God Showed Me THIS Coming in January. Prophetic Word.

Hey y'all, so I've got a word to share with you from the Lord today, and I'm really excited about this because God also gave me a message that has to do with casting shame off, walking free from shame, but also maturing emotionally and healing from trauma, past wounds, emotional wounds, and sometimes those are a result of our own failure, and other times it's a result of something someone else did to us, and then there are times where it's just a result of living in a fallen world, and God wants to show us as believers how to live victoriously, how to rise above the current struggles and emotional hurdles of our time that are these generations and culture is dealing with today. So we don't have to live on the same plane that everybody else lives on. We actually get to rise above, and we get to live in a place called the comfort of the Holy Spirit, you know, where God gives us the direction, and also God is the one working on our hearts and changing us and transforming us to be more like Jesus, you know, and that's a really good place to be because you can, as a believer, you can either set off on a path of sanctification and think that it's by your own efforts and your own work and your own striving and struggling, or you set off on a path of sanctification that is led by the Lord, and it's based on His grace. It's based on what Jesus has done for us, and so I'm really excited about this because some people need this today. I need this today. I'll just put myself right there, and I think it's really good, but the Lord also gave me a message about something that's going to be happening in January, kind of a pre-warning, you could say. So I encourage you to test every word of knowledge, prophetic word, that I share on this channel. One good way to test it is go to my website, TroyBlackVideos.com. You can find links to my books, and if you ever feel like, you know, donating, contributing, that kind of stuff, you can find those links there, but also there is a very extensive archive on this website where you can look at past prophetic words I've shared on this channel and see what took place. You can even search by date. You can search by topic, that kind of stuff as well. So super cool there. Very, very helpful. We also have a couple other things real quick. One is an event coming up January 31st. Me and Chris Garcia are going to be live in East Texas, so go check this event out at TroyBlack.org. That's TroyBlack.org, and you'll need to register to come, but the registration is free. So there's that, and then also I've got a new book coming out very soon, and it's called Mystery of the New Babylon. Please pray about getting a copy of this because I believe it's a message for our time, especially for the church today, and I believe it is going to be a catalyst for awakening in many ways. And so this is what I heard about January. I heard this back on October 17th. The Lord actually spoke to me that same night about something that's happening in February as well. So if people wonder why do you put out prophecy videos that have to do with date, you know, years and months and all that kind of stuff, well, that's the way the Lord gives me these messages sometimes. So trying to be obedient to deliver things in the framework that He gives me, right? And so He told me He was going to be doing that a lot this year. I've already gotten words for, literally already gotten words for March and April as well for that time, March, April, May. And so sometimes the Lord, some years the Lord does that a lot, other times not so much, but obviously He's so far doing that a lot this year. So this is what I heard about January. I heard the Lord say the next, He said, talked about the next season or two, and then He said specifically, January will come a time of repentance, of mass paranoia. Let me explain that in a second. He said where a people or group will become unburdened with past guilt and choose to throw off their identity to an extent, to reject a past claim based on the weight of societal fears coming their way. Someone will quote-unquote point it out online and start the ball rolling. And then He asked me to share this early on, so obviously still November, so I'm sharing it now, but He said specifically to say this is going to be happening in or around the January timeline, in or around the January timeline. And I got an impression today that this would be something that's like more of like a catalyst event that is going to be, more is going to be happening related to it even later in the year. But I heard this next, He said a societal excretions, if I can say that word right, relieving oneself of a burden of past trauma that they performed against someone else. And I got this impression on the 25th, just yesterday, the Lord was saying this idea of January will come a time of repentance, of mass paranoia, right? Well how do those two things go together? The impression I got yesterday was that this paranoia, it's a paranoia that leads to mass repentance, a change of mind because enough time has passed where they can look back and see it differently as a generation and nation. So a people or a group did, and here's the impression I got today, was that this people are connected to shame based on something their ancestors took part in. So it was a previous generation, right? And so this people or group, because of something their ancestors took part in, are living under a weight of shame, but then there's going to be a starting online that's going to cause a, it's a cultural shift, right? Where people say, I'm not, I'm not going to, I'm going to, literally the phrase I got was to reject a past claim based on the weight of societal fears coming their way. So what I heard today, the Lord said a metamorphosis moment. And I saw a picture of a caterpillar going into a cocoon and then emerging as a butterfly, and it can fly now, right? And so if you always stay a caterpillar or you always stay in a cocoon wrapped up, there's that pressure there