In Psalm 73, the message centers on when comparison distorts your perspective. Explore Psalm 73 and learn how worship and God’s presence can restore perspective when comparison, envy, and confusion begin to distort our view. Rather than treating the passage as abstract theology, the sermon traces what these truths reveal about God, the gospel, and the way followers of Jesus are called to live.
The sermon follows the biblical text into practical discipleship, connecting doctrine with identity, character, and daily obedience. It challenges listeners to examine the assumptions shaping their lives and to allow the truth of Scripture to renew the way they think and respond. The emphasis is not merely on understanding the passage, but on becoming the kind of people whose lives are formed by it.
Along the way, the message engages themes including Psalm 73, when comparison distorts your perspective, confusion begin to distort view, doubt. These ideas help place the primary passage within the larger story of Scripture and show how its theology speaks to real spiritual formation. At its heart, the sermon helps answer questions such as: What does Psalm 73 teach about when comparison distorts your perspective? It also considers how should when comparison distorts your perspective shape the way Christians live?
For someone studying this passage, exploring the Christian faith, or looking for practical biblical teaching, this sermon offers a clear path from the text to everyday discipleship. The invitation is to hear what Scripture says, receive it with humility, and take the next faithful step in following Jesus.
What does Psalm 73 teach about when comparison distorts your perspective? | How should when comparison distorts your perspective shape the way Christians live? | How can believers apply Psalm 73 in everyday life?
Psalm 73, when comparison distorts your perspective, confusion begin to distort view
-
I'm going to tell you right now, this is uh this is going to be a very personal message for me. This uh this psalm really is I I can I can pinpoint back to the point in my life where I read this psalm and it changed my life and saved my life. And I I'll get more into that here in a moment. But the whole reason that I wanted to do this series on Psalms, this is our third week in the series, is really because of this verse. And so if this feels heavy today, I'm not sorry, okay? Because God wants to speak to hearts and God wants to to move us from where we are to where he's called us to be. Amen. How many you know all of us have a next step in our lives. >> We don't we don't we're not at the top of the of the ladder with nowhere else to go. God has more for us that we can step into in our walk and in our faith. And uh I I wanted to I want to I know this is going to be heavy, so I'm going to start with a funny story here. Um, have you ever had somebody recommend a restaurant to you? Somebody, and they just like hype it up like crazy, right? They're just like, "Oh man, it's so good. This is the best steak you're ever going to have in your entire life." Like all the things. And then and then you and then you get to the restaurant and like the anticipation is building and they tell you, "Okay, don't order this. Order this." And like all the different things and you you start to get all pumped up and then the food comes out and you smell it and it's like, "Oh, this is going to be amazing." Right? I I remember uh this was years ago now. Um I took my wife to this really yepy steak place. I'm not going to tell you the name of it because I'm going to trash him here in a second. Um [laughter] I go to this steak place and uh I have the best filet minan of my entire life. Steak. Flame is a really it's this little steak. It's really it's you cut into it. It's like butter. It's amazing. It was seasoned perfect. The whole experience was perfect. My wife even you you remember? Yeah. Okay, cool. It was amazing. And I got so excited about it that I I told my mom and I was like, "Hey, I got to take you here. Let's do like a mother's son thing. Like, let's go." And it was maybe a few months later, we end up going back to this restaurant and I'm hyping this restaurant up. I'm like, "Mom, this is going to this steak is going to change your life, okay? It's going to You thought marrying my dad was a great thing? This is even better, okay? Like, this is this this steak is it's going to move mountains in your life." We sit down. I'm ordering all the same things and like and I'm just so pumped and the steak comes out and I look at it and I'm like, "What's this? This isn't the same steak that I had gotten a couple of months ago. It was the same. I I ordered the same thing on the menu. Everything was the same." And and again, I'm just like, "What? What is going on?" I I cut into it and I'm like struggling to cut it. I ordered it the same way. I taste it and it just falls flat. like it it was it was nowhere even near the top 10 of stakes that I had had up to that point in my life. And and and I I don't know about you, but have you ever been in those places where like you you have all of this anticipation and then when you finally get into it, it's just a disappointment, right? Like you you're you're so you're so pumped up and then you finally get to the thing and it's like it's not hitting as well as it as it should have. I even took my wife to the restaurant again a few weeks later and thought maybe it was just a bad night. I don't know. Same thing falls flat. And I remember I turned to the to the waiter. I was just like, "Dude, I was here a few months ago. Had a life-changing steak. What happened? I'm I'm that guy. Okay. I I like to talk to the waiters and