This is the Truth Network. Coming to you from an entrenched barricade deep in the heart of central North Carolina, Masculine Journey After Hours. A time to go deeper and be more transparent on the topic covered on this week's broadcast.
So sit back and join us on this adventure. The Masculine Journey After Hours starts here now. Welcome to Masculine Journey After Hours and it is the, what Eve is it? Easter Eve. Easter Eve, that's right.
Well I guess it depends on when you're listening to it since this is a podcast. It's the Easter Eve edition. Yes, there we go.
Thank you. Yeah, three E's. Easter Eve edition. Triple E. You only get that once a year. Anyway, so today's topic, Robby, if you'd like to set it back up, you did it so well on the last show.
I'd love to have you do it on this show. Yeah, this came directly from way overseas on a boat far, far away like in the Turkish sea or something. Yeah. Wherever Jim was that he sent this to us that he said, you know, it's Easter and, you know, one of the most compelling things that Jesus said from the cross, and of course they're all very compelling, but the one that really just kind of sends us thinking is he said, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And, you know, the idea of, you know, here we have the Trinity and they're all one and that somehow or another, you know, it's hard to wrap your mind around that Jesus had to face his, his father turn his back on him, and his agony as he cried out in that would be recorded prophetically in the 22nd Psalm, which points us to the fact that this was all something that God was gonna do because he loved us so much. However, it's also the cry of the human spirit.
I've heard it said it was the cry of Elijah when he was running from a Jezebel in the desert or, you know, it's the cry of Moses, you know, and many times shenanigans all over the place. But, you know, here we go into this idea of how about you, you know, when you think through your life, were there times where you felt forsaken, like where is God in this, I can't sense that he's in this, you know, or where do you feel alone as Sam would say. There you go. And so we'll get to some more perspectives on it. I'm gonna have the, I guess, both clips of the show, but it only makes sense, you know, that it's the only two we have. But this clip we've actually used before, we've never used it in this context. And so this is from the movie The Jerk.
And so I'm going to play it. And what you have here is you have a person who feels freshly abandoned. His girlfriend just broke up with him.
She's still in the room and they've been talking and they broke up. And so he feels abandoned and he says, okay, then. And you're going to listen to what he has to say. And then what he does with that feeling of abandonment. Where does he go with it? How does he process it?
How does he turn into it? And so here we go. Well, I'm going to go there. And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff. And I don't need you.
I don't need anything. Except this. This ashtray. And that's the only thing I need is this.
Only this or this. Just this ashtray. Just this paddle game. The ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this. Remote control. The ashtray and the paddle game and the remote control and that's all I need.
And these matches. The ashtray and these matches and the remote control and the paddle ball. This lamp.
The ashtray. The paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing. Not one. I need this. The paddle game and the chair and the remote control and the matches for sure. Well, what are you looking at?
What do you think I have? Some kind of a jerk or something? And this. That's all I need. The ashtray and the remote control and that's all I need. So we can listen to that.
It was a long minute, 33. But we can listen to that and we can say, oh, that's so silly. You know, why would he grab onto these things that don't seem to make any sense? You know, to try to grab on to have something tangible, you know, in the middle of abandonment. But honestly, when I feel like I'm alone, that's what I do. I reach out to the things of this world, you know, and I may veg out and watch TV for a while because I mentally don't have to think about anything. Right? I'll just put on something stupid that I don't have to even engage in the show. I can just play and I can just be numb. Right? And if I do that just for a show, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But if I do that for a whole night or a whole week or a whole month because I'm trying to avoid the feelings of alone or abandonment or being forsaken, however you want to say it, I'm looking to the world to give me answers the world can't give me.
Right? Or I look to things of the world. Maybe you'll hear people that have, you know, they talk about they have what they call it shopping therapy or that's not what it's called. Shopaholic? It's a shopaholic, but it's something therapy. Retail therapy.
Thank you. Retail therapy. That they have retail therapy. That's a clue and they're just going to buy all these things and it's going to make them happy and they just need that ashtray and that lamp and this paddle game, you know, and all these things and these things are going to make them happy.
And those chocolate chip cookies, Rodney. Yeah. Or it's food, you know, we turn to food, you know, that, okay, I need the ice cream every night or I need this because that's going to make me feel, you know, complete.