and you can't actually become what you were meant to be. And so there's a lot, there's a mixture of things happening here. And the impression I got, this is at least partially a good thing, okay? At least partially a good thing. So I also heard today, I got this impression that you can call out right versus wrong without taking part in the shame of someone else's decision. So rejecting history and saying, well, that never happened, you know, like people that deny the Holocaust. And they say, well, it never happened because that would be too, that's too evil, too wicked. No, that's not good. That's evil. Lying and saying it didn't happen is evil, right? You shouldn't reject that. But just because your ancestors took part in something does not mean that that same shame should fall on you now. And it is actually a good thing to say, okay, I am going to acknowledge that that was wrong, but I'm not going to live under the shame that they created because that's not who I am, okay? Because my identity is found in Christ, right? So there's a difference there, right? And so there's actually, some of my ancestors actually left Germany, speaking of that, before that started happening, right? So they were almost there and they left literally right before all that stuff started happening. And so, you know, it's like that could have been part of my story, right? You know, but it wasn't, but it was like tied in there, you know, with some of people I'm related to. And so it's like, it makes sense there that we have to identify ourselves based on what Jesus has done for us and who he is in our lives today in order to, you know, and it could be something we're dealing with that our parents did or our grandparents, you know, or even that we did in our own past, right? But the Lord has called us new creatures in Christ Jesus to those that know him, and we don't have to live under that shame any longer. And we actually get to even heal from the trauma itself and the memories themselves that also play into the picture as well. And so, you know, I heard the Lord say this yesterday. He said this about Jesus. He said he carried, but it was like from the perspective of a Christian who's gotten saved. I heard this, he carried our shame far away. And so this is the phrase that God gave me, that we need to be repeating, we need to be believing, standing on Jesus carried my shame far away. Yes, he carried my sin on his own body. Yes, when he died, but he also carried my shame with him. And I don't have to live under the weight of that anymore. And that is good news today. So this is Psalms 139. It says, he will not always contend with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. So people sometimes hold on to anger, they hold on to bitterness, they hold on to unforgiveness, right? But God is not like that. Like you can be angry and not sin, so anger is not always a bad thing, right? But God's nature is long-suffering, and his nature is to be forgiving, to be gracious, to be merciful, to be kind. And it's his loving kindness that actually leads us to repentance. This is what it says, Psalms 103.10. It says, he has not dealt with us according to our sins. So you can look at all, if you don't know Jesus today, if you don't know God, and you're wondering, what does God think about me? You can look at all the sin in your life that's keeping you away from God, and guess what? God did not deal with you according to the level of your sin. How did he deal with you? Well, he said, that sin is separating me from you, and I don't want to be separated from you, but I'm going to make a way for you to come back despite that. And that's why Jesus came and he died on the cross. That's when it says, he has not dealt with us according to our sins. It says, nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. It's not saying I'm not guilty. We are. You are. I am. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It's saying God didn't treat us that way. Instead, he made a way for us to be forgiven. And Jesus came and he took that guilt upon his own shoulders, upon his own body. Verse 11 says, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. It's describing an infinite, you can't get to, the Tower of Babel, they tried to reach heaven apart from God. The truth is, you can't reach heaven apart from God. That's what it's describing here, an infinite separation between heaven and earth. It's talking spiritually, right? And it's saying, so far, so great is his mercy toward us, those who fear him. What does it mean to fear God under the new covenant? It means to believe him, to treat him like he's telling the truth. When he says that Jesus came and he died for you, and he paid the price for your sins, and if you believe in him, you get to be completely forgiven, filled with the Holy Spirit, and know him today, he's telling the truth. He's telling the truth. Do you believe him or not? The Holy Spirit is speaking to people's hearts right now that need to come into fellowship with God, that need to come home. There are some people that you've played church for a long time, and the Lord's saying it's long enough, it's time to come home. It's time to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let him come in and save you, because that's what you desperately need. And I'm appealing to you and crying out to you to do that today. But also, there are Christians listening, and the Lord's saying it's time to stop acting like this isn't true, even though you've gotten it before, but you're living your life in such a way where you're running from the same things you've always run from. And the Lord is saying, yet my mercies have already covered that, and my mercy is already new every morning, it's already enough. My grace is already sufficient for you. And the Lord is saying, I want you to start acting like it, like it's sufficient, like I've already covered that sin because I have. I hear the Lord say my blood is enough. When Jesus died on the cross, his blood completely washed us clean. And so, no matter where you are today, the answer is come to Jesus. Come to Jesus and let him forgive you. Let him renew you. Let him make you new again. And so, it says as far as the east is from the west, how far is east from the west? Well, guess what? It's also describing, it's using a very strong analogy to describe an infinite amount of space. That's what it's talking about. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our wrongdoings from us. He's taken everything we've done wrong, and he's carried it far away. And with it went the shame, and the guilt, and the regret, and the condemnation. And that's why it says there's now, therefore, no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. So, right there in that space, that's the truth. You see that, right? That's the truth of who you are in Jesus, if you believed in him, if you've chosen to accept his gift of grace. The Lord wants us to live there. That's what maturity looks like. I'm going to live in that space. I'm not going to keep going back. I'm not going to keep referencing and going back. Jesus is coming back without reference to sin, is what it says. Okay, so if you need Jesus today, call out to him. The Lord says, all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, right? But this is a word for Christians now, okay? And I heard this about 2026, and the word I got the other day was sanctification. The Lord told me there's going to be more to come, and I heard more even at that time. But for now, this is the word. I'm going to share another word later that fully plays into that. But the Lord, this is the word he gave me for the church for 2026, sanctification. But what does the Lord want to speak about today? Well, he wants to speak about one aspect of this. Sanctification is, yes, not sinning as much anymore, right? But it truly is looking more like Jesus. And we are not just spiritual beings. We are spiritual. We have a body, and we have a mind, right? We have our soul. We have a mind, will, and emotions. And so looking more like Christ means we are maturing in every way. You know, some of us, we focus on the body, and we say, as long as I'm healthy, as long as I'm eating right and exercising and taking care of my body, I'm good. That's not a full picture, right? Others of us, we focus on the mind only. It's, as long as I'm reading the self-help books and getting counseling and doing this and doing that, that's fine. But we're, in some cases, neglecting the body and the spirit, right? And then there's others of us that we're thinking, well, as long as I've got things right in the spirit, I'm just going to study theology all day, and I'm going to pray, and I'm going to fast, and I'm going to do this. But we're neglecting our body that God gave us to steward, and we're neglecting our mind that is just as important in some ways because it feeds it, it plays into it, right? And so being a mature Christian means letting the Lord into all those areas of our life and walking by the Spirit in every area because sometimes the Holy Spirit's going to say, I want you to take a break, take care of your soul. Other times He's going to say, I want you to go get some exercise, and that's not only going to fix the body issue in some cases, not every case, but also in some cases, it's going to fix the mind issue as well because we're connected, right? Body, soul, and spirit, we're connected. And so one aspect of ourselves is going to influence the rest, you know? And so the easiest way to see that is the Spirit, right? If the Spirit's off whack, everything else can be off whack, but it works each way. So this is what the Lord said. He said, there are also emotional struggles. This is what He told me on the 25th, I believe. He said, there are also emotional struggles I want to address among my people this year. Non-sin issues, some issues that are non-sinful, but He's saying, He says, non-sin issues that have had a dramatic effect on many lives, shame, condemnation, and even emotional trauma that has spread itself across the life until it eats away at a person's ability to walk in assurance and surrender. He's talking about emotional trauma, right? And He said, constantly battling the quote-unquote, what if, instead of walking in freedom, He said, I want to set my people free today. And so I hear the Holy Spirit saying that every single time that you start wondering, how am I going to do this? How am I, am I capable? Am I enough? Based on a trauma that you walk through, and you think, because I'm carrying that thing, I hear the Holy Spirit, so I can't do what God's calling me to do because I'm carrying this. I'm not enough because I'm carrying this. I hear the Holy Spirit saying, I want you to let that go. Let the baggage go, and I'm going to help you. I'm going to show you how in the days ahead. Because I'm sanctifying my bride, yes, but I'm also maturing her in Christ. I'm helping her to walk into the fullness of who she's called to be. And you don't have to be afraid anymore. And so for some of us, we've been afraid of even starting that process. And that's why we're not addressing, we're not letting the Lord address the issues because we're afraid of the process itself. And I'm going to give you the key to that in a minute because God gave me five steps in scripture that are essential to this process. But the key really is to let the Holy Spirit comfort us. Let him be the comforter. And so does it hurt? Yes. But we have the comforter with us, and he's going to help us. So this is what the Lord said. He said, I want to set my people free today. And he said, I have more for you than that struggle. And freedom starts with a song, a song of praise based on what my son has done. We look at Jesus, we say, wow, he paid the price for my sin. Not only that, he paid the price so that I could be complete, so that I could be whole in him. That's what Colossians says. It says so that I could be adequate because God made me adequate. I'm not adequate on my own. God made me adequate so that even my weaknesses, God can turn around and use them for good because