May 22, 2025 • 12 mins
On episode 26, Tim explains how Jesus strengthened him on a day he felt drained and then provides context behind Philippians 4:13.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into episode number twenty six of Bring Heaven Down.
My name is Tim and I'm the host of this
daily devotional podcast. Wherever you're currently listening to this show,
hit that follow button so this podcast will show up
in your feed Monday through Friday. If you have a
question a thought, you can email the show Bring Heaven
(00:22):
Down number seven at gmail dot com. And speaking of
the email, yesterday, I shared a listener testimony and I
encouraged all of you listeners to share your testimony with
the email that we use for this show, and the
(00:46):
feedback has been incredible. I've received a ton of testimonies
and I cannot wait to share those testimonies on this
podcast moving forward. And I think the segment that we
are going to do is going to be called Tuesday Testimony.
(01:08):
So the testimonies that were shared with me yesterday and
throughout the future, I will share those on Tuesdays. And
if you're listening to this right now and you want
to share your testimony of how you were impacted by
Jesus or came to know Jesus, email the show Bring
(01:32):
Heaven Down number seven at gmail dot com. Bring Heaven
Down number seven at gmail dot com. On today's podcast,
I want to talk about my day yesterday and how
I was feeling and what happened, because I think it
(01:52):
could really be an encouragement to you. So grab your
favorite drink or a cupup coffee. Unlet's bring heaven a
little closer together. All right, Yesterday I was feeling drained.
(02:16):
I did not have a whole lot of energy, and
it was a long day. Wednesdays are a long day
because I'm up at five o'clock in the morning. I
record this podcast and my other podcast, which is a
Minnesota sports podcast, and then I go upstairs. Because I
(02:40):
work from home. I take care of our two children.
One is almost three, the other is fifteen months while
my wife sacrificially works for us on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays,
and yesterday was Wednesday, so she was working from seven
to five. And then when she gets home, I immediately
(03:03):
leave to attend church because I am the local youth
pastor at our church and youth group is on Wednesday nights. Yesterday,
I was exhausted. I was tired. It had been a
long week early mornings later nights. Doesn't help that the
(03:25):
Timberwolves are in the Western Conference Finals in the NBA,
so I stayed up late and watched that, which is
totally my fault. I was just feeling tired yesterday. And
the weather in Minnesota these last few days has been rough.
You couldn't go outside, you can't play outside. It's been
raining for like forty eight hours. And when it's raining outside,
(03:47):
you just feel a lack of energy. So yesterday I
was feeling bad for myself. It was one of those
days where I just wanted to feel bad for myself.
I'm tired, it's raining outside, my kids are bored because
we're stuck inside. I'm running out of different game options,
They're getting emotional, and I just felt a lack of motivation.
(04:14):
I felt the lack of energy, and I almost played
victim a little bit. I'm tired, I gotta take of
our kids all day. I almost wanted the world to
feel bad for me. And it's like, when you really
think about that, what good is that? And this podcast
(04:34):
really is going to be a testament to the power
of prayer, similar to the testimony that I shared yesterday,
because yesterday my kid that's fifteen months took a forty
(04:55):
five minute nap. He hasn't been napping great. He napped
from eleven forty five twelve thirty. And as soon as
I heard those christ our oldest is a napping anymore.
I rolled my eyes, shrugged my shoulders, and I was like,
oh wow, this stinks. So I go get them rock
(05:16):
with them in the chair. I know our son's going
to be emotional in the afternoon because only nap forty
five minutes. Our oldest is going through that phase of
not napping, so she's more emotional. And in this moment,
I looked up because when I pray, I like to
look up, like to set my eyes in my mind
(05:37):
on things above. It creates more intimacy for me with
Jesus instead of bowing my head and closing my eyes
when I do that, I almost get distracted or more
tired when I do that. So when I pray, I
personally like to look up as if I'm looking up
at Heaven and picturing Jesus in our church, in our house,
(06:02):
picturing a one on one relationship with Jesus looking up.
So I'm with her son in our chair in our
living room, and his head's resting on my shoulders, and
I looked up and I prayed. I said, Lord, give
me the strength, give me the energy, the patience to
do what I need to do to have a good afternoon,
(06:25):
to be a good loving husband, a good father, and
a faithful follower of You. Jesus, give me the right
attitude and good energy in the afternoon. And after that happened,
(06:48):
I felt a sudden shift in my attitude and my
energy because what was also draining me was the amount
of things that I had in my list of things
to do. I gotta do this, I gotta do that.
This thing's been going on for a while. I've been
wanting to vacuum our living room for about a month
(07:09):
and I haven't done that yet. I gotta send these
pictures to this one guy about our landscaping outside, and
just like all these different things that are going on
in my mind. So I created a list of things
to do, and then all of a sudden, I had
just had this outstanding energy for the rest of the day.