Right? And the problem is we're settling for relief instead of restoration. What our hearts really calling out for is restoration and the, and, but we're looking for relief and then there's a season for relief, but relief can't be the only answer. Relief is maybe an immediate answer.
And you hear Steve Martin's character. They're dealing with just this pain and he has no place to take it. Right? And so when I look at myself and I say, okay, I am looking to other places than to God, I'm not going to find a lasting source. I'm not going to find any restoration. I'm not going to find anything that's going to give me life at the end of this. Again, I may do some things like watching TV isn't necessarily bad. Eating some ice cream, if you're allowed to have it, isn't necessarily bad. Right?
And even at that, you can eat ice cream that doesn't have sugar, whatever the reason you can't have it or not dairy or, you know, it's not salt, whatever your thing you can't have is. Right? And so it's not that, it's what am I putting it there for? And what is it replacing in my life?
What am I trying to use it as a replacement for? If that makes any sense. You know, this weekend, I really had discovery along these lines. I was working on something that was so important to me. Like I've got to, this is something I've got to get. I've got to get this result.
This is a result I've got to get. And it just meant everything in the world to me. And then all of a sudden it hit me.
Well, what if I didn't get that? You know, and all of a sudden it just kept me this line and I've heard it many times, but it never meant to me what it means to me right this minute. It says, when you've lost everything but God, you discover, I love those words, when you've lost everything, like Steve Martin just did, he's lost everything but God, which Jesus had lost that too. But when you lose everything but God, you discover, what do you discover? That God is all you need.
Like, wow, like that could not be more true. You know, I'm fortunate enough, I guess that at one point in time, you know, I was a millionaire. I had a dealership and all sorts of stuff and I lost all that. And I still had God and it felt really good. I mean, it felt really good not to have to worry about another payroll. It felt really good not to have to worry about managing Chrysler anymore or Chrysler Financial. It felt really good about, you know, a lot of things that I did not have to do anymore because guess what? I discovered that all I really needed because all that stuff, it comes with strings attached. It does.
It does. And whether it's that job you always wanted or that girlfriend you always wanted or whatever else it might be, you know, it's fascinating that if you get poor enough in spirit, you can still have whatever but not let it have you. Good point.
Good point. Danny, you got anything you'd like to add on this topic? Well, I was thinking about a couple different times in my life where I felt abandoned and one in particular was we were getting ready to open up a recovery house for me in transition and out of treatment centers and prison and that kind of thing. I had thought it was a good idea that at 8 o'clock on Sunday mornings that I would meet over there, whoever wanted to come and put an announcement out and do it out to a relatively good sized church, anybody wants to come pray, be over at 8 o'clock.
Well, I had one friend show up one Sunday and then another friend showed up a couple Sundays later and they were the only people that showed up. And I sat there Sunday after Sunday by myself in the office and praying and then one Sunday I decided that I will never forget this day. I felt abandoned. I felt abandoned by church. I felt abandoned by, you know, this evidently wasn't the plan. And as I was wrapping up, I thought, well, you know what, maybe this wasn't the idea I thought it was going to be praying on Sunday. And God spoke to me and said, am I not enough for you? And I realized that right then and there, yes, Lord, you are enough for me no matter what's going on. And you're right, Robby, when you lose everything, because there have been some times in my life I lost everything, not a million dollars. I always wanted to be able to lose a million dollars. But, you know, I'm working on my third million now.
I gave up on the first two. But, you know, to be at that spot, but you're right, when you discover that you have God, you have Jesus, you have everything. And, you know, going through some tough stuff now, but I know that I know that I know that I know that I've got Jesus. And I don't need anything else. Thank you. Appreciate that.
Harold, what about you? Well, there have been some times in my past when I realized that I was walking along and God wasn't there with me. And it's like, well, what's wrong with this picture? And I think back and I realized that there was a point where He said, you can go there if you choose. I'm not going to stop you, but I'm not going with you.
I'll be here when you come back. So He lets us make choices, even though they're the wrong choice. He'll let us make it if we just insist on it. But God's not going to abandon us. If we're without Him, you can bank on it. He didn't change.
We did. So, to me, this idea of being abandoned by God just doesn't resonate at all. Okay.
