Girls Gone Bible - You're As Sick As Your Secrets | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

ggb ggb ggb <3 hi beautiful friends. today we're talking about confession and how keeping your sin and struggle a secret, will make you sick. scripture, personal testimonies and advice on how to break free from hidden sin. we're so happy to be with you this Friday. we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari GUYS WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!! Austin, Texas 06/27 https://tickets.austintheatre.org/114... Houston, Texas 06/29 https://cph.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncomme... please join us. we can't wait to see you. if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible HEY WHILE WE'RE HERE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO RATE & LEAVE COMMENTS ON SPOTIFY & APPLE PODS. IT HELPS US. OK BYE NOW LOVE YOU

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I don't want it in my face though because then it makes me look like I have a mushroom head and I really, really don't like that. What's something that you would really wanna get good at? I don't know what just made me say that. That's a good question. Why, what's something you wanna get good at? I wanna be like an incredible pickleball player.

You could probably do that. You are good at pickleball. How do you know? Didn't you play with Nerys when we were there? Oh, you saw? Yeah. I was pretty good? Yeah. Yeah, I wanna be like sick at it. You're so sporty. I'm good at pickleball. How do you know? Didn't you play with Nerys when we were there? Oh, you saw? Yeah. I was pretty good? Yeah.

Yeah, I wanted to be like, sick at it. You're so sporty. I'm athletic? You're very athletic. You think so? Yeah. I think you can do anything. What sport do you think?

Oh no, the worst one was when you guys, I tried to wake surf. Please, what happened? Eeeewww! I... When I think of what was one of the most embarrassing moments of your life, it's when I tried to wakesurf in front of men. Okay, I was so embarrassed.

I love the vision of you wakesurking on the ocean water. I was so embarrassed. I love the vision of you wake-surfing on the ocean water. That's so sad. You'll probably be good at it. I am gonna go to wake-surfing. Wake-surfing and skiing was one of the most embarrassed, two of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Well, we have to go skiing together, because we have to redeem that.

Oh, go lock on with me, honey. Okay, we'll take you down the bunny slope. She had a traumatic experience, my poor friend. Someone took, I don't wanna talk about it because I don't wanna get upset. The snowmobile had to come get me. I was so blacked out. And when the snowmobile, when we went to the bottom

because I was so embarrassed because everyone was just like zooming down the slopes, you know, and I get down and I lost a mitten. And so there were no seats inside the lodge. So I sat outside on this snowy little chair and I sat there like this, disassociated like this. 35 minutes later, a girl found me. She goes, Arielle, I had icicles coming off the ends of my ear, my fingers were purple.

It's so sad. I had snowflakes frozen on my eyelashes. I go, hi. Were you wearing false lashes? Probably. That's so awesome. I never want to see you in that state. That would make me really sad.

What's up? Not much. Hi, guys. I'm Ange. I'm Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. We are a faith-based podcast where we talk about all things spirituality, mental health,

Jesus, the Bible, everyday life. We're so happy that you're here. We welcome everybody. We always say, come as you are. We're so happy that you're here. We welcome everybody. We always say, come as you are, just don't stay that way. The intro's getting better and better every episode. All right, why don't you try? Next time.

What's up, guys? What's now? OK, well, let's break the fourth wall a little bit and talk about how let's segue a little bit. That was a segue. I'm just kidding. No, not. Let's break the fourth wall and just talk about the overwhelming response that we got

last week. We thought we loved you guys. Things changed. Now we love you guys more than we could have ever imagined. Your guys' response to us saying, should we just be ourselves in the beginning, was so unbelievably sweet and kind. And I'm not even, I can't tell you how many times I cried.

It was an emotional episode, obviously, altogether, the Friday that we released. So I just spent the whole day crying because everybody was so kind. I love you guys so much. I know I was gonna say I wanted to thank you guys because as much as we bleed out it's just not easy. Like we go through a lot after. It's vulnerable and it's hard and it's just to have the support from you guys in the comments of being like, you guys are so brave, thank you for sharing that,

hearing how you relate to our stories is just, you have no idea what it means to us, these comments and these kind words and the support and the love of the, you guys are our sisters and brothers and it's just, it's overwhelming, it's so comforting and you have no idea how much it means to us, so thank you so much. It is so comforting, it is life-giving, it's confidence.

Like, you guys give us confidence to keep going. I don't know if anybody has a community like we do with you guys. You guys are just the greatest, and you know us so well. We feel so seen because of you guys. Like, I will never be able to thank God enough for the gift that is you guys in our life. So thank you truly from the bottom of our hearts.

What's up, Doug? What's up, Doug? First of all, can we talk about my girl? Do I look edgy? You look so cool. I love your hair. I love this jacket. You look like jacket. Do I look like a boss? I look like a boss at all? Boss, you literally came, you showed up. What would my name be if I had a, I mean we don't say all three of you go as Christians,

but if I did have one, what would it be? What would you call me? Do I look like I'm from the Bronx? Probably a little bit. I do. Yeah. What would it be? I don't know, I don't know. What would my name be?

Naomi? Naomi and Ruth. I was thinking about Wolf of Wall Street. Oh, OK. I was thinking about the Bible. Stop with the Wolf of Wall Street, OK? Sorry. It's not our brand.

OK. I would say you're like a Frederica, like something. A Frederica? Sounds like a like a Frederica like something a Frederica Sounds like this nevermind. Yeah. Yeah Jesus get a hold of our tongues What did we do last week we are in Florida together I was pretending to be Albanian she came in so Ari I'm her mom are best friends. All we do is dance to Albanian music. Shout out to you Christina, you're my girl. Oh don't do that. She is, she's my best friend. You guys literally spent so much time together this time so Ari had to go to

Miami and I was gonna go to Orlando to visit my family so I was like why don't you just come to Orlando we'll fly together. I love Florida. I almost... listen to this. I have this bucket hat on. I said, you know what, I'm just gonna, every time I try to enjoy a little time off, something goes down. I'm in Miami and I'm like, I put this bucket hat on, I'm in the ocean and I'm on my back and I'm like, oh this is so so, I was gonna hear a whistle, whee, get out of the water, shark! That is so crazy. There was a shark, everyone starts running out, I'm, you had a scene, babe, if somebody could be a fly on the wall at this beach.

I wish I could have seen her. That's my biggest fear, imagine, on the news, girls go on Bible, eaten by a shark. So that happened. So shark, right where I was. But Florida was so nice, I just got to relax. I just love Florida. I know. It was way too hot this time, but yeah. You guys are so lucky whoever lives by a nice beach with nice clean water. Clean water.

Because California sure doesn't have that. Malibu's nice. It's just where it's just too far from ours. There's just something about being by a beach. I used to love city life. I used to love even being in New York. Like I used to love it and I do but I can't do New York. There's something about being by a beach.

I just need that zen. It's healing. Water is healing. It's so, so healing. How was yours? It was so good. Did you miss me? I missed you so much when you left.

