, bad times,

et cetera, reveal about my faith?

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So let's go ahead and read the

theme scripture, which is the

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theme for this study as a whole.

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It's James 1:2-4.

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Like I said, I have it written out

here as well already in NKJV version.

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but I have it written out here

as well just so it's more precise

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James chapter 1, verse 2 through 4: "My

brethren, count it all joy when you fall

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into various trials, knowing that the

testing of your faith produces patience.

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But let patience have its perfect

work, that you may be perfect

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and complete, lacking nothing."

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So, this should be one of the scriptures

that we keep in mind when we are dealing

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with life's tests, disruptions, bad

times, or anything that falls under

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that category of things that will put

our faith to the test and under fire.

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now, what can we do to make things better?

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So, we need to take a step back,

and we need to take inventory.

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Now, before we talk about this

topic in specific, section one, we

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actually should start with the basics.

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Take inventory of where you were

and where you are going now.

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A key point here is to honestly examine

yourself and where you really are.

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So me, for example, where was I before?

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I wasn't actually listening.

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I was still taking, feedback

as all criticism and actually

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just listening to respond.

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I think I'm doing slightly better

in that area, maybe much better.

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I don't know.

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Maybe my husband can

attest to how I'm doing.

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But where I was back then, in many

aspects, not just that, I have improved,

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I would like to think, a lot more.

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So, is there a difference

for me from back then to now?

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Yes, absolutely.

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However, if you're not sure,

you can start by asking yourself

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these kinds of questions.

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So, analyze your life right now.

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Where are you?

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Where are you emotionally?

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Where are you financially?

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Where are you in all your relationships?

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And that's not just romantic and

non-romantic, any relationship that you

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have, whether it's work, friends, family.

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And where is your relationship with Jesus?

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I could say that they're all very

important, but where are you in

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your relationship with Jesus?

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Have you truly surrendered everything

that you have to Him, or are

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you hiding some things from Him

that you think He doesn't know?

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But let's face it, Jesus knows everything!

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Okay?

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The Holy Spirit, if you have the Holy

Spirit already, He resides in you.

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He resides in you, so there is no hiding.

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There's no reason to just

give it all to the Lord.

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But-- So ask yourself that.

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Where is your relationship with Jesus?

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And important, what is currently

taking up the most space in your mind?

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I have a few more here that I'm going to

read, but this is important because if

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you really analyze the things that take up

space in your mind, one, it can actually

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show you where your idols are, and two, it

can actually really give you some insight

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in the things that are troubling you, give

you anxiety, that are taking away sleep,

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things that are clearly not from God.

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So I'm gonna digress on that for now

because we are gonna talk about that

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in one of the other sections, so I

don't wanna give too much away, but

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that is a very important question.

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What is currently taking up

the most space in your mind?

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Now, how have you grown this past year?

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You have to ask yourself that,

and you have to be honest.

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How have you grown?

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Where are you lacking?

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I already know many areas

I'm still lacking, but don't

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beat yourself up either.

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It's important that you continue to

build yourself up, and that's why we

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need to analyze where we are so that

we can be like, "Man, I've done a

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good job," and continue to encourage

yourself and be strong in your faith

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with Jesus and in your relationship

with Him because if you're saying, "Hey,

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this is where I'm lacking, but this

is where I have also triumphed," then

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what you can do is you can say, " God,

please help me with this that I am

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lacking, but I am grateful for the work

that You've already done in me, Lord."

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So you can't just do

one and not the other.

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You have to do both.

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You have to find the level of gratitude

that the Lord deserves for what He is

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doing for you, but then you still also

need to have the surrender that He desires

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to continue to do that work in you.

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So all right.

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Now, what affects you differently

today than the things that

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affected you a year ago?

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I know for me, for example, the same

things that bothered me before, after

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really giving my life to Christ and really

surrendering everything that I have in my

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heart and my mind, a lot of things don't

bother me anymore, and that's a beautiful

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thing because we see beyond today.

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We see what's waiting

for us in the future.

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We see what He has to offer

us that is not of this world.

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It really doesn't affect me as much.

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But things still get to me.

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I'm not saying that I'm perfect, y'all.

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You know?

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Like there are things

that still do get to me.

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So I admit there are some

things, just not as much.

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Now, what areas need more effort?

