Joyce Meyer - The Courage To Be Different

TOPICS: Courage

Well, today, I want to talk to you about having the courage to be different. Amen. You know, there's probably relatively few people that have the courage to be completely and fully themselves throughout their lifetime. But I believe that as children of God, we can learn that as long as we have our trust in him. Do you know anything at all about living a phony life because you're trying to impress everybody else around you? That's real torment, isn't it, to not be able to be free to be who you are? And, you know, the truth is, is we are all different. God made us different on purpose and so, it's really foolish to spend your life trying to be like somebody else.

Now, other people can be an example to us, but they should never become our standard. Our standard is Jesus and if he didn't want us to be different, we wouldn't all have something as simple as different fingerprints. I mean, he's gone to pretty great extreme to say, "I didn't create you to be just like somebody else". I believe that sometimes God uses people, and I'm sure he wants to use you in a similar way in whatever area you're in, to kind of clear the path for other people that are gonna come behind them. And I paid a price to do what I'm doing. Honestly, I don't believe that you can ever do anything that's of very much value if you're not willing to pay a price to do it.

And part of the price that we pay is being misunderstood by other people. We always expect people to understand but they don't. And we have to finally understand that if God has spoken something to your heart, you get it but if he hasn't spoken that to somebody else about you, they have no ability to understand. And if you're trying to deal as a believer with an unbeliever, then they certainly don't get it. They don't understand anything about our walk with God. And we saw in a previous teaching that Moses fled from Egypt because he had stepped out to do what was in his heart to do and people judged him. And it says that "He expected them to understand that he'd been called to help his brethren, but they did not understand".

So, I just want to be very clear this morning that if you're expecting everybody to understand you, I mean, it's just a myth. It's just not gonna happen. And but I love Hebrews 4 that says that we have a high priest who understands. See, Jesus understands you so in your own little brand of uniqueness... See, I used to think I was weird but then I finally realized, I'm not weird, I'm unique, and you are unique. And God wants you to be free to be fully and completely yourself. Now, we have some special stuff going on in the world today, and there's a big push from a lot of different places for Christians to be closet Christians, or to not be Christians, or shut your mouth, or don't stand up. Don't you dare go against the flow. And I believe that we're making a big mistake if we buy into that. I believe that God wants us to be bold and courageous.

Let me just say that sinners are not quiet about what they want. And it's amazing that there's these little small groups of people that want to take away our rights and freedoms and they keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it until they just finally end up getting what they want. And so, we need to keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it, and keep at it. Can I just tell you this and be very plain? Believers in Jesus Christ are the only hope that we have today of not losing our Christian rights in this country. I would have never ever, ever thought 50 years ago that I could live to see what's going on today. I mean, the world has changed so dramatically in 50 years that it is absolutely shocking.

And so, we need to learn that we are gonna stand up against what's going on in the world today and refuse to bow down, to bow down. The devil's always wanting us to bow down. The devil said to Jesus, "If you'll bow down and worship me just once". And the enemy presses us to compromise with the world so we can get along with them. Come on now. I said, he presses us to compromise with the world so we can be accepted and get along with them. That's why it's important for me to talk to you today about realizing that you can survive rejection if you have to. You can survive the rejection of people, but you cannot survive losing your relationship with God by being a coward and giving in to what the world is making demands on us for. God is with us. He's with you. And he's depending on you and he's depending on me. And this is a time for us to shine, shine, shine.

Isaiah 43:1 through 5, "But now in spite of past judgments for Israel's sins, thus says the Lord, he who created you, o Jacob, and he who formed you, o Israel: fear not, for I have redeemed you I have ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you a captive: I have called you by your name: you are mine". Wow, I like that. "When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel, your Savior: I give Egypt to the Babylonians for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba, the province of Ethiopia, is in exchange for your release. Because you are precious in my sight and honored, and because I love you, I will give men in return for you and people in exchange for your life. Fear not, I am with you. Fear not, I am with you".

