May 23, 2025 • 36 mins
What if the very thing you're clinging to is the thing that’s controlling you?
In this raw and unfiltered episode of Rooted & Recovered, Dan and Justin walk through Step Seven of the 12-Step journey: “We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
This is the line in the sand, the moment where faith gets real. It’s not about just asking God to help—you’re asking Him to take it for real. This is the step where you stop bargaining and start breaking free, where survival strategies are replaced with true surrender, and where the posture of humility unlocks real transformation.
Key Highlights:
- What you cling to is what controls you
- Control is a prison disguised as protection
- Humility isn’t a feeling—it’s a choice to let go
- Why some people choose to limp through life instead of walking in freedom
- Paul’s thorn and the power of God’s sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 12:9)
- Why healing doesn’t start when the pain goes away, but when control does
Scriptures Covered:
1 Peter 5:6-7 • 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 • Isaiah 6:5-8 • Romans 12:2 • Matthew 11:28-30
Final Truth:
Real freedom begins when you stop managing the chaos and let go for real. It’s not about earning your healing—it’s about trusting that God is already enough.
Pray for this episode to reach someone who’s ready to surrender for real. Like, share, and tag a friend who needs this message today.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This world doesn't hand outhealing.
It offers quick fixes, cheappies and empty promises, but
real recovery.
It takes roots.
Roots that dig deep into truth,into identity, into the
unshakeable grace of God.
We're not here to sugarcoat thestruggle.
(00:22):
We've lived it.
Addiction, shame, relapse,regret, but we've also seen
resurrection.
We've seen what happened.
Happens when broken people getanchored in something real
rooted and recovered is morethan a podcast.
It's a battleground for thesoul.
A place where scars tellstories, where scripture speaks
(00:43):
louder than shame, where freedomisn't just a word.
It's a war we win daily.
So if you're tired of surfacelevel answers, if you want truth
that convicts, hope that heals,and conversations that cut
through the noise, you're in theright place.
Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.
Dan (01:08):
Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Recovered.
I am your host, Dan Pyles.
I've got in the studio with metoday, my brother in Christ, and
partner in this Justin, how youdoing today?
My friend.
Blessed and highly favored Dan.
Blessed and highly favored.
Always good to see you.
Justin.
I'm gonna start this podcast outjust real.
(01:28):
Uh, and I'm gonna start with anopening statement.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
Think about that for just amoment.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
And the title of today's podcastis Let Go For Real, step Seven
(01:50):
Guys.
Man, we are moving right alongin this series and we've hope
you've enjoyed it as much as wehave.
But step seven, Justin tells usthat we've humbly asked him to
remove our shortcomings.
So, lemme go back to the myopening statement.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
(02:12):
You see family because at thispoint in your journey, you've
already done the hard work.
You've acknowledged the mess,you've named your shortcomings,
you've listed the damage you'vedone and the pain you've
endured.
But now comes the hardest part,letting it.
Go, and here's the truth thatmost people don't want to admit.
(02:36):
Some of us Justin don't want tobe healed because we've gotten
comfortable with the wound.
See, step seven is that line inthe sand.
It's not just saying, God, helpme, is saying, God, take it.
I don't want it anymore.
Justin (02:57):
And it's asking him to do it.
It's not us trying to do itourselves.
It's not another, Justin can fixthis or Dan can fix this.
It's not another, oh man, if Ijust try a little harder moment
in my life, I'm going to get itright.
It's us humbly asking God to doit.
(03:17):
And you know, it's crazy thatthat word humble's in there
because what is more humble?
Than asking God to do it.
Because to be humble is to say,God, I can't.
You can.
And that's what I love aboutthese steps because if you look
in every step you can see everyother step in it sure can.
Humbling admitting that I can'tdo it and God can, recognizing
(03:39):
that he's God, turning it overto God, confessing that I need
him, giving it to God.
And here we're saying.
God, I'm done.
But this is where we're done forreal.
Dan (03:55):
Absolutely.
Step seven, just it's that linein the sand.
It's like I said just a momentago, it's not saying, God, help
me.
We're not at that point anymoreat this step.
At this point in the game, fam,we're saying, God, take it.
I don't want it anymore, andit's releasing that very thing
that used to protect you.
(04:16):
We just talked about this in thelast episode, the control,
anger, pride, bitterness,addiction, those things, family
that numbed your pain, but alsonumbed your purpose.
And here's the raw question.
This step asks, do you trust Godto take what you used to
(04:39):
survive?
'cause guys, step seven isn'tabout asking God to remove it
and then picking it back uplater, like it's some type of
backup plan.
It's about a surrender Justinwith no return policy.
Justin (04:56):
Well, you know.
It's oftentimes in our life thatwe come to this crossroad, and
here's the thing, you're gonnacome here again and again.
Oh yeah.
You're gonna get to this placewhere you have to let go for
real.
And like Dan said, this is ussaying, God, take it.
(05:18):
And that's what he does, but healso wants you to come to him
and say, God, take it.
I think of the story, theIsraelites.
They had crossed the Jordan,they had won the Battle of
Jericho.
They seen praise bring downwalls, right Man, what a victory
that was.
But then they go up against asmall little place known as ai.
(05:43):
Only 12,000 people in the wholetown.
Mm-hmm.
So how their army couldn't havebeen many and they say, ah,
we're not gonna troubleourselves.
We're not even gonna bring thearmy.
We're just gonna bring 3000 men.
They ain't even gotta be thebest of them.
They go up and they get theirhind in kicked and they come
back and Joshua goes before theLord.
He says, God, I don't know whatI don't know.
Why'd you bring me here?
(06:03):
What's going on man?
Why wouldn't you just leave usover there if this was the plan?
And what does God do?
He says, Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Get up.
You are holding on to something.
There is something in your campthat I told you to let go of.
You wonder why you're losingthis battle.
It's because you refuse to letgo of what I've already told you
to give up.
(06:24):
Very good.
Very good.
He doesn't say Keep crying.
Oh, keep trying.
He says, get up, wipe your faceoff.
Quit mourning.
Put on the robes ofrighteousness.
Get it out of your camp, and gowin that battle.
But we have to be willing to getit out of our camp.
And this is us saying, God, getit out of the camp.
Dan (06:42):
So good.
And that's what step seven is,Justin.
It's, it's saying, I'm donecarrying what's been killing me,
even if it's all I've everknown.
See, this is the moment, fam,where faith gets real, where
surrender stops being a conceptand becomes a choice because
(07:03):
here's the, here's the truth.
You can't be healed by the samehands that are still holding
your wounds.
Because as long as you're stillholding onto the pain, as long
as you're still holding ontothat defense mechanism, the
habits and the lies, you're notin posture to receive healing.
(07:27):
Because healing family requiresopen hands and open hands can't
cling.
They can only release andreceive family.
This.
Is the posture of humility righthere, and Peter said it best,
Justin in 1st Peter 5:6-7.