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Again, this is where

you have to be honest.

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What areas need more effort, more

time, and general improvement?

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I'm going to say that I am not very proud

of where I am in my reading of the word.

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I read a lot more, definitely a lot more.

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but for me right now in this period of

my life, the past few weeks where I'm

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trying to get more organized and just

plan things out more for this podcast

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and, the things that the Lord is, is

giving me, I need to steward it properly.

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So I'm trying to divide my time properly

But I could still do a bit more reading.

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So I'm going to work that in again,

and I acknowledge that this is

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something that I'm struggling with,

because it could be much better.

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So I'll leave that there.

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Is it easier to trust God when

life is going according to plan?

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Duh, obviously.

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I know that's a silly question

that I put in there, but it's true.

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Of course it's much easier.

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So for this section of the study,

I concluded with the scriptures

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Philippians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.

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So let's read that

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Philippians 1:6, "Being confident

of this very thing, that He who has

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begun a good work in you will complete

it until the day of Jesus Christ."

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And that's exactly what we were saying,

that the work He has started in you,

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you have to surrender and just be

grateful for what He's already doing,

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and know that if you just surrender,

whatever else is left, He will

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continue to do that work and finish it.

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So Philippians 1:6 is perfect to keep

in your heart and in your mind for that.

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2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if

anyone is in Christ, he is a new

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creation; old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new."

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And that cannot be any more true, because

I am not the same person I was two years

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ago when I started going to church.

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Absolutely not.

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My real transformation didn't come until

several months after I started going,

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when I finally understood and got to know

who Jesus was and what He did for us.

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But nonetheless, I am definitely,

definitely not the same person.

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I am a new creation indeed.

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And so let's continue.

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So what happens to your faith when

God doesn't do what you expected?

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Honestly, when things don't go

our way, for me at least, we start

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to question and we have doubts.

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I know 100% for a fact that this

is true for many, many people.

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So let's remind ourselves.

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This is the story of Peter

and how he walked on water.

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How did he walk on water?

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And for this, we're going to go

ahead and read from our Bible

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Matthew 14:22 through 33.

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Okay.

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Have my handy-dandy Bible here,

so we are going to start reading

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how Peter walked on the water.

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Matthew 14:22: Immediately Jesus

made His disciples get into the boat

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and go before Him to the other side,

while He sent the multitudes away.

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Verse 23: And when He had sent

the multitudes away, He went up to

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the mountain by Himself to pray.

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Now when evening came, He was alone there.

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Verse 24: But the boat was now in

the middle of the sea, tossed by the

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waves, for the wind was contrary.

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Verse 25: Now in the fourth

watch of the night Jesus went

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to them, walking on the sea.

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He was walking on the sea while

the boat was tossing in the waves.

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What a sight.

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Verse 26: And when the disciples saw

Him walking on the sea, they were

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troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"

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And they cried out for fear.

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Verse 27: But immediately Jesus spoke

to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!

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It is I; do not be afraid."

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Verse 28: And Peter answered Him and

said, "Lord, if it is You, command

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me to come to You on the water."

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Verse 29: So He said, "Come."

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And when Peter had come down

out of the boat, he walked

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on the water to go to Jesus.

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Verse 30: But when he saw the wind

was boisterous, he was afraid;

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and beginning to sink he cried

out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

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Verse 31: And immediately Jesus

stretched out His hand and caught

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him, and said to him, "O you of

little faith, why do you doubt?"

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Verse 32

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And when they got into

the boat, the wind ceased.

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Verse 33: Then those who were in the

boat came and worshiped Him, saying,

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"Truly you are the Son of God."

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The word is so beautiful, honestly.

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That line always, always gets me.

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And honestly, now as I'm thinking here,

this is clearly not scripted, y'all.

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Oh my gosh

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Verse 31, I

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I feel like I quite literally can

hear this every single time our

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faith is tested and we come out of

whatever trial we're dealing with.

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I feel like I could hear him

saying this to us every time,

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time and time again, " Oh, you of

little faith, why did you doubt?"

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And why do we doubt?

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Why do we doubt?

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Because every single time that

we are going through something,

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we always make it another day.

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Yeah, it may not be exactly how we

wanted or if we got what we wanted

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from it, but we come out victorious.