Many times in my walk with God I've had to turn to those scriptures and remember that when I'm going through, that God hasn't left me. Even though I may feel like he has, he hasn't left me. You know, when I first stepped out to follow the call of God on my life, I mean, I went through some very, very, very hard times. I got asked to leave my church, lost most of my friends, and it was a lonely and a hard time for me. And to stand here and say that I had no fear would not be true because back then, I didn't understand how to deal with fear like I do today. But I'm so grateful that God gave me the courage and the grace to want to please him more than I wanted to please the people.

And, you know, as I was studying this morning, I felt like that God told me as a minister, part of my job is to prepare people to face the future. I want us all to be prepared to take a stand for God and be determined that we're not gonna compromise with the world and lose what Jesus died to give us. And I have felt very strongly, starting last year sometime, that I need to keep in front of people more and more and more that Jesus is coming back soon. And, you know, if you read the New Testament, the apostles talked about this all the time. I mean, they would encourage people, do this because the Lord's coming soon. Don't live a selfish life because the Lord's coming soon. And so, I believe that Jesus is coming soon and I don't know exactly when that's gonna be, but I think we should live every day like it might be tonight.

And so, I want to do what I can do to help you be prepared. One of the things that Dave shares about kids going off to college today. You know, I think it's like 75% of Christian kids that go to college lose their faith while they're in college. You know why? Because they're not prepared when they go in to know what they're gonna deal with. And so, we need to prepare our children to tell them, your faith is gonna be attacked. You're gonna be judged. You're gonna be criticized. You're gonna hear all kinds of scientific things and mental things that if you just go with your head and you don't stick with your heart, you could end up getting confused and throwing away your faith. I believe when we're prepared, I think when we're prepared, then we can handle anything and we can face anything.

In Titus chapter 3, verse 1, this is what it says, "Remind people to be submissive to their magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, and to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work". Now, how do we get ourselves prepared? By having the right mindset. Colossians 3:1 says, "Set your mind and keep it set on things that are above, not on things upon the earth". My husband loves to play golf and he plays a fair amount. And he practices a lot. And he plays and he practices. And he plays and he practices. And, I mean, Dave is just a very active guy and just sitting around would not work for him.

And so, I said to him one day, I said, 'cause I thought, what would Dave ever do if he, you know, if he gets old enough that he can't play? Which I don't know that that's ever gonna happen to him but I'm like, "How do you think you would handle it? What would you do if you got to the point where you, for some reason or something happens, you couldn't play golf"? He said, "Oh, it won't be a problem". He said, "I've already thought about it and I've set my mind". Come on now, this is so valuable what I'm telling you right now. "I have set my mind that if I ever couldn't play, I'd be happy anyway". I love that. I love that.

See, I've thought about this ministry and I've thought, you know, I love what I'm doing. And, you know, I know this is not who I am, but in way, I'm so tied up in it that it is kind of who I am. I'm it and it's me and, you know, this is just my life. This is what I do. And I've thought, you know, if I ever can't do this, I don't want to feel like I'm worthless and I have no value. And so, I've set my mind ahead of time that if I ever can't do what I'm doing anymore, that my worth and value is not in what I do, it's in who I am in Christ. You know, don't get into thinking like, "Oh, I don't know what I'd do if this. Oh, I don't know what I'd do if that. Well, I just don't think I could take it if that happened. I don't think I could stand it if that happened". No, what you need to be thinking is, "I can do whatever I need to do. Whatever comes against me in life, God is with me and I can do whatever I need to do through Christ who is my strength".

See, I like my friends but I don't have to have 'em to survive. We have to understand that the one thing we cannot do without is God. We can do without anything else if we have to, but we cannot do without God. And so, I want to encourage you to start preparing your mind that, "No matter what it cost me, I'm gonna stand strong for Jesus until the day he takes me out of this earth. And I'm not gonna be a coward. And I'm not gonna be quiet to make all the sinners happy. I am gonna stand up and I am gonna stand out. And I am not just gonna float downstream with everybody else. I'm gonna swim against the current and be all I can be for Jesus".