We only had three days in the water, but. I did miss you a lot. So I actually, Socrates and I went around to, the reason I went to Orlando was cause I was gonna go to Clearwater to spend some time with Socrates. And we went to a couple of different churches. and it was my first time like speaking at churches and I was so unperpetual. Like I had no idea what I was doing or where we were going. I was just like, all right, Socrates, let's go wherever you want.

And we did a couple of things at a couple of different churches and it truly are like ignited something in me that I didn't know was there. I love the podcast so much. This is like my first love in this space and then after I just realized so much this weekend that there's so much beauty in speaking in a church and in like a smaller congregation, like a smaller audience and it's just being so intimate. Tell us one of the stories. Oh my gosh, it was the best. It was the greatest weekend of my life.

We went somewhere Sunday morning. And it was this church called Fellowship Church in Tarpon Springs in Florida. And I walked in, and I remember, and I just, you know what I love so much? Art, it's just, I love spirit-filled, spirit-led churches where the presence of God is so tangible the second that you walk in. And the presence of God can only manifest in a place that he is utterly and reverently

respected and feared. And so this, and sometimes I feel like that gets lost in bigger churches because they grow wide without growing deep. Yeah. And so I'm like in this little church of maybe 150 people. It felt so much smaller than that. And so they kind of set us up with me and the pastor's brother, who's also a pastor at this church.

They set us up to do like a little panel, like two chairs. We sit and we talk. He's asking me questions about like the podcasts and just about ministry. And we had no idea what direction this was going to go in, but I just started speaking a little bit on just what God has done in my life and the things that He saved me from and the things that He's freed me from. And I start talking about OCD and just my journey with that. And I don't know, like, it was so beautiful because I didn't come in with notes. I didn't come in with a plan. I just literally just let God move. And all of a sudden, the man, a grown man sitting next to me just starts crying. And then everyone in the audience is crying. And the

presence of God was so thick in the room. Socrates kept on saying, he goes, oh, I feel the presence of God. Like it was crazy. And then this guy is like, I'm like looking around because I don't know why everyone's crying. And then his wife, like in the front row, was like, sorry, we're laughing. Because a couple of them started laughing. She said, we're laughing because my husband, you're telling his story. And he looked at me and goes, you're literally telling my story right now. And then he opens up in front of everyone and confesses in front of everyone that he's dealing with severe OCD for the past few years, scary intrusive thoughts. His mind is a battlefield. It is torture in his mind.

He's crying. Everyone's crying. I'm crying. We're just talking it out. He's like, how are you interviewing me now? And I don't know. I was like, I don't know. I don't know how that happens. And then there's a girl in the audience who stands up and she, I just love churches like this, where they just like, they don't like you quench the Spirit, the Holy Spirit when you limit what He wants to do. You know what I mean? You have to let the Holy Spirit do what He wants to do. And so she stands up and she's like, I'm so sorry, I just can't ignore it. The Holy Spirit's telling me like we have to pray, like we have to break this off of everybody in the room. So I said, okay, whoever deals with anxiety or intrusive thoughts or OCD, come and let's pray. We're praying. We're all laying hands on each other. I'm

praying like we're just at the top of our lungs. It's the most powerful thing I've ever experienced. Everyone's bawling. Everyone goes to sit down. And then there's this young girl who's in the audience and she just like raises her hand and she's like, I'm so sorry to interrupt She said I I was too scared to stand up and come to the front But she said I deal with such bad anxiety that I can't get out of bed in the morning. It's debilitating I have compulsions I have to do ten things before I leave the house and she said and while you were praying I Felt the OCD and the anxiety get sucked out of my throat.

She said, I was losing my mind. Losing it. You know you did that for me too. When I first met you, when I first met Angela, I confessed to her. And Angela's the type of person where she gives you that safe place to feel like you can, I have goosebumps, where you can literally

just spill out everything. And I'll never forget that day I was in the car with her. I literally tell this story all the time, but I don't care. Because it was like so monumental in my life. And this is when I knew she was really gonna be my just bestest friend. But I had been holding so much in. And I felt like I had just been a burden to so many people in my life,

because I couldn't stop repetitively, because I had OCD, and I couldn't stop saying the same thing over and over again. And when I met Angela, I had been holding it in, and she gave me that safe place to just let it all out and she just she took my hand in the car we were coming home from Big Bear and she just took my hand she put one hand held one hand put the other hand on my head and she was just praying her heart out and she didn't really know anything about me.

You had just met me and you had delivered me from the anguish and pain and the chains that I had been in. And that's what you do. And you're gonna do that. Jesus, yes. But he speaks through you in that way of healing others. And when you told me that this past week,

and I just thought, man, I always knew that that was your calling to heal others because you have that gift. You really do. It's a beautiful thing. And I love you. Thank you. You have the same thing. You have the same exact thing. And the truth is, everybody does. I tell this story because today we're talking all about confession and bringing things to the light and confessing to others and confessing to God and praying for one another and praying for one another and laying hands on each other. I'm just so tired of the church narrative in like modern day America that just wants to dim the spirituality behind our faith and like makes it sound weird

if you are laying hands on each other and praying. God literally says, if somebody is sick, lay hands on them and pray for them so that they may be healed. There is healing, there is miraculous healing. We don't heal each other, but our prayer heals each other. Our prayer through Jesus. Jesus does the healing and it works and it happens

and deliverance is real and we are just so passionate about everybody knowing the authority that they have through Jesus. We'll talk all about it today. That's the problem I have with with Catholic churches. They're so conservative to the point where they can't do that stuff. That's why I could not connect to the Catholic Church. Another thing I wanted to say with you is that day when you were speaking in church, you confessed, you were open, you bled your heart out so that girl would be able to stand up and be like, hey, I'm sure you gave her the courage to be able to stand up and say, I deal with anxiety. That's another thing beautiful about confession is that when you release that,

I mean, my biggest thing was, what are people gonna think of me? Exactly. And when I started to really be vulnerable, actually people gravitated more towards me because I was so open and we're all suffering. Everyone, everybody. Yes.

You give people permission. You give people permission. You give people permission when you hide your sin and you hide your struggle, you feed it. Hiding it prevents healing, isolation feeds shame. It breeds shame. Yeah, this is what we wanna talk about today. But yeah, just to finish that story, I wanna do ministry,

obviously we both do for the rest of our lives and whatever way that God wants that for us. I just like, I literally had a fire in my heart that I was like, okay, maybe I really should marry a pastor because I want to be a part of a local small church. You know what else I learned are? It's just like, there's so much beauty in podcasting and being on stage and doing these big grand things that God gives us the opportunities to do. It's insane what He's doing and we're so grateful. But this weekend was such a sobering,

beautifully humbling, grounding time for me to be like, this is what matters. Like the face-to-face connection. And like, yes, these people with big platforms, yes, these mega churches with all this influence and all this power, that's great, but the small churches, the small groups, the small intimate gatherings, that God's presence actually comes in, that is so important. and they might not have a platform, but I know this little, little church in Tarpon Springs, God looks down at them and he smiles at them.