waitresses." And he's just like, "Man, you're not the first person to say this. Um, our chef was so good that he got moved. Somebody somebody basically bought out his position and now he's in Las Vegas >> because he was such a great chef. And so we have this new guy back there and he's just it's just not the same. So anyways, that's my that's my story. [laughter] I know it's a silly story, but but how many of us have had disappointments like this? Maybe not just with with food and eating out, but you've had disappointments in your life because you you you chose to believe something. You chose to to step in and and get excited about about what could happen and and dream and dream and dream and then you get into it and it's a disappointment. It's a let down. There's high expectations and you have all the receipts of all the good examples of what this person said or what that person said and then you're disappointed. Maybe you had a plan for your finances and it didn't go your way. Maybe you had an idea of what your marriage was supposed to look like and then it ain't all that. >> Better. >> It's better. All right. All right. Hey, we're talking about disappointment today. Okay. So, follow me. Maybe you got hurt and pain in your body, in your life, and you're just you're asking, "Is this ever going to go away?" And this is hard because like many of us, we get involved in maybe you're involved in church and you're serving here or you're connected with people within the body of Christ but still like you feel like you're not fully connecting. Anyone ever been there? Like you can come to all the events and still feel like you're not known and you're trying to make the effort but it almost doesn't seem worth it to step in more. Or maybe again you've made connections with people or you've made friendships, but then seasons change. Transitions happen. Thing things things are things are different and you can't get people together. Everyone's busy. Or maybe you get hurt and it's easier to just drift away than to have a conversation. Maybe you're following Jesus and your prayers aren't getting answered and it looks like everyone else is getting their prayers answered. Everyone else is having revelation and blessing and you're going, "God, what about me?" This is just for me, guys. Like, y'all are just here watching. This is my own struggle that I'm sharing about here. God didn't come through the way that I thought he would. And that disappointment begins to turn into doubt. Right? Am I hitting anybody today? >> Are y'all feeling this today? >> And we get into this verse in Psalm 73. And uh we're going to read out of the New Living Translation because it just like it hits so hard. But the first verse says, "Truly, God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure." Everybody say, "God is truly good." >> God is truly good. >> Why are we reading this? I thought we were talking about disappointments. I THOUGHT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOUBTS. I THOUGHT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PAINS. And and the first verse in this is truly GOD IS GOOD. BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY feel like he's good because when you're hurting and you're dealing with anxiety, trauma, loss, this stretching period. How can I say God is truly good when I don't feel like he's good? >> Well, God loves you. Don't worry about it. like God is good all the time and all the time. >> Amen. Brother, you just got to have faith. You need to pray a little harder. You got to name it and you got to claim it. PUT A LITTLE SAUCE ON your on your spiritual walk. And at church, it's easy to get really superficial >> about things like this when we have doubts because again, God forbid we have doubt. God forbid we we doubt the God that we're singing about. We sing the words and and then we're thinking about him and going, "Do I really believe that that he's good?" And we're not allowed to admit the struggle and the doubting. And it makes me want to say things that I don't want to say. Do you all know um you know the four-letter word that starts with the letter F that you can't say in church? Fake. Y'all tensed up for a second. Did you feel that? That was great. Fake. Nobody Nobody wants to admit that they're faking it. No. And and and better yet, nobody wants to call someone out and saying that they're fake, right? Woo. Can't say that. The fake smile, the fake laugh, the fake attitude, but we're full of doubt and nobody knows, right? We put on the facade for everybody to see, but we we know it's fake. Doubt is not a sign that you're living in sin. Hear that today. Doubt is not a sign that you're living in sin. It's a sign that you're a human and you have a brain. Guess what? You've got a brain, guys. You can think for yourself. How awesome is that? You can have doubts. You're working your faith out. I mean, it's kind of crazy to just expect people to step into something and just believe it fully and wholeheartedly when when everything in your life doesn't add up to that. Yeah. Many of us, we just we fake it. We grit our teeth and we we bear through the feelings of of apathy and complacency, not fully believe not fully believing it. But faking our faith leads to a shallow walk with God. Yeah, >> when doubting can actually lead you to a deeper place with him. [clears throat] I want to show us that today. This psalm shows us this process of dealing with doubt. And again, it starts with this overwhelming statement that God is good. Like what does that even mean that that God is good? Listen, doubt is normal for all of us today. And maybe that's the only word that you need to walk away with that doubt