And let me encourage you today, you don't need a bunch of cowardly friends either. You need to be around people that are real Christians, not just people that are kind of sort of Christians on Sunday and they don't know what they are the rest of the week. You need to be around people that mean business and you can encourage one another that together, you can be bold and do whatever you need to do. The Bible's full of people that were different and the people that are willing to be different and be fully who they are. Matter of fact, I think I might as well say they're the only people that can do great things. The only people that can do great things are those that are willing to stand up and stand out and pay a price.

Now, Noah was quite different and in Genesis chapter 6, beginning in verse 5, we're gonna just read a little bit about a guy that was way back here in the beginning. "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually". Sounds a little bit like today, don't you think? I mean, doesn't the Bible say that it will be as it was in the days of Noah. It will be as it was in the day of Sodom and Gomorrah. Come on, we need to wake up and realize what's going on in the earth today. "And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved at heart".

You know, sometimes I just think I can't imagine how all this nonsense makes God feel. How awful it is for people to work so hard at trying to get rid of God because he's nothing but good. I mean, it is the most wicked, the most evil, the most wretched thing that I could possibly imagine is we don't want anything to do with God. And then when there's a disaster, everybody wants to know where God was. "So the Lord said, I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground, not only man, but the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for it grieves me and makes me regretful that I have made them. But Noah found grace and (favor) in the eyes of the Lord".

Can I tell ya something? No matter how bad things look, God's always got a man, he's always got a woman, and it only takes one. And it could be you. It only takes one, what one person can do. One man, Adam, sinned and sin was passed on to all men. One God-man, Jesus Christ, became righteous and righteousness was passed on to all men. Let me tell ya, if you'll stand up and pay the price and not care who likes it, God can use you to do something beyond the ordinary. I don't want to be ordinary. I don't care anything about being average. I want to be all I can be in Jesus' name and make a difference. You've all got greatness on the inside of you.

If you're a believer, you have a desire down deep inside of you to do something extraordinary, don't you? It's in there. It's like and then the devil will come against your brain, "Well, who do you think you are? You can't do that". It only takes one and God uses some of the most ridiculous people. I mean, 1 Corinthians says that he uses the weak and the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. What the world would throw away, God chooses and uses for his glory. So, let me just say this, do not discount or disqualify yourself. Do not insult God by saying that he cannot use you. God chooses the weak and the foolish things of the world so that no man can take the credit. I just love for people to look and say, "Well, that's got to be God. That has to be God because I knew you when".

Noah was a man of integrity in his community and he walked with God. Well, how should we live in light of what's going on in the world today? Well, we need to stand up for what's right and we need to realize when we do that, and, you know, I don't know that anybody will clap about this part for the next few minutes, but we need to hear it anyway. If you're gonna take a stand for what's right, and you're gonna fully be yourself, and you're gonna be a world changer, then you might as well expect some persecution. You clapped, I'm good.

So, we need to look at just a couple of scriptures here. Matthew 5:10, "Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous (in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions)". Now, this is saying no matter what your outward conditions are, you are so blessed that you don't hardly know which end is up if you're persecuted for righteousness sake. (for being and doing right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"!

Now, I think if God repeats himself two times a row, that it must be pretty serious and the next verse says exactly the same thing. It's like, just in case you didn't get this. You know, I do that sometimes. I'll say, "Now I'm gonna say that again". And Jesus sometimes says things again. "Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous, with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you", and here it comes, "Say all kinds of evil things against you falsely and they do it on my account".

Have you ever been talked about in an unkind or a critical way just because you're a believer? That's just part of it. Come on, we've gotta get delivered from the fear of what people think and what they say. Let me tell ya, if they're not thinking something bad about you, they're thinking bad about somebody else so you might as well just take the hit and set somebody else free. And really, to be honest, what can somebody's thought do to you, or what can their words do to you? Well, let me tell ya something, if you stand up for what's right and you don't get what you deserve from one person, God will move heaven and earth and get it to you someway, somehow.

Well, today I wanna talk to you about having the courage to be different. Amen. I believe that many times when we're going through some kind of, there's a temptation to compromise our integrity, I believe that it's not only an attack of the enemy, but I think sometimes God just kind of stands back and it's a test for us because there's something else that God wants to use us for but he's gotta test us where we're at to make sure that we're gonna handle it right, amen?