(07:49):
It lays it out plainly, sayshumble.
We go back to that word, humbleagain.
Justin Humble.
Humble yourselves.
Therefore, under God's mightyhand that he may lift you up in
due time.
Cast all your anxiety on himbecause he cares for you.
(08:10):
But I don't wanna rush pastthis.
Because this is the posturefamily that unlocks real
transformation.
It says, humble yourselvesfamily.
That's not a feeling, that's aposition.
It's a choice to stop managingthe chaos and admit, I need
(08:31):
help.
Then I love what he says, thathe may lift you up.
Does that mean?
It means you can stop trying toclimb out of, of what only God
can lift you from,
Justin (08:45):
and that word humble.
So many times we think of it as,oh, I have to think of myself as
less.
No, it just means think ofyourself less and start thinking
about what God wants more.
And I love it because we alwayswant to go to that casting
right.
We're gonna talk about that.
'cause casting, that's a greatpart and it's something we've
gotta do.
But before we get there, we'vegotta first realize that I can't
(09:07):
do that on my own.
All the strength in my,everything I've ever done on my
own has never been good enough,right?
So why do I think I can go andcast all my care on him on my
own?
If anything I've ever donebefore, that's not been good
enough.
Right?
And that's what humblingourselves is it's saying, God, I
really can't.
I know you can, but not only doI know you can I trust you can.
Justin (2) (09:32):
Amen.
Justin (09:33):
I I have a promise.
From you that says you can, notonly can you, you are willing
and able to do it.
Dan (09:40):
Amen.
And that verse right there, wejust talked about it just a few
moments ago, that he may liftyou up.
He, he, you know, not, not yourfriend, not your spouse, not
your pastor, not your, your aprogram that you're following as
good as all those things are.
It says that he may lift you up,and there's so many times,
(10:03):
Justin, that we've tried to dothis thing on our own or we've
relied on this or we've reliedon that and what God is telling
us through.
The word here is that you and Ican stop trying to climb out of
something that only God can liftyou from.
Then Peter says, like Justinsaid, to cast.
(10:24):
Your anxiety on him, and Ilooked that word cast up, uh,
Justin.
Um, that word cast doesn't meanto gently hand off.
Uh, it means to hurl throw, tolaunch your burden onto the only
one strong enough to carry it.
This means you're not talkingabout your pain, you're
(10:46):
releasing it.
You're not venting anymorefamily.
You're surrendering.
Why?
Because humility says, I don'thave the strength, but I know
the one who does.
Family humility isn't self pity.
It's not walking around defeatedit.
It's the boldest kind of faith.
(11:07):
It's a faith who trusts God withthe parts of you that are still
messy.
The parts of you that are stillanxious, the parts of you that
are still unfinished, and here'sthe kicker.
You don't have to have it allfigured out.
All you gotta understand is thathe just will.
He'll do it.
He just will.
(11:27):
It's your job to release.
It's his job to restore
Justin (11:31):
and the power comes in the choice.
Mm.
You see, so many times we thinkthat we have to have the
strength to do this.
Like I said, you don't, but hedoes.
But when we choose, when we arewilling to be willing, right.
When we are willing to bewilling, God can and will.
And I love what you said there,Dan.
(11:53):
It's the humility of trustingGod with it.
It's easy to trust somebody Ican see.
Right.
But I don't trust them'causethey're gonna let me down.
Justin (2) (12:08):
Mm-hmm.
Justin (12:10):
But to put your trust in somebody that, well, they say
you can't see.
But as I look out the windowtoday, Dan, on the ride here
every morning when I get up, Isee the visible qualities of an
invisible God all over thisworld.
Amen.
You want to talk about Godgiving new life?
Just watch what happens inspring when the dead trees come
(12:31):
back to life.
That's not old coming back.
That's the new, new that'sresurrection at its finest.
That shows that God is exactlywho he says he is.
And this is us saying, God, Itrust that you are exactly who
you say you are.
I'm tired of hurting.
I'm ready.
Dan (12:52):
Take it.
And that's the key right there.
I'm ready because family, Godremoves from our lives what you
and I release.
But he won't rip it from yourclosed hands.
See, if you're still clingingthat fear, that pride, that old
identity, he'll wait.
(13:13):
You know why?
Because God isn't a thief.
He's a healer, but healingbegins.
When humility opens the hand andsays, I trust you more than I
trust me.
Justin (13:29):
And I think a lot of times we fail to realize that
what we're holding onto hurtsmore than letting go.
Mm-hmm.
It's just like there's that memeon Facebook with the rope and
it's just a regular braided ropeand you hold on and you squeeze
tight and you think that that'sthe only thing keeping you up.
When you fail to realize thatthere's a whole net of grace,
(13:51):
God's beautiful grace that iswaiting to catch you as soon as
you let go.
Look, it's not a tightrope walk.
He's not asking you to climb amountain.
He's simply asking you to lethim have it.
And I know it's simple, but it'sdifficult.
Absolutely.
(14:12):
It's the gospel.
It's such a simple thing.
It's difficult, right?
Confess with your mouth, believewith your heart.
It's easy to say Jesus' Lord,hard to believe it in his heart.
It's easy to say God will heal.
It's hard to believe it in yourheart.
(14:33):
Because let's be honest, we'reused to humans.
That's let us down.
We're used to people that said,I'm not gonna do that to you.
I'm different.
Only to see them do the samethings that everybody else has
done.
Well, let me encourage youtoday, if you are listening, God
is different.
Dan (14:49):
Mm-hmm.
Justin (14:50):
You know why they say God is good?
Because to say he is great is tosay that there is something else
good.
And let me tell you something,there is nothing that comes
close to the goodness of God.
Amen.
He is that good that you can'teven define him as great because
that would mean to say thatsomething else could come close
to him and there is nothing likeGod.
That's where true healingbegins.
(15:11):
And this is where it starts whenwe actually humbly ask him to
remove it.
Because here's the thing, whenhe removes it, he's gonna
replace it.
Absolutely.
He's not gonna leave you thatsame broken shell of a man, but
he wants to take you, break you,make you, and mold you into the
image of Christ that he sodesires.
Like I said last week, that'swhere healing's found,
Dan (15:34):
man.
You think about something,Justin, what a bold prayer.
What a bold declaration to say,God, I trust you more than I
trust me.
Wow.
'cause let's be honest, Justin,some of us, and I'm just, man, I
may, maybe I'm just being tooreal today.
You know, maybe Justin, maybeI'm just being too real today in
(15:55):
this podcast.
But you know, if we're honest,some of us would rather limp
through life.
Control, then walk with healingthrough surrender.
I know that sounds brutal and Iprobably just offended somebody.
But the honesty is control feelssafe.
It's familiar.
(16:16):
Even when it hurts, it stillgives you and I the illusion of
power.
But here's the truth.
Control is a prison disguised asprotection family.
It keeps us moving.
But the truth of it is you and Iare never.