And he's really like, you guys are doing it right. And I just, it's just so easy. It's just, he taught me so much this weekend about what it really means to usher in the presence of God and to really cultivate an environment that the Holy Spirit can come in because we stop him sometimes. It's funny you say that because when I had been talking to my dad about our show, he was like, what was your favorite part about it? And I was like, honestly, meeting people after hearing their struggles and being

able to give them a hug. And I love that you say that because it's like, sometimes some, some of you guys, obviously you don't speak at churches and things like that. But, and I always say this when you, when you meet someone who's in need and you're able, the Holy Spirit will intervene so you can help them like little things like that, helping others, like being one-on-one with others who are suffering, who are in deep despair.

That's when the Holy Spirit can work through you. Yes. And you'll be able to heal them. Yes. So thank you for saying that. No, seriously. And just to add on to what you just said, your guys' ministry, I know Ari and I are on a podcast,

and we go on stages. Your ministry is just as much as important as ours and it's just as impactful and influential. So please don't ever think just because you're not on a stage that what you're doing doesn't matter. You speaking to people face to face is so impactful and God smiles at that and he loves that. So please take whatever you're doing in whatever arena you're in, in whatever capacity that God has put you to minister to people, take it so seriously

because it matters so, so much. And we need it. We need it. The world needs you. Yeah. So what do you wanna read? All right, well, I just want everybody to truly roll up their sleeves today because we're about to fight some devils. We're about to get free. We're about to receive authority from Jesus.

We are not playing these games anymore. We're a victim to the schemes of the devil. I'm tired of it. I got so many messages about people who are in bondage to things that they don't talk about to people. Coming from someone who has done that in multiple areas of my life where I didn't tell people and I suffered because of it, today is the day that we're all being set free, including Ari and I, from everything that we're dealing with. That's right, put on your boxing gloves. Truly, put on those boxing gloves.

We're going to Muay Thai today, baby. That's right, baby. those boxing gloves. We're going to Muay Thai today baby. That's right baby. Let's just read Psalm 38, just a little bit of Psalm 38. There are some secrets that we carry that we hope that either some people don't find out about or we hope nobody ever finds out about. We all have them. Everybody has secrets. We want to call today's episode, You're as Sick as Your Secrets, because it's the truth. You truly are as sick as the secrets that you keep. This show is sponsored by Better Health. This year has gone by so quickly, you guys. What's something you're proud of in 2024 so far? What's something you still want to accomplish this year?

When life goes so fast, it's important to take a moment and celebrate your wins. And make adjustments for the rest of the year. Therapy can help you take stock of your progress and set achievable goals for the next six months. You guys already know better help has been so monumental in my own life, in my healing journey. I got matched with a Christian therapist. It was easy, it was convenient, and it helped me in so many ways. It healed me in so many ways. And so I would just encourage anyone who's going through a hard time who needs to just unpack some stuff, even confess. BetterHelp is so amazing and I really, really encourage

you guys to join. If you're thinking of starting therapy give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, it's designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Visit betterhelp.com slash girls gone Bible today to get 10% off your first month. That's better help. Hg lp.com slash girls gone Bible. Thank you better help for sponsoring this video.

Psalm 38 is a psalm and it just talks about the guilt, the shame, and the anxiety that's associated with hidden sin. Hidden sin, hidden addictions, hidden struggle is just, it is absolute poison to us. Oh Lord, don't rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage. Your arrows have stuck deep and your blows are crushing me. Because of your anger, my whole body is sick. My health is broken because of my sins. My guilt overwhelms me. It is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and wracked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from

an anguished heart." This whole passage paints such a perfect picture of not only the spiritual effects, the emotional effects, but even then the physical effects of hidden sin and hidden struggle. It will destroy you. He literally says that my guilt overwhelms me, my health is broken because of my sins. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. But then we go on to verse 17 and it says, I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain, but I confess my sins. I am deeply sorry for what I have done. So luckily David comes back around at the very end of the psalm and he confesses his sin because he knows that if he wants to be free from this anguish, it comes.

It's on the other side of this confession. It's so important. That is an incredible psalm. Beautiful. I have never read that before. It's just so, it's so real. It's so real. Every time that I keep things to myself, it becomes bigger and bigger and bigger. I think about when I got sober, I had not, nobody in my life knew that I was really struggling.

They could see it a little bit, but there was no confession that was being made. And then by God's grace, he sent somebody into my life that got close enough to me that was able to see it. So it was almost like an involuntary confession because I didn't want to confess but I started dating somebody who inevitably when you're with somebody you are either probably the closest person to you they see everything that other people don't see and so he saw into this area of my life that I was unwell in and that I was, and I was struggling with alcohol.

And he was able to see in it, and this moment that he recognized what was going on, it inevitably brought light to the situation. It shined a light on this very dark part of my life. And then once we brought it to light, once it was in the open, there was nothing I can do anymore. I concealed it for as long as I could. And then when it was brought to light,

I had to face it and I had to deal with it. And how did you do that? I, kicking and screaming. I dealt with it with kicking and screaming and fighting and not ready to face it until inevitably I got to the point where I love the word inevitably today, I guess. I said it eight times. I'll be using that next episode.

I'll be saying it wrong though in different sentences. Inevitably, I... Inevitably. I realize inevitably. Okay. And then it's so funny that God, God is light, there's no darkness in him at all. So God, because there's just so much about light, I want to talk about light today because the second that you bring things to light, everything changes. You bring things to light, but also God bring things to light. What's done in the dark will always come to light. What is that? For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Luke 8, 17.

Anything that's done in the dark will come to light, and God in His grace and in His mercy will oftentimes bring things to light even when we don't want to. And so yes, there were little alcohol bottles that would be found that would give me away. And you know in this instance, it wasn't my voluntary confession, but the involuntary confession of God shining a light on things that I was trying to keep a secret and things that I didn't want anybody to know about ultimately brought healing and it brought deliverance. But I would have never probably received healing, deliverance or freedom from this had I been able to conceal it for the rest of my life and

people do. People go their whole lives without confessing things, and it kills them. Absolutely. So then, can I ask you a question? Yeah. So you were kicking and screaming. He found the bottles in the bathroom.

And then what? And then what, did you first confess to God? Or did you confess to Him? How did that process go? Well, I think after that, so it was kind of like I had to confess to the person, and then what happened was it was so confronting, and it's like you can lie to yourself for so long

until somebody else is involved, and then it's kind of like, oh, gotta face the music, and you can't really, it's like you can lie to yourself for so long until somebody else is involved and then it's kind of like oh Gotta face the music and you can't really it's like you can have imaginations in your head But then once it's made manifest and people know about it You can no longer have these imaginations because it's out in the open Yeah, you know and so what I started doing after that was yeah, I would say I was confessing to Jesus I would go into a Catholic church in the little side thing where it's just like a little pew that you that you kneel on and I would just cry out to Him. And

that was my confession. That was my confession of surrender, of needing help and needing His help. And that's how that went. Isn't there something about going into those little churches by yourself and just talking to Him frees you, right? Yeah. I have the same story as you with that stuff. There's something about being alone with God in a church and just bleeding everything out. 100%. So then you did that and then that's... Do you feel like He delivered you in that moment or did it take some time?