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Some way, somehow, we come out victorious

and we are here yet another day

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Ah, thank you, Lord

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He is so good.

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And now we're going to begin with

section two of the study, which

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is how solid is my foundation

and how do I respond to trouble?

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So for me, the moments that my kids

say, "I'm sick," or something along

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those lines, "I'm not feeling well,"

my mind literally starts to spiral.

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The past experiences of them being sick

and how bad things got, honestly just

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rush in, and it's hard for me to get

a grip, and already know what will be.

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I already know the outcome of those

things, that it will be okay, but it's

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so hard for me to grasp onto that idea.

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So why do we default to those things?

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Perhaps to our idols, maybe to earthly

things that seem to give us comfort,

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because that's what we end up doing.

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How can we forget that the

ultimate comforter and peace

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provider is our Lord Jesus Christ?

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So let's analyze where it is that

we fall when those troubles arise.

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We're going to read 1 Corinthians

3:11, For no other foundation

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can anyone lay than that which

is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

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When I read this, it confused me

for a moment, but what it's saying

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is that the foundation is Jesus.

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No one else can lay any other foundation

other than what He is and what He can

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mean to us if we have faith in Jesus.

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Now, I'm expanding a little bit on

that because I want it to make sense

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for what I am asking you guys here,

and that's what is it that we default

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to when we are going through trouble?

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How solid is that foundation?

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How solid is Jesus Christ in your life?

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How solid is Jesus in my life when my

kids are sick, that I know Jesus has

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got it, my kids are going to be okay?

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And I'm going to be honest.

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I'm going to be honest.

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There have been times where I wasn't

as solid, and I was doubtful, and I

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lost some faith, and I lost some hope.

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That's normal, but we should know that if

He is our Lord and Savior, He has got it,

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and no matter the outcome, there is always

a purpose to what is bound to happen.

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So, in this section, we're

going to analyze what our

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idols are when things go wrong.

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And the first thing that you have

to do, as always, is be honest.

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Okay?

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So when things are going

wrong, do you pray?

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Do you panic?

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Do you lean on someone

for help that's not God?

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That's a key word, not God.

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Do you eat?

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That was me.

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If you heard episode one of

this podcast, you will know that

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I was a horrible binge eater.

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Still struggle from time to time,

but eating was my idol, was my

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go-to, was my comfort, instead

of Jesus and praying and God.

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Let's continue.

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Do you try to fix the problem yourself?

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Also me.

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Do you shut down?

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Do you become angry?

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Do you assume the worst?

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Yes, also me.

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Do you immediately seek God?

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Not before, but I do now.

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Or do you ignore the problem?

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Are you one of those people that just

kinda put it on the back burner and grab

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your phone and start doom scrolling?

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These are things that can be idols.

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So you have to think about those things.

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And again, I'll say what I said in section

one, take inventory of these things.

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What is it that you do?

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What do you go to?

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Who do you go to when you

are going through troubles?

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So let's read Philippians

chapter 4, verse 6 through 7.

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" Be anxious for nothing, but

in everything by prayer and

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supplication, with thanksgiving let

your requests be made known to God.

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And the peace of God, which surpasses

all understanding, will guard your

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hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

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Amen.

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Amen.

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Every time you're going through troubles,

you're having a hard time, pray.

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Prayer and give your supplications to

the Lord because He understands, He

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knows, and He will give you that peace

that you will know is from Him because

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you're like, "There is no way I'm going

through this and feel this at peace."

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That is only Jesus

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the next scripture that we are

going to read is Proverbs chapter

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three, verse five through seven.

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" Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding.

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In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He shall direct your paths."

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And He does.

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He directs your paths when you seek Him.

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You may not hear it at first because

it may be a little new to you, praying

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and confiding in Lord and just giving

a true, true, true surrender to God.

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That I thought I was in the beginning,

but let's face it, sometimes,

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sometimes it's not true surrender.

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However, when you truly give your life to

God, and you pray, and you're intentional

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about how you speak to Him, what you say

to Him, you just cry out for the Lord.

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Like, He knows your heart.

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He's going to guide your paths

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Lean on Him.

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Lean on Him even when

you don't understand it.

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Just lean on Him.

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Psalm 46:1, " God is our refuge and

strength, a very present help in trouble."

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Indeed, He is.