he's strong when I'm weak. He becomes strong through me. And so there's an identity shift and there's a mindset shift that happens when we dwell on the word of God and we see what scripture has to say about us. And what happens is we stop trusting our feelings that are lying to us sometimes. Sometimes feelings are telling the truth, but other times a feeling is just a feeling and it's not based in reality, but it's based in a memory or it's based in even a spiritual truth that used to be true. That's what condemnation is. Condemnation over a believer is us believing a lie about what we get based on our sin because our sin's been covered now by the blood of Jesus. I hear the Holy Spirit saying this for some people. I didn't want you to have to go through that, but now that you've been through it, I want to provide the healing so that you can walk in wholeness again, completeness and victory. The Lord is saying healing is in my hand. You don't have to go somewhere else to get it. And there's a very practical way we walk this out. So yes, it's very spiritual, but this is not some esoteric, like, well, it's far out there and I can't reach it. No, it's very practical and it's very much based in what choices am I making today based on what God has said in his word. Okay, so let's look at this. 2 Corinthians 13, 4-7 says, For indeed he was crucified. I'm going to throw this up on screen. Verse 4. For indeed he was crucified because of weakness, yet he lives because of the power of God. So Jesus was crucified because of our weakness, but he was also crucified in weakness in the sense that he was a man. He was God and man, and he experienced life as a man, and every temptation that we experienced, he experienced, yet he never sinned, right? But he understood what it was like to be human. And so he was crucified in the flesh. His flesh was crucified. And so he was crucified because of weakness, yet he lives because of the power of God. So the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, guess what, lives inside of me. And we see that in this verse here. This passage says, For we too are weak in him, yet we live with him because of the power of God directed toward you. For we too are weak in him. Well, that's also translated originally, with him. We too are weak with him. What does that mean? We are walking the same life that Jesus walked because we're here in the flesh. Although we don't walk according to the flesh, we walk according to the spirit, right? But we're experiencing life in the flesh. We have a body, right? So we still are part of this fallen world. And yet, we have someone who is there, who's already conquered, who's already reigning in victory, who's already seated at the right hand of the Father, and guess what the word says? He sympathizes with us. He's able to sympathize with us, our weaknesses. And yet, because he never sinned, he's able to pull us up where he is instead of us pulling him down. We can't possibly pull him down. Yet we will live with him because of the power of God directed towards you. So we've got to wake up and we've got to tell ourselves, I am seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places because that's what the scripture says. That's true, 100%. I don't even care if I fully understand what that means or not. It's true. And so I'm going to identify with that. I'm going to identify myself with that, with him, where he is. The word also says, as he is, so also you are you in this world. Well, where is Jesus? Well, he's reigning in power. He's standing in victory every day. He's overcome the world. So that's where I am today, according to the word. And then look at verse 5. Test yourself. So this is a spiritual practice we can do. It says, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. This is good. This is healthy, okay? This is not doubt. This is not lack of faith. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. So this is twofold. If somebody says, I'm not sure if I'm saved or not, I would say, I would point them to this verse. Say, well, test yourself. Like, if you don't, have you actually taken the steps? Have you walked through it? Have you actually repented of your sin and believed that Jesus died for you? Are you actually putting your faith in him or not, you know? And if they say, well, I didn't think that was the way to get saved. And I'd be like, well, you're failing the test, right? And this is actually good news that you know this, so now you can get saved, right? Like, because that is sometimes the answer. Sometimes people say, well, I think there's other ways to get to God other than Jesus. And I go, well, there we go, right? You failed the test, and that's actually good that you know this now, so now I can point you to the truth. But at the same time, even those of us that are in Christ, why do we test ourselves to see if not, not did I get saved because I know I'm saved, right? But am I actually in the faith today? Am I walking in that same level of faith? The word says, as you received Christ, so walk in him. So am I still walking in that same manner, right? It says examine yourselves, or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail the test? So what is he saying? He's actually saying it's a lot better than you think. So we need to come from this place of, if I am struggling emotionally and I need God to heal something inside of me, I need to start from this place of testing myself. I'm going back to the basics and saying, well, I do believe that Jesus saved me. I do believe he forgave me. I do believe the cross is enough, and that's the power of God under salvation. And guess what? I've got that. So I'm actually doing a whole lot better than I realized, you know, than I feel in that moment. And this test is going to refocus our emotions to where we go, wait a minute, I'm not failing. Why? Because he's going to say, Wait a minute, I'm not failing. Why? Because there's no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. Wait a minute, I am more than a conqueror through him who loves