It took some time. It didn't happen overnight for me. It was a little while of prayer, of my prayers, other people's prayers. But you weren't as sick. Because you let that out, you were holding it in. And then you came into the light, even though maybe you still had a little bit of that addiction, you were coming to the light because you confessed that

out of your mouth that you needed help. Exactly, yeah. were had a little bit of that addiction you were coming to the light because you confessed that out of your mouth that you needed help. Exactly yeah yeah the healing was gradual like we talked about last time sometimes God heals you on the spot sometimes it takes a second and for that it's like the it's like the confessions they are the initial it's like the opening for healing sometimes the confession is healing in the moment, sometimes it's the opening, the confession in and of itself is the ability to allow God in to do the healing. Because when you confess, the confession is the opposite of walking in darkness. Like when you're walking in darkness, it's when you keep everything to yourself and you don't tell anyone. But the second that you

confess, you open the door in a good way, where you let people in, you let God in, you let things in. But when you're not confessing something, you're keeping the door shut. God can't do anything. He can't impose on our free will. If you're not inviting Him into a situation, my greatest prayer when I don't know what to say is just, God, I invite you into this situation. I don't even know what to pray about it, but I invite you have your way in it. But that confession is an invitation. Yeah, it frees you. Wow. And about you, you are so great, I think, with confession. Would you agree? Now I am. Yeah.

And what was that process like for you? When did that change? When did you notice how healing it was to be honest about what you're going through? so do you mind if I take it back a little bit so I I Was almost an expert at high at acting like everything was okay and hiding things because growing up I think when you are When you and hiding things because growing up, I think when you are, when you, secrecy and things like that and shame, it all comes from growing up in chaos, growing up in dysfunction, growing up with parents that had addiction.

So for me growing up, I always had to act like, I was always hiding behind what I was going through. I always had to because I had to. So I, so I, this is a confession. I don't share this with anyone, but I almost feel like I should. So growing up, I grew up in a very, oh my gosh, I didn't know. Okay, I'm sorry. So growing up, I grew up in a very abusive home.

So my mom and dad split, and my mom had a boyfriend. So I was living in the house, was very young, and he was extremely, extremely abusive, mentally and physically, to my mom and I. And my poor, beautiful, beautiful mom was, if anyone who deals with abuse knows that when you're in something abusive, your mind is completely warped, you are almost under a spell. So my mom, my beautiful mom was was just very had the the the mind of of an abused woman. And I had to hide that for many years. My my I would go to my dad's house on the weekends and

I had to have a smile on my face and pretend like everything's okay. And my mom, she said, your life will be done if you say anything, so you keep your mouth shut. And so I had to do that at a very young age. And it was very confusing. And so I went through abuse for about, this went on for about four or five years.

I had to keep my mouth shut until I couldn't anymore, until it got so bad. And I remember just running to a payphone and calling my dad and being like, dad, you have to come get me. I mean, I was just a kid, I was so young. But in all those years, I had kept that in, suppressed it, because I couldn't tell anyone. And so I'm sitting there feeling like I'm such a bad kid. It's my fault. Me and my mom

are bad. I'm just not good. I'm feeling so much shame. I was failing in school. I thought I was so unworthy. That's where a lot of my, my, me not thinking I was good enough and smart enough came from, because I'm sitting there in my home getting so mentally and physically abused. And so, once I finally took the, took the leap of faith to call my dad and be like, dad, I need help. That's when I was free. And not only was I free, but because I got set free, my mom got set free because she, you know what I mean? She got away from that shortly after I did. And so I honestly, that's something that's really hard

for me to talk about. I honestly don't even talk about this with a lot of my friends. But I feel like I'm glad I just said that because some of you are maybe in abusive relationships. Maybe you are under that spell of abuse and you can't tell anyone because you're in shame. And shame is a powerful force. Shame is dependent on secrecy. And once we let that out, that's when we are in the light. And that's when my life changed. That's when I was free.

And so, yeah, I don't know. Maybe some of you guys are dealing with abuse right now. And I just want to let you know, don't hide that. I spent so many years in bondage with shame because I held that. I held that as a young girl, maybe you're young and you're listening to this right now and you're scared because you don't know if you'll get hurt if you tell someone because your parents are telling you not to, or maybe you're even in a really abusive relationship right now. And I just encourage you, tell someone, it's OK, you're safe. Don't keep that.

Don't keep that because that's going to keep you from everything in your life. And you are not, your identity is not what you are in, in this abusive relationship. Amen. Yeah. Thank you so much. I'm so sorry, Ari. I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how many people you just freed with that. Thank you for telling. And honestly, I'm sure even just this confession to people for you. And it's funny how you say your confession freed you, but it also freed your mom. I'm sure right now you're going to receive healing and I imagine whoever is in that same position is going to be freed.

So it's a domino effect of your confession. The more honest that we all are, the more we give other people permission to be honest and the more people get set free. If we could just live in a world where we're actually honest with each other and we don't all put on this front and this facade and this lying and everything is good and I'm okay and everything is good. But we come to each other and say, no, I'm really struggling. I'm really unwell. This is what's wrong. We have to speak to each other. We have to be there for each other. It's so true.

And you are going to set people free just by sharing that and making people feel like they're not as alone. Thank you. Isn't it crazy how much abuse is going on and how much we have to keep hush hush? You have to. And the reason, half of the reason why we can't say anything is because we're literally armed. When you're in abuse, you are, you think it's you. You think it's you. You think it's your fault.

And I just, yeah, I just, I, I hope you guys, after hearing that, can confess that to someone and be freed of that. It's so unbelievably demonic if you think of the mind of an abuser, right, and an abusi. Satan is literally called the accuser. He accuses, he says things about you, he tells you, you're this, it's your fault, you're the reason.

So he does that with us in our own shame, in our own secrecy and addiction and everything. He'll tell you, oh, you have an eating disorder, and literally nobody's gonna love you. Your husband's never gonna love you because you struggle like this. You have anxiety, why would anyone love you? You're weird, there's some, oh,

you're schizophrenic and bipolar, you think you deserve to live, nobody wants to be around you. And then when someone's being abused, their abuser takes on literally the character of Satan, the accuser, and says I'm abusing you but it's your fault. So you better not say anything because no one's going to believe you and it's your fault anyways that this is happening. So why would anybody care? Because it's your fault. It is so unbelievably demonic and sick. Just like Ari said, please bring whatever situation you're into light. Pray in the name of Jesus that God would give you the means. He is a good God who will provide a way of escape.

It is a promise in the Bible. If you bring it to God, he will show you where to go, who to talk to. He will bring you that community. So we beg you, do not let this go on in secrecy anymore. Yeah, yeah. And I think too, it's like, sometimes we don't even know, sometimes we don't even know what we're feeling or the secrets we're keeping in.