Free.
And step seven is the momentwhen we stop pretending we've
(16:39):
got this.
It's where we admit that we havereached the end of us.
And that is not a failurefamily.
That is the starting line ofgrace, Justin.
And you know what?
Justin (16:52):
This is where we realize that the chains that we thought
were holding us in place.
It didn't even matter.
No.
That's where freedom comes.
Freedom doesn't come when thechains are removed.
Freedom comes when you realizethose chains didn't even matter.
Your past, who you were, thethings you've done, those things
(17:13):
that the enemy has used to tellyou that you can't and you will
never guess what?
When you realize that to God,that never mattered in the first
place, that's when you walk infreedom, because that's when you
say God, take'em off.
Justin (2) (17:26):
Amen.
Justin (17:27):
Take'em off and have your way with me.
And what you'll see is thosechains that you thought held,
you are the same chains that heuses to whip the enemy in other
people's lives.
Dan (17:38):
Man, you can't keep Justin.
We can't keep asking God to fixwhat we're still explaining
away.
Yes.
We can't keep praying fortransformation while we are,
while we keep defending thedysfunction in our lives.
Healing doesn't come when youmake excuses.
(18:00):
It comes when you make space.
And space is only made when yousurrender this step.
Step seven it's not aboutearning your healing.
It's not about proving you'reworthy.
It's about trusting that God is.
And the moment you stop strivingis the moment he starts moving.
(18:25):
You don't need a strategyfamily.
You need a savior.
Justin (18:29):
And so often what will come to realize is at least I
noticed in my life, so Istruggled with codependency.
It's here when I realize that Ididn't need to lose
codependency.
I just needed to be dependent onChrist.
Amen.
I didn't want to give up.
If I don't want to thirst foralcohol, I need to hunger and
(18:50):
thirst for his righteousness.
That's what this is.
This is us saying, God, I nolonger want.
What was I want?
What is and what is, is yourgoodness, your love, your mercy,
your grace, your compassion.
That is, we're getting ready totalk about.
(19:11):
Is sufficient.
Dan (19:13):
Amen.
And that's the thing we say thatnasty word surrender.
Justin, we talked about that acouple podcasts ago, but guys,
surrender isn't giving up.
It's giving over.
That's right.
You're not quitting.
All you are doing at this pointis you're transferring control.
You're saying, God, this isyours now.
(19:33):
The pain, the pride, the scars,the habits, the needs to be
strong.
I'm done trying to.
Fix what?
Only you can heal guys, that'snot weakness, that's wisdom
because the peace you're lookingfor, it's not on the other side
of control.
It's on the other side ofsurrender.
(19:56):
Justin,
Justin (19:59):
the things that you are fighting, you were never meant
to fight against the burdens youcarry.
Was never God's plans for you tocarry.
If you go back to the garden, itwas a place of Eden.
It was a place of peace.
It was heaven on earth.
That is what God had intended.
(20:21):
But sin came into our lives andcorrupted it, and now we feel,
because the world tells us thatyou can't do it on your own,
actually the world says you haveto do it on your own.
Right?
The world tells you, just do it.
Yolo.
You only live once.
Trust nobody but yourself.
Right.
I'm going back to old school.
Drake,
Dan (20:41):
right?
Right.
Yolo.
Yolo the world.
I ain't heard that in forever,dude.
It goes through my head.
Justin (20:49):
Sometimes I'm, but that's what the world wants us
to think.
Well, can I tell you something?
You may only live once, but youhave a chance to live eternally.
You don't have to just do it.
You can let it go and watch Goddo it and you don't have to go
(21:12):
at it alone.
You can trust him.
You know why?
I know I can trust God?
'cause he's never failed,
Justin (2) (21:19):
never.
Justin (21:20):
You know, people look at the Bible and they think, oh
man, what is that?
Really?
I can't understand it.
But if you read it, it's God'sthoughts, his his in, it's his
intentions.
It's also him showing that timeand time and time and time and
time again.
(21:40):
He is still the same God.
He has never failed.
It says his word will not go outvoid.
Mm-hmm.
Meaning it won't go out empty.
If he said it, he meant it.
And if he told you to humbleyourselves and wait on him to
lift you up and to cast all yourcares and anxieties on him
because he cares for you, guesswhat that means?
(22:04):
You can wait on him and he willlift you up and you can cast it.
I love what Dan said earlier.
It's not too big.
There's an ocean of grace.
You're in a little tiny boat inthe world.
You're just floating in an oceanand you're drowning.
Why not just throw some of thatstuff into the ocean?
Why not throw all of it into theocean?
Dan (22:24):
Amen.
Yeah.
Paul, you know, you look atPaul, arguably the greatest
apostle church planner.
I mean, a powerful theologian inthe New Testament.
He says something so shocking intwo Corinthians chapter 12.
He admits Justin, that there wassomething in his life that Paul
(22:48):
called a thorn, uh, in theflesh.
And, uh, this, this thingtormented him.
We don't know what that is.
The Bible never said, uh, youknow, maybe it's physical, maybe
it's emotional, maybe it wasspiritual, but we do know this.
Paul wanted it gone.
And not just once.
Scripture says that he pleadedJustin with the Lord three times
(23:13):
to take it away.
When you look at that, thisisn't some casual request.
This was a gut level prayerdesperation from a man who had
already endured beatings,imprisonment, persecution, and
he believed that God couldremove it.
(23:33):
But you know what God said?
No.
Instead, the answer Paul got wasthis, my grace is sufficient for
you.
My power is made perfect inweakness.
And right there, Paul hit theturning point that defines
(23:56):
surrender family.
Sometimes God removes the flaw,but sometimes he leaves it in
place.
It's not to punish you, but it'sto reshape your identity.
Why?
Because God knew something thatPaul didn't, that Thorn would
(24:16):
keep him humble, that Thornwould strip him of pride, that
thorn would anchor him in grace,and it would reveal God's
strength through his weakness.
Not in spite of it.
See family that thorn didn'tstop Paul's calling.
(24:39):
You know what it did?
It refined it.
In Paul's response, Justin, Ilove this.
This is radical.
He says, therefore, I will boastall the more gladly about my
weakness so that Christ's powermay rest on me.
You see, only grace can makesomeone say, I'm glad I'm weak,
(25:00):
because it's in the weakness.
God shows up in ways thatstrength never invited.
See families.
Sometimes the removal isn't themiracle.
Sometimes the miracle is who youbecome in the letting go.
You don't need the pain todisappear.
To experience, freedom, family,what you need is for grace to
(25:24):
meet you in the path and reshapewho you are because of it.
The miracle isn't always a cleanslate sometimes.
Justin, it's a stronger soul,
Justin (25:38):
and so that's what I think people need to understand
too.
When we get here.
Sometimes you have to wait onthe Lord because he's doing
something in your life.
That nobody else can.
(25:59):
And we want to outrun God,right?
