November 15, 2024 • 37 mins
Amidst the chaos of personal upheaval and natural disasters, have you ever wondered if your faith could endure? Join us as Sarge courageously shares his journey from New Jersey to Florida, where he faced not just the wrath of nature but a profound crisis of faith. Find out how a chance meeting with a CEO battling a mental health crisis became a pivotal moment of community and empathy, offering insights into the necessity of acknowledging our doubts and seeking support when our spiritual and emotional worlds collide.
Listen to the heartwarming tale of human connection and support as Mark discusses the transformative power of seemingly small acts of faith. With the encouragement of Sarge, a guiding light during dark times, Mark illustrates the ripple effect of kindness and companionship. Explore how stepping out of comfort zones can reveal divine interventions in our lives, emphasizing that offering presence and understanding can mirror the essence of Jesus without the need to "fix" others.
Concluding with a heartfelt prayer for our listeners, we extend an invitation to be part of a community rooted in hope and healing. We express gratitude and encourage you to share your stories, feedback, and even join us on future episodes. Connect with us on social media and visit foxholesymphony.com to keep the conversation going, fostering a network where faith and human connection thrive.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community In our
foxhole.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Men are equipped to build relationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone, they call me the Maestro and we are
back in the foxhole where weactively pursue belonging,
accountability and growththrough authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole today talking about what
happens when our faith fails.
Well, gentlemen, that's goingto take some heavy lifting.
(00:50):
Remember, use your legs.
All right, everybody, grab acomfy seat, open your favorite
notes app and let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Hey welcome back to the Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Mark.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
And I'm Sarge.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Hey, good morning bro , oh, it's good to be withhole
Symphony.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Podcast.
I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Mark and I'm.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Sarge.
Hey, good morning bro.
Oh, it's good to be with you,bro.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
It's really really great to see you.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Good to see you too.
So yeah, let me tell you alittle bit about my week.
As you know, I've been now inFlorida for oh gosh, what's it
been About?
A little more than eight weeks,maybe 10 weeks, which has gone
really fast, you know, a coupleof hurricanes, bunch of
tornadoes, just bizarre.
(01:31):
But you know, moved down herebecause I, you know, really
really felt called and you knowfor exactly what wasn't really
sure and still don't havecomplete clarity, but I have, I
have faith that, um, the callingwas, uh, was clear and sure.
And you know, just recently,you know, god's begun to really
(01:55):
open some doors and you know,when he does that I just tend to
step through them and say, okay, lord, what's, what's behind?
Door number three you knowwhat's over here, and so it's
been beautiful.
You know launched a new smallgroup about six weeks ago.
That's hitting a stride.
It's very small, you know sixto eight guys.
(02:17):
Yeah, awesome.
Really there's some intensity,there's some intentionality and
really some beautiful heart workbeing done.
And then this week was invitedto a forum of CEOs and
executives and went to that and,man, it was so beautiful, just
(02:38):
beautifully authentic andintentional and intentional.
And there was one guy therethat just openly shared that
he's in the midst of a mentalhealth crisis, dealing with
depression, and he's aboutalmost a year into this now and
he's just frozen.
He's frozen in almost everyaspect of his life and including
(03:02):
his business, doesn't know whatto do.
And he's got some majordecisions to make and, of course
, you know, in the midst of amental health crisis is not the
best time to be making majordecisions for your life and your
business, but he's, they'resort of being forced on him a
little bit.
And so, man, I just, god, justsoftened my heart for him.
And you know, as you know andour listeners may may not know,
you know, I dealt with a deepdepression a number of years ago
(03:24):
.
I was maybe, I don't know, 10years ago, something like that.
You know, long story short.
Because of that, I justunderstood what he was sharing.
I just I understood exactlywhere he was and I could picture
it, you know, and he was justtalking about how his wife looks
at him and is like I don't knowwhat's happening with you, you
(03:45):
know, and I don't know how tohelp you.
And you know his employees, andhe's just kind of, you know,
sitting and hiding, and so,anyway, I kind of reached out to
him and I said, hey, I wouldlove to connect with you and
walk with you, you know, ifyou're open to that.
And he was very open to thatand and jumped all over it, and
(04:05):
so we've been texting this weekand invited him for coffee
yesterday morning and spent acouple of hours having coffee
and he said something to me thatthat really struck me and it
was this he asked me when I wasin the midst of my crisis and
(04:26):
depression.
He said did you question God'sexistence?
Like, did you question thetruth?
I had my Bible with me and hewas looking at the Bible.
He said did you question, like,all of that?
And I had to really stop andthink about that for a second
and an image came to my mind andI remember sitting on my patio
(04:48):
looking out and and, just, youknow, feeling dark and and grim
and and crying out to God sayingI, you know, where are you in
this, like, where are you?
I don't, I can't see you, Ican't hear you, like, you know,
are you out there?
(05:08):
Are you real?
And I it's again.
It was just this very dark,myopic view at the moment and I
shared that story with him,which he was, he was grateful
for, I think, just theacknowledgement that he's not
alone in that, and.
But I wanted to bring that storyup right, because you know,
what do we do Like, what do wedo when we have a crisis of
(05:31):
faith Right, what do we do whenyou know we're unsure, right,
like, and, and you know, Ithought of our friend Dennis.
You know our friend DennisSummers.
You know I remember him oftenpraying like Lord, help me in my
unbelief, right, and there's,we talked about this, I think,
(05:54):
in an episode or two ago.
But the difference betweenbelief and faith, right and the,
the, you know the difference isfaith.
Faith requires action and Ishared that with him, you know,
as we sat and had coffee and andand encouraged him, you know,
to to, um, to do a number ofthings, and and so you know we
(06:14):
can get, we can get into that,but I just wanted to open it up
for a second.
And you know, ask you like what?
What comes to mind when we talkabout, you know, uh, crises of
faith, or, or when our faithfails.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well, the very first thing that popped into my head
when you said it, when yourfriend asked a question, is the
Bible verse about God Jesussaying I will never leave you, I
will never forsake you.
And then the end of John'sgospel.
I think it's the very end whereJesus says and I will be with
(06:52):
you even to the end of the age.
Those were the words, andthat's just like me, because
Lord knows, my faith never fails.
No-transcript.
(07:29):
Whether it's something that thatbinds you or restricts you or,
you know, makes you cave up, isanother level of depression.
But I my my heart certainlygoes out to that man because
first of all, I want to fix himand help him.
Right, I'm just being honest,as usual, but I quickly would
(07:59):
want to connect him with someone, if not myself or you that
understood the word, pardon me,understood the word and how
important, like when he pointedto your Bible and said do you
believe all that?
And I can just see that.
That moment, and knowing thatyou affirmed the truth in there,
(08:20):
right, isn't that that momentwhere you want to be able to
just flip it open and go look.
It says right here.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, I did oh, that's exactly, that's exactly
what I did.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And I said you mean, I could see you doing that.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You, you mean this, you know, and and so, um,
because I get it like and not to, not to to judge him, but just
to start reading some scripture,to judge him, but just to start
reading some scripture and andand sharing.
You know, sharing that with him, and so, you know, in in the
(08:55):
Psalms and some of the thingsthat came to mind, you know were
.
You know, again, faith requiresaction, right?