And that's why I'm such a big advocate in therapy. Because when I started going to therapy, this is right before the podcast, that's when I was able to feel free in a way. And because I went through a point in my life where I was going through such deep grief of pain of heartache and mix that with OCD, obsessive compulsive thinking. I'm sitting there with my friends and family all day. Thank God I found you, because you never judged me on,

you let me ask you the same 200 questions a day, but it got to the point, and I honestly got to the point where I was like, I don't blame people, because I really didn't. I can't imagine how people must have felt me sitting there ruminating to them all day. But it got to the point where they were like, and for some of you guys listening,

it's like you ask people, some people get shamed away. You're like, oh, get over it. The past is in the past. We can't dwell on this anymore, but we can fix what's in the past. We can't dwell on this anymore, but we can fix what's in the present. You can fix what's going on with you in the present moment. Yeah, we can't look at the past anymore and we can't fix the past, but we can fix what's happening in the present moment. And sometimes all it takes is just to find your people to sit there with you, people just to listen to you so you can release

that. Like what was the scripture? Say it. James 5, I'm so happy God, I love when the Holy Spirit, we're on the same. James 5, 15 to 16 says, the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person

is powerful and effective. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. Yeah, and I feel like this happened to us for a couple days recently, and I believe that maybe it happened so we could share this with people, but me and Angela were really feeling heavy, and we were both keeping it in. And I didn't want to upset Angela because I was like, she's with her family. I don't want to put this on her. But I was like, you know what, she's my person. I'm going to call her. And I called you. And Angela goes, Oh my gosh, I'm going through the same thing. And we both just had this moment of releasing it to each other and crying with each other

and talking it out and praying together. And what do we say at the end? Hallelujah Jesus. We were just like, man, that's, I was, you were like, I feel so much better. And I was like, I do too. Do you understand that I... So it was actually last Friday and it was when Ari and I, we had released the episode, for some reason we're both having major spiritual warfare. I was so full of anxiety that I was hitting my knees every five minutes being like, I'm like crying out to Jesus and bawling my eyes out being like, why do I feel like this? I can't take it. Like I'm so anxious. I was so unwell. I thought I was the biggest idiot on the planet. Like I literally, I don't know why the only thing that I felt last

Friday was like, you are so stupid. Just, I just felt so stupid. Just the episode, just everything. I'm like, what am I doing? And it's so weird because no matter how many beautiful comments you read, it's like they don't take away. It's such a weird thing. You almost feel like you have imposter syndrome a little bit. I feel like people are lying. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, they feel bad for me. And then I feel like gross that people feel bad. It's

just this whole mess. And you call me and you're like yeah I didn't want to put this on you but I'm feeling like this my whole body went oh thank you Jesus I go Ari I'm so unwell please talk to me right now and it's so funny because you threw down your problems in an instant and you were like what's up well like what are you feeling and you were there, what's up? What are you feeling? And you were there for me. And by the end of the conversation, we hung up. I texted you and I said, you are literally my world.

I said, if I have you, I am gonna be okay. Yeah. You know? She did that for me yesterday too. It was yesterday. You guys think you're the only one? Actually this morning too. I was crying this morning. What did you say?

What did you say? Because you said something that you wanted to tell today. About yesterday. Oh yeah, no. I just had a mo- I was going- I have been- Okay, I want everyone to know that when you are reverting backwards

and you are feeling things from the past, I don't want you to think that God has abandoned you or just something's wrong and get in that panic mode. I want you to say, you know what, it's okay. I have been reverting back a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. And so I have just been, old feelings have been coming up. And I called you yesterday and I was talking to somebody right before you and, oh yes, oh yes, okay. So I was talking to someone before you, and I just kind of started talking about the way I was feeling,

and the person goes, you really need to get over it. You really need to get over it, it's time. And I was so embarrassed, I was like, yeah, okay. So I get off the phone. But that's why you have to be careful, because when people say that, then you know what I wanted to do?

I wanted to suppress it. And I felt the shame. And I was like, yeah, I should get over it. Why am I still feeling like this? I shouldn't. And so I'm driving in my car and I'm angry. And it was almost turning, the emotional was turning physical

and I just didn't feel good. And I call my person, my girl. almost turning, the emotional was turning physical and I just didn't feel good. And I call my person, my girl, and I was like, no, I'm not going to suppress this. I need to talk about it. The that's why I'm so open now, because I know what it's, I know what happens when you do keep it in. It makes you really sick for me. It made me physically sick. That's how I wound up in the hospital.

Um, so I had called you yesterday and I was just like, hey. I was like, I'm so sorry. I need to talk. My girl was like, go ahead. What's up? She's like, you know, I knew something was wrong. You didn't even tell me. She always knows.

It's like when a mother knows. And yeah, and I had just told you, and I released that to you. And just to hear you be like, it's okay. It's normal, give yourself grace. And we talked through it and then we prayed together. And I just, in that moment, I thought, you just find your safe people that just will sit there for you and will let you repeat.

It doesn't, what I always thought was like, I can't sit there and say the same things over and over again. I can't keep talking about the past. Yes, you can. Because that's what broke your heart. And it's okay. That's to release that and talk to someone you can feel safe with and have them listen with such grace. That's that's what's going to heal you. That's why I love that scripture. Amen. It's so absolutely true. There's two things that we need to focus on. One, what is it that you need to confess to someone else?

And two, are you somebody that people can confess to? Like, it's just as much the battle of being somebody who is able to sit there and listen and be a safe place. And for the love of God God you heard it here first and we're coming into agreement right now in the name of Jesus that if somebody confesses something to you it ends with you you take it to the grave of course if the person's in danger are going to hurt themselves or someone else that's different but if someone confesses to you do you know how many times I've seen people tell me things that somebody else told them in secrecy, a confession, something they're struggling with, and they tell me this person's secret as if it's nothing.

Oh, that is, please, GGB Gang. If you are a part of GGB Gang, you need to be. God is an honest, trustworthy, loyal, compassionate God who's absolutely faithful and fair and we are made in His image so we must be faithful, loyal, fair, honest. Do not tell other people's business. My number one red foot, do you want to know what I watch for when I meet somebody? I wait until I hear them talk about somebody else. I wait until I hear them say something about someone else. And of course I would never be unkind to anyone, but in an instant I am like, okay, I know exactly what I need to know about this person.

Be somebody who takes things to the grave when somebody confesses to you. It's the least you can do. Someone opens their heart. I can't even tell you how much in the Christian community we see this happen where it's like, yeah, well that person's struggling with this. And I'm like, and what are you struggling with?

Like, please, come on. And it's like, are you a Christian? Are you a real person of God? Because if you are a real child of God, if you really are submitted to God, you aren't gonna be telling people secrets. Yeah, someone needed to hear that because it's so important.

And it's okay if you've been that person in the past. You can make a decision from this point forward to not be like that anymore. No gossip, please. Let's have a whole episode on gossip. Please don't talk about people. We really need to do a whole episode on gossip. It's just so bad.

