EP 84 Trusting God Even in the Hard Times - Trisha Glover

Welcome to iRefresh, where we talk about the power of prayer in God's Word. Hey there, welcome to iRefresh. Today we are with Tricia Glover, my dear, dear friend, and she's got so much on her heart to share today. She even woke me up early, shouting and screaming and being excited. With a tambourine. With a tambourine, which I told her to put away for this podcast. Yeah. But she was with me on a podcast last week. It aired and it was about her dark times. And you would never know it just knowing Trisha and how beautiful and happy she is and how supportive of other people. You would never know she had dark times, but she does because we all do. And in those times, it became difficult to pray. You felt tired. distant from God. But the word of God and the support of other women and just how God led you back is what that podcast is about. But what she has on her heart today to share is about how each of us matters. We all matter, even in those moments when we're in our own darkness and our own self-pity and maybe, you know, stressed about things going on in life, God's always with us. And he loves us no matter how far away we go, no matter how many stupid things we do. He's always there to come back to bring us back to him and into his mercy and his grace. So now I'm going to let Tricia talk and she'll probably talk the whole time. What do you have on your heart, Tricia? Yeah. I was really wound up this morning. I really was correct. And I pulled out my tambourine that my dear friend here in Tennessee gave me for Christmas. So, Dina, I'm always so happy to see you. You're beautiful inside and out. My dear friend, you've been so faithful and constant. I'm so grateful for you. And I'm grateful for every friendship that God has given me that is of him, that is life-giving and fruitful. And friends that their lives are hinged on Jesus. And therefore, we can be as iron sharpening iron, strengthening one another. So I'm just so grateful every time I see your face, dear friend. And you there in Tulsa, you represent so many other people that I know and love and did life with for 19 years. And I just hello to each and every one of you. You know who you are. I love you all. And I think I just want to pray. I'm sorry, go ahead. That's okay. Thank you for that. Father God, we're just so grateful to you for your presence. How wonderful of you, Heavenly Father, that you would make a way through Jesus Christ, your son, for us to not be separated from you, but for us to be with you, joined to you, by grace through faith, and because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Thank you, Father, that the veil in the temple has been torn in two and we have access to the throne of grace even now. And I pray for Dina and myself and Alicia and every viewer and every listener right now. You know their names. You know who they are. I believe you've handpicked each one. And I pray that you would bring the word through Dina and I with power and let it accomplish all that you please and all that you send it to do in each and every person that listens to this. We thank you, God, in advance. It's already done and you're doing exceeding abundantly above all we've asked for or thought. Thank you, Jesus. Well, you know, this morning, I just became very excited because for the past couple of days, it's been like, Father, what do you have? What do you want me to say? What an honor and a privilege to ever open the Word of God with anyone. What an honor and a privilege that we have the written Word of God. And so this morning, I'm praying and I just began to pray for the listeners, for the viewers, for the manifest presence of God, for them to, in the natural, realize his presence right where they are and pray. He did for me when I was praying for the viewers. And that's why I called you with my tambourine and asked you if we were awake. And I think it was like eight o'clock, maybe 845. I don't know. I'm saying until two and three. So eight o'clock is early for me. Yeah, I got you. But he gave me a few scriptures this morning. And that's part of it, too. I had put in the word of God so much before I called Dina this morning. And the word of God, it just absolutely, it will energize you. Whatever is hurting, whatever is causing you fear, anxiety, stress, it just washes all of that away. And he had given me scriptures that he wants me to bring out. And he's given Dina some scriptures to bring out during this time. And, you know, not exactly sure everything I'll say or everything he'll say, but we're here. We've shown up. So Lord, have your way, do your thing. But, you know, everything good in this life comes from the Father. The Word of God says every good gift and every perfect gift comes from the Father. And that includes the fact that we can. commune with him and have a relationship with him. And that's first and foremost is relationship with him. There's no evil in God. There's no guile in God. There's nothing false or fake. He is love, according to the book of John. And his love for us is so very great, constant and unfailing. And he showed that by giving his only son. And all that he suffered for us. So everything good comes out of first relationship with God on the daily. And you can't do that wrong. You come, you open your Bible, you read, even if it's one verse, you know and believe that the word of God is true. And you talk to God. There have been times when I've talked to God that I've been angry. And I told him that I didn't understand why he was, why things were the way they were. And I told him that. And he wasn't intimidated. He just, he talked with me and he helped me. And then the second thing that he gave me is in Malachi 3, 16 and 17. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another and the Lord listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on his name. They shall be mine, says the Lord. And isn't that beautiful? It is. And you know, when we're in those dark times, sometimes you don't feel... like getting in the word, you know, I mean, just being honest and real. You're just, you just want to sometimes be self-pity, you know, have self-pity. But I can say even in my experience, when you give, when you give God the first and when you open the word, I can't tell you how many times he's, he's taken me to a verse that applied to the very situation I was walking through. And had I opened it earlier, maybe I would have got through it easier. Usually it's the verses that say, keep your mouth shut. But yeah, there's a lot. But you know, there's a scripture that says the broken and contrite heart, the Lord does not despise. He's close to the broken hearted. Yes. Psalm 147, three, he heals the broken heart and binds up their wounds. And I think we're both living proof. And so this Jesus that we come to, and if you have known me longer than five minutes, you have heard me quote this passage of scripture. You've heard me read it or pray it and probably several times, but it's still in about 10, 12 years of God giving me revelation of it. It still has not grown old for me. And it is in Isaiah 11 and verses one through four, read those. But it says that Jesus is speaking of Jesus having the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding. the spirit of counsel and might, and the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and the spirit of the Lord on Jesus. And so this is the one that we seek relationship with. This is the one who... Wow. Even bigger and magnified. This is the one who seeks relationship with us. God pursues us. He is pursuing us. If you're listening to this broadcast right now, you are being pursued by a living king in a real life love story of the Bible. And you are the object of his affection. He is coming after you. He loves you and he wants you. And in the midst of this fallen, dark world, in the midst of all, he, the one who is full of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might and knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Not the fear of man, not the fear of the economy, not the fear of a good or a bad president, not the fear of a disease or a pandemic, but the fear of the Lord. the one who loves us and cares so deeply for us. And so it's very important. It's vital there. I can't really help me, Dina. I can't think of a, an adjective to describe how very much we need to put the right thing into our minds, into our eye gate, our air gate, because so much in this world vies for our attention and, And this world will, you know, and if we put that in, and if that's what we're soaking every day, then we are inviting fear and all of its forms, stress and anxiety, concern. That is so true. And, you know, I've written a confession for this year that I say every day. Mine's kind of long because I need a lot. But, you know, the Bible talks about the power of life and death are in your tongue. And in our society today, it's so easy to speak negative things because there's a lot of negative things going on. But God is God over all of those things. And there's nothing too big or too powerful or too dangerous. Yes. or too dark that he can't change. So, you know, to me, you have to, what you meditate on has to be the word of God, because otherwise you will get depressed. Yes. Everything around us says, yes, afraid. you know, go hide in your house. But God says, go to the, to the furthest places of the earth and preach his word and show people his love. And if we're going to power and focus on the negative, we can never do that. And every time you open the word of God and the truth, the truth is even above the facts that each one of us, we are very loved and, We are seen, we are heard, we're not alone. Especially if you watch the news, it's been years since I've watched the news. I depend on my husband because he watches the news for a few minutes every night and then he turns it off. So I'm thinking between that and social media, if there's anything I need to know, well, hello, in the Holy Spirit, I'll know what I need to know. But... But just to put that in my mind, but you know, the truth above the facts are Psalm 139. Whoever you are, whoever you are listening is the same for you as it is for Dina and for me. You are seen. You are heard. You are known. And the God of all creation, the God of the universe is. King Jesus, King of all kings and Lord of all lords, he is aware of you. According to Psalm 139, he knows how many hairs you have on your head. Sometimes we hear scripture so much that it just becomes passe. Passé. And we forget that it's 100% fact. God knows how many hairs I have on my head. Are you kidding? And he knows, if he knows when a sparrow falls from the tree, then how much more is he not mindful of you? Psalm 139 says that when I rise up, when I lie down, when my head goes on the pillow, right? He knows all my thoughts. He's acquainted with all my ways. He's so in love with us. You're trying not to cry and mess up your makeup. Is that what you're doing right now? No, I'm good. Girl, cry that makeup off. Cry that makeup off. I'm just so grateful that he's so aware of us and he's so present. In the book of John, it says that he is an ever present help in the time of trouble. And. In Hebrews 4, 15 and 16, it says that we have not a high priest. King Jesus is our high priest. He's the one that mediates for us. He's the one that is our counselor before God and says, okay, they're covered in the blood of Jesus. They may have sin, but they have received me as their Lord and Savior, the perfect Lamb of God on behalf of their sins. And so they come before you, able to talk to you and in good and right standing with you because of the blood of Jesus. And so he says he's an ever present help in the time of trouble. He is. And, you know, I was reading Nehemiah 9 this morning. And what struck me, and it's right along with what we're talking about, is they're in a house of worship and they start with repentance in their church service. Then they start with they go on to praise. But then most of the chapter is remembering the goodness of God. And they they line out everything that God did for the Israelites. to the point of even getting them out of slavery. But in the wilderness, they were completely provided for. You know, their shoes didn't break. Their feet didn't swell, it said, and a whole bunch of things. But it says that even in spite of all the goodness that God gave them, it says they refused to obey and didn't pay any attention to the miracles that you did for them. Instead, They rebelled and appointed a leader to take them back into slavery into Egypt. It says, but you are a God of forgiveness, always ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry. Hold on. And full of love and mercy. You didn't abandon them. And to me, that spoke volumes because we've all failed God and betrayed him in our own ways. But he never abandons us, you know, and I think in our moments of sin, we can feel like he's so far away