So if we're having a crisis offaith, the best thing we could
do is take a step right is act.
So, you know, one of the thingsI ask them is what is just one
small incremental step?
I mean, here's a man that'sfrozen and I get it, I've been
(09:16):
there, I understand Like takingone step feels monumental, but
leaving behind all the bigdecisions, right, and, and just
looking at right here, right now, right in front of me, what's?
What's one small thing I can do, and there's a number of them.
It's like, take your pick.
(09:37):
There's a litany of them andwe'll get, and we'll get to that
.
But you know, one of the thingswe uncovered is that was similar
was when I was having my crisisand he's in his crisis.
One of the similarities that Iwant to mention, just in case
you know.
For those of you that are outthere, either walking with
someone who's in a similarcrisis, or maybe you are
(09:57):
yourself or you have been, butyou know we both were living in
the future or in the past ratherthan in the present.
Yeah, and so you know, godobviously transcends all time,
but for us, right, if I'mthinking constantly about the
(10:23):
future and I'm in crisis, well,most likely there's overwhelming
fear about the uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Something's coming, right Right.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
You can't control Yep Exactly, and in the past
there's shame, regret, right,denial, deceit, yep, right, all
of these things that happen,right I I attach or identify
myself with, so I'm I'm eitherliving out of this fear of the
unknown or I'm attaching myselfin my identity to these past
(10:56):
circumstances or mistakes or, orwhatever it may be, wounds that
have that have stemmed fromthat Right, and neither is,
neither is good, and, of course,when it comes to life and
business, we need to look aheadand we need to reflect, and
there's really healthy thingsthere, but in this state of
crisis, specifically taking anincremental step to help remain
(11:23):
present is so critical.
So what, what are you know?
What are those, those things?
And there's and there's,there's just so many of them and
so, uh, anything come to mindfor you like what it would look
like to take a tiny littleincremental step to be present.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Sure, first thing is you're.
You're singing to me becauseyou're right in my sweet spot of
breaking down a big probleminto small pieces.
I I use that at work, not everyday, but that is my mantra
Everyone's tired.
I've worked with the samepeople a long time and they've
tired of hearing it.
But and I do that at home too,and it drives my family mad
(12:08):
because you know you want tojust get something done and how
do I fix this?
Or how do I get here, and so on.
And often I'll tell my boys orI'll talk to Ria and I'll say
hey, let's just, let's take thisin parts.
So, first off, I think we'reheaded down the right path and
you made a great suggestion tothis guy at Over Coffee.
The first thing I would do inmy life was be outdoors.
(12:30):
I would get out in creation.
The small step I would take isnot start doing, because my
nature would be to start doingstuff, just literally accomplish
tasks that I could check off alist, to feel good about myself
for a few minutes.
But I've learned to slow downand listen and get out in
creation.
(12:51):
So the direct answer to yourquestion is go outside, look
around, look at what God did foryou for me.
That grounds me.
I would literally take my shoesoff and stand on the earth.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's a great suggestion.
It's a great suggestion, one,one we talked about, and that
word grounding, that's exactlywhat it does.
That's exactly what happens.
And you know, one of the thingswe talked about, uh, before we
get to the list of many otherthings was that, you know, I
remember a lot of people tellingme I had a spiritual problem,
(13:28):
right, that my depression wasspiritual, and I understand now
what they meant, but at the timeit was soul crushing, because
what I heard was you're notspiritual enough.
Yeah, right.
And so I think we need to bereally, really careful about
that, because we're not justspiritual beings, we're physical
(13:51):
beings, we're psychologicalbeings, we're emotional beings
and it's all interconnected.
And so that's one of the thingswe talked about.
And so, as a physical being, toget outside and to look up, to
see the wind blowing, the leaves, to take note of the senses,
(14:12):
right, what am I smelling, whatam I feeling in the breeze, is
it hot, is it cold?
To feel my bare feet in thesand or on the street or in the
grass, and is is grounding.
God gave us those senses for areason, and one of those was to
be grounded in the present andin his creation and that
(14:33):
physical act alone draws us outof ourselves, right, and into
his creation.
That's it, right.
Great, great, great suggestion.
Um, one of the one of the otherthings that I shared with him
as we looked at the scripturesand I said, yeah, I recall, you
(14:56):
know, questioning and my, youknow his existence and and and,
or even his presence in my life,like why is this happening to
me and where are you and why canI hear you and why can I see
you?
And you know all of these things, and, um, uh, I, you know, one
of the things I brought up wasjust praying through the Psalms.
You know, praying through thePsalms and, and you know, not
(15:16):
just reading them but insertingmy name and inserting myself, I,
me, steve, in each of thePsalms, right, and praying them,
because in that state it's sohard to pray for yourself, I
mean you're, you're, you're,you're unbelieving, you're
having a crisis of faith, youknow, so, you know to, to have a
(15:41):
guide, to to pray.
And then the Psalms, of course,I mean here, you know, david,
you know, I mean there's thissoul crushing, crying out right,
there's crises of faith, andthen there's praise and there's
glory, and there's all thesethings, these highs and lows,
and it's just such a beautifulact to be able to go through
(16:02):
that.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
It's just such a beautiful act to be able to go
through that and as you do that,god responds and begins to
restore your belief and faithand shows up.
That spiritual healing thatcomes through the word is
unmistakable.
I also think if I was on thereceiving end of that suggestion
, that sounds like a big bite tome, a big chunk.
I might suggest talk to God,like if I wish someone had
(16:36):
taught me to pray a long timeago and just said talk to God,
just talk, literally just talk.
Get in your car where no onecan hear you, open the windows,
of crack so you don't suffocate,and talk, just be present with
the Lord, yeah, in whateverwords you want, yeah, and that's
(16:58):
a good suggestion.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
He had been sharing with me how he's been doing that
, you know, for a year, and butagain, doesn't hear from him,
doesn't see him, and that'swhere you know, and and yet
doesn't crack open the word ofGod, which, which is powerful,
Right and um, you know, sothere's.
There's just something about,and so what I told him is like
(17:19):
one Psalm a day, like Psalm onestarted, Psalm one right Psalm a
day, like Psalm one started,Psalm one right, and just go
through and resonate and again,I think, given the, the, the
state that the state of being ina crisis of faith and even a
mental health crisis, um, thePsalms in particular, uh, are,
are so appropriate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Oh, it's, it's.
I know you, right, your heartis so good there and I, it
wasn't a bad suggestion.
You made me think of ourbrother, PA Pedro Aloysius
Tippett right, he actually.
You know his story about nothearing from God.
He actually gave me a book thatwe talked about over coffee two
weeks ago and the title of thebook is God on mute.
(18:03):
Wow, it was his way of provingto me that God on Mute.
Wow, it was his way of provingto me that God wasn't talking to
him and or he couldn't hearfrom God.
But he has come to understandthe value of that quiet time.
And maybe a suggestion to yournew friend is by the way, there
are periods, there are sectionsof my life where the Lord has
(18:25):
been very quiet, and he has apurpose for that as well 100%.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
That's exactly where we went.
That's exactly the next part ofthe conversation that we had.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
And I wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Yeah, and the beautiful part of that is that,
again, I just want to pick up onthe last part of what you said,
and that is God's purposes,which are absolutely perfect.