I can't imagine what God thinks when he looks down. It makes me sad for him. Can I say one more thing? Because I never had this because all I had was to confess to people. And I spent my whole life, I didn't know. Confessing to God. Confessing to God. If you want to be freed. When he says, my power is made perfect in your weakness. confessing to God, if you want to be freed.

When he says, my power is made perfect in your weakness, that couldn't be more true, especially in my life. I'm telling you, when I went into that church that day, and I spent six hours, six hours, I remember coming out and seeing the time, on my hands and knees confessing there is nothing too big for God. I am telling you guys, when you let that out to God, when you release that and it takes a surrender and that motivates you to let your pride down and to be able to just let

it out. But it all starts with surrender. And even this morning, I wanted to share this with you guys because I have been scared to face God in a way. Sometimes, I don't know if you guys have ever felt this way, but I feel like God has given me so much. He's given me life again, right? And how can I pray about things to Him and talk to Him about things when He's taken it for me, for my good, but I'm still hurting over it. And sometimes I feel a little bit of that guilt of coming to Him, but He already knows what I'm feeling.

So I got down on my hands and knees, because I had a hard morning this morning. I did, I woke up heavy and I got down on my knees and I just, I just talked to Him. And I just said, God, I have to be honest with you. I've been really nervous to face you. I actually, I haven't been praying as much. I haven't been talking to him as much. And it's actually what I realized as I was praying is why I haven't been feeling good. Of course.

And so I started talking to him this morning and I said, God, I'm feeling like I'm dwelling on things you've already taken from me and I feel like you're upset with me, I feel like you're mad at me, I feel like... and then I just start bawling my eyes out and I'm just... and I start smiling. Immediately the peace and when you feel immediately feel that peace that's Him and it felt so good to let that out. And that's all He wants. That's all you, there's nothing that pleases Him more than that. Than to, He doesn't, He's not ashamed of anything from us.

He wants us that that's why it's like we, we, the reverend fear of God that you were talking about, we run from Him, but we need to run to him when we feel like that. And so when I let that all out today and I was just like, God, please, I'm feeling shameful. I'm feeling like I need you. I immediately, the healing began. So confessing all that to God and just going to him first.

Thank you. That's when you're set free. With your situation, it's just like God is so good and He's so big and His ways are higher, His thoughts are higher. He is able to conceptualize in a way that we never will. Of course nothing is too big for Him and He knew what you were gonna feel

before you ever felt it. He knew that when you got your heart broken, how long it was gonna take and how much you were gonna suffer, and that he was, yes, he was gonna bless you, and you were gonna have favor, and you were gonna have all these things, and you were still gonna hurt about some things. He's not mad at you for that.

He loves you. He did all of this for you despite all of that, because that doesn't affect him. He knows you're gonna hurt, you're a human. That's why he came down to experience what we experience so that he could sympathize and empathize with us. He knows why you feel it and he loves you so much that he's like, you know what, because your heart is so good, because your heart is so pure, and that's the reason why it's

hurting so bad and so broken, I'm actually gonna bless you more because of it. He's never gonna take something from you because your brokenness is disobedience. That's not the case with him at all. Yeah, and it's so true. And that's why his power is made perfect in your weakness. That's me coming here because believe me, it was not easy for us from the beginning to come up here and talk about

broken hearts and addiction and all that. But there's a power that comes through us that we are able to do that. I was never able to do that before. But it took me lowering myself and becoming weak and opening up and letting the pride down and not holding things back and letting it out. And because of that, people are like,

oh my God, I'm going through this too. There's nothing better than... Why do you think there's so much suicide? Because, and people always act so happy because they think they're going through it alone. And the truth is, is you're not alone in anything you're going through. That's why after we started opening up, we started realizing everyone else is going through

the same thing. And so it's easier to heal because you realize you're just simply not alone. It's so true and it was so freeing for even us to realize that people were suffering as well. Like it was even, it's even healing for us when you guys confess to us. I can't tell you how many confessions we get on the daily from you guys, and we might not be able to respond to everything, but we see it, and it hits us, and it does something for us. It makes us feel less alone.

Imagine, you probably have no idea that we're even gonna read it, and then you in a way healed us. Like it's the most beautiful thing to be in communion with people like that. But when it comes to God, us. Like it's the most beautiful thing to be in communion with people like that. But in in when it comes to God, because this is a huge part of confession, you confess to people, but you've also confess to God and it's really, really important. First John chapter one verse nine says,

if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus wants to forgive you. He wants to heal you. He wants to sanctify you. I think about this moment in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve, it's after Eve is deceived by the serpent. And her and Adam both eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And God is coming and they are ashamed because they're naked and they tie fig leaves together and they cover themselves and then they go and they hide from God just like how Ari was explaining that instead of running to God the way that they should when they've messed up and sinned, they're running away from him. And so God comes and says, it says, when the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, where are you? He replied,

I heard you walking in the garden. So I hid. I was afraid because I was naked. Who told you that you were naked? The Lord God asked, have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat? The man replied, it was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit and I ate it. The Lord God asked the woman, what have you done? The serpent deceived me, that's why I ate it. Four questions. He asked God, God asked them four questions. Not because he didn't know the answer, he's God, he knows everything,

but because he wanted to bring them to confession, because when we confess to God, our sin and our struggle separates us from God. Our sin actually hinders our relationship with God. It's not that we can lose our salvation based on our sin because the blood of Jesus cleanses all sins and where sin abounds, grace abounds much more, but sin hinders our relationship with Jesus. And so our confession brings reconciliation. It recloses the gap.

It reconciles us to God when we confess. So he's asking them these questions to get them to confess because they're naked and they're ashamed and they're running away. And I think about how sometimes, you know how you talked about how it feels like you might be resorting or I thought I was healed from this, why is this coming up? I'm so close to Jesus,

but all these things are coming up. What I've realized, I'm gonna be honest, I've never been in more right standing in my relationship with God. If you talk about the checklist of everything, of how much time I spend, what I do, living a holy and righteous life and being free of habitual sin

and just making sure that I'm good on all fronts when it comes to the Lord, more than ever things are coming up. More than ever, why is so much insecurity brewing in my heart? It's actually God's grace. He's bringing it to the surface because He wants you to recognize it, confess it because He wants to take it out of you.

He makes you face things so that you will confess it. That's the point. He's brought up recently, He's brought up insecurity in my heart and feelings of unworthiness. And He's showing me visions of when I was a child and I've always said, I don't struggle with self worth, but then I realized I do and it all started at this age when this person said this and this happened and he's bringing this and I'm asking and I'm getting mad at him being like, why are you doing this to me? I'm doing everything right.

I should be joyful and happy and good. And he's like, but this is deep in there and I wanna get it out of you. Because I want you to be free from it. And so he's forcing me to face things and confess it to him and actually be like, you know what, I've lied to you, me and everybody that I've been good my whole life and here I am to confess.