or that we're unworthy to talk to him or ask anything of him. But he's never far away. He's always right there. And he's never going to abandon us because we matter to him in our ugliness, in our darkness. Yes. No. And in our joy and our glory in every form that we are, we matter to him. And I found that so beautiful. That's so wonderful. What's the reference for that again? Nehemiah 9. The whole chapter is so beautiful. Okay. And I never read it like that before. Well, I love that. And then he says he will not abandon. And, you know, there's a scripture that says that Jesus did not come. Jesus came for the sinner. That's who he came for when he walked the earth. he said that he didn't come for the ones that don't need a physician. So he came for the ones that need a physician and need a savior, which is mankind as a whole. But, you know, just to know that that includes me, that includes each and every person. If you are, you know, if you are sitting in an office in a high rise in New York, or if you are sitting in a jail cell, in a little bitty town in Tennessee, or wherever you are, wherever you are in life, no matter how old, how young, no matter how far away you've been or how deep your pit is, he's there with you. He is able to get you from where you are to where you need to be. And the main thing is knowing that he loves you. He loves you. You are very loved. You're very much accepted. When you come to the father and you receive his son, That's right. And you said the other day you called me and you said, he is your husband. He is your husband. So I would say, and, you know, so many times in our natural self, especially as a parent or a single mom, you're dealing with kids and you're like, I wish I had a husband. And people would always say that God is your husband. Yeah. And I see it now in a different way because physically he's not there to discipline the kids or those things, but he's there to give you strength and wisdom. And the wisdom of parenting is in the word of God. You just have to seek it. And everywhere. He says, if you seek me, you will find me. But if we're too busy, we're not seeking. Yes. No. And we don't see him because we're not. Yes. Well, and that's another scripture. I'm sorry. And that's another scripture I wrote down. Um, seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. That is right now today at this time and this place, this moment in history, seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. Um, another scripture that the Lord gave me to share is, and you were reading out of Nehemiah, did you say nine or 10? Yeah. Um, I think it's Nehemiah 8.10, where it says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And then in Psalm 16.11, it says, In the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. You know, again, in this world where so much is vying for our attention, social media, television, having cell phones where, there's incoming text messages and notifications and calls and just such a busy lifestyle, you know, and technology having brought us to the place where we can be in so many different places in one day and do so many different things in one day. We're just bombarded and bombarded with the news and what's going on in the world that oftentimes is very depressing, you know, But the word of God says that there is a secret place. The word of God speaks of rest. How much time do we have? A couple of minutes, five minutes. We're good. Okay. Speaks of rest. And it is in Isaiah 28, 9, 10, and 12. And just read that scripture. It's talking about a rest of God. And it talks about how God teaches us line upon line and precept upon precept. And he says that this is what causes the weary to rest. This is where the refreshing is, is the teaching line upon line and precept upon precept. Look up that scripture. And the word rest there in the Greek is manucha or manuka. And it means a place of stillness, repose, and consolation. But it also means the condition of restfulness. It's talking about inner rest and calm, even in the midst of turmoil, even in the midst of a. Term, termotuous term. I can't say that word. What's that word? Help me. Termit term to us in the midst of turmoil. And there you go. That's awesome. Yeah. Then his presence is where you find the joy, the strength. The inner rest. There's another scripture that speaks of peace that passes all understanding. Meaning, you know, I really should be falling apart, but I am not falling apart. And it's because of who and what is in me. That's true. And that's such a great place to end this, because when you say that, having a moment with God, being calm in God and experiencing God, that's what iRefresh is all about. It's all about ladies coming together, being vulnerable and sharing a deep. moment with God or moments, you know, and it's so important to surround yourself with women like that. So our mission is to encourage women to reach out to other women, to pray together. I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have the strong women of God around me who have supported me in prayer through ups and downs in my life and been there for me. and always have led. Neither would I. Right. And so that's, you know, for I refresh, that's what we want. We want women to know the power of God through prayer, through word, through fellowship, you know? Yes. So I appreciate you talking. Now, if there's time, if there's time, could I, could I pray? Do I have 30 seconds to pray? You do go ahead. Jesus, thank you so much for I refresh ministries. Thank you, Father, for, for how it, is reaching far and wide for you, for your glory, for your kingdom purposes, but for the good of those who are involved in it and those who are listening. Now, Father, we pray for every viewer and listener, for salvation for them in their household, for deliverance from all that would bind and hinder them from you, for healing of soul, body, and spirit, for restoration from anything and everything that's been lost, and for positioning for you and your kingdom purposes. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Thank you, Lord. And if you're a part of this audience and you want to get involved with a group of women or want to know more about iRefresh, be sure to go to our website, iRefresh.net, and you'll see us there again. And yeah, we're around. So come see us and learn how to love and support other women. Trisha, I love you. Thank you for joining me today. Yeah. Hope to talk to you again. I love you. Thank you for having me.