And so, even though God mayfeel far away and may seem quiet
, god is at work.
God is at work, he is doingsomething in this, and so we
(19:03):
started to unpack that it wasn'ta psychiatry session.
He was actually going off to anew, uh therapist, and so just
was wanted to give him some uhpotential context to talk
through with his therapist CauseI'm not a therapist, uh, but
but some of that was again goingback to looking out in the
(19:23):
future, going back in the past,and you know what might God be
doing through this?
You know, and I talked about,you know just how, you know,
leading up to my crisis, I washolding on to all these things.
You know, I was burdened byfeeling the weight of the world
on my shoulders and grippingwhatever it was, and some of
(19:45):
those things were the safety andsecurity of my kids.
Right, they're, they'reflourishing.
I am solely responsible forthat and absolutely have to
control those outcomes and makesure that my kids never, you
know, die in a horrific caraccident or, you know, uh, from
a drug overdose or, you know, orsexually assaulted.
You know all these, all thesehorrors that would go through my
(20:07):
mind Right, sure, and I wouldhold onto that.
I've, I'm, I'm, I've got tomake sure that that never
happens to them, you know.
And then things with other other.
You know things with business,things with finance, you know
all these different areas thatyou know.
In God's quiet, somehow, someway, he was, he was showing me
(20:27):
what I was gripping onto andjust waiting for me to finally
open up my grip, literally, yeah.
And so I asked him what is ityou're clinging to, what is what
is firmly within your graspthat you may be aware of or not
so aware of and perhapsunwilling to release, to
(20:53):
surrender, to open up and lay atthe foot of the cross?
Is there, is there somethingyou know?
His eyes lit up and was likeyou know, clearly things were
coming to mind and I'm like thatthat might be some things to
work on with your therapist, youknow.
And so you know, that's sort ofthe the psychological part of
this, right, and the emotionalpart of this is, like you know,
it comes down to control, whichis mostly an illusion, right, I
(21:16):
mean, I can actually controlvery few things in my life.
There are some things I cancontrol, um, you know, like my
choices and things of thatnature.
You know, like my choices andthings of that nature.
But beyond that, yeah, right,you know, and so I remember,
many years ago, as my kids weregoing into their, you know,
early teen years, you know,really, just, or even gosh,
(21:38):
going 10, 11, 12, you know, 13,like, just coming to this
acknowledgement that that that Ican't, I can't rescue them,
that God is their savior.
You know, I'm not God, he isand he's their God and he loves
them a million times more than Iever could, right, so all of
(21:58):
these things that I had to, Ihad to come to these conclusions
through the word of God,through other people in my life,
right, um, and but, but havingto be still long enough to, to,
to come to those conclusions, tohear those things, to become
(22:18):
aware of those things, to getout of the future and the past
and to be present long enough tocome to those conclusions, it's
just hard to do.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Oh my goodness, the key word I heard you say was
surrender.
How do you tell a man who'sfrozen to surrender but that's
it.
The ultimate answer, when youdistill it down and filter it
out, is there's a surrenderrequired, and it's not easy to
do.
It's easy to say that you'resurrendered, but you know it's
not easy to do.
It's easy to say that you'resurrendered, but you know it's
(22:48):
work.
I've watched you model withother men.
you know about your greatestfears, what you just shared with
everybody listening right Aboutyour kids and know the depth of
your feeling with that, and youdon't care any less that you've
surrendered it to God.
You still don't want yourchildren to have any of those
accidents you mentioned.
(23:09):
Right, a matter of fact, youprobably want that more.
But the comfort that comes, thepeace that comes from knowing
that God has them, andacknowledging, coming to the
conclusion of what I can andcannot control.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Yeah, right, like here's how I can influence my
children and some things that Ican control, and the choices
that I make and the things thatI say to them and how I invest
in that Right, and then thethings that I can't, which is
the outcomes Right.
So, in almost every aspect ofour lives.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, we just get to the master's class right there,
because you surrender it to God,and you and I are looking at
each other now smiling incomfort.
But there's a part of this thatis well.
What if something bad doeshappen?
Yeah, did God forget what?
Wait right.
All of a sudden, you know, talkabout a crisis of faith.
Yes, that's another layer.
That's not when your faithfails, it's when you have
(24:03):
surrendered.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
And then in this world that is a broken, dark
world something bad happens,something like situation last
night right I've beenencountering that conversation
situation last night, right,I've been encountering that
conversation weekly with youknow, various people and uh, men
that he's placed in my path and, um, you know, it's um, there's
(24:30):
so much to it, there's so muchto it, but, um, yes, I mean
these, this crisis of faith when, uh, you know when, when we
feel as though we've beenabandoned, right, uh, or God has
allowed something, or even even, you know, some have suggested,
(24:50):
done something, you know, um,and so again, I don't want to
get into you know all of thatright now, but on the tail end
of that, you know, we see it allthe time in the, you know men's
weekends.
We're about to, you know, goserve on a weekend and we're
going to hear all kinds ofstories of, you know, pain and
(25:10):
trauma and abandonment, and andyou know all kinds of things
that you know leave you sayingGod, why, how Right, and, and so
, yeah, I mean, yes, we do.
We live in a broken world and,you know, filled, filled with,
(25:33):
you know, sin and trauma andhurt, and but God, but God, but
God, but God, you know, andrestores, steps in and, you know
, brings healing and restorationand reveals who he is in that
and even, and as much so,reveals who we are in that and
(25:56):
that's the other piece I wantedto get to is that our identity
right, like who is God and thenwho are we, who are we in him,
and how much does that informthe lens through which we see
things?
It informs every piece of it,Every piece of our lens right of
it, every piece of our lensright it is.
You know, we've got to look inthe mirror and say, okay, like
(26:25):
how, how am I defined?
You know, what is my identity,what is my mission, my purpose
and my identity, who?
Again, this, you know, who am I?
Right, it's like, you know,getting into some self-help
stuff, but it's not justself-help, it's biblical, it's
this is, you know, we, you knowas, as sons of God, you know
righteous, because he isrighteous, and all of these
things right.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Who am I in Christ?
Might be the full questionright, that's exactly right.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
That's exactly not just who, who are we, but who
are we in Christ, and so, yeah,lots here.
Can you think of anything elsein a practical nature?
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yes, small step.
Yeah, I've been waiting to sayit.
Does he, does this man know I'mgoing to call him Sam?
Does he know how blessed he wasthat God put Steve Sargent in
his path and the Steve Sargentsof the world, the men around
that?
What?
What I would do I'd?
I'd go outside and get groundedand appreciate creation.
I would seek professional helpand I would find men to gather
(27:18):
around me to help.
Not I've got the, you know,I've got the hammer and duct
tape right here.
Baby, you need fixed.
I can fix you, but that's notwhat this is about.
This is about think through theconnections in your life that
led you to this man.
Yeah, bro, 10 weeks ago youlived in.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
New Jersey.
Yeah, it's pretty wild, it's,it's pretty bizarre actually,
and and that is the piece, likeI, it is so God ordained.
I don't think he sees it yet, Idefinitely do.
I'm like, oh man, this is, thisis, this is incredible, like.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I don't want to be there when he does.
I.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I thank God that you know I have't.
You want to be there when hedoes I.