You see, if we fall apart because two neighbors don't like us, and you're praying for some big thing, do you have any idea? I mean, I was in a drug store the other day, picking something up, and a lady came up to me and she said, "I'm so sorry to bother you", and she, "Can I just hug you"? And so she hugged me and she said, "You know, you have just changed my life". And she said, "Here's an interesting thing". She said, "When I was first saved, I was told, 'do not listen to Joyce Meyer'". She said, "But I'm so glad I listened anyway".

And you know, I thought, I mean, stuff like that used to hurt me but now it's like, I don't know, God's got me covered. I go out and I just think everything's fine, you know, and even though I know it's happening, I mean I'm still sometimes, kinda, like, in shock that somebody is, don't like me. Well, see, that's kind of what happens when you like yourself. Hello? I said, "That's kind of what happens when you like yourself". You don't go around being insecure all the time because you think, "Well, they probably don't like me. They probably don't like me. They probably don't like me". And I think when you know that God likes you... Hello? When you know that God likes you, then you're not worried so much about what everybody else thinks.

Now don't misunderstand, I don't like it when people don't like me. I don't like it when people talk about me. I don't like it when we get ugly things sent in to the office about me because I'm just really trying to help people. Now I'm not doing it perfectly, but that's what I'm trying to do. But you gotta realize that people who do that kind of stuff have got more problems than anybody on the planet. If all you have to do is write me a letter and tell me that my earrings were too long when I was preaching then, you know, so anyway, I'm just telling you, if you want a promotion and you can't handle, you're gonna get depressed 'cause somebody doesn't wanna go to lunch with you, I mean, you're not gonna make it on the next level, c'mon. You are not gonna make it on the next level. Because let me tell you, when you're the boss you cannot make any decision that's gonna make everybody happy.

All right, my story. I might have been 28, maybe 30, when this happened. And Dave and I had three children by then and we wanted to buy a house and so I went back to work and I got a job. We only had one car so I got a job, thankfully, in the downtown area of st. Louis where Dave also worked and so we had similar hours so he could drop me off and pick me up and we could ride together 'cause we really didn't have the money to buy another car. And because of not having enough money in previous years, I had not paid proper attention to my teeth and I got to the point where I really had to have a lot of dental work. And so I had been to the dentist and they'd started working on my teeth and, you know, when they start working on your teeth, it's really not cool to quit in the middle.

So it was kind of like one of those things you started this, you gotta finish it. Well, it was gonna cost $1200, and which was a ton of money back then. And I worked at a company in the bookkeeping area, in the office area, and my boss, every month we'd send out statements to the people telling them how much they owed the company. And one particular client or customer had overpaid. He had, like, double paid a bill. And so he had a large credit on his account. Well, my boss didn't want me to send out the statement showing that he had a credit because he knew the guy would ask for the money back and he didn't wanna give it to him. And so he told me to put a debit on the account and send out a zero balance.

Well, I went home that night and, I mean, I was a Christian, I loved God, we went to church all the time. I mean, I didn't know what I know now but I had a reverential fear and awe of God. And to be honest with you, I think that's very missing today in our society and in our church. I think we could use a little bit of that Ananias and Sapphira stuff, "You mess with me". C'mon, Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Ghost and they fell over dead. And it says, "Great fear came on the church". I think we need to just stop thinking it's okay to lie, it's okay to have sex before you're married. See, and to be honest, people don't even wanna talk about this kind of stuff. I mean, I knew when I said that that probably somebody wouldn't like it.

But here's the thing, I'm not called to tell you what you like. I'm called to tell you what you need to hear. I mean, I could tell you a whole bunch of stuff but I better not get off into that ditch but the thing is, is we have to stop compromising and learn how important it is to do what's right because God is powerful and, yes, he loves us and yes, there's grace and there's mercy. And yes, there's forgiveness. But if we live sloppy lives, there is going to be a price to pay. And that's just it. And so I went home that night and I was just tormented. I was just, like, "What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do"?