(07:29):
I was exhausted from like seven am until one pm,
and then from one pm until eleven PM, when my
wife and I settled down and went for bed, I
had tremendous energy. And the verse that speaks to me
during this podcast or this topic is Philippians four thirteen
(07:57):
and Philippians four to thirteen says I can do all
things through him. That's Jesus who strengthens me. Now you
have to be very careful about this verse because a
lot of people will take this verse and take it
out of context. The appropriate context for this verse focuses
(08:23):
on the God given power to endure any circumstance. In
verse twelve, the apostle Paul wrote this, I know what
it is to be in need, and I know what
it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well
(08:46):
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
So Paul had faced good times of abundance, but he
had also faced many trials of his faith, and in
Second Corinthians, chapter eleven, it says this the apostle Paul wrote,
(09:08):
five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes
minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once
I was pelted with stones. Three times I was shipwrecked.
I spent the night and a day in the open sea.
I have been constantly on the move. I have been
in danger from rivers in danger from bandits, in danger
(09:29):
for my fellow Jews, in danger from gentiles, in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger
at sea, and in danger from false believers. I have
labored and toiled, and have often gone without sleep. I
have known hunger and thirst, and have often gone without food.
I have been cold and naked. Paul believed and taunt
(09:55):
that he could persevere because he could do all things
through Him who gives him strength. This verse is largely
taken out of context because if you watch a sporting event,
a lot of people will say, Oh, I can do
all things through Christ, who strengthens me. But does this
verse really apply to that part of our life. It
(10:18):
is about overcoming, It is about persevering through difficulties and hardships,
and that's the focus of Philippians four thirteen. Yesterday I
focused my eyes on Jesus when I was exhausted, and
(10:38):
I prayed, and it was an emotional prayer. And the
rest of the day I had tremendous energy, to the
point where I was checking a ton of things off
my to do list, vacuum me, clean the toilet, organizing
our house, sending pictures, doing all of the things that
(10:58):
I was hoping to get done while also taking care
of our two kids and then going to youth group
and working until nine thirty. So my encouragement to you
today is when you are going through a challenging day
our week, pause, take a breath, meditate and think about
(11:25):
Jesus and pray. And maybe you want to do it
like I do, or however you want to do it
works best for you. I personally like to look up
focus my attention on Jesus because it's more emotional, it's
more intimate that way. Philippians four thirteen. I can do
(11:45):
all things through Christ, who strengthens me. When you need
to persevere, when you are going through hardships, that's when
the verse applies. That's when we can do all things
things through Christ because He strengthens us. And yesterday I
(12:08):
felt Jesus strengthen me. So going forward, if you're feeling down,
if you're feeling bad for yourself, if you're playing the
victim card a little bit, think about Jesus, think about
this verse, and I want to encourage you to pray.
(12:29):
Thank you for choosing Jesus today, And I hope this
podcast wasn't encouraging to you where Our prayer is that
the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more about our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you have a
great day.
Welcome into episode number twenty six of Bring Heaven Down.
My name is Tim and I'm the host of this
daily devotional podcast. Wherever you're currently listening to this show,
hit that follow button so this podcast will show up
in your feed Monday through Friday. If you have a
question a thought, you can email the show Bring Heaven
(00:22):
Down number seven at gmail dot com. And speaking of
the email, yesterday, I shared a listener testimony and I
encouraged all of you listeners to share your testimony with
the email that we use for this show, and the
(00:46):
feedback has been incredible. I've received a ton of testimonies
and I cannot wait to share those testimonies on this
podcast moving forward. And I think the segment that we
are going to do is going to be called Tuesday Testimony.
(01:08):
So the testimonies that were shared with me yesterday and
throughout the future, I will share those on Tuesdays. And
if you're listening to this right now and you want
to share your testimony of how you were impacted by
Jesus or came to know Jesus, email the show Bring
(01:32):
Heaven Down number seven at gmail dot com. Bring Heaven
Down number seven at gmail dot com. On today's podcast,
I want to talk about my day yesterday and how
I was feeling and what happened, because I think it
(01:52):
could really be an encouragement to you. So grab your
favorite drink or a cupup coffee. Unlet's bring heaven a
little closer together. All right, Yesterday I was feeling drained.
(02:16):
I did not have a whole lot of energy, and
it was a long day. Wednesdays are a long day
because I'm up at five o'clock in the morning. I
record this podcast and my other podcast, which is a
Minnesota sports podcast, and then I go upstairs. Because I
(02:40):
work from home. I take care of our two children.
One is almost three, the other is fifteen months while
my wife sacrificially works for us on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays,
and yesterday was Wednesday, so she was working from seven
to five. And then when she gets home, I immediately
(03:03):
leave to attend church because I am the local youth
pastor at our church and youth group is on Wednesday nights. Yesterday,
I was exhausted. I was tired. It had been a
long week early mornings later nights. Doesn't help that the
(03:25):
Timberwolves are in the Western Conference Finals in the NBA,
so I stayed up late and watched that, which is
totally my fault. I was just feeling tired yesterday. And
the weather in Minnesota these last few days has been rough.
You couldn't go outside, you can't play outside. It's been
raining for like forty eight hours. And when it's raining outside,
(03:47):
you just feel a lack of energy. So yesterday I
was feeling bad for myself. It was one of those
days where I just wanted to feel bad for myself.
