Christianity! Podcasts with Australian Christian Channel:
- Sarah Louise Clarke
- Dec 11, 2023
- 7 min read
And other life experiences / his devotions have led me closer to the Lord. Written and Typed 10/12/2023
Do you like to listen to the radio when you drive first thing in the morning? Whether it is to work, school, an appointment. Or even home from working night shift?
I always get excited every morning at around five past 9, I turn on my favourite channel to hear what message Chris has to say to me about God's word. He's calm, easy to listen to and I am always inspired after listening to his voice.
Obviously, I worship God not man (Luke 4 verse 8), but Chris does help strengthen my faith when I get the chance to listen to a message. I'm disappointed when I miss one, but thankfully I have found the Morning Devotion Podcasts on the internet, the 103.2 website. There I can catch up on what I missed, or just browse and listen to the short but encouraging messages.
And the amazing thing is: Sometimes a 5 minute message is exactly what I needed to hear during a challenging time I'm going through. Delightfully, more often than not, I experience the amazing feeling of God talking to me through this podcast on a topic that I'm going through that day or week. God speaks in all sorts of ways and at times, I love how he talks to me directly through Chris during a morning devotion. Always in the car driving to work after dropping Christina at school, or when I am on my way to BSF- bible study fellowship Wednesday mornings. Another great thing is every day 7 days a week at the same time you can listen to a message from Chris. I am very excited to share about what I have learnt through him!
There is so much I would love to share about the ministry that Chris Witts does on this website that I hear reaches to so many people in Sydney needing hope. It will be one post at a time!
One summary I wrote was a while ago: 14th September 2023.
Are you stuck in a rut? Whether it is marriage, family, work, faith, or identity in life? There are three types of people!
Chris's words- the accusers, the excusers, and the chooses!
To see change, we have to pray and be willing for God to change us. Otherwise, we will never get out of our ruts and be successful. Asking God to change and grow us is the only way we can be useful for God's kingdom.
Chris spoke about each of the three kinds of people over 3 days of morning devotions. As I was listening, I looked back over the years I've been conscious of my actions as an adult, and I think I have been through the three stages. After realising who I was, where I wanted to be and where I am currently at- I have decided to become a chooser! I deliberately set out to not be an accuser or an excuser. Time for something positive! I have asked God to grow and change me, and I have seen that change already.
I'm much more of a thinker these days and always thinking of the best ways to go about a decision or circumstance in my life. I laugh when I discover a solution to a problem, instead of flying into a panic. Occassionally, I'm off guard and slip, but I think I'm finally learning something here!
I have been accused of being delusional, erratic and even worse- psychotic when I was younger by people I loved and trusted. I easily got offended. But I had to learn to brush it off, but also do a bit of personal reflection. At some point, their judgements have been correct, but I can't say it for myself now. I've grown up and changed, but also learnt from my mistakes.
Even recently one of my cousin's has rejected me, cut me off and feels threatened by me. I'm not dangerous and my love for her has possibly pushed her away. I don't know what suffering she is going through at the moment, but it is no excuse to be rude, offensive, confrontational and abusive to others. Of course, I forgive her, still love her and would reconnect with her if she decides to change her mind, but until then, I am no longer family to her. That was very hurtful. I have had to step back and protect myself, but it was a really difficult in my distressed heightened shaky state to not retailiate, or react, especially when the hateful messages kept pouring in.
I would like to think I am more wise now then when I was younger, and I know no matter what I said to love this woman, my words would always be twisted against me. So instead I let her go and I turned to the Lord and prayed.
How do you respond to someone who treats you poorly or are out to destroy you? Do you get angry, offended, aggressive, try to plead your case and fight for your dignity? Or do you just let that person think what they want to think? Because no matter what you say, it won't change how they feel about you!
Do you let it make you bitter, depressed, allow it to affect your self-esteem? Or do you tell yourself, there is nothing I can do to change this person's mind, it is what it is, but I am going to look after myself and see my self-worth in who I am in Jesus!
Because His opinion about who you are is more important than a disgruntled family member's opinion. My identity is who I am in Christ, not what human's decide your worth is. And that is still a hard lesson to put into practice.
But I feel God's peace and I did what I could, and just because a family member rejects you, doesn't make you unloveable! God loves you in all your imperfect moments.
I know I made a mistake at some point, but when my efforts to make things right are rejected, it's time to cut my losses and move on. Challenging when you love someone deeply!
God says do not take revenge, but pray for those who persecute you. It's weird to bless someone than curse them, but it's practice for me to not repay bad behaviour with retailiation. I need to build up spiritual strength to fight battles that affect the heart. God looks at the heart, and I'm conscious that before Him, I make decisions He would approve of. Because feelings are fickle! And I'm also learning to not live by my feelings.
Chris does a good podcast on what to do: when people let you down. It's 4 minutes and 37 seconds long, and when I write a summary on a podcast, it will be in my own words or referenced back to the devotion. Some people are natually selfish and usually only care about what's in front of them, considering their own feelings above others.
I am learning not to do that myself.
My mum also says we are not to live by our feelings as they can mislead us and sometimes be inaccurate. And my counsellor said that I should trust my feelings as they can be a warning to you about a sense of danger. [You have your fight and flight responses for a reason!] In another post, I'll talk about the third reaction to danger and that is: freeze! Sometimes the feelings you do have are justified. But as much as I love all the people I come across, I also must remember that what God thinks is ultimately, what is most important.
In this podcast, Chris also mentions mental health and the affects types of disorders can have on people and their reactions and responses. Not everyone is going to understand or accept you. "We must manage our feelings before they spiral into hurtful actions." Way to go Chris! "We are all humans and we all make mistakes!" And my favourite famous saying is: "the world does not evolve around you!" Well said.
I would highly advise having a listen to this particular podcast, because it is really good. And if you are experiencing something similar to my experiences, you should find comfort in the words God speaks through Chris. We need to give our worries, cares, anxieties and hurts to the Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. It's painful to be hurt by someone you love, especially when you had trusted them. But don't act by how you feel because sometimes our feelings mislead us, and make us do things that can make a situation worse. Even if your intentions were supportive. Been there, done that!
Sometimes people won't change and you have to let them go! It is better for your mental health in the long run! Let God work on you and rise above the poor behaviour of others.
We are always to seek Jesus in our times of distress. We shouldn't be accusers or excuses. We also need to look at and examine ourselves before we make judgements of a person or people. God offers protection for your heart and mind, when you place your trust and life into his hands. Alot of what I've said are my own words and from my own experience. Be a person who chooses to be the best version of themselves. Have you heard, that we don't need to pull others down, just to build ourselves up?! There are some good quotes out there.
The best quotes I find are God's promises throughout the bible. He will never leave or forsake us! I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You - Bible Verses and Meaning (biblestudytools.com), is always with us through our suffering, even if He doesn't remove it. And He is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalms 34:18 - The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves t... (biblestudytools.com)
Be a lover of people instead of a lover of self! The more I embrace loving and forgiving others despite their faults, the more free I become in my spirit. And I hope that one day you can find God's peace and comfort by doing the same. Don't let anyone hold you back from being your best self! Even through rejection and their judgements of you. Sometimes letting people go is the best thing for us if they are hellbent on hurting you.
Self care is important!
As you already know, this is written to help and support you.
With love,
Sarah Louise Clarke
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