We want, we try, we try, we, wewanna outrun him.
Um, and we're terrible at it.
We're very terrible at it.
Well, and I used this story thislast Sunday, so I, I, we have an
older lawnmower and it keptdying on me.
So I thought, well, I'm gonnaput a new battery in it.
And we put a battery in it, andPenny, she said, well, let's
(26:20):
pray about it for a second.
I said, okay.
So we prayed.
I went out there, hopped on alawnmower, started it up, new
battery, at least if it died, Ididn't have to jump it.
Started it up, took off,throttled all the way up, went
down, boom, it died, startedright back up, took off, went
down, died.
We had prayed, and in thatmoment I felt, God say, slow
(26:45):
down.
So I was driving it and insteadI had it throttled all the way
up.
I kicked the throttle a littlebit back.
It never died.
You see, the problem was.
I had it throttled so high thatI was outrunning the blades that
was trying to cut the grass.
And that's the problem.
We throttle so hard in ourrecovery that we fail to let God
(27:06):
remove those shortcomings whenhe wants to cut the grass.
Very good.
And that's when we have to say,okay, here are my weaknesses.
I love what you said, what Paulsaid.
Here are my weaknesses, God.
I'm this, I'm this, I know I'mthis, I know I'm this, and I
will boast in that because ifI'm willing to boast in that,
he's willing to show up in that.
But when I try to hide it andkeep it, he can't because I'm
(27:30):
still trying to be my own.
I'm still trying to have my ownstrength in it, but in my
weakness, he's made strong.
What are you failing to let goof?
What do you feel like you needto be strong in today that you
keep struggling with?
Let go for real, because that iswhen freedom is found.
(27:55):
When we finally come to thatplace of surrender, I love what
you said it, it's not a feeling,it's a posture.
Mm-hmm.
It's a posture of surrender andout of that posture, all good
things flow.
Dan (28:08):
But the question we've gotta ask ourself, Justin, is
what are we still managinginstead of releasing?
We gotta get honest for asecond.
This is where you're gonna haveto get honest.
You've named the flaw, you'veprayed about the pattern.
Maybe, maybe you've even fasted,maybe you've journaled, maybe
(28:29):
you've cried, you know, cried itout on the altar, but deep down
inside, you're still managingit.
Instead of truly releasing it,ask yourself, what is that one
thing?
That I keep handing to God, butpulling it back when things
(28:50):
start to feel uncomfortable.
What part of my story am Itrying to control, justify or
hide?
Hoping he heals it withoutexposing it.
But here's the truth, Justin.
God isn't confused about yourbrokenness.
(29:13):
He's just waiting for you tostop negotiating the terms of
your surrender.
You see so many of us say, God,take this, but not that fix me,
but don't touch thatrelationship.
God, heal me, but don't make meforgive them.
(29:35):
Use me God, but don't ask me togive that up family.
That's not surrender.
You know what that is, Justin?
That's spiritual bargaining.
Justin (29:46):
And you know what?
I love what you said.
And it goes back to thebeginning.
What we try and control ends upcontrolling us.
I'm gonna get my anxiety undercontrol today.
Says the person who's strugglingwith anxiety.
Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna get myanger under control today is the
person who's running aroundangry.
Justin (2) (30:06):
But
Justin (30:08):
we can't bargain with God.
No.
We can't say God, I want you totake, like you said, we can't
say God, I want you to take myanger, but I'm angry now, so I'm
gonna hold onto it.
God, I want you to take myanxiety, but man, this kind of
worries me a little bit.
So you just, you just take thatpart of it, and I don't know
about you, but I, I've seen itat the altar.
(30:28):
People get and they go and theybring these things before God
and they lay'em at the feet, andI believe wholeheartedly they
mean to.
But it's almost like before theyget up, they're just putting it
in their back pocket, like Goddoesn't notice.
And then they go home and theywonder, why am I still
struggling?
Justin (2) (30:45):
Right.
Justin (30:47):
Because he told you to lay it down.
He called you to lay it down.
And that's why I believe at theroot of most of our problems is
the pride.
Oh, absolutely.
We don't want to let it gobecause oftentimes that's the
only thing we feel like we cancontrol, but we're only a slave
(31:10):
to two things, sin andrighteousness.
Justin (2) (31:15):
Amen.
Justin (31:17):
That's what my Bible says.
You see, Satan doesn't come withthe chain and say, here's drug
addiction.
Here's alcoholism here.
Take take, take a brokenmarriage.
You know what?
You're gonna have struggle withthis and we'll just put this
chain on you, and you just walkit out for the rest of your
life.
No, little by little, he givesyou one link and says, do you
want this one?
(31:38):
And what happens is we'll takethe chain off and then take that
link right back from Satan andgo, yeah, that's a good one.
And we imprison ourselvesthinking that we're controlling
it.
Until we're the ones chained up
Dan (31:52):
guys, God doesn't work through bargaining.
He just take it from me.
Let me save you a lot ofheartache.
God doesn't work throughbargaining.
He works through brokenness.
I'm gonna offer you aninvitation right now in your
car, in your kitchen, on yourwalk, however you're listening
(32:14):
to this podcast right now.
I want you to say it out loud,God, I give you whatever that
is, God I give you, even if youdon't fix it the way I want it,
even if I never fully understandit.
Even if you leave that thorn inthat place, you can have it all
(32:40):
of it, because real healingdoesn't start when the pain goes
away.
It starts when the control doessee, letting go for real is the
moment heaven gets invited intoyour mess.
You see family, God isn't afraidof what you're carrying.
(33:01):
He's not waiting for you toclean it up.
He's waiting for you to hand itover raw, broken, tangled, and
all.
And in that moment whensurrender is real and humility
is honest, family heaven showsup not just with answers, but
(33:22):
with presence.
Peace.
Power because what God touches,he transforms, but only what
you're willing to release.
Justin, as we get ready to wrapthis podcast up, man, again,
this is something we couldprobably talk about for a real
long time, but what you want toclose with man,
Justin (33:50):
do not conform to the patterns of this world.
Be transformed by the renewingof your mind.
In order for us to stopconforming to the patterns of
this world, we need to humbleourselves and ask God to fix us.
(34:13):
That's where transformingbegins.
I love what you said.
Healing doesn't begin when thepain's gone.
It happens while the pain'sstill there.
Sometimes guys, there's gonna bea thorn in your side, I promise
you.
Continue to give it to God andhe will continue to give you the
(34:36):
strength to overcome it.
And what you will see is thatthorn, that the enemy meant to
buffet you is what I think theBible says.
Keep you down.
Mm-hmm.
God uses to elevate you.
He elevates himself through it.
Amen.
But it takes us humbly coming tohim.
Amen.
(34:56):
And saying, God, you take it.
It's not asking, it's saying,God, take it.
Dan (35:04):
Guys.
That's surrender.
That's the type of surrenderthat shifts the atmosphere.
That's the kind of prayer thatGod answers.