I thank God that you know Ihave the opportunity to come
alongside this man and just justwalk with him and just be there
for him and just make sure Iremind him.
You know I'm texting him andcalling him and we're, you know,
connecting him and it's onlybeen a few days but he's eating
it.
I'm sending him.
You know God gave me adevotional for him this morning
that I haven't sent him yet, butI will.
(28:16):
Oh, great, and you know there'sum, you know God's at work in
this and he will.
I believe that this man willcome to the conclusion and and
and acknowledge and see thethread, just what God did in,
you know, sending me to him andhim to me in this and um, me to
(28:40):
him and him to me in this and um, and I think that'll be part of
you know what pulls him out ofthis dark space.
You know, um, and it's justpart of God at work, and and.
So, yes, he.
Now I will say this man isstrong enough, thank God, to say
yes, he's not hiding, he is,he's stepping out.
He's grabbing the olive astranger he's going to these
groups, he's, yeah, meeting withme, and he just totally opens
(29:01):
and they're like what do you?
What have you got?
I'm law, right, like clearlydesperate, you know, at the end
end of his rope.
But, um, but those acts offaith.
It's such a beautiful thingthat you brought up, because
that alone him saying yes, I'llhave coffee with you is an act
of faith.
To say I don't't, I have no, Idon't even know this man, I
don't trust this man, I don't, Idon't know, not, I got nothing.
(29:24):
I'm going to go sit.
I'm gonna go sit and have a cupof coffee.
And you know, cause, what do Igot to lose?
Yeah, cause God opened the doorRight, and he so, so, like at
the same time.
You know, it's just sobeautiful, right, like for us,
we can see it.
He's, he's clouded right now,but for us, we can see where
he's just praying.
God, are you real?
Where are you?
What do you do?
Right?
And here we are sitting havingcoffee and he's still saying the
(29:46):
same thing and I'm just smiling.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It's beautiful.
Look, you're making me think ofour episode called Ripples.
It was episode 34, february24th 2023.
And this guy is sitting in akayak right and there are
ripples, there are waves comingat him from far away and he
doesn't know, has no idea whatthe origin of the ripples are.
(30:10):
And I'm reminded of the factyou and I talked about I know I
said it in the episode Rememberwhen you dropped the rock in the
water, in the pond, and youthink the ripples are going away
from you, but they're alsocoming at you.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Right, and then you look away because for you, the
ripple is done, but that ripplekeeps going.
It gets a little smaller, right, the height of the ripple gets
smaller as it goes across thepond, but that ripple keeps
going, and that's what'shappening here.
This man is blessed and you,sarge, you may play your role
(30:49):
with this man and never knowwhen he comes back right.
This message now is forfaithful believers and listeners
who say I know what to do witha guy like this, which you and I
are not trained to do, but infaith, we're doing what we feel
in our hearts would be helpful.
Right, we're not trying to fixhim, no, but we are letting him
(31:13):
know.
There's one answer, there's justone, and his name is Jesus and
he looks a lot like SteveSargent On that day, for that
coffee and that devotional andwhatever else you do and all the
other things you're going to do, you're rippling in this man's
life for a moment, yeah, andthen God's got the rest.
(31:35):
That's right.
That's right, actually, god'sgot all of it, but he's got all
of it, but he's got the rest.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Yeah, and it's again, it's just, um, you know, yeah,
when those those opportunitiesarise, um, you know, like I,
there was a thought where I waslike man, I don't know this guy,
he doesn't even know me, likeI'm not going to bother him, the
guy's depressed, he doesn'twant to hear from me, right,
like those thoughts went throughmy head and I was like what do
you mean?
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
(32:02):
You know he's crying out, youknow, and so, um, yeah, so I
would just encourage people toask God, you know, ask, ask God,
um, and you know, I've beenpraying because, again, I'm new
down here, don't have a lot ofrelationships.
I've been praying God, what isit you want to do down here?
What is it you want to do?
What is it?
And like, lead me, open thedoors, put somebody in my doors,
bring somebody to my doorstepthat I can minister to.
(32:24):
And it was like, boom, you know,here, and this man, and this
man, this man, and there areothers, are we willing?
You know, when he calls us, arewe willing to say, yeah, you
know, send me, I'll go.
They're willing to put asidewhatever it is that we're
working on, whatever it is weneed to do, you know, can we get
out of our own way.
(32:45):
And I'm not sitting here sayinglike that's always me, no, like
I have to be so focused andintentional about, you know,
looking for that and doing that.
And I, I often think, how manyhave I missed?
How many have I missed?
Cause I just was, you know,head down, I got stuff to do, I
got to go, you know, and so wedon't even know, right, but when
we're, when we're looking,saying who can I, where can I be
(33:12):
in the hands and feet of Jesus,today, this moment, this hour?
You know, every hour, whereverwe are, wherever we are, and all
of a sudden, you know, um besurprised how many opportunities
he really gives us.
And um, and the work that hedoes in our own hearts through
that, you know, shows us a lotabout ourselves too.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I have this vague recollection of a stranger
showing up at my front doorabout 18 years ago that was in a
similar position years ago thatwas in a similar position.
Yeah, so pretty, prettyinteresting.
Um, just juxtaposition for me.
(33:49):
We're thinking about what Godwas up to at that time and look
look at the fruit of that chancemeeting between you and I,
right.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean talk about ripples.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Wow, god's good, god's good.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Sure is.
Well, this is a greatconversation and certainly we
just skimmed the surface.
You know of some really hardareas and so, um, you know, I
will say if, if you arelistening and you're, uh,
dealing with depression, you'redealing with a mental health
crisis, let somebody know.
Let somebody know and let usknow Jeez, absolutely, send us a
(34:29):
message.
We'd love to talk with you,we'd love to you know, listen to
you and just come alongside you.
You're not alone, You're neveralone, and he, most importantly,
will never leave you norforsake you, and so, yeah, as
believers, he holds us in hisrighteous right hand and we'll,
(34:52):
yeah, so, hallelujah, beautifultime together.
Thank you, and thanks forconnecting with me this morning
and, hey, thanks for listeningto another episode of Foxhole
Symphony Podcast, and maybethere's somebody you want to
share this one with Somebody outthere that maybe needs to hear
this one.
You know, I pray that there aremost of you are not in a crisis
(35:13):
of faith and certainly not in amental health crisis but who
needs to hear this message, andso don't just be you, but be you
in Christ.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Amen Peace, brother Peace.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
When our faith fails, what do we do?
Well, the short answer is thatwe need more of the very thing
that seemed to fail us God andHis Word.
He holds the answer.
But how do we get back to thatplace?
How do we overcome that chasmthat seems to be between us and
God?
I think Mark and Steve made acompelling case for seeking out
(35:49):
brothers in Christ, thoseauthentic relationships, those
men in our foxhole.
It's there where we can speakour truth.
It's definitely not easy, but,my friend, it's powerful.
We reveal that brokenness andwe drag it, kicking and
screaming, into the light.
(36:10):
And when we do that, we havenow started the process of
coming home to our loving father, that we have now started the
process of coming home to ourloving Father.
We get to stand up with ourfeet on firm ground and ask God
to help us move forward fromthat brokenness revealed.
