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Today we are going to take a posture of peace by asking the right question when we face trouble

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of any kind. Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you

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in everything. Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.

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In John 16 33 Jesus said, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.

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In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

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In John 16 33 here we find a beautiful promise for peace. For peace when it is needed the most.

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In trouble, any kind of trouble. Jesus wasn't specific so I'm guessing he means all.

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You know we've come to this promise again and again as a posture community because this

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scripture was key for me in my own story of overcoming anxiety, panic, and fear and so it

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has become written on my heart so I come back again and again to these precious words from

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Jesus because as we discussed last week the word of God is alive and active so there is always more

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to discover and experience the more we engage with the word of God. And there is a key here

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in John 16 33 that I want to share with you today. It is a key that will unlock you from the pressure

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of any trouble that you may be facing and it will open you up to peace because that's what keys do

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right? They lock, they unlock, and they open doors for us. You know Jesus said in the world you will

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have trouble, but take heart, other translations, be of good cheer, take courage, be encouraged, I

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have overcome the world. Jesus says in the world, but I. So here's the key, when you face trouble

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of any kind, make it about him before you make it about you. Again remember what we talked about

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last week in episode 177? You and I, we carry a greater word. Jesus, the living word of God,

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is living inside of us and we are hidden in him. The greater word outshines, outlasts, outperforms

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any other word spoken to us or spoken over us. This is good news because trouble speaks to us,

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trouble tries to speak over us, it tries to define us, it tries to dictate how we think, how we act,

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what we believe, who we believe, but when we focus on the greater word we see things accurately

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because we are looking at things through the lens of truth. So here is how I have been practicing

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using this key, making it more about him before making it about me in my own hard circumstances.

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When I face trouble, instead of asking why, I first ask who. Instead of playing mental gymnastics

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trying to figure out why is this happening, why me? Why the delay in getting this circumstance

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resolved? Why are things so hard right now? You know which, asking all those questions only puts

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my focus on me, right? My weakness, my inability, my lack, the misery of the circumstance I'm in,

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the limitations of worldly solutions and resources, all subtly breeding hopelessness in my head and

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heart. Instead of asking why, I put that question away and I ask who? Who is God? I remind myself

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of his nature and then I ask who does God want to be for me in this circumstance?

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What does he want to reveal to me about himself? And then I ask who am I becoming in him? Because

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remember Genesis 1 26, we are being made in his image and likeness and this is good news because

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Jesus said he has overcome the world, therefore we are overcomers too. Now I don't believe,

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I've talked about this before, I don't believe God causes trouble in our lives to teach us lessons,

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he's not an abusive father. Trouble is just what a broken world gives us, but God does take

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advantage of the trouble we face here in this broken world to transform us more into his

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glorious image and his victorious likeness. God loves to stand with you.

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you in your weakest places and empower growth in the lowest part of your life.

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This is who he is. He is the God who is with us in the valley of the shadow of death, Psalm 23.

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He is the God who makes a way in the wilderness and puts a river in the desert, Isaiah 43.

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He is the God who is our refuge and our strength and our very present help in times of trouble,

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Psalm 46. This is his nature. This is what we discover by asking who instead of asking why.

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He's standing with you right now in your low places today. And he's saying, you know,

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while we're here, let's take some more territory. Let's make the enemy pay. Let's heal. Let's

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restore. Let's redeem. Let's reconcile. Let's bring wholeness to every broken place.

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This is his nature. This is who he is. And who he is, is who you are becoming

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more and more every day. You're being made in his image and likeness. Your circumstances,

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your traumas do not have to be the thing that shapes you or defines your future.

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You can be free from all of that negativity today. Let his nature be what shapes you.

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Let his plans and purposes be what defines your future. That is what he is offering. He is

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offering himself. That's the kind of loving father that he is. Rich in mercy, abounding in love,

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steadfast in faithfulness. And he does not change even when our circumstances do.

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This is what we discover when we ask who. Any kind of trouble you face is just an opportunity

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to become more like him. That's why James writes, consider it pure joy when you face trouble of any

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kind. You're being upgraded. You're being empowered. You're being transformed. And

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that is very good news. That's a process you can actually delight in and not dread.

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So today, don't ask why. Start asking who.