I'm actually just as broken as everybody else. It's so true. Oh, it's so true. And but that's another, that's another, sometimes too, when I get on the other side of it, I'm like, thank you for bringing me through that. Yes. Just this dependency on God that we always talk about, it keeps us close to Him.

And I'm not saying that, oh, it's this game of He keeps us in the pain to keep us close to Him. No, but it keeps us, it humbles you in a way. Oh, absolutely. I think what living in hell is, honestly, is if we had no problems. If I was coasting through life, like honestly, some people I see, I just, the problems just,

it builds a strength and a resilience into you that makes you, like, from a wounded soldier to a warrior. And I just, that's why I'm like, everything we go through, and then after we go through it together, and we're looking at each other, it's like this glory. You know, so. It's so good. I know some of you guys are just struggling,

like really, like you're struggling, you're going through some secrecy, you're feeling shame. That's another thing too, I wanted to say. Sin for me, when I felt shame, I felt like, man, who am I to be on this podcast? I was living such a shameful way, and now I'm up here, and now I was a sinner and all that. And I really had to deal with that with God to say, no, I'm new. I'm made new. I'm a new creation. And that's why I want you guys to know that you are forgiven for your sins and it's wiped clean. Amen. And I love that you say that so much because I even think about you and I coming on this podcast. Why do you guys think if you go to the first episode that we came as we are, we come as you are just so we came as we are. Thank God we didn't stay that way. But truly because we came on being

like, if we are not honest about who we are, it'll absolutely kill us, crush us and come out anyways. What's done in the dark will come to light. And so I encourage people to, it's like, God will bring it to light. God will shine a light on the darkest parts of you. And if you're a child of God, He loves you so much enough to do that. I suggest that you confess your sins and your struggles before that, because it feels so much better when you do it. I'll never forget, I've told this story before,

but the one time I talked to a therapist, when I was coming, I had just gotten sober, and I was dealing with depersonalization, derealization, complete disassociation, out of body experiences, so scary. The scariest things, I thought I was bye bye, I thought my brain was like, I thought I was over. This was the scariest place I could have been in. I called a therapist, I thought I was over. I, this was the scariest place I could have been in.

Yeah. I called a therapist, I thought I was gonna lose my mind, I thought I was on my way there, I truly did. I called a therapist, I just break down, but imagine, I was living with my family in Florida during quarantine at the time, I call a therapist and I tell her, this is what I'm feeling, this is what's happening, I think I'm losing my mind. All this lady had to say was, no you're not losing your mind.

People go through that all the time. It's actually very normal and this is what it's called. It left my body. The pressure was gone. The fear of what was happening was gone. When you say things, when you just let it come out of your mouth, it immediately loses power. And we think that things are so embarrassing and so shameful, but the person on the other

side of our confession will literally go, ah, thank God I'm not the only one who's done weird things, thought weird things. Like there's so much you benefit from it, the person you're talking to benefits from it. Like, please, it's the best thing you can do is confess. I want to actually ask you if you if you have I know you have felt this way sometimes even when I come on here because we sort of lead you guys in a way I almost I have in the past in episodes held things back where I felt like oh if I if I, if I tell them this,

they're probably not going to look at me the same, or maybe they won't follow what I'm saying, or maybe they won't trust God as much because I'm going through these things. And what I realized, it was holding me back so much and you guys weren't able to relate to me as much. Did you ever feel like that? Oh my gosh, I realized so much just from this last episode that like, I wait, in my mind, it's not so much that I'm afraid they won't, it's like I need to have all the answers first. I can't talk about it because I love them so much

that I need the key to set them free. And it's just like, actually the key to set them free is literally just knowing that they're not alone. That's right. And we'll figure they're not alone. That's right. And we'll figure it out together later. That's right. When I think about Jesus, He was the most vulnerable person on the planet, yet He was our guide to leadership.

Being vulnerable, getting low, bowing down, opening yourself up, letting people know, not making people feel alone is the path to freedom. It's the way to walk in light, holding things in. Can I actually read it real quick? There's a statistic actually. When you repress your emotions, it literally can cause cancer, high blood pressure, and all sorts of diseases. And so we just, it's not only will it help you, it will help your physical body.

It makes you sick keeping that thing, keeping stuff in. And sitting there when you are in deep emotional pain and having a smile on your face when you're really dying inside, I really I want you guys to release that because I know I always talk about suicide, I'm sorry, but I have lost a couple people to it and it kills me. It kills me that people are so sad and sick inside and that they're suppressing so much that they feel like burdens and they think that that's the only way out and it's not. If you can just talk to someone, release that, let it out, I promise you you're not alone

in how you're feeling and I promise it's going to release something that will heal you. What you're feeling is not the end. It just isn't. And especially for men, there are so many more men suicides than women because men, that's what they do. They suppress all their feelings. They suppress everything. And men, your vulnerability is beautiful. You don't have to suppress it all to be tough. Actually, weakness is strength. So I hope you guys know that.

Beautiful. Truly, truly. It's so sad with men. I mean it really not only just makes them suppress, it hinders their relationship with Jesus so much because the pride, there's so much pride in when you're not willing to confess things and not willing to be honest. And I pray that you guys will pray to release that pride, release that pride and release the insecurity that stops you from talking to people because insecurity is actually pride. Any pride is basically any, is you taking on any form that you make yourself bigger than God. And so insecurity, you you make yourself bigger than God. And so insecurity, you're making yourself bigger than God just in a negative way.

And so insecurity is actually prideful. To be humble doesn't mean that you make yourself small. It means that you make God bigger. It means that you make him bigger. You don't need to self-deprecate. You don't need to make yourself small or shrink down. You just need to make God bigger than everything else, including yourself, including your insecurity. I could be insecure all day long, but what am I going to let that get in the way of my relationship with Jesus? Don't let insecurity

stop you from being honest because it's your freedom and it's the other person's freedom. I was doing, you talked about like how it will manifest physically when you keep secrets in. And we'll talk a little bit about repentance really quickly, but I was listening to this sermon and it was about this guy was talking about this woman, because I was just doing research on the miraculous healing that confession brings. And he was talking about this woman that was in her maybe 50s and she started dealing with like a severe either an autoimmune disease or cancer like something serious in her body. And then she came out to the congregation to the people in the church and she said, you guys there's a big sin

in my life and even I've tried everything to get this sickness out and I believe I feel like God is telling me that it's this sin that's causing this chaos and turmoil and destruction in my body. Do you know what the sin was? I thought she was about to say something crazy, like crazy, it was unforgiveness. Oh gosh, yes. She, there were so many people in her life

that she wasn't forgiving. We underestimate the power of forgiveness. There is so much I truly believe. Oh, and by the way, and what how the story ended was she brought this out. She confessed it to a bunch of people. She brought herself to truly forgive this person in the sight of the Lord. She was up and running doing marathons like good as gold afterwards. And it's real. There are so many testimonies like this that once you bring things out into the open, that's why if you're in a season where it's just like, God, why can't I catch a break? I'm doing everything right and I'm still not feeling good.