Then we commit time to God,which means reading His Word,
(36:31):
praying and listening, not surewhere to start.
Well, just as Steve mentionedearlier, how about you read one
psalm a day, but ask God to helpyou hear from him as you read?
What truth do I need to hear?
God?
Help me to commune with you,lord, and make your message
(36:53):
clear to me.
And make your message clear tome.
Keep walking, brother.
You're almost home.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
only you can do.
(37:14):
In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcast.
Be sure to subscribe so youknow when new episodes drop, and
please rate us and commentthere too, as it'll help us get
found by others who couldbenefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
(37:40):
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
just be you.
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community In our
foxhole.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Men are equipped to build relationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone, they call me the Maestro and we are
back in the foxhole where weactively pursue belonging,
accountability and growththrough authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole today talking about what
happens when our faith fails.
Well, gentlemen, that's goingto take some heavy lifting.
(00:50):
Remember, use your legs.
All right, everybody, grab acomfy seat, open your favorite
notes app and let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Hey welcome back to the Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Mark.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
And I'm Sarge.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Hey, good morning bro , oh, it's good to be withhole
Symphony.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Podcast.
I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Mark and I'm.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Sarge.
Hey, good morning bro.
Oh, it's good to be with you,bro.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
It's really really great to see you.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Good to see you too.
So yeah, let me tell you alittle bit about my week.
As you know, I've been now inFlorida for oh gosh, what's it
been About?
A little more than eight weeks,maybe 10 weeks, which has gone
really fast, you know, a coupleof hurricanes, bunch of
tornadoes, just bizarre.
(01:31):
But you know, moved down herebecause I, you know, really
really felt called and you knowfor exactly what wasn't really
sure and still don't havecomplete clarity, but I have, I
have faith that, um, the callingwas, uh, was clear and sure.
And you know, just recently,you know, god's begun to really
(01:55):
open some doors and you know,when he does that I just tend to
step through them and say, okay, lord, what's, what's behind?
Door number three you knowwhat's over here, and so it's
been beautiful.
You know launched a new smallgroup about six weeks ago.
That's hitting a stride.
It's very small, you know sixto eight guys.
(02:17):
Yeah, awesome.
Really there's some intensity,there's some intentionality and
really some beautiful heart workbeing done.
And then this week was invitedto a forum of CEOs and
executives and went to that and,man, it was so beautiful, just
(02:38):
beautifully authentic andintentional and intentional.
And there was one guy therethat just openly shared that
he's in the midst of a mentalhealth crisis, dealing with
depression, and he's aboutalmost a year into this now and
he's just frozen.
He's frozen in almost everyaspect of his life and including
(03:02):
his business, doesn't know whatto do.
And he's got some majordecisions to make and, of course
, you know, in the midst of amental health crisis is not the
best time to be making majordecisions for your life and your
business, but he's, they'resort of being forced on him a
little bit.
And so, man, I just, god, justsoftened my heart for him.
And you know, as you know andour listeners may may not know,
you know, I dealt with a deepdepression a number of years ago
(03:24):
.
I was maybe, I don't know, 10years ago, something like that.
You know, long story short.
Because of that, I justunderstood what he was sharing.
I just I understood exactlywhere he was and I could picture
it, you know, and he was justtalking about how his wife looks
at him and is like I don't knowwhat's happening with you, you
(03:45):
know, and I don't know how tohelp you.
And you know his employees, andhe's just kind of, you know,
sitting and hiding, and so,anyway, I kind of reached out to
him and I said, hey, I wouldlove to connect with you and
walk with you, you know, ifyou're open to that.
And he was very open to thatand and jumped all over it, and
(04:05):
so we've been texting this weekand invited him for coffee
yesterday morning and spent acouple of hours having coffee
and he said something to me thatthat really struck me and it
was this he asked me when I wasin the midst of my crisis and
(04:26):
depression.
He said did you question God'sexistence?
Like, did you question thetruth?
I had my Bible with me and hewas looking at the Bible.
He said did you question, like,all of that?
And I had to really stop andthink about that for a second
and an image came to my mind andI remember sitting on my patio
(04:48):
looking out and and, just, youknow, feeling dark and and grim
and and crying out to God sayingI, you know, where are you in
this, like, where are you?
I don't, I can't see you, Ican't hear you, like, you know,
are you out there?
(05:08):
Are you real?
And I it's again.
It was just this very dark,myopic view at the moment and I
shared that story with him,which he was, he was grateful
for, I think, just theacknowledgement that he's not
alone in that, and.
But I wanted to bring that storyup right, because you know,
what do we do Like, what do wedo when we have a crisis of
(05:31):
faith Right, what do we do whenyou know we're unsure, right,
like, and, and you know, Ithought of our friend Dennis.
You know our friend DennisSummers.
You know I remember him oftenpraying like Lord, help me in my
unbelief, right, and there's,we talked about this, I think,
(05:54):
in an episode or two ago.
But the difference betweenbelief and faith, right and the,
the, you know the difference isfaith.
Faith requires action and Ishared that with him, you know,
as we sat and had coffee and andand encouraged him, you know,
to to, um, to do a number ofthings, and and so you know we
(06:14):
can get, we can get into that,but I just wanted to open it up
for a second.
And you know, ask you like what?
What comes to mind when we talkabout, you know, uh, crises of
faith, or, or when our faithfails.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well, the very first thing that popped into my head
when you said it, when yourfriend asked a question, is the
Bible verse about God Jesussaying I will never leave you, I
will never forsake you.
And then the end of John'sgospel.
I think it's the very end whereJesus says and I will be with
(06:52):
you even to the end of the age.
Those were the words, andthat's just like me, because
Lord knows, my faith never fails.
No-transcript.
(07:29):
Whether it's something that thatbinds you or restricts you or,
you know, makes you cave up, isanother level of depression.
But I my my heart certainlygoes out to that man because
first of all, I want to fix himand help him.
Right, I'm just being honest,as usual, but I quickly would
(07:59):
want to connect him with someone, if not myself or you that
understood the word, pardon me,understood the word and how
important, like when he pointedto your Bible and said do you
believe all that?
And I can just see that.
That moment, and knowing thatyou affirmed the truth in there,
(08:20):
right, isn't that that momentwhere you want to be able to
just flip it open and go look.
It says right here.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, I did oh, that's exactly, that's exactly
what I did.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And I said you mean, I could see you doing that.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You, you mean this, you know, and and so, um,
because I get it like and not to, not to to judge him, but just
to start reading some scripture,to judge him, but just to start
reading some scripture and andand sharing.
You know, sharing that with him, and so, you know, in in the
(08:55):
Psalms and some of the thingsthat came to mind, you know were
.
You know, again, faith requiresaction, right?
So if we're having a crisis offaith, the best thing we could
do is take a step right is act.
So, you know, one of the thingsI ask them is what is just one
small incremental step?
I mean, here's a man that'sfrozen and I get it, I've been
(09:16):
there, I understand Like takingone step feels monumental, but
leaving behind all the bigdecisions, right, and, and just
looking at right here, right now, right in front of me, what's?
What's one small thing I can do, and there's a number of them.
It's like, take your pick.
(09:37):
There's a litany of them andwe'll get, and we'll get to that
.
But you know, one of the thingswe uncovered is that was similar
was when I was having my crisisand he's in his crisis.