me, through what Jesus has done and the love of the father. Wait a minute, I am a child of God now. So guess what? There's no better place I can be. So you run this test and all of a sudden you realize it's a whole lot better than I thought it was, right? I'm starting from a much better place than I felt like I was. Okay, so this can be a very emotionally regulating practice to do this, and we should be doing this. It's emotionally regulating because we go, oh, we were reminded of the victory that we have in Jesus and his faithfulness. Now that can come with, Lord, I've been unfaithful in my actions. I've been unfaithful in this way. And that's okay because then we see, oh no, it's not my faithfulness. It's his faithfulness. It's not my worthiness. It's his worthiness. And we realize that what he has given us is far greater than what we felt like we had, right? And so look at this, but this is the next verse. It says in verse six, but I expect that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. So Paul, the Lord has asked me to talk about 1 Corinthians 13, so I'm going to come back to it soon, probably within a few weeks, maybe next month sometime. But Paul actually makes a very, very amazing argument for when a certain part of the church is calling another part of the church false, right? And saying like, well, y'all can't be, you can't be hearing from God, this, that, that. It's amazing. So I'm going to walk through it, but that's where he's going again. So he's going in and out of that, but he says, but I expect that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. So what is the test? Well, is Jesus Christ in you? Do you have the Holy Spirit of God inside of you? Then you pass the test. That's what he's saying, right? He's saying we pass the test. And so he says, now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong. Okay, so he's saying, now we are praying that you choose the right things, that you're not living in sin, right? That you're doing the right things. And there's a distinction here. Sometimes something is intrinsically sinful because it's always wrong, right? There's other times where it's sin because it's not done in faith. So there are times where we allow an emotional trauma to lead us into a pattern of thinking that becomes sin because it's not what God has for us. It's not his best, right? And so that's what Paul's saying. We pray to God that you do nothing wrong. So that would include both those categories. But it says, so that we ourselves may appear—not so that we ourselves may appear approved. So what's he talking about? He's saying this is not about some social construct that the church has set up. And so many things that happen today fall into this category. Well, my churchy friends on X or on Facebook or Instagram or whatever, YouTube, TikTok or whatever, or whatever the new social media platform is, my churchy friends approve of me doing this thing, so it's okay. Or they don't approve of that, so I just won't post it, right? And what is that? Well, that is a social construct of shame. Somebody got free right now. It's a social construct based on shame. Well, the church approves, so I must be in the right, but that's not—is that where our approval comes from? No, it comes from Christ who lives within us. So it ultimately only comes down to what is God leading me to do and what has God said versus what is God not leading me to do and what has he told me to stay away from? And the world will try to put the same shame on us as well and say, well, you should be ashamed just for being a Christian because of this and that and that and this, and they'll lie about the Bible and about God's standard and God's character and nature and all those things and try to put a level of shame on the word Christian or on your identity as a Christian, and that we should reject completely. Now, we can walk through those questions and help people to understand the truth, and if the church itself is doing something shameful, we can reject that and speak and say, no, I'm not—I don't stand by that. That was wrong, and you're right to call that out, but that's different than saying, I'm ashamed because I'm a Christian and they're just not great. It's like, no, I am not ashamed of the gospels, what the word says. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's what the world needs. It's what changed my life. I'm not ashamed of Jesus. People can know that, and I'm not going to be ashamed of it, and if I am ashamed of that, Holy Spirit, will you help me? See, sometimes we're just ashamed of being ashamed, and it doesn't matter how many layers there are to it, the Lord wants to heal us and lift that off of us, so we don't have to carry that anymore. So if you've been ashamed of the gospel or of Jesus or people knowing that you're a Christian, that's okay, but the Lord wants to heal that, and you don't have to be ashamed of being ashamed, because sometimes what we do is we just—the more shame we feel, the more we push it away and we don't want to think about it, we don't want to walk through it, but guess what? That's the power of repentance and saying, Lord, I've been ashamed of that. I didn't want my family to know. I didn't want my co-workers to know that I was a Christian, or whatever it is. I didn't want people to know that I'm smiling because Jesus set me free. I pretended like it was something else, and when we say that, we say, Lord, will you help me to be a better representative of you and who you are and what you've done for me? It's okay to say that, and you don't have to carry any shame based on that, because we all are weak in our flesh. But that point of allowing his power and his strength into our place of weakness comes—that's what repentance is. Lord, I've been living this way, I've been thinking this way, help me to change that, and help me to align with what you want. And there's no shame in that. That's actually a good thing. It should be celebrated. That process, that's a process called sanctification. It should be celebrated, and that's