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So let's remind ourselves now,

this is the story of section two,

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and it's the story of Jehoshaphat.

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Jehoshaphat receives what would be

considered terrifying news in his time.

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This is a massive army that is

coming towards him against Judah,

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and you can find the story of

Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:1-22.

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So I'm not going to read the entire story,

but if you want to read it for yourselves

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and what he went through when this massive

army is coming towards Judah, you can

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find that again in 2 Chronicles 20:1-22.

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Now, when you think of an army coming

towards you, this is not today's

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day and age where we have all of

these, guns and things that we can

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actually defend ourselves with.

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This is the times of the Bible.

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Just, let's just put it

there for perspective.

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But if you put yourself in

his position and you receive

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this news, you're terrified.

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You're terrified and you

don't know what to do.

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So what do you do?

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Do you cry out to God?

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Do you start preparing?

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Do you hide?

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There are things that you

just cannot avoid in life.

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But what you can always, always,

always, always know and affirm to be

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true is God, and God has your back.

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So what would equate to something

that terrible in your life today?

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If you receive some terrible news,

something terrifying that just shakes

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you to your core, what would it be?

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What would that be in your life today?

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Now, would you respond like Jehoshaphat?

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I'm going to read how he responds

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So let's see what he says

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" Oh, our God, will you not judge them?

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For we have no power against this

great multitude that is coming

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against us, nor do we know what

to do, but our eyes are upon you."

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If you read that again to yourselves

and you break it down, you will

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understand the power behind those words.

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He's saying, "God, are you going to judge

these people that are coming against us?"

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Is he going to strike them down?

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Is he going to punish them?

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Vengeance is the Lord's, not ours.

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Okay, so first he questions that.

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Then he says, he admits even

to God, they have no power.

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"For we have no power against this

great multitude that is coming."

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He agrees, and he acknowledges

that they are powerless.

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But here is the kicker, and here is

the important part, which is how we, I

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pray that I can also do it, but how we

should respond in situations like this.

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"Nor do we know what to do,

but our eyes are upon you."

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So I pray that in situations like this,

if we get terrible news, if we get any

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sort of bad report, or if we learn of

just anything that breaks our hearts,

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even if we don't know what to do, if

we don't know why it's happening, if

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we don't understand it, I pray that we

can say, "But our eyes are upon you."

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My eyes are upon you, Lord

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And so, my friends, let's continue

with the last question that I have

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for you guys from section two.

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When you analyze situations like this and

you compare it to your life, can you and

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would you do any of the following things?

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Can you admit to God, "I

don't know what to do"?

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Admitting you're wrong and

admitting you're lost is very

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hard for a lot of people.

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Can you admit to anyone

that you need help?

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Asking for help, admitting that you can't

do something alone is even harder than

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saying you don't know what you're doing.

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"I need help" is something that many

people won't ever say in their lives.

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When you're lost in a problem or in a

situation, are your eyes actually on

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Jesus or are they only on the problem?

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Shift your focus.

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Shift your focus from the problem

and shift them onto the Lord,

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because when you seek Him first,

everything else will have clarity and

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everything else will fall in place.

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God is a God of order.

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He wants your eyes to be set on

Him first so that then He can

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do the work that He has to do.

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He can't do the work you want Him to do

if you're constantly stuck in the middle.

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He just can't.

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So are your eyes on the problem

or are your eyes on Jesus?

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I was going to do at least two more

sections of this study, but I feel

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that this is sufficient for now.

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And there has just been so many

important questions asked I don't

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want to take away from that.

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So it may not just be part one and two,

it may be part one, two, and three.

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I don't know yet.

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But that's the glorious thing about

how God works, that sometimes He

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feeds us things and information in

the times where we least expect it.

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And right now, as I said, I don't

want to take away from these

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questions that I just asked.

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Please, I pray that you go back and

you ask yourself these things because

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our faith is always under fire, always.

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Right now, analyze your life and

you will find at least one or two

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things that you are being tested in.

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I am 100% positive of that, as am I.

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I am currently going through things as

well, and that's okay ' cause we have

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God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit

that resides in us, and they are here

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to help us and guide us and protect us.

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And even in the midst of everything,

they continue to bless us.

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So my friends, thank you for joining us.

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I hope that you will be

here next week for part two.

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And thank you, guys.

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Love you, God bless you, and take care.