Thank you. There are times that I felt abandoned, I can't say by God, but it's been in godly things. You know, when I've had a really good friend that I walked with for several years, all of a sudden just up and disappeared. I mean, after years and years. He likes the way we walk. Yeah, I know.
Harold is enjoying the way we talk. Yeah, yeah. I was starting to enjoy the song, you know, at this point. The bump in music. I don't even remember what I was saying. He was bumping in and out all at the same time. I'm sorry, I had my phone on airplane mode, but that's an alarm, and the music is Susie Q. Oh, that would make sense.
And he does like the way she walks and the way she talks. I'm sorry. I have no idea what I was saying. No, I was talking about, there have been times, just to say it plainly, I've been angry with God. Because I do feel like, okay, God, what happened? I felt like I was going in this right path.
You know, I thought that things were going in a good direction. We had a split with the ministry years ago when we were just really doing lots of things that felt like that's what God was calling us to do. And there was a period in that that I was angry with God.
God, how can this happen? You know, later, when you can look back at it, and you see what the enemy was doing. The enemy was dividing and conquering and playing all sides of the equation. And God was there, but God was there picking up the pieces and putting those friendships back together. God was there in continuing the ministry. You know, a little bit different than it was before, but he said, yes, we're going to let it continue.
God was there every step of the way. It's just when I didn't turn and look towards him was the issue. You know, as I talked about before, it's mainly the mirror problem. You know, I need to quit looking in the mirror, which I don't do that often, quite honestly. If you've got a camera and you've seen me, you would know why I don't look in the mirror that often.
But no, you need to look more towards God. And so I want to play another song here. I have another clip. And it is from a song. It's about a minute of the song. And I'm going to play it. I don't know whether I should read the lyrics to you before I play it or after.
Do it before. Yeah, because the lyrics are so meaningful in this. It's bad to hear it twice, and that way you can hear it better when she sings it.
Yeah, now I've got to just find where I put the lyrics. Here we go. Oh, no, that's the one we just did. Okay, one more time. Ah, my phone.
Harold, it's not only you that has phone problems, so it's me. Uh-oh. We're going to have to play the song first because I don't have the right lyrics. Okay, so we'll play it.
And if we play it twice, we'll play it twice. Here's the song. It's from Riley Clemons, and it's called Jesus Cries 2. You are not alone facing that flood behind your eyes. Heaven already knows every tear that you cry. So let them fall like the rain, let them roll down your face.
Let them run like a river that carries your tent. To the Savior with scars right there holding your heart. When you weep, He is there weeping with you.
Jesus cries too. It's probably easier to hear the lyrics through the headphones than it is if you listen to it on the radio. But I am going to actually read you the lyrics, and I'm going to play the song again so you can appreciate it.
What had happened was when I screenshot the lyrics before, I didn't get the first part. So anyway, she starts out singing, It's no secret that life gets a little heavy sometimes, like it's too much for one heart to take. Your smile's wearing thin, just trying to hold it all in, but it feels like the dam's going to break. You're not alone in facing that flood behind your eyes. Heaven already knows every tear that you'll cry. So let them fall down like rain, let them roll down your face.
Let them run like a river that carries your pain. To the Savior with scars right there holding your heart. When you weep, He is there weeping with you. Jesus cries too.
So we'll go ahead and play it again. It's no secret that life gets a little heavy sometimes, like it's too much for one heart to take. Your smile's wearing thin, just trying to hold it all in, but it feels like the dam's going to break. You're not alone in facing that flood behind your eyes. Heaven already knows every tear that you'll cry. So let them fall down like rain, let them roll down your face.
Let them run like a river that carries your pain. To the Savior with scars right there holding your heart. When you weep, He is there weeping with you. Jesus cries too.
I just want to read this second set of lyrics to you, not the chorus, but the second lyrics is, there's no answer sometimes for the hurt that's inside when the healing feels so far away. But the ache in your soul, there's a love that comes close that catches your tears when they're all you can pray. Because sometimes all you have in you to pray is tears. But the good thing is God knows those tears.
God knew everything about you before you were born, right? And so God knows intimately what you're going through, whether you have the words to voice it or not. And so in the middle of your abandonment, in the middle of what you're going through, whatever the hurt is that you're feeling, God's right there with