Not with a maybe, but withmercy.
So don't hold it another day.
Release it.
Give it to God, cast it on him.
(35:25):
Don't pick it back up.
Till next time, family stayrooted, stay recovered, and
let's get to work.
You are not just surviving.
You are becoming, becomingrooted in truth, becoming
recovered by grace, and becomingthe person God always knew you
(35:46):
could be.
Thanks for joining us on Rootedin Recovered.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, don't keep it
to yourself.
Share it, live it, let it takeroot.
We'll see you next time righthere where scars become
testimonies and hope rises fromthe ashes.
This world doesn't hand outhealing.
It offers quick fixes, cheappies and empty promises, but
real recovery.
It takes roots.
Roots that dig deep into truth,into identity, into the
unshakeable grace of God.
We're not here to sugarcoat thestruggle.
(00:22):
We've lived it.
Addiction, shame, relapse,regret, but we've also seen
resurrection.
We've seen what happened.
Happens when broken people getanchored in something real
rooted and recovered is morethan a podcast.
It's a battleground for thesoul.
A place where scars tellstories, where scripture speaks
(00:43):
louder than shame, where freedomisn't just a word.
It's a war we win daily.
So if you're tired of surfacelevel answers, if you want truth
that convicts, hope that heals,and conversations that cut
through the noise, you're in theright place.
Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.
Dan (01:08):
Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Recovered.
I am your host, Dan Pyles.
I've got in the studio with metoday, my brother in Christ, and
partner in this Justin, how youdoing today?
My friend.
Blessed and highly favored Dan.
Blessed and highly favored.
Always good to see you.
Justin.
I'm gonna start this podcast outjust real.
(01:28):
Uh, and I'm gonna start with anopening statement.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
Think about that for just amoment.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
And the title of today's podcastis Let Go For Real, step Seven
(01:50):
Guys.
Man, we are moving right alongin this series and we've hope
you've enjoyed it as much as wehave.
But step seven, Justin tells usthat we've humbly asked him to
remove our shortcomings.
So, lemme go back to the myopening statement.
What you clinging to is whatcontrols you.
(02:12):
You see family because at thispoint in your journey, you've
already done the hard work.
You've acknowledged the mess,you've named your shortcomings,
you've listed the damage you'vedone and the pain you've
endured.
But now comes the hardest part,letting it.
Go, and here's the truth thatmost people don't want to admit.
(02:36):
Some of us Justin don't want tobe healed because we've gotten
comfortable with the wound.
See, step seven is that line inthe sand.
It's not just saying, God, helpme, is saying, God, take it.
I don't want it anymore.
Justin (02:57):
And it's asking him to do it.
It's not us trying to do itourselves.
It's not another, Justin can fixthis or Dan can fix this.
It's not another, oh man, if Ijust try a little harder moment
in my life, I'm going to get itright.
It's us humbly asking God to doit.
(03:17):
And you know, it's crazy thatthat word humble's in there
because what is more humble?
Than asking God to do it.
Because to be humble is to say,God, I can't.
You can.
And that's what I love aboutthese steps because if you look
in every step you can see everyother step in it sure can.
Humbling admitting that I can'tdo it and God can, recognizing
(03:39):
that he's God, turning it overto God, confessing that I need
him, giving it to God.
And here we're saying.
God, I'm done.
But this is where we're done forreal.
Dan (03:55):
Absolutely.
Step seven, just it's that linein the sand.
It's like I said just a momentago, it's not saying, God, help
me.
We're not at that point anymoreat this step.
At this point in the game, fam,we're saying, God, take it.
I don't want it anymore, andit's releasing that very thing
that used to protect you.
(04:16):
We just talked about this in thelast episode, the control,
anger, pride, bitterness,addiction, those things, family
that numbed your pain, but alsonumbed your purpose.
And here's the raw question.
This step asks, do you trust Godto take what you used to
(04:39):
survive?
'cause guys, step seven isn'tabout asking God to remove it
and then picking it back uplater, like it's some type of
backup plan.
It's about a surrender Justinwith no return policy.
Justin (04:56):
Well, you know.
It's oftentimes in our life thatwe come to this crossroad, and
here's the thing, you're gonnacome here again and again.
Oh yeah.
You're gonna get to this placewhere you have to let go for
real.
And like Dan said, this is ussaying, God, take it.
(05:18):
And that's what he does, but healso wants you to come to him
and say, God, take it.
I think of the story, theIsraelites.
They had crossed the Jordan,they had won the Battle of
Jericho.
They seen praise bring downwalls, right Man, what a victory
that was.
But then they go up against asmall little place known as ai.
(05:43):
Only 12,000 people in the wholetown.
Mm-hmm.
So how their army couldn't havebeen many and they say, ah,
we're not gonna troubleourselves.
We're not even gonna bring thearmy.
We're just gonna bring 3000 men.
They ain't even gotta be thebest of them.
They go up and they get theirhind in kicked and they come
back and Joshua goes before theLord.
He says, God, I don't know whatI don't know.
Why'd you bring me here?
(06:03):
What's going on man?
Why wouldn't you just leave usover there if this was the plan?
And what does God do?
He says, Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Get up.
You are holding on to something.
There is something in your campthat I told you to let go of.
You wonder why you're losingthis battle.
It's because you refuse to letgo of what I've already told you
to give up.
(06:24):
Very good.
Very good.
He doesn't say Keep crying.
Oh, keep trying.
He says, get up, wipe your faceoff.
Quit mourning.
Put on the robes ofrighteousness.
Get it out of your camp, and gowin that battle.
But we have to be willing to getit out of our camp.
And this is us saying, God, getit out of the camp.
Dan (06:42):
So good.
And that's what step seven is,Justin.
It's, it's saying, I'm donecarrying what's been killing me,
even if it's all I've everknown.
See, this is the moment, fam,where faith gets real, where
surrender stops being a conceptand becomes a choice because
(07:03):
here's the, here's the truth.
You can't be healed by the samehands that are still holding
your wounds.
Because as long as you're stillholding onto the pain, as long
as you're still holding ontothat defense mechanism, the
habits and the lies, you're notin posture to receive healing.
(07:27):
Because healing family requiresopen hands and open hands can't
cling.
They can only release andreceive family.
This.
Is the posture of humility righthere, and Peter said it best,
Justin in 1st Peter 5:6-7.
(07:49):
It lays it out plainly, sayshumble.
We go back to that word, humbleagain.
Justin Humble.
Humble yourselves.
Therefore, under God's mightyhand that he may lift you up in
due time.
Cast all your anxiety on himbecause he cares for you.
(08:10):
But I don't wanna rush pastthis.
Because this is the posturefamily that unlocks real
transformation.
It says, humble yourselvesfamily.
That's not a feeling, that's aposition.
It's a choice to stop managingthe chaos and admit, I need
(08:31):
help.
Then I love what he says, thathe may lift you up.
Does that mean?