One of the similarities that Iwant to mention, just in case
you know.
For those of you that are outthere, either walking with
someone who's in a similarcrisis, or maybe you are
(09:57):
yourself or you have been, butyou know we both were living in
the future or in the past ratherthan in the present.
Yeah, and so you know, godobviously transcends all time,
but for us, right, if I'mthinking constantly about the
(10:23):
future and I'm in crisis, well,most likely there's overwhelming
fear about the uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Something's coming, right Right.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
You can't control Yep Exactly, and in the past
there's shame, regret, right,denial, deceit, yep, right, all
of these things that happen,right I I attach or identify
myself with, so I'm I'm eitherliving out of this fear of the
unknown or I'm attaching myselfin my identity to these past
(10:56):
circumstances or mistakes or, orwhatever it may be, wounds that
have that have stemmed fromthat Right, and neither is,
neither is good, and, of course,when it comes to life and
business, we need to look aheadand we need to reflect, and
there's really healthy thingsthere, but in this state of
crisis, specifically taking anincremental step to help remain
(11:23):
present is so critical.
So what, what are you know?
What are those, those things?
And there's and there's,there's just so many of them and
so, uh, anything come to mindfor you like what it would look
like to take a tiny littleincremental step to be present.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Sure, first thing is you're.
You're singing to me becauseyou're right in my sweet spot of
breaking down a big probleminto small pieces.
I I use that at work, not everyday, but that is my mantra
Everyone's tired.
I've worked with the samepeople a long time and they've
tired of hearing it.
But and I do that at home too,and it drives my family mad
(12:08):
because you know you want tojust get something done and how
do I fix this?
Or how do I get here, and so on.
And often I'll tell my boys orI'll talk to Ria and I'll say
hey, let's just, let's take thisin parts.
So, first off, I think we'reheaded down the right path and
you made a great suggestion tothis guy at Over Coffee.
The first thing I would do inmy life was be outdoors.
(12:30):
I would get out in creation.
The small step I would take isnot start doing, because my
nature would be to start doingstuff, just literally accomplish
tasks that I could check off alist, to feel good about myself
for a few minutes.
But I've learned to slow downand listen and get out in
creation.
(12:51):
So the direct answer to yourquestion is go outside, look
around, look at what God did foryou for me.
That grounds me.
I would literally take my shoesoff and stand on the earth.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's a great suggestion.
It's a great suggestion, one,one we talked about, and that
word grounding, that's exactlywhat it does.
That's exactly what happens.
And you know, one of the thingswe talked about, uh, before we
get to the list of many otherthings was that, you know, I
remember a lot of people tellingme I had a spiritual problem,
(13:28):
right, that my depression wasspiritual, and I understand now
what they meant, but at the timeit was soul crushing, because
what I heard was you're notspiritual enough.
Yeah, right.
And so I think we need to bereally, really careful about
that, because we're not justspiritual beings, we're physical
(13:51):
beings, we're psychologicalbeings, we're emotional beings
and it's all interconnected.
And so that's one of the thingswe talked about.
And so, as a physical being, toget outside and to look up, to
see the wind blowing, the leaves, to take note of the senses,
(14:12):
right, what am I smelling, whatam I feeling in the breeze, is
it hot, is it cold?
To feel my bare feet in thesand or on the street or in the
grass, and is is grounding.
God gave us those senses for areason, and one of those was to
be grounded in the present andin his creation and that
(14:33):
physical act alone draws us outof ourselves, right, and into
his creation.
That's it, right.
Great, great, great suggestion.
Um, one of the one of the otherthings that I shared with him
as we looked at the scripturesand I said, yeah, I recall, you
(14:56):
know, questioning and my, youknow his existence and and and,
or even his presence in my life,like why is this happening to
me and where are you and why canI hear you and why can I see
you?
And you know all of these things, and, um, uh, I, you know, one
of the things I brought up wasjust praying through the Psalms.
You know, praying through thePsalms and, and you know, not
(15:16):
just reading them but insertingmy name and inserting myself, I,
me, steve, in each of thePsalms, right, and praying them,
because in that state it's sohard to pray for yourself, I
mean you're, you're, you're,you're unbelieving, you're
having a crisis of faith, youknow, so, you know to, to have a
(15:41):
guide, to to pray.
And then the Psalms, of course,I mean here, you know, david,
you know, I mean there's thissoul crushing, crying out right,
there's crises of faith, andthen there's praise and there's
glory, and there's all thesethings, these highs and lows,
and it's just such a beautifulact to be able to go through
(16:02):
that.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
It's just such a beautiful act to be able to go
through that and as you do that,god responds and begins to
restore your belief and faithand shows up.
That spiritual healing thatcomes through the word is
unmistakable.
I also think if I was on thereceiving end of that suggestion
, that sounds like a big bite tome, a big chunk.
I might suggest talk to God,like if I wish someone had
(16:36):
taught me to pray a long timeago and just said talk to God,
just talk, literally just talk.
Get in your car where no onecan hear you, open the windows,
of crack so you don't suffocate,and talk, just be present with
the Lord, yeah, in whateverwords you want, yeah, and that's
(16:58):
a good suggestion.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
He had been sharing with me how he's been doing that
, you know, for a year, and butagain, doesn't hear from him,
doesn't see him, and that'swhere you know, and and yet
doesn't crack open the word ofGod, which, which is powerful,
Right and um, you know, sothere's.
There's just something about,and so what I told him is like
(17:19):
one Psalm a day, like Psalm onestarted, Psalm one right Psalm a
day, like Psalm one started,Psalm one right, and just go
through and resonate and again,I think, given the, the, the
state that the state of being ina crisis of faith and even a
mental health crisis, um, thePsalms in particular, uh, are,
are so appropriate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Oh, it's, it's.
I know you, right, your heartis so good there and I, it
wasn't a bad suggestion.
You made me think of ourbrother, PA Pedro Aloysius
Tippett right, he actually.
You know his story about nothearing from God.
He actually gave me a book thatwe talked about over coffee two
weeks ago and the title of thebook is God on mute.
(18:03):
Wow, it was his way of provingto me that God on Mute.
Wow, it was his way of provingto me that God wasn't talking to
him and or he couldn't hearfrom God.
But he has come to understandthe value of that quiet time.
And maybe a suggestion to yournew friend is by the way, there
are periods, there are sectionsof my life where the Lord has
(18:25):
been very quiet, and he has apurpose for that as well 100%.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
That's exactly where we went.
That's exactly the next part ofthe conversation that we had.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
And I wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Yeah, and the beautiful part of that is that,
again, I just want to pick up onthe last part of what you said,
and that is God's purposes,which are absolutely perfect.
And so, even though God mayfeel far away and may seem quiet
, god is at work.
God is at work, he is doingsomething in this, and so we
(19:03):
started to unpack that it wasn'ta psychiatry session.
He was actually going off to anew, uh therapist, and so just
was wanted to give him some uhpotential context to talk
through with his therapist CauseI'm not a therapist, uh, but
but some of that was again goingback to looking out in the
(19:23):
future, going back in the past,and you know what might God be
doing through this?
You know, and I talked about,you know just how, you know,
leading up to my crisis, I washolding on to all these things.