Well, you know, I already knew what I needed to do. How many of you know what I needed to do? See, we're a lot smarter than we act sometimes. It's not that we don't know what to do, it's just that what we wanna do doesn't always agree with what we know that we should do. So I knew that I needed to go to work the next day and say, "I'm sorry, but I just can't do that. You know, I'm a Christian, I'm a believer, and I just", which he wasn't. And so I knew that he wasn't gonna understand that and, you know, if I do that I'm gonna feel like I'm stealing their money and I just can't do it.

Well, 'course, then, the fear came. Remember, we're talking about fear. The fear came, "You're gonna lose your job. You're gonna lose your job. And you've already committed to this dental work. What are you gonna do? You're not gonna be able to pay for it. And if you have to go out and look for another job, it probably won't be in the area where Dave works and how are you gonna get to work and how are you gonna get home"? And see, any time that we try to step up and do the right thing, fear attacks us with all the "What ifs". And so that's the point at which we need to trust God and say, "I can't worry about what if. If your word is true and I do the right thing, then you will take care of me". You will take care of me. "When you pass through the waters, you will not drown. When you pass through the fire, you will not be burned. For I am with you".

So, I went in the next morning, went in real early 'cause he usually got there early and, I mean, I was shaking and trembling. And I went in his office, I was so nervous and called him by name and I said, "Listen, I know you're probably not gonna like this but I cannot do what you've asked me to with this person's account". And I said, "I would feel like that I was stealing their money and I just can't do that". So I said, "I'm a Christian and I just believe it would be wrong to do that", and, you know, so he just, like, "Well... Just get on out to your desk and go to work". So, all day long I fully expected for him to come out and fire me. Right before quitting time, he came out and he slammed that statement down on my desk and he said, "Well, just send 'em a check".

But now, here's the interesting thing. And you can think what you want to but I think that had something to do with me being able to stand here today. See, you don't know what you may be forfeiting that God wants to do in your future if you compromise now. If you don't take a stand now, then God can't trust you in a higher level where there's gonna be more pressure and more persecution. Well, long story short. He sold the company to somebody else and every year for several years after that, he sent me a Christmas present. And I got promoted in that company until eventually I was the second in charge over all the company. I was over the warehouse, all the truck drivers and everything.

And here's the thing. I didn't even know what I was doing and God, I mean, I look back and I think, "How in the world did that happen"? See, God can put you in places that you have got absolutely no natural ability to be in if you'll just simply serve him with your whole heart and do the best you can do to be an honest person. And there's so much compromise today. I mean, there are whole professions where there's no way that you can succeed in that particular job Market if you're not willing to compromise. And then I'm sorry, but I would just have to say then you don't need to be in that line of work.

Now, "Let your light shine". Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your father who is in heaven". You see, if we say that we believe something and we don't stand up for it, unbelievers recognize that and that's when they yell, "Hypocrite". Dave says that what the world is waiting for is for Christians to stand up and act like who they say that they are. And I believe that. We talk a good talk but we've gotta learn how to walk the walk. Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves".

C'mon, these are not just nice little verses in the Bible. He's giving us a warning. "I am sending you out like a sheep in the midst of wolves: be wary and wise as serpents, and innocent (harmless) as doves". Now, the Bible is full of examples of unbelievably amazing men and women who did great things. And you don't even really have to just go to the Bible to see some of these things. What about martin Luther king, jr? Look at what he did. And look at how many times he went to jail for what he did. And eventually lost his life for what he did. But you know what? We're still seeing the good benefits of everything that he did today. And the thing is, is if you'll step out and do great things, people 100 years from now, 1,000 years from now, can still be benefiting.

I found a story about a girl named Roxana Saberi, probably not saying it right, but she was an American journalist who was arrested in Iran and detained for 100 days after being falsely accused of espionage. She'd been living in Iran for 6 years doing research for a book that she hoped would show a more complete and balanced picture of Iranian society. Under pressure and being threatened with a 10- to 20-year sentence or even execution, she confessed to being a spy. She quickly realized that it was a mistake and recanted her confession, knowing that this would jeopardize her freedom and, instead of freeing her, her case was sent to trial, sentencing her to 8 years in prison.