I'm tired, it's raining outside, my kids are bored because
we're stuck inside. I'm running out of different game options,
They're getting emotional, and I just felt a lack of motivation.
(04:14):
I felt the lack of energy, and I almost played
victim a little bit. I'm tired, I gotta take of
our kids all day. I almost wanted the world to
feel bad for me. And it's like, when you really
think about that, what good is that? And this podcast
(04:34):
really is going to be a testament to the power
of prayer, similar to the testimony that I shared yesterday,
because yesterday my kid that's fifteen months took a forty
(04:55):
five minute nap. He hasn't been napping great. He napped
from eleven forty five twelve thirty. And as soon as
I heard those christ our oldest is a napping anymore.
I rolled my eyes, shrugged my shoulders, and I was like,
oh wow, this stinks. So I go get them rock
(05:16):
with them in the chair. I know our son's going
to be emotional in the afternoon because only nap forty
five minutes. Our oldest is going through that phase of
not napping, so she's more emotional. And in this moment,
I looked up because when I pray, I like to
look up, like to set my eyes in my mind
(05:37):
on things above. It creates more intimacy for me with
Jesus instead of bowing my head and closing my eyes
when I do that, I almost get distracted or more
tired when I do that. So when I pray, I
personally like to look up as if I'm looking up
at Heaven and picturing Jesus in our church, in our house,
(06:02):
picturing a one on one relationship with Jesus looking up.
So I'm with her son in our chair in our
living room, and his head's resting on my shoulders, and
I looked up and I prayed. I said, Lord, give
me the strength, give me the energy, the patience to
do what I need to do to have a good afternoon,
(06:25):
to be a good loving husband, a good father, and
a faithful follower of You. Jesus, give me the right
attitude and good energy in the afternoon. And after that happened,
(06:48):
I felt a sudden shift in my attitude and my
energy because what was also draining me was the amount
of things that I had in my list of things
to do. I gotta do this, I gotta do that.
This thing's been going on for a while. I've been
wanting to vacuum our living room for about a month
(07:09):
and I haven't done that yet. I gotta send these
pictures to this one guy about our landscaping outside, and
just like all these different things that are going on
in my mind. So I created a list of things
to do, and then all of a sudden, I had
just had this outstanding energy for the rest of the day.
(07:29):
I was exhausted from like seven am until one pm,
and then from one pm until eleven PM, when my
wife and I settled down and went for bed, I
had tremendous energy. And the verse that speaks to me
during this podcast or this topic is Philippians four thirteen
(07:57):
and Philippians four to thirteen says I can do all
things through him. That's Jesus who strengthens me. Now you
have to be very careful about this verse because a
lot of people will take this verse and take it
out of context. The appropriate context for this verse focuses
(08:23):
on the God given power to endure any circumstance. In
verse twelve, the apostle Paul wrote this, I know what
it is to be in need, and I know what
it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well
(08:46):
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
So Paul had faced good times of abundance, but he
had also faced many trials of his faith, and in
Second Corinthians, chapter eleven, it says this the apostle Paul wrote,
(09:08):
five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes
minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once
I was pelted with stones. Three times I was shipwrecked.
I spent the night and a day in the open sea.
I have been constantly on the move. I have been
in danger from rivers in danger from bandits, in danger
(09:29):
for my fellow Jews, in danger from gentiles, in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger
at sea, and in danger from false believers. I have
labored and toiled, and have often gone without sleep. I
have known hunger and thirst, and have often gone without food.
I have been cold and naked. Paul believed and taunt
(09:55):
that he could persevere because he could do all things
through Him who gives him strength. This verse is largely
taken out of context because if you watch a sporting event,
a lot of people will say, Oh, I can do
all things through Christ, who strengthens me. But does this
verse really apply to that part of our life. It
(10:18):
is about overcoming, It is about persevering through difficulties and hardships,
and that's the focus of Philippians four thirteen. Yesterday I
focused my eyes on Jesus when I was exhausted, and
(10:38):
I prayed, and it was an emotional prayer. And the
rest of the day I had tremendous energy, to the
point where I was checking a ton of things off
my to do list, vacuum me, clean the toilet, organizing
our house, sending pictures, doing all of the things that
(10:58):
I was hoping to get done while also taking care
of our two kids and then going to youth group
and working until nine thirty. So my encouragement to you
today is when you are going through a challenging day
our week, pause, take a breath, meditate and think about
(11:25):
Jesus and pray. And maybe you want to do it
like I do, or however you want to do it
works best for you. I personally like to look up
focus my attention on Jesus because it's more emotional, it's
more intimate that way. Philippians four thirteen. I can do
(11:45):
all things through Christ, who strengthens me. When you need
to persevere, when you are going through hardships, that's when
the verse applies. That's when we can do all things
things through Christ because He strengthens us. And yesterday I
(12:08):
felt Jesus strengthen me. So going forward, if you're feeling down,
if you're feeling bad for yourself, if you're playing the
victim card a little bit, think about Jesus, think about
this verse, and I want to encourage you to pray.
(12:29):
Thank you for choosing Jesus today, And I hope this
podcast wasn't encouraging to you where Our prayer is that
the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more about our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you have a
great day.
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