He's probably trying to get it out of you. He wants you to confess it. He's trying to get it out so you don't have to deal with it anymore and it feels like a punishment but it's actually His grace. It's so crazy that most of the time when we feel like God is punishing us, He's actually doing it for our good. If I've learned anything you guys, and that is the reason why I rejoice in the midst of suffering because I've learned after so much time with God that everything that He allows to happen to me is His grace because He will, whatever the enemy meant for evil, He is turning for good and he works all things together for good for those who love him

and who are called according to his purpose. So if you love Jesus and you're called according to his purpose, whatever is bad in your life, it is his grace and he's gonna use it for your good. So I encourage you to lean into it, lean into it, be honest, face it, take authority. There is authority in our confession. There's authority because when we confess, when we keep things in secret, I know this from my own

experience, when we keep things in secret, we're in agreement with it. We're telling the enemy, you know what, it's just me and you devil, me, you and this thing, and we're in agreement, and I'm not going to let anyone in because the second I open the door, I even crack the door, God can come in and I don't want him to come in so I'm going to keep it in darkness. But the second that you open the door, you actually gain authority through your confession because you're taking a stand against whatever it is. So I want to encourage everyone, it is time today to stop being in agreement with the things that are hurting us. It is time to take authority against everything. Every anxiety, every depression, every eating disorder, addiction, the masturbation, the things that we don't tell people about, the things that are harming us. It's time to

take a stand against it. And we're trying so hard to fight things on our own and we're fighting for victory when we should be fighting from a place of victory. We already have victory because of what Jesus did. I'm not fighting for victory. It's already mine because of the blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross. Jesus said, it is finished.

So I'm not gonna move through life, letting the devil have his way with me all the time. It is done, it is finished. And today for you as well, whatever you're dealing with, we're coming out of agreement with it. We're rebuking it. Enough is enough. We can't keep going on like this. We are champions because of the one who champions us. The victory is already ours. So I'm asking you guys to take a stand today. Confess to God, confess to people, be honest and get yourself loose from whatever is hurting you. I can't take it anymore.

It's enough is enough. You hear my sister? That was good. We have spent so much time, so much time letting things be in the darkness, being like, oh, I'm just gonna, no, we're not gonna live like that. No, we're not.

No, no, no, no. That's why everybody is in chains. That's why we are sick. That's why we are, that's why we are all sick. Because we're keeping things in. We're afraid to be judged. We're afraid to, what are people gonna think? Are people gonna like me?

Are people gonna, am I gonna be shunned? Am I gonna be shamed? When really, that's freedom. Freedom. That's how we get into the light. That's why most people are in darkness. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I, when you said the forgiveness thing, I got show bumps

because this morning I, I, I, I was praying this morning. I was praying this morning and I said, God, one of my biggest things this year has been that I had to forgive. I had to forgive. It was keeping me literally in chains because I just couldn't forgive and that was making me sick. And I was dealing with so much unforgiveness and I had been doing so good with forgiving and I had been praying and instead of wishing bad, praying for that person and just looking in a place of light and love.

And I really have been doing a really good job with that. But lately I have again been in this unforgiveness. So it makes you sick. It makes you really sick. And so as I was praying this morning, I'm just praying and all of a sudden I say, and please Jesus help me forgive. I'm back here again.

And the release that I had, I can't believe you just said that. And I just want you, I want to just tell you guys that sometimes when you're grieving and you, somebody's, you know, hurt you or you just, you know, you're just in that unforgiveness. Sometimes you will go through this path of forgiving, but sometimes you're going to go back to getting angry again. That's okay too. path of forgiving, but sometimes you're going to go back to getting angry again. That's okay too. You just, I had that moment and I, and I love that you said that because I wanted to tell you guys that when you start to feel that resentment and that heart in heart, you get back down on your knees and you talk to your dad and you say to him, Jesus, help me, help soften my heart,

help me forgive. Because you're gonna go back and forth when you're in that grieving period. So give yourself grace and don't be so hard on yourself. Absolutely, give yourself so much grace. And if someone tells you to get over it, drop them, just kidding. Does she know what she is? There is a Psalm, it's Psalm 51.

If you need to repent for anything in front of God, I would recommend reading Psalm 51. It is a psalm of repentance and it is the most powerful thing. Every time I'm in a bad spot, every time I've sinned against God, every time there's something icky in my heart that I know and I've acted away and I've said a thing, I immediately go to Psalm 51. It is the most powerful thing. Again, Psalm 51, if we can all get off of this after we're done here today, if you can go open your Bible to Psalm 51, get on your knees and I encourage you guys to pray this Psalm, say it out to God, cry it out to God, see what comes up and ask Him, Lord, what do I need to repent for? What do I need to confess in front of you right now? And it'll be so powerful and you will be set free.

There is not only authority when we confess our sins, but there's also authority in the one whom we confess. I want you guys to know, if you don't already know, that there's a God who loves you so much. His name is Jesus and He is the most beautiful being in the entire universe. He is our Creator. He's not only our Creator who loves us so much that He decided that you were so special, He wanted one of you in the world. He actually sent His only Son, Jesus, down on earth to get up on a cross to die for our sins so that we would have everlasting life and that we would never perish and that we could have freedom here on earth. Who the sun sets free is free indeed.

That means when you receive Jesus, you receive freedom. You receive freedom from the bondage that you're facing, the addiction that you're facing. Jesus is light. There is no darkness in Him at all. So the darkest parts of you in your soul, when you invite Jesus in, he shines light. He brings light to your eyes, light to your life. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And when you have Jesus, it says in Scripture, stand firm then. It is for freedom that you have been freed by Christ. Stand firm and do not let yourself go and be burdened by a yoke of slavery again. It is time that we take a stand against the devil

today, that we will no longer be slaves to whatever it is that is hurting us. So I invite you to pray with me today and receive the one, the one who is, the one who was and is to come, our Jesus, our sweet Jesus who transformed Ari and I's life. He is so worth loving, he's so worth receiving, He's on the other side of this prayer. So just pray with us. Dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, that he rose again, and that he's seated on the right hand of the Father. Jesus, I accept you to be my Lord and Savior. that he's seated on the right hand of the Father. Jesus, I accept you to be my Lord and Savior.

Jesus, I ask that you send me your Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit would fill me from head to toe to love me, to speak to me, to convict me, and to comfort me. I ask all of this in your name. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. That was beautiful.

We love you guys so much. We hope that helped you guys. If there's anything you wanna confess. Good idea. In the comment box, wouldn't that be nice to help someone not feel so alone to just get that out? You know that GGB is such a safe place and you can be safe on our YouTube, on the comments. You you're safe and so if you don't know who to confess to and you want to

confess to God and us please do it we love you so much thank you for everything you do for us thank you for your support and your love and making us always feel safe and seen. We love when you guys interact in the comments we We love seeing you guys pray for each other. We love you so much. God bless you all. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Thanks for watching!