You know, I was burdened byfeeling the weight of the world
on my shoulders and grippingwhatever it was, and some of
(19:45):
those things were the safety andsecurity of my kids.
Right, they're, they'reflourishing.
I am solely responsible forthat and absolutely have to
control those outcomes and makesure that my kids never, you
know, die in a horrific caraccident or, you know, uh, from
a drug overdose or, you know, orsexually assaulted.
You know all these, all thesehorrors that would go through my
(20:07):
mind Right, sure, and I wouldhold onto that.
I've, I'm, I'm, I've got tomake sure that that never
happens to them, you know.
And then things with other other.
You know things with business,things with finance, you know
all these different areas thatyou know.
In God's quiet, somehow, someway, he was, he was showing me
(20:27):
what I was gripping onto andjust waiting for me to finally
open up my grip, literally, yeah.
And so I asked him what is ityou're clinging to, what is what
is firmly within your graspthat you may be aware of or not
so aware of and perhapsunwilling to release, to
(20:53):
surrender, to open up and lay atthe foot of the cross?
Is there, is there somethingyou know?
His eyes lit up and was likeyou know, clearly things were
coming to mind and I'm like thatthat might be some things to
work on with your therapist, youknow.
And so you know, that's sort ofthe the psychological part of
this, right, and the emotionalpart of this is, like you know,
it comes down to control, whichis mostly an illusion, right, I
(21:16):
mean, I can actually controlvery few things in my life.
There are some things I cancontrol, um, you know, like my
choices and things of thatnature.
You know, like my choices andthings of that nature.
But beyond that, yeah, right,you know, and so I remember,
many years ago, as my kids weregoing into their, you know,
early teen years, you know,really, just, or even gosh,
(21:38):
going 10, 11, 12, you know, 13,like, just coming to this
acknowledgement that that that Ican't, I can't rescue them,
that God is their savior.
You know, I'm not God, he isand he's their God and he loves
them a million times more than Iever could, right, so all of
(21:58):
these things that I had to, Ihad to come to these conclusions
through the word of God,through other people in my life,
right, um, and but, but havingto be still long enough to, to,
to come to those conclusions, tohear those things, to become
(22:18):
aware of those things, to getout of the future and the past
and to be present long enough tocome to those conclusions, it's
just hard to do.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Oh my goodness, the key word I heard you say was
surrender.
How do you tell a man who'sfrozen to surrender but that's
it.
The ultimate answer, when youdistill it down and filter it
out, is there's a surrenderrequired, and it's not easy to
do.
It's easy to say that you'resurrendered, but you know it's
not easy to do.
It's easy to say that you'resurrendered, but you know it's
(22:48):
work.
I've watched you model withother men.
you know about your greatestfears, what you just shared with
everybody listening right Aboutyour kids and know the depth of
your feeling with that, and youdon't care any less that you've
surrendered it to God.
You still don't want yourchildren to have any of those
accidents you mentioned.
(23:09):
Right, a matter of fact, youprobably want that more.
But the comfort that comes, thepeace that comes from knowing
that God has them, andacknowledging, coming to the
conclusion of what I can andcannot control.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Yeah, right, like here's how I can influence my
children and some things that Ican control, and the choices
that I make and the things thatI say to them and how I invest
in that Right, and then thethings that I can't, which is
the outcomes Right.
So, in almost every aspect ofour lives.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, we just get to the master's class right there,
because you surrender it to God,and you and I are looking at
each other now smiling incomfort.
But there's a part of this thatis well.
What if something bad doeshappen?
Yeah, did God forget what?
Wait right.
All of a sudden, you know, talkabout a crisis of faith.
Yes, that's another layer.
That's not when your faithfails, it's when you have
(24:03):
surrendered.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
And then in this world that is a broken, dark
world something bad happens,something like situation last
night right I've beenencountering that conversation
situation last night, right,I've been encountering that
conversation weekly with youknow, various people and uh, men
that he's placed in my path and, um, you know, it's um, there's
(24:30):
so much to it, there's so muchto it, but, um, yes, I mean
these, this crisis of faith when, uh, you know when, when we
feel as though we've beenabandoned, right, uh, or God has
allowed something, or even even, you know, some have suggested,
(24:50):
done something, you know, um,and so again, I don't want to
get into you know all of thatright now, but on the tail end
of that, you know, we see it allthe time in the, you know men's
weekends.
We're about to, you know, goserve on a weekend and we're
going to hear all kinds ofstories of, you know, pain and
(25:10):
trauma and abandonment, and andyou know all kinds of things
that you know leave you sayingGod, why, how Right, and, and so
, yeah, I mean, yes, we do.
We live in a broken world and,you know, filled, filled with,
(25:33):
you know, sin and trauma andhurt, and but God, but God, but
God, but God, you know, andrestores, steps in and, you know
, brings healing and restorationand reveals who he is in that
and even, and as much so,reveals who we are in that and
(25:56):
that's the other piece I wantedto get to is that our identity
right, like who is God and thenwho are we, who are we in him,
and how much does that informthe lens through which we see
things?
It informs every piece of it,Every piece of our lens right of
it, every piece of our lensright it is.
You know, we've got to look inthe mirror and say, okay, like
(26:25):
how, how am I defined?
You know, what is my identity,what is my mission, my purpose
and my identity, who?
Again, this, you know, who am I?
Right, it's like, you know,getting into some self-help
stuff, but it's not justself-help, it's biblical, it's
this is, you know, we, you knowas, as sons of God, you know
righteous, because he isrighteous, and all of these
things right.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Who am I in Christ?
Might be the full questionright, that's exactly right.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
That's exactly not just who, who are we, but who
are we in Christ, and so, yeah,lots here.
Can you think of anything elsein a practical nature?
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yes, small step.
Yeah, I've been waiting to sayit.
Does he, does this man know I'mgoing to call him Sam?
Does he know how blessed he wasthat God put Steve Sargent in
his path and the Steve Sargentsof the world, the men around
that?
What?
What I would do I'd?
I'd go outside and get groundedand appreciate creation.
I would seek professional helpand I would find men to gather
(27:18):
around me to help.
Not I've got the, you know,I've got the hammer and duct
tape right here.
Baby, you need fixed.
I can fix you, but that's notwhat this is about.
This is about think through theconnections in your life that
led you to this man.
Yeah, bro, 10 weeks ago youlived in.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
New Jersey.
Yeah, it's pretty wild, it's,it's pretty bizarre actually,
and and that is the piece, likeI, it is so God ordained.
I don't think he sees it yet, Idefinitely do.
I'm like, oh man, this is, thisis, this is incredible, like.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I don't want to be there when he does.
I.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I thank God that you know I have't.
You want to be there when hedoes I.
I thank God that you know Ihave the opportunity to come
alongside this man and just justwalk with him and just be there
for him and just make sure Iremind him.
You know I'm texting him andcalling him and we're, you know,
connecting him and it's onlybeen a few days but he's eating
it.
I'm sending him.
You know God gave me adevotional for him this morning
that I haven't sent him yet, butI will.
(28:16):
Oh, great, and you know there'sum, you know God's at work in
this and he will.
I believe that this man willcome to the conclusion and and
and acknowledge and see thethread, just what God did in,
you know, sending me to him andhim to me in this and um, me to
(28:40):
him and him to me in this and um, and I think that'll be part of
you know what pulls him out ofthis dark space.