It means you can stop trying toclimb out of, of what only God
can lift you from,
Justin (08:45):
and that word humble.
So many times we think of it as,oh, I have to think of myself as
less.
No, it just means think ofyourself less and start thinking
about what God wants more.
And I love it because we alwayswant to go to that casting
right.
We're gonna talk about that.
'cause casting, that's a greatpart and it's something we've
gotta do.
But before we get there, we'vegotta first realize that I can't
(09:07):
do that on my own.
All the strength in my,everything I've ever done on my
own has never been good enough,right?
So why do I think I can go andcast all my care on him on my
own?
If anything I've ever donebefore, that's not been good
enough.
Right?
And that's what humblingourselves is it's saying, God, I
really can't.
I know you can, but not only doI know you can I trust you can.
Justin (2) (09:32):
Amen.
Justin (09:33):
I I have a promise.
From you that says you can, notonly can you, you are willing
and able to do it.
Dan (09:40):
Amen.
And that verse right there, wejust talked about it just a few
moments ago, that he may liftyou up.
He, he, you know, not, not yourfriend, not your spouse, not
your pastor, not your, your aprogram that you're following as
good as all those things are.
It says that he may lift you up,and there's so many times,
(10:03):
Justin, that we've tried to dothis thing on our own or we've
relied on this or we've reliedon that and what God is telling
us through.
The word here is that you and Ican stop trying to climb out of
something that only God can liftyou from.
Then Peter says, like Justinsaid, to cast.
(10:24):
Your anxiety on him, and Ilooked that word cast up, uh,
Justin.
Um, that word cast doesn't meanto gently hand off.
Uh, it means to hurl throw, tolaunch your burden onto the only
one strong enough to carry it.
This means you're not talkingabout your pain, you're
(10:46):
releasing it.
You're not venting anymorefamily.
You're surrendering.
Why?
Because humility says, I don'thave the strength, but I know
the one who does.
Family humility isn't self pity.
It's not walking around defeatedit.
It's the boldest kind of faith.
(11:07):
It's a faith who trusts God withthe parts of you that are still
messy.
The parts of you that are stillanxious, the parts of you that
are still unfinished, and here'sthe kicker.
You don't have to have it allfigured out.
All you gotta understand is thathe just will.
He'll do it.
He just will.
(11:27):
It's your job to release.
It's his job to restore
Justin (11:31):
and the power comes in the choice.
Mm.
You see, so many times we thinkthat we have to have the
strength to do this.
Like I said, you don't, but hedoes.
But when we choose, when we arewilling to be willing, right.
When we are willing to bewilling, God can and will.
And I love what you said there,Dan.
(11:53):
It's the humility of trustingGod with it.
It's easy to trust somebody Ican see.
Right.
But I don't trust them'causethey're gonna let me down.
Justin (2) (12:08):
Mm-hmm.
Justin (12:10):
But to put your trust in somebody that, well, they say
you can't see.
But as I look out the windowtoday, Dan, on the ride here
every morning when I get up, Isee the visible qualities of an
invisible God all over thisworld.
Amen.
You want to talk about Godgiving new life?
Just watch what happens inspring when the dead trees come
(12:31):
back to life.
That's not old coming back.
That's the new, new that'sresurrection at its finest.
That shows that God is exactlywho he says he is.
And this is us saying, God, Itrust that you are exactly who
you say you are.
I'm tired of hurting.
I'm ready.
Dan (12:52):
Take it.
And that's the key right there.
I'm ready because family, Godremoves from our lives what you
and I release.
But he won't rip it from yourclosed hands.
See, if you're still clingingthat fear, that pride, that old
identity, he'll wait.
(13:13):
You know why?
Because God isn't a thief.
He's a healer, but healingbegins.
When humility opens the hand andsays, I trust you more than I
trust me.
Justin (13:29):
And I think a lot of times we fail to realize that
what we're holding onto hurtsmore than letting go.
Mm-hmm.
It's just like there's that memeon Facebook with the rope and
it's just a regular braided ropeand you hold on and you squeeze
tight and you think that that'sthe only thing keeping you up.
When you fail to realize thatthere's a whole net of grace,
(13:51):
God's beautiful grace that iswaiting to catch you as soon as
you let go.
Look, it's not a tightrope walk.
He's not asking you to climb amountain.
He's simply asking you to lethim have it.
And I know it's simple, but it'sdifficult.
Absolutely.
(14:12):
It's the gospel.
It's such a simple thing.
It's difficult, right?
Confess with your mouth, believewith your heart.
It's easy to say Jesus' Lord,hard to believe it in his heart.
It's easy to say God will heal.
It's hard to believe it in yourheart.
(14:33):
Because let's be honest, we'reused to humans.
That's let us down.
We're used to people that said,I'm not gonna do that to you.
I'm different.
Only to see them do the samethings that everybody else has
done.
Well, let me encourage youtoday, if you are listening, God
is different.
Dan (14:49):
Mm-hmm.
Justin (14:50):
You know why they say God is good?
Because to say he is great is tosay that there is something else
good.
And let me tell you something,there is nothing that comes
close to the goodness of God.
Amen.
He is that good that you can'teven define him as great because
that would mean to say thatsomething else could come close
to him and there is nothing likeGod.
That's where true healingbegins.
(15:11):
And this is where it starts whenwe actually humbly ask him to
remove it.
Because here's the thing, whenhe removes it, he's gonna
replace it.
Absolutely.
He's not gonna leave you thatsame broken shell of a man, but
he wants to take you, break you,make you, and mold you into the
image of Christ that he sodesires.
Like I said last week, that'swhere healing's found,
Dan (15:34):
man.
You think about something,Justin, what a bold prayer.
What a bold declaration to say,God, I trust you more than I
trust me.
Wow.
'cause let's be honest, Justin,some of us, and I'm just, man, I
may, maybe I'm just being tooreal today.
You know, maybe Justin, maybeI'm just being too real today in
(15:55):
this podcast.
But you know, if we're honest,some of us would rather limp
through life.
Control, then walk with healingthrough surrender.
I know that sounds brutal and Iprobably just offended somebody.
But the honesty is control feelssafe.
It's familiar.
(16:16):
Even when it hurts, it stillgives you and I the illusion of
power.
But here's the truth.
Control is a prison disguised asprotection family.
It keeps us moving.
But the truth of it is you and Iare never.
Free.
And step seven is the momentwhen we stop pretending we've
(16:39):
got this.
It's where we admit that we havereached the end of us.
And that is not a failurefamily.
That is the starting line ofgrace, Justin.
And you know what?
Justin (16:52):
This is where we realize that the chains that we thought
were holding us in place.
It didn't even matter.
No.
That's where freedom comes.
Freedom doesn't come when thechains are removed.
Freedom comes when you realizethose chains didn't even matter.
Your past, who you were, thethings you've done, those things
(17:13):
that the enemy has used to tellyou that you can't and you will
never guess what?