just one simple example, right? But it's not, Paul is saying here, it's not about the social construct that the church has set up. It's not what it's about. He says, I don't want you to do the right thing so that we may appear approved, like, well, look at all the churches that I'm—Paul's like, all the churches I'm an apostle over, like, look at how good they're doing, and look, these other people over here are leading churches, and they're not doing so good, right? Paul's saying it has nothing to do with that. It doesn't matter. He says, but so that you may do what is right. He's saying all it has to do—he says, I just want God's best for you. Whether people think you're doing the right thing or not, it doesn't matter. I want you to be doing what's right so that you're walking in God's plan for your life. He says, though we may appear unapproved. So he's saying, even if it means people judge us, I don't care. I don't care. I'd rather do the right thing. And there's some people listening, you've had to make that distinction in your mind, and you've had to make that decision, and it's been a hard one. And I hear the Holy Spirit saying, I see that every single time. I haven't missed it. That's a hard step to take, to lose the approval of the people around you in order to do what's right and what God told you to do. And I just see a party. I see a party in heaven happening because of that. What did Jesus say? Blessed are you when people persecute you for my name's sake, when they say all sorts of evil against you and falsely accuse you. He says, rejoice, because your reward in heaven is great. And some people would ask, well, what's the reward today? Intimacy. Sometimes the only reward here and now we're going to get is the Holy Spirit saying, showing us that He was so happy when we made that decision. Like seeing a smile on the Lord's face in the Spirit, and us sharing in that joy. That's why Jesus said, when that happens, because we're sharing in His joy. But here's the thing. Paul says, we pray to God that you do nothing wrong, right? What's he saying? He's saying God has a better plan. So here's the truth. If we need help, just get help, no matter what people think, right? Sometimes we go, well, if they knew that about me, then, well, somebody should know that about you. If it's a struggle that you can't get free of on your own. Sometimes we need people to come in. We need godly counsel and Spirit-filled counsel. Sometimes we need Christian counselors, people that literally, that's their degree, that are Spirit-filled, that love Jesus, and that are trained, you know, and that's what God has called them to do. Other times we need a Spirit-filled minister who knows how to deal with it from the spiritual perspective, or a teacher, or a friend. But all of it is, we need God's family. You and I are not meant to do this alone. So if nobody knows about your emotional struggle, you should tell someone by the leading of the Lord. Like, you should let Him lead you to the right person. Not somebody that's going to take advantage of you, not somebody you can't trust, or somebody that's not a mature believer, but you should tell someone. Look at verse 8. It says, for we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. So Paul is, he's reconstructing the basis of where our direction and our instructions come from as Christians, right? We're not being instructed by our feelings, but we're doing, he says we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. So what does God's Word say? What is the truth? That's going to be my foundation. That's where I'm going to keep coming back to that. That's going to be the blueprint, that's going to be the plan, right? And so when our emotions lie or tell us something other than what's true, like one time, me and my wife first got married in 2012, and it was the first year of our marriage, I said something out loud to her, and I just said, you know, whoa, I don't even remember the phrase now, but I said something, and she said, that's a lie. And it was an emotional struggle I had been dealing with for a long time, and as soon as she said, that's a lie, it clicked in my brain, and I went, and I said out loud, and I agreed, and I, you know, I was tempted to like push back and argue, and I had to admit, no, I said, you're right, that is a lie, and I've been thinking that it's true. And God used what she said, she just confronted it, you know, so that's why God used that to change my mind. And the first thing I had to admit was, I've been believing a lie. And once I admitted that, then I said, Lord, can you help me to know what's true? And the Holy Spirit pointed me right back to the scripture, and I started reading the word and seeing, oh, God has actually spoken the truth of this in the word, and I could see it, it's right there. And I don't have to believe the lie anymore, although it took time, you know, to start believing the truth, and you know, that's the thing is about living in a state of weakness here in the earth is like, the devil still tries to bring that lie up from time to time, right? Like, especially during seasons where I am emotionally taxed, you know, or like there's a lot of work to do or something like that, you know, or hard season, like when you're down, the devil will kick you, he'll try to, right? But you have angels all around you, you know, and you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, so good luck, Satan, like, proceed at your own risk, you know, like, that's the Christian default, right? Like, there's warning signs, you know, like, danger, trespassers will be prosecuted, so proceed at your own risk, you know, like, you're playing a dangerous game here. And so that's what happens, right, though, is he will try and bring up that old thing, and so sometimes we need to, God wants to work on those during a season of security, so sometimes we go through a season of emotional stability or whatever it may be, or security, or a good year, whatever it is, and the Holy Spirit will bring that up at that point to say, okay, now I want you to work on this because he knows what's coming. He wants us to be not just standing on the truth but fortified. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe. He wants us to be in a place of strength, and Paul talks about this, you know, like, continue to stand, he says on the day of evil, keep standing, right, keep standing, stand firm, and so there's this idea of being prepared for the days ahead, right, and so to understand that, that sometimes maturity happens in the strong moments because it was in the weak moments when we weren't ready that God had to bring a miracle, right, that that was a miracle moment, right, but then guess what comes after a miracle? Well, a season of maturing so that the next time around, a miracle is not needed. Why? Because God wants us to be in a place of maturity so the miracles can flow through us to other people, so it's not, God does not always want us to be the ones needing, in desperation, needing a miracle, but God wants to use us to give that same miracle to somebody else, and so he wants us to walk in maturity, right, and so he says, verse 9, for we rejoice when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong. This we also pray for, that you become mature. Okay, this is good. Is this good? I hope this is good. Okay, it says, verse 10, let's read verse 10, for this reason I am writing these things while absent so that when present I need not use severity in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down, and so Paul is building up the church, right, and that's what I know the Holy Spirit is wanting to do today, so let's look at verse 11, and this is it, this is the five-step process right here, okay, so if we are dealing with an emotional struggle, these are it, right? Finally, brothers and sisters, and especially something like that was based on a traumatic event or something like that, it says, rejoice. Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. So I'm not worshiping, so I'm not praise, I'm not the joy of the Lord. It's talking about giving your attention to the one who deserves our praise, and not to, so the temptation is to give our attention always to the trauma, or always to that struggle, or always to, well, I'm always going to be like that because of this. I can't step into the next thing God has for me because of this. Well, I'm afraid it's going to happen all over again because of this, and it's like, well, you're looking at that instead of a Jesus, like you're giving that thing authority, and you're giving it importance, and based on, you know, it's like when you, the thing you're praising, you're always going to be looking up to. It's like, stop looking at it, and look at Jesus. It doesn't mean that we ignore it, and we pretend, you know, it doesn't mean to pretend, but it's like, who are we focusing on? When we focus on Christ, that solves 99 percent of the issues right there. You know, like the Israelites, they looked up at the staff, the pole with the snake on it that Moses had made, and they were healed when they looked. Everyone who looked at it got healed. So I'm going to look at Jesus. I'm going to praise him, and I'm going to worship him today. I'm going to exalt him to his rightful place, and stop exalting the struggle, right? And then look, so it says, rejoice, and it says, mend your ways. So sometimes we just need to change our actions. We need to admit that and say, Lord, help me to change, right? And it may have started with a past hurt. Sometimes a habit is the result of a traumatic event or someone else's sin against us, and it may have started with that, but it can change according to the power of God that's working in me now. God's power is working in me now, and it absolutely can change. And so I'm choosing to change, and if the habit's there, I'm not going to make an excuse based on someone else's sin or something I've experienced. And at some point, I have to take responsibility. I'm not going to make an excuse. I'm going to say, God, you're here with me, and I absolutely believe you can help me change, and he can. This is the third one. The Lord's telling me not to move on yet, but for some of us, this issue, it says, mend your ways. It's a picture of, you know, mend means to change, right? But it also can mean to fix something. So it's a picture of, like, you've got a piece of clothing, and there's a hole. You've got to patch it up with something, and you sew that on, right? You sew it in. Or there's a wound, you know, and it has to be stitched together, right? There has to be a stitching process. And I busted my head open one time, and I had to go to the hospital or to the doctor's office, you know, and they had to stitch my head together. It was so dumb what I did, but I jumped up into a doorway and hit the doorway with my head. But it hurt when they stitched my head together, right? That hurt, that process of, you know, and when you sew things together, sometimes you poke the needle into your own thumb, you know, if you're not being careful. So it's like, there can be pain involved in this process, and it can be a lengthy process to sew something back together in a way that it's going to stay, right? It's going to be fixed, you know? And so this can be a, it can feel like a cycle, right? It's like in, out, with that needle, in, out, I'm threading the needle, I'm threading the needle, I'm threading the needle, but at some point, you're going to be done. And you only fail if you stop threading the needle. Okay, the Lord wanted me to say that, and then I'm going to move on, right? So he says, mend your ways, and he says, be comforted. So this is why we can have the strength and the fortitude to actually walk through this process. It's because the Holy Spirit's there to comfort us. He's never going to leave us. He's our friend. Sometimes he's going to call us to maturity and say, now I'm going to work on all these things, I'm going to have you change something, and then other days, guess what? When we're at our lowest moment or our weakest state, the