You know, um, and it's justpart of God at work, and and.
So, yes, he.
Now I will say this man isstrong enough, thank God, to say
yes, he's not hiding, he is,he's stepping out.
He's grabbing the olive astranger he's going to these
groups, he's, yeah, meeting withme, and he just totally opens
(29:01):
and they're like what do you?
What have you got?
I'm law, right, like clearlydesperate, you know, at the end
end of his rope.
But, um, but those acts offaith.
It's such a beautiful thingthat you brought up, because
that alone him saying yes, I'llhave coffee with you is an act
of faith.
To say I don't't, I have no, Idon't even know this man, I
don't trust this man, I don't, Idon't know, not, I got nothing.
(29:24):
I'm going to go sit.
I'm gonna go sit and have a cupof coffee.
And you know, cause, what do Igot to lose?
Yeah, cause God opened the doorRight, and he so, so, like at
the same time.
You know, it's just sobeautiful, right, like for us,
we can see it.
He's, he's clouded right now,but for us, we can see where
he's just praying.
God, are you real?
Where are you?
What do you do?
Right?
And here we are sitting havingcoffee and he's still saying the
(29:46):
same thing and I'm just smiling.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It's beautiful.
Look, you're making me think ofour episode called Ripples.
It was episode 34, february24th 2023.
And this guy is sitting in akayak right and there are
ripples, there are waves comingat him from far away and he
doesn't know, has no idea whatthe origin of the ripples are.
(30:10):
And I'm reminded of the factyou and I talked about I know I
said it in the episode Rememberwhen you dropped the rock in the
water, in the pond, and youthink the ripples are going away
from you, but they're alsocoming at you.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Right, and then you look away because for you, the
ripple is done, but that ripplekeeps going.
It gets a little smaller, right, the height of the ripple gets
smaller as it goes across thepond, but that ripple keeps
going, and that's what'shappening here.
This man is blessed and you,sarge, you may play your role
(30:49):
with this man and never knowwhen he comes back right.
This message now is forfaithful believers and listeners
who say I know what to do witha guy like this, which you and I
are not trained to do, but infaith, we're doing what we feel
in our hearts would be helpful.
Right, we're not trying to fixhim, no, but we are letting him
(31:13):
know.
There's one answer, there's justone, and his name is Jesus and
he looks a lot like SteveSargent On that day, for that
coffee and that devotional andwhatever else you do and all the
other things you're going to do, you're rippling in this man's
life for a moment, yeah, andthen God's got the rest.
(31:35):
That's right.
That's right, actually, god'sgot all of it, but he's got all
of it, but he's got the rest.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Yeah, and it's again, it's just, um, you know, yeah,
when those those opportunitiesarise, um, you know, like I,
there was a thought where I waslike man, I don't know this guy,
he doesn't even know me, likeI'm not going to bother him, the
guy's depressed, he doesn'twant to hear from me, right,
like those thoughts went throughmy head and I was like what do
you mean?
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
(32:02):
You know he's crying out, youknow, and so, um, yeah, so I
would just encourage people toask God, you know, ask, ask God,
um, and you know, I've beenpraying because, again, I'm new
down here, don't have a lot ofrelationships.
I've been praying God, what isit you want to do down here?
What is it you want to do?
What is it?
And like, lead me, open thedoors, put somebody in my doors,
bring somebody to my doorstepthat I can minister to.
(32:24):
And it was like, boom, you know,here, and this man, and this
man, this man, and there areothers, are we willing?
You know, when he calls us, arewe willing to say, yeah, you
know, send me, I'll go.
They're willing to put asidewhatever it is that we're
working on, whatever it is weneed to do, you know, can we get
out of our own way.
(32:45):
And I'm not sitting here sayinglike that's always me, no, like
I have to be so focused andintentional about, you know,
looking for that and doing that.
And I, I often think, how manyhave I missed?
How many have I missed?
Cause I just was, you know,head down, I got stuff to do, I
got to go, you know, and so wedon't even know, right, but when
we're, when we're looking,saying who can I, where can I be
(33:12):
in the hands and feet of Jesus,today, this moment, this hour?
You know, every hour, whereverwe are, wherever we are, and all
of a sudden, you know, um besurprised how many opportunities
he really gives us.
And um, and the work that hedoes in our own hearts through
that, you know, shows us a lotabout ourselves too.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I have this vague recollection of a stranger
showing up at my front doorabout 18 years ago that was in a
similar position years ago thatwas in a similar position.
Yeah, so pretty, prettyinteresting.
Um, just juxtaposition for me.
(33:49):
We're thinking about what Godwas up to at that time and look
look at the fruit of that chancemeeting between you and I,
right.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean talk about ripples.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Wow, god's good, god's good.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Sure is.
Well, this is a greatconversation and certainly we
just skimmed the surface.
You know of some really hardareas and so, um, you know, I
will say if, if you arelistening and you're, uh,
dealing with depression, you'redealing with a mental health
crisis, let somebody know.
Let somebody know and let usknow Jeez, absolutely, send us a
(34:29):
message.
We'd love to talk with you,we'd love to you know, listen to
you and just come alongside you.
You're not alone, You're neveralone, and he, most importantly,
will never leave you norforsake you, and so, yeah, as
believers, he holds us in hisrighteous right hand and we'll,
(34:52):
yeah, so, hallelujah, beautifultime together.
Thank you, and thanks forconnecting with me this morning
and, hey, thanks for listeningto another episode of Foxhole
Symphony Podcast, and maybethere's somebody you want to
share this one with Somebody outthere that maybe needs to hear
this one.
You know, I pray that there aremost of you are not in a crisis
(35:13):
of faith and certainly not in amental health crisis but who
needs to hear this message, andso don't just be you, but be you
in Christ.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Amen Peace, brother Peace.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
When our faith fails, what do we do?
Well, the short answer is thatwe need more of the very thing
that seemed to fail us God andHis Word.
He holds the answer.
But how do we get back to thatplace?
How do we overcome that chasmthat seems to be between us and
God?
I think Mark and Steve made acompelling case for seeking out
(35:49):
brothers in Christ, thoseauthentic relationships, those
men in our foxhole.
It's there where we can speakour truth.
It's definitely not easy, but,my friend, it's powerful.
We reveal that brokenness andwe drag it, kicking and
screaming, into the light.
(36:10):
And when we do that, we havenow started the process of
coming home to our loving father, that we have now started the
process of coming home to ourloving Father.
We get to stand up with ourfeet on firm ground and ask God
to help us move forward fromthat brokenness revealed.
Then we commit time to God,which means reading His Word,
(36:31):
praying and listening, not surewhere to start.
Well, just as Steve mentionedearlier, how about you read one
psalm a day, but ask God to helpyou hear from him as you read?
What truth do I need to hear?
God?
Help me to commune with you,lord, and make your message
(36:53):
clear to me.
And make your message clear tome.
Keep walking, brother.
You're almost home.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
only you can do.
(37:14):
In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcast.
Be sure to subscribe so youknow when new episodes drop, and
please rate us and commentthere too, as it'll help us get
found by others who couldbenefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
(37:40):
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
just be you.
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