And here's what she said, "I would rather tell the truth and stay in prison than to tell a lie to be free". Wow! And here's what she said, "I learned that maybe other people can hurt my body, maybe they could put me in prison, but I did not need to fear those who hurt my body because they could not hurt my soul unless I let them". I love that. And you can do something. You can do something in your school, you can do something in your neighborhood, you can do something in your church. If we go to the Bible, what about Daniel and his friends? I mean, they are some of the best examples.

Daniel chapter 1, verse 8. I love this. It says that "Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself". I love that. You know, you need to make some decisions in your heart. "I will always tell the truth". If you're a young girl or a young boy, say, "I will not have sex before I'm married", hmm. Phew. "Well, everybody does it". Well, that's exactly the problem: everybody does it! "I will not take drugs".

I have a 15-year-old granddaughter named Emily and she's like me on steroids so I don't know what's gonna happen when... I mean, she is like a spitfire. And a girl at school asked her if she'd ever taken drugs and she said, "No". And the girl said, "Well, are you ever going to"? And she said, "No". She said, "Well, not even when you go to college"? "No". She said, "Well, why not"? She said, "Well, because I'm not stupid".

C'mon. See, the thing is is we can compromise because everybody's doing it. But then everybody's not gonna pay the price for your bad decision that messed up your life. I'll tell ya, I'm encouraged every time that I go back and read about Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel said, "I will not defile myself". And there was a couple of different things that happened. I'm just gonna tell you about them to conserve some time but one of the things that happened was Daniel was, they passed a law that anybody who prayed to anybody other than the king will be put in a lion's den. And I love what the Bible says. It says, "And Daniel, with his windows open, continued to pray three times a day just as he always had done".

Now you see why that's so important? He said, "I'm not gonna compromise one little bit. I'm not gonna worry about what you think you can do to me. I'm gonna continue to be who I am, fully myself. I am a Christian. I'm not gonna apologize for it. I'm not gonna be quiet about it. I'm not ashamed of it. And you'll just have to do whatever it is that you do and I'll trust God". Well, sure enough, he was put in the lion's den. Laid down, had a nap. God sent an angel to shut the lion's mouth. And the king actually didn't want to see Daniel hurt because he actually really loved and respected him. But because he'd given his word that he would do this, he had to do it.

And if you read the whole story, it says that when Daniel came out, the king rejoiced and he made a rule that nobody could serve any God but Daniel's God. So what's the message there? The message is that if we will stand up and be who we're supposed to be, people are gonna believe in Christ because of our witness. Are you there? Oh yeah, they may make fun of you. They may talk about you. They may reject you. But when push comes to shove, honey, they're gonna know who they can go to to get answers for their life. And we are coming into a time in our society where people are gonna be desperate for answers and you wanna make sure that you have paid the price to be somebody that they feel like they can come to in a time of need.

When Dave used to work in the engineering field, I mean, he took a stand for what was right. And he said guys would come along sometimes at his particular work area or maybe at lunch, you know, they'd try to tell him a dirty joke and he told me about one instance where he said to a guy, "Why are you doing that? You know I don't wanna hear that stuff". And see, you don't have to just sit and let people fill you full of garbage because they feel like doing it. Speak up and say, "You know what? I really don't wanna get into that kind of a conversation. I don't wanna hear dirty jokes. I don't wanna hear the gossip", you know?

Well, then, if they don't wanna eat with you, then just go sit somewhere and eat with God. Don't worry about that stuff. And so you know, they said different things about him, talk about him, which Dave could care less. I mean, he's one guy that don't care what anybody thinks. But he said when their marriages were falling apart, when they got a report that they had cancer, they would always go to him and say, "I was wondering if you could talk to me, Dave. My wife left me". "I was wondering if I could talk to you, Dave. I just got a really bad report from the doctor".

See, we need to be prepared to be somebody that people can come to when they're desperate because if anybody in the room thinks that the world is not about to get desperate, they have got another thing coming. But here's the good news. God is gonna take care of us. I still remember when the Israelites in Egypt, when all the plagues were coming on the land and the Israelites lived in goshen and no matter what happened to all the unbelievers, God took care of them. What happened over there didn't happen here. And let me tell you something. The world can be going straight to pot but God will take care of you.