When you realize that to God,that never mattered in the first
place, that's when you walk infreedom, because that's when you
say God, take'em off.
Justin (2) (17:26):
Amen.
Justin (17:27):
Take'em off and have your way with me.
And what you'll see is thosechains that you thought held,
you are the same chains that heuses to whip the enemy in other
people's lives.
Dan (17:38):
Man, you can't keep Justin.
We can't keep asking God to fixwhat we're still explaining
away.
Yes.
We can't keep praying fortransformation while we are,
while we keep defending thedysfunction in our lives.
Healing doesn't come when youmake excuses.
(18:00):
It comes when you make space.
And space is only made when yousurrender this step.
Step seven it's not aboutearning your healing.
It's not about proving you'reworthy.
It's about trusting that God is.
And the moment you stop strivingis the moment he starts moving.
(18:25):
You don't need a strategyfamily.
You need a savior.
Justin (18:29):
And so often what will come to realize is at least I
noticed in my life, so Istruggled with codependency.
It's here when I realize that Ididn't need to lose
codependency.
I just needed to be dependent onChrist.
Amen.
I didn't want to give up.
If I don't want to thirst foralcohol, I need to hunger and
(18:50):
thirst for his righteousness.
That's what this is.
This is us saying, God, I nolonger want.
What was I want?
What is and what is, is yourgoodness, your love, your mercy,
your grace, your compassion.
That is, we're getting ready totalk about.
(19:11):
Is sufficient.
Dan (19:13):
Amen.
And that's the thing we say thatnasty word surrender.
Justin, we talked about that acouple podcasts ago, but guys,
surrender isn't giving up.
It's giving over.
That's right.
You're not quitting.
All you are doing at this pointis you're transferring control.
You're saying, God, this isyours now.
(19:33):
The pain, the pride, the scars,the habits, the needs to be
strong.
I'm done trying to.
Fix what?
Only you can heal guys, that'snot weakness, that's wisdom
because the peace you're lookingfor, it's not on the other side
of control.
It's on the other side ofsurrender.
(19:56):
Justin,
Justin (19:59):
the things that you are fighting, you were never meant
to fight against the burdens youcarry.
Was never God's plans for you tocarry.
If you go back to the garden, itwas a place of Eden.
It was a place of peace.
It was heaven on earth.
That is what God had intended.
(20:21):
But sin came into our lives andcorrupted it, and now we feel,
because the world tells us thatyou can't do it on your own,
actually the world says you haveto do it on your own.
Right?
The world tells you, just do it.
Yolo.
You only live once.
Trust nobody but yourself.
Right.
I'm going back to old school.
Drake,
Dan (20:41):
right?
Right.
Yolo.
Yolo the world.
I ain't heard that in forever,dude.
It goes through my head.
Justin (20:49):
Sometimes I'm, but that's what the world wants us
to think.
Well, can I tell you something?
You may only live once, but youhave a chance to live eternally.
You don't have to just do it.
You can let it go and watch Goddo it and you don't have to go
(21:12):
at it alone.
You can trust him.
You know why?
I know I can trust God?
'cause he's never failed,
Justin (2) (21:19):
never.
Justin (21:20):
You know, people look at the Bible and they think, oh
man, what is that?
Really?
I can't understand it.
But if you read it, it's God'sthoughts, his his in, it's his
intentions.
It's also him showing that timeand time and time and time and
time again.
(21:40):
He is still the same God.
He has never failed.
It says his word will not go outvoid.
Mm-hmm.
Meaning it won't go out empty.
If he said it, he meant it.
And if he told you to humbleyourselves and wait on him to
lift you up and to cast all yourcares and anxieties on him
because he cares for you, guesswhat that means?
(22:04):
You can wait on him and he willlift you up and you can cast it.
I love what Dan said earlier.
It's not too big.
There's an ocean of grace.
You're in a little tiny boat inthe world.
You're just floating in an oceanand you're drowning.
Why not just throw some of thatstuff into the ocean?
Why not throw all of it into theocean?
Dan (22:24):
Amen.
Yeah.
Paul, you know, you look atPaul, arguably the greatest
apostle church planner.
I mean, a powerful theologian inthe New Testament.
He says something so shocking intwo Corinthians chapter 12.
He admits Justin, that there wassomething in his life that Paul
(22:48):
called a thorn, uh, in theflesh.
And, uh, this, this thingtormented him.
We don't know what that is.
The Bible never said, uh, youknow, maybe it's physical, maybe
it's emotional, maybe it wasspiritual, but we do know this.
Paul wanted it gone.
And not just once.
Scripture says that he pleadedJustin with the Lord three times
(23:13):
to take it away.
When you look at that, thisisn't some casual request.
This was a gut level prayerdesperation from a man who had
already endured beatings,imprisonment, persecution, and
he believed that God couldremove it.
(23:33):
But you know what God said?
No.
Instead, the answer Paul got wasthis, my grace is sufficient for
you.
My power is made perfect inweakness.
And right there, Paul hit theturning point that defines
(23:56):
surrender family.
Sometimes God removes the flaw,but sometimes he leaves it in
place.
It's not to punish you, but it'sto reshape your identity.
Why?
Because God knew something thatPaul didn't, that Thorn would
(24:16):
keep him humble, that Thornwould strip him of pride, that
thorn would anchor him in grace,and it would reveal God's
strength through his weakness.
Not in spite of it.
See family that thorn didn'tstop Paul's calling.
(24:39):
You know what it did?
It refined it.
In Paul's response, Justin, Ilove this.
This is radical.
He says, therefore, I will boastall the more gladly about my
weakness so that Christ's powermay rest on me.
You see, only grace can makesomeone say, I'm glad I'm weak,
(25:00):
because it's in the weakness.
God shows up in ways thatstrength never invited.
See families.
Sometimes the removal isn't themiracle.
Sometimes the miracle is who youbecome in the letting go.
You don't need the pain todisappear.
To experience, freedom, family,what you need is for grace to
(25:24):
meet you in the path and reshapewho you are because of it.
The miracle isn't always a cleanslate sometimes.
Justin, it's a stronger soul,
Justin (25:38):
and so that's what I think people need to understand
too.
When we get here.
Sometimes you have to wait onthe Lord because he's doing
something in your life.
That nobody else can.
(25:59):
And we want to outrun God,right?
We want, we try, we try, we, wewanna outrun him.
Um, and we're terrible at it.
We're very terrible at it.
Well, and I used this story thislast Sunday, so I, I, we have an
older lawnmower and it keptdying on me.
So I thought, well, I'm gonnaput a new battery in it.
And we put a battery in it, andPenny, she said, well, let's
(26:20):
pray about it for a second.
I said, okay.
So we prayed.
I went out there, hopped on alawnmower, started it up, new
battery, at least if it died, Ididn't have to jump it.
Started it up, took off,throttled all the way up, went
down, boom, it died, startedright back up, took off, went
down, died.