Holy Spirit's going to be a friend that pulls us up and pulls us out, and he strengthens us, and he protects us, and he shields us, and he says, it's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. I'm here. I've got you. We're going to get through this storm together. There are days where the Lord has said, I want to work on this with you today, and there are other days where the Lord has told me, I don't need anything from you today. I just need you to rest. Just believe me. Just trust me. He knows what we need. He's our comforter. And what happens is sometimes the habit that comes from a traumatic event, or that even the trauma itself and referencing the trauma can become a comforter to us. As long as I keep it in my peripheral, it acts like a comfort to an extent in some sort of weird way, and the Lord is wanting to replace that and say, no, I'm the comforter. You don't need that comfort anymore, because let me comfort you. Let me be the one that holds you together when it feels like you're falling apart. Look at this. He says, rejoice. Mend your ways. Be comforted. Be like-minded. Be like-minded. So we should be learning from other believers. This is the point I made about a spirit-filled Christian counselor. Sometimes we need to know that someone else walked through this, and I'm not walking through this alone. But also, this is a call to unity. I need to walk in unity with other believers, and we're going to be like-minded together. Why? Because we're stronger together, and there is an assurance and a strength that comes from walking in unity with other believers, and that's what God wants for us. And it says, live in peace. So this is the plumb line. This is the standard right here. If I'm not walking in peace, if I don't have the peace of God, then I need to pray about this. What does the word say? It says, are you doing well? Then rejoice. Worship. Praise God. Are you not doing well? Then pray. Because that's the key. It's like, then we need to pray, be anxious about nothing, but in all things do prayer and supplication, make your requests unto the Lord. And the peace of God surpasses understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. So if I'm not walking in the peace of God, something's wrong, and I'm going to stop, and I'm going to pray, and I'm going to allow the Holy Spirit to come in and to give me the peace of God. It says, and the God of love and peace will be with you. See, it's really Him with us that gives us His peace. And God does not want us to walk through one day without His peace in our hearts. God does not want, there is no spiritual test or spiritual maturity that God has for us that excludes His peace. And if somebody has taught you otherwise, they've taught you wrong. Well, my pastor told me that it was a spiritually dry season, and that's why I don't feel any peace right now. No, that's a lie. That's not true. It's not what the word says. Even though we walk through the fire, God is with us. Even though we pass through the waters, He shall not overcome us. The fire shall not burn us. The peace of God is, God does not always guarantee and promise that we will always be physically saved from everything. Now, I believe He's going to physically save us until it's our time, but He does promise His peace. Why? Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. Now, that doesn't mean we always have that sense of that feeling of it, but if we don't have it, we should acknowledge something's wrong. This is not God's best for me, and God has planned for me to have peace today, and so I'm going to pray, God, what's off? What is going on? There is no spiritually dry season that excludes God's peace. And so that's what it looks like to start to walk into maturity, is to realize, no, there are things that God has granted to me that He has promised me. Every spiritual blessing is mine in heavenly places in Christ. There are things He's promised me that I always get to have, and if I don't, it's a sign that something's wrong, right? And I'm either walking down the wrong path, or I'm not believing correctly, and there's something God wants to change in my heart with my belief, and this is one of those things He's given us. And it's going to be a sign to those around us, like, okay, I just saw you walk through the hardest season, and yes, you were emotionally distraught, yes, you were sorrowful, yes, it was very challenging, yes, it hurt, but somehow I saw the peace of God in you. And listen, no, we don't have to be perfect, but then people are going to see this as we walk into maturity, and they say, I saw the joy of the Lord deep down in your heart, and I saw the peace of God, and I've never seen anything like that before. And it comes from that simple knowing that He's there, He's with us, He's going to help us. I heard the Lord say this, He said to say this, He said, don't grant authority to something by dwelling on it. Dwell on me and my saving work and what it means. Let joy enter your heart based on what I've done, and that joy will become a strength within you, giving you the ability to overcome. So that's all I've got today. I went way longer than I expected, but I hope y'all got something good out of this. If y'all are looking for the word about January, it's shared at the beginning of the video, probably within the first 15 minutes or so, it's there. So if you joined late, the rest of it is about the Lord helping us to walk out, not just sanctification in the sense of not sinning, but in the sense of becoming more like Christ and letting the Lord heal the emotional wounds, the trauma, the hurts, and to help us to walk in God's best for us. Not just getting by, but His best, and that involves a life of peace and security in Him. So I hope y'all got something good out of this. I love y'all so much. Y'all have a happy Thanksgiving. We've got a couple of videos. I'm not live-streaming again this week, but we've got a couple of videos that are scheduled to go out for y'all. So I hope you enjoy those as well, and I'll see you next week.