is normal for you to begin to walk with Jesus even stronger than before. Like like be be free today and know that doubt is a normal thing because we all deal with doubt and if we don't deal with it, it could end up being disastrous. Look at this in verse two. Says, "But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping and I was almost gone. The writer of this psalm, his name is Asaf. He was a worship leader. He was a man of God. And he was feeling so much disappointment that he was ready to just give up. He says, "I lo I almost lost my footing. I was I was slipping. I was almost gone." And it's so important. We have to be willing to talk about this because there are areas in my faith that I know without a shadow of a doubt. I have faith to I I know that God is good in this area. >> Yeah. >> But I still have doubts in other areas. Like I many many of you here in this room I I've sat down with you. I've had coffee with you and we've we've talked about doubts. we've we've wrestled with with hard questions and disappointments that often times scripture doesn't really give us answers to. And I I appreciate everyone's faith in the room, but if if you've never doubted God, I don't think you've really ever lived out your faith. Can I say that? If you have no doubt, then you don't need faith. You're >> right. Why need why? Why? Why even talk about faith? Because I know this. I believe this 100%. It requires no faith to overcome the doubt. But also too, on the flip side, sometimes we're consistently living in so much doubt that we've never really stepped out in faith. Right? We can voice our doubts to God, but doubt isn't toxic to faith. You know what is? Silence. the the doubts that you're dealing with within your mind when you keep them silent to yourself, how can they be dealt with? How can you be called higher if it's all just between your ears? And we wonder why people walk out from their faith, walk away from their faith. Maybe it's because no one's willing to work through the doubt with them. Because our answer often is you just need to believe. YOU JUST NEED TO STOP SINNING. JUST STOP. How is that an answer? How is that helping us? We need people that are willing to hear us ask the hard questions and that will choose to wrestle with us. Amen. >> Like my my youth pastor growing up, J.R. Hall, loved him so much. She used to say all the time, there's no dumb questions, only dumb assumptions. Like, you can ask all the questions you want, but don't assume that you know. Don't don't don't have these dumb assumptions in your mind and and begin to walk based off of what you think or what you know, what you think you know. And again, we we assume that people will think differently about us for doubting or that we should know the answer because you've been in church for long enough to know the answer, right? But how can you know an answer if you've never asked the question? We assume and secretly doubt. And I'm here to tell you today, God is not afraid of your questions. Having doubts doesn't disqualify you from following Jesus. God's goodness is not defined by your doubt. >> Our assumptions about who God is or isn't can lead us to disappointment. But when our doubt leads us to ask questions, we're giving God the opportunity to speak to it. We're giving God the opportunity to show us who he really is. We can assume one thing about God our entire lives and then HE CAN COMPLETELY SHATTER THAT THOUGHT WHEN WE finally bring it to him >> and we have to give him that chance. Again, Asaf, he had to get real with God. And I'm going to read this and and and I remember the first time I read this, I I I immediately go like, is this really in the Bible? Okay, so just follow me. This is going to be really fun. Asaf says,"For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives. Their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don't have troubles like other people. They're not plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty." I love this verse. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for. They scoff and speak only evil. In their pride, they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. And so, the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. "What does God know?" they ask. Does the Most High even know what's happening? Look at these wicked people enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Wow. Everyone who isn't following God has everything they could ever want according to this scripture. This doesn't make sense with what I know about God. And again, Asap, he's struggling with this injustice and he's dealing with the envy and the frustration and the jealousy on display for us to read. I'm so glad this is in scripture. I'm seeing things that don't make sense and now I'm starting to doubt. This is this is where it gets crazy. In verse 13, it says, "Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long. Every morning brings me pain." This is in the Bible. Wow. I can't think of anything more relatable. I keep my heart pure for nothing. What am I getting out of this faith but trouble? I'm following your will, your way, but all I get is pain. I remember when uh I I'll get more into my story here, but sitting down with a a Christian therapist, he asked me to read this psalm. And I can remember getting to this verse and going, "Man, this guy gets it. Like, this is so honest, right? Like, I feel I feel this." And and and the truth is many of us never get to the root of our personal doubts because we're not willing to have these open and honest conversations with God. Like we can talk to God this way. It's permission for us. For some reason, we think that God can't handle it. Let me tell you, he created you so he can handle you. >> Come on, >> God. I need your help. God, why can't you take this away from me? God, why would you let this happen? And some of y'all know my testimony. I remember we were on the mission field. We were in Thailand and I started falling away from God. Falling away from God. So much of my identity was was wrapped up in and doing missions work since I was a kid. And when we finally raised the money to to get to to Bangkok, my my we we we started hanging in these in these circles of other really giants and heroes in the faith. Or at least that's how I looked at them. And my confidence in Christ was seen as arrogance. Has that ever happened to you where you're just like you're so full of passion for the Lord that you're intimidating the people around you? because I'd question [clears throat] just asking questions. Why are we doing things this way? It's a simple question, right? I'm not questioning the authority. I'm just questioning the method to bring this message forward because we're here to reach the lost. Let me let me remind you, we're here in this city to reach the lost. >> We're here because God's called us to reach Franklin. Franklin is not saved. I'd ask the question, I'd say, 'What's the best option, not the easy option? Or I'd question a missionary. I say, 'Hey, what do you do? Like, how are you planting seed? Like, where are you seeing fruit? And they would take it as how how dare you question the call of God upon my life and what I'm doing. You need to go meet Jesus. Again, I I I was seen as a threat. I wanted to do things the right way. And and what's wild is in the moment, I was so passionate and focused on God. I didn't see that I was causing issues until after the fact. Again, I wanted to do things the right way, God's way, the way of the Bible. Let's reach the lost. Let's build the kingdom. But I was rejected, isolated, and slandered. I had other missionaries lying about me behind my back and all this stuff. And if you're watching online, we're all good. I already forgave you. We've already talked to I've talked to many of them. I'm not holding anything in my heart, but it's so important because in the moment that doubt began to creep in to my heart and life, it began to cloud the truth that I knew that God was with me. And I began to believe through the the shaming, through the rejection that that maybe I had stepped out and I had done the wrong thing. That maybe God didn't want me on the mission field. and and maybe I had had all of these these people supporting me and getting me to this place for no reason. And I and I and I got to this this point where I was ready to take my own life because of the shame and the pain that I felt even though I'd been baptized in the Holy Spirit, baptized in water, I'd you know, led worship and been a preacher and all these different things. What's wild, too, is I was still traveling the country and miracles were taking place. We were casting out demons. Like so many amazing things were happening and still I was doubting God in my heart and I was so far from him. And I and I wonder how many people have ended their walk with GOD BECAUSE THEY TRIED TO ASK questions and were rejected by man. Trying to understand, trying to get closer to God. But it's how dare you ask that question? And it was psalms like this that saved my life because I was so depressed and rejected and I started actually writing my own psalms questioning God. God, why are you letting this happen? I had to have these real conversations with him because the pain was real. And guess what? Remember, God can handle it. Like God isn't sitting up in heaven going, I wish he would just shut up. like, "Quit your whining." No, he's saying, "Let's get this out in the open. LET'S DEAL WITH THIS. LET'S GET HONEST. THIS ISN'T STUPID. This is kingdom." Because he wants you to become who Jesus saved you to be. He wants to speak to those doubts. But if you think it's a dumb question, you'll live in your dumb assumptions. ASAP was willing to say, "Here's what I see, and I don't understand it. Here's how I feel. Hey God, I need you to help me. And here's what happened. This is so cool. Asaf doesn't stay with those thoughts, right? Or stay with those emotions. He decides to change his perspective. Look at this in verse 15. If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been seen as a traitor to your people. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is. Verse 17. Then I went into your sanctuary, oh God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. I I could have walked away from God. I tried to figure it out on my own, but I couldn't. I see others living in this way, even professing that they're Christians, but they're living in wickedness, and they're being blessed. Is this how I'm supposed to live? ASAP is saying, "I've been stuck trying to figure this out on my own." And again, unspoken doubt immobilizes us. Too many too many of us are are sitting on our butts doing nothing because of doubt. And ASAP is like, "I got to do something different because staying here is is only going to create a deeper hole in my life. I've got to do something. And and and I got to challenge this thought process intentionally in the presence of God with his people. And I mean, I love this verse 17. Then I went into your sanctuary. Right? Where's the organ? We need the organ on that because I feel like we hear SCRIPTURES LIKE THIS. THEN I WENT INTO YOUR SANCTUARY, OH LORD. HALLELUJAH. AND EVERYTHING CHANGED in Jesus name. Right? >> That'll preach. But honestly, this seems kind of vague because all it says is that he went into the sanctuary. It doesn't say that that like it didn't say what he did. It [laughter] it didn't say that he worshiped. It didn't say like did he serve God? Did he did he make sacrifices? Did he just sit and ask questions like how long was he in the sanctuary? Was it a month, a week, a year, a day? like I'll open the church for you if you want to sit here in the sanctuary. But here's the thing. All of that doesn't matter. What matters is the change that can happen in his presence. >> WE CAN GO TO CHURCH. WE CAN GET AN EMOTIONAL HIGH. WE CAN CHECK THE BOX AND FEEL GOOD. WE get challenged. But in the presence OF GOD WITH HIS PEOPLE, I can experience life change. Amen. That's what this church is all about. And that is what led him into changing his mindset. And this is hard because we often think that God will just wipe away our problems when we come to church, which ends up leading to more disappointment when it doesn't happen. But God wants to change your perspective so that you see things differently. Maybe you're dealing with issues that you had no part in creating. Or maybe you are the architect of your own suffering. There's negative thinking, doubts, anxiety, and worry, dreams, and expectations that turned sour. There's doubt, and when the triggers come up, it's captivating you. Is God really good enough? If if God put this in my heart, why are things not going in that direction? Because [clears throat] how I feel, it's creating doubt. Again, scripture didn't tell us what he did in the sanctuary, but but we can just take this step and begin to see some of you need to worship and pray with intention. Some of you need to get more ingrained into the life of your church. Find a spot where you can serve and and connect with more people and grow together. We don't grow alone. We grow with one another. You need to find people on the journey who can testify of the goodness of God. And I'll be real. Some of you need to get counseling. And I'm for that. I will help you. Come to me. I got some great people that you can talk to. We all need the church, not the building. We need each other. We grow and we're discipled in community. Disciplehip takes decisions, right? You may have invited Jesus into your heart, but now it's time to decide to follow him and start voicing the doubts in his presence and let him turn it. Asaf, he sought God's presence and community and his perspective changed. It says here, "Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant, they're destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. When you arise, oh Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. Then I realized that my heart was bitter and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant. I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Amen. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. MY HEALTH MAY FAIL AND MY SPIRIT may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart. He is mine forever. Those who desert him will perish for you destroy those who abandon you. His perspective is new after spending time in his presence. I must have seemed senseless to you. Like when someone is struggling with doubt, it can look kind of senseless. Like, like, oh man, you turned your back on God. They may be battling with questions and they need to know that God is with them. Come on. Some of you have someone in your life right now and they're and they're they're deconstructing. They're falling away from GOD BECAUSE THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE ARE NOT GETTING ANSWERED. And they need men and women of God like us to walk with them and guide them to the good shepherd and guide them to the Lord. He realizes that the doubt and anxiety had consumed him, but God was still there. And he reminds us that even though we fail, God never does. Verse 28, but as for me, how good it is to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. So many people when they're hurting, when they're in pain, when they're in doubt, they end up blaming God and push him away. And God's saying that's the time that you need to come in closer. When you have doubts, lean in to the Lord. Get into the sanctuary. Asaf, he's seeing how good it is to be near God. He says, "I've made the sovereign Lord my shelter." Other translations say, "My refuge, my safe place, even in the midst of all the chaos, GOD, YOU ARE MY SAFE PLACE. You are my peace." And then he says, "And I will tell everyone about the wonderful things that you do." I've been through this doubt. SOME OF YOU HERE, YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH DOUBTFUL SEASONS. You've had pain points. YOU'VE HAD MOMENTS. BUT YOU'VE TAKEN IT TO THE LORD AND NOW HE'S BROUGHT YOU through it. Right? HE DIDN'T BRING YOU TO IT. NOW HE'S BROUGHT YOU THROUGH IT. AND NOW GOD IS CALLING YOU IN THIS PLACE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GET THROUGH it themselves. That's what he's called us to do. I mean, have you ever had your doubts just demolished by God? Where God just showed up? Maybe not all of your doubts, but you recognize I'm not really struggling with this like I used to because God has shown me his goodness and his mercy. You're on the other side. Now you can help people. Listen, I I I remember when we were in Thailand and my son Nikki had to be admitted back into the hospital into the NICU right after he was born. And he was dealing with all kinds of different sickness. He was very sick at the time. And we didn't know what the problem was. We had just got to Thailand. So our tie was useless and their English was just about as useless. So we had no clue. They just said, "You can't stay here in the hospital with him because, you know, he needs to be bubble boy over here in the in the in the NICU." And all we knew to do was to pray. And I don't suggest praying this way, but I'm going to tell you what I prayed. I said, "God, I've prayed for miracles for other people. I've watched you heal. And I remember praying this. I said, "God, I would understand if you didn't heal him because my faith is so small right now. Have you ever prayed like that before?" God, I would understand if you didn't bring my child home. I would understand because I'm so full of doubt right now. And we think that our faith and doubt are fighting each other. I'm doubting. It's God help my help my unbelief. And I remember we posted a photo of him in the hospital. And then we had hundreds of people, many of you in this church began to pray. You typed in your comments and it was more than just a comment. I knew you were praying. And God healed him. And my doubt was demolished in that moment. [snorts] I want to go back to the beginning of all this because again, Asaf, he's he's had these thoughts. He sees the wicked people prospering and this doesn't seem right. and and sometimes we can see the evil in this world and all of the the stuff going wrong and it just diminishes our faith and we're living in this place of doubt and then we don't even want to pray and ask God to move in these ways. His emotions ended up leading him to behavior. And for many people that those emotions and those feelings lead them to decide, God, I'm giving up on you. There are people in your life who have given up on God because of doubt. And I'm telling you right now, God is calling you to walk with them. There's negative thoughts and they end up going in this cycle. And the negative thought reinforces the behavior. And then the behavior reinforces the emotions, the emotions. It's just it it all reinforces itself and creates this this really negative cycle of God is not healing me. He must not love me or care. Right? My husband isn't as passionate as he once was. He must hate me. My dreams from God haven't come true. So why even try to pursue them anymore? If God is so good, why is this happening in my life? we don't understand and it just reinforces again and again and it's like we're walking in a in a circle and the more that we walk in the circle the deeper that it gets and it be goes from a pathway and then starts to become this trench that gets deeper and deeper and we're just we're ruminating on it and we're keep going and we're deeper and deeper to the point where if anyone were to try to reach up and grab our hand, we we're too deep and your brain actually creates these pathways where you get stuck. Let I'm just going to give you some science nerdy stuff here for a second and I'm wrapping up. It's actually called cognitive distortion. It's a real thing and it's specifically specifically how repeated thoughts can form into deeply ingrained truth where you have thought this thing so many times that now you believe it's the truth. It's and it's actually a psychological phenomenon. When we focus on doubt for an extended period, the neural pathways associated with that thought pattern become stronger and more automatic. And this process can make the false belief feel factual where God hasn't done this or I I've read this, but I I just know another fact because I've believed it so many times. And and what happens is even when presented with the truth, the brain will actually resist and it can't believe it because they believed one way for so long and it creates this cognitive dissonance where there's this mental discomfort experiencing because we're trying to hold two different thought patterns. There's the truth of God's word and there's the truth of what I feel or what I think I know. all these things and and now they're battling together and I have to decide which one am I going to start walking in. [snorts] And this is why some of us believe things that aren't actually based in reality because we're told them over and over or we tell ourselves them over and over. [snorts] And what the psalmist did here before he started having these emotions, he said, "I'm going to have a whole new thought cycle." He went to to God into God's presence and his thought cycle began to change. He became more healthy. And the the emotions can actually become healthy behaviors. And practically, we we can ask ourselves this question when we're dealing with negative thoughts. Here's the question. Is this true? Not just do I feel that it's true, not is this my truth, but is it actually true? But but here's the thing. This can help prevent the cycle, but what breaks the cycle? It's Jesus. 2 Corinthians 10:5, we destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture the rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 1 Peter 5:7, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 JOHN 2:6, THOSE who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. It's I'm going to submit these worries and behaviors to him and begin to walk different and make these decisions because of the power of Jesus in my life. That question that we ask ourselves, is it true? Again, it's not is this my truth? Is it God's truth? We have to take these thoughts captive. And I just I want to hit this really quick because many times we say that doubt is the opposite of faith. Jonathan, you can come. [snorts] We say that doubt is the opposite of faith or that fear is the opposite of faith. How many of you heard that before? But the opposite of faith is complacency and apathy. The opposite of faith is complacency and apathy. It's when we decide. I'm not willing to continue to fight this doubt. I'm just going to give up and believe that this is just the way that it is. And th