We had prayed, and in thatmoment I felt, God say, slow
(26:45):
down.
So I was driving it and insteadI had it throttled all the way
up.
I kicked the throttle a littlebit back.
It never died.
You see, the problem was.
I had it throttled so high thatI was outrunning the blades that
was trying to cut the grass.
And that's the problem.
We throttle so hard in ourrecovery that we fail to let God
(27:06):
remove those shortcomings whenhe wants to cut the grass.
Very good.
And that's when we have to say,okay, here are my weaknesses.
I love what you said, what Paulsaid.
Here are my weaknesses, God.
I'm this, I'm this, I know I'mthis, I know I'm this, and I
will boast in that because ifI'm willing to boast in that,
he's willing to show up in that.
But when I try to hide it andkeep it, he can't because I'm
(27:30):
still trying to be my own.
I'm still trying to have my ownstrength in it, but in my
weakness, he's made strong.
What are you failing to let goof?
What do you feel like you needto be strong in today that you
keep struggling with?
Let go for real, because that iswhen freedom is found.
(27:55):
When we finally come to thatplace of surrender, I love what
you said it, it's not a feeling,it's a posture.
Mm-hmm.
It's a posture of surrender andout of that posture, all good
things flow.
Dan (28:08):
But the question we've gotta ask ourself, Justin, is
what are we still managinginstead of releasing?
We gotta get honest for asecond.
This is where you're gonna haveto get honest.
You've named the flaw, you'veprayed about the pattern.
Maybe, maybe you've even fasted,maybe you've journaled, maybe
(28:29):
you've cried, you know, cried itout on the altar, but deep down
inside, you're still managingit.
Instead of truly releasing it,ask yourself, what is that one
thing?
That I keep handing to God, butpulling it back when things
(28:50):
start to feel uncomfortable.
What part of my story am Itrying to control, justify or
hide?
Hoping he heals it withoutexposing it.
But here's the truth, Justin.
God isn't confused about yourbrokenness.
(29:13):
He's just waiting for you tostop negotiating the terms of
your surrender.
You see so many of us say, God,take this, but not that fix me,
but don't touch thatrelationship.
God, heal me, but don't make meforgive them.
(29:35):
Use me God, but don't ask me togive that up family.
That's not surrender.
You know what that is, Justin?
That's spiritual bargaining.
Justin (29:46):
And you know what?
I love what you said.
And it goes back to thebeginning.
What we try and control ends upcontrolling us.
I'm gonna get my anxiety undercontrol today.
Says the person who's strugglingwith anxiety.
Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna get myanger under control today is the
person who's running aroundangry.
Justin (2) (30:06):
But
Justin (30:08):
we can't bargain with God.
No.
We can't say God, I want you totake, like you said, we can't
say God, I want you to take myanger, but I'm angry now, so I'm
gonna hold onto it.
God, I want you to take myanxiety, but man, this kind of
worries me a little bit.
So you just, you just take thatpart of it, and I don't know
about you, but I, I've seen itat the altar.
(30:28):
People get and they go and theybring these things before God
and they lay'em at the feet, andI believe wholeheartedly they
mean to.
But it's almost like before theyget up, they're just putting it
in their back pocket, like Goddoesn't notice.
And then they go home and theywonder, why am I still
struggling?
Justin (2) (30:45):
Right.
Justin (30:47):
Because he told you to lay it down.
He called you to lay it down.
And that's why I believe at theroot of most of our problems is
the pride.
Oh, absolutely.
We don't want to let it gobecause oftentimes that's the
only thing we feel like we cancontrol, but we're only a slave
(31:10):
to two things, sin andrighteousness.
Justin (2) (31:15):
Amen.
Justin (31:17):
That's what my Bible says.
You see, Satan doesn't come withthe chain and say, here's drug
addiction.
Here's alcoholism here.
Take take, take a brokenmarriage.
You know what?
You're gonna have struggle withthis and we'll just put this
chain on you, and you just walkit out for the rest of your
life.
No, little by little, he givesyou one link and says, do you
want this one?
(31:38):
And what happens is we'll takethe chain off and then take that
link right back from Satan andgo, yeah, that's a good one.
And we imprison ourselvesthinking that we're controlling
it.
Until we're the ones chained up
Dan (31:52):
guys, God doesn't work through bargaining.
He just take it from me.
Let me save you a lot ofheartache.
God doesn't work throughbargaining.
He works through brokenness.
I'm gonna offer you aninvitation right now in your
car, in your kitchen, on yourwalk, however you're listening
(32:14):
to this podcast right now.
I want you to say it out loud,God, I give you whatever that
is, God I give you, even if youdon't fix it the way I want it,
even if I never fully understandit.
Even if you leave that thorn inthat place, you can have it all
(32:40):
of it, because real healingdoesn't start when the pain goes
away.
It starts when the control doessee, letting go for real is the
moment heaven gets invited intoyour mess.
You see family, God isn't afraidof what you're carrying.
(33:01):
He's not waiting for you toclean it up.
He's waiting for you to hand itover raw, broken, tangled, and
all.
And in that moment whensurrender is real and humility
is honest, family heaven showsup not just with answers, but
(33:22):
with presence.
Peace.
Power because what God touches,he transforms, but only what
you're willing to release.
Justin, as we get ready to wrapthis podcast up, man, again,
this is something we couldprobably talk about for a real
long time, but what you want toclose with man,
Justin (33:50):
do not conform to the patterns of this world.
Be transformed by the renewingof your mind.
In order for us to stopconforming to the patterns of
this world, we need to humbleourselves and ask God to fix us.
(34:13):
That's where transformingbegins.
I love what you said.
Healing doesn't begin when thepain's gone.
It happens while the pain'sstill there.
Sometimes guys, there's gonna bea thorn in your side, I promise
you.
Continue to give it to God andhe will continue to give you the
(34:36):
strength to overcome it.
And what you will see is thatthorn, that the enemy meant to
buffet you is what I think theBible says.
Keep you down.
Mm-hmm.
God uses to elevate you.
He elevates himself through it.
Amen.
But it takes us humbly coming tohim.
Amen.
(34:56):
And saying, God, you take it.
It's not asking, it's saying,God, take it.
Dan (35:04):
Guys.
That's surrender.
That's the type of surrenderthat shifts the atmosphere.
That's the kind of prayer thatGod answers.
Not with a maybe, but withmercy.
So don't hold it another day.
Release it.
Give it to God, cast it on him.
(35:25):
Don't pick it back up.
Till next time, family stayrooted, stay recovered, and
let's get to work.
You are not just surviving.
You are becoming, becomingrooted in truth, becoming
recovered by grace, and becomingthe person God always knew you
(35:46):
could be.
Thanks for joining us on Rootedin Recovered.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, don't keep it
to yourself.
Share it, live it, let it takeroot.
We'll see you next time righthere where scars become
testimonies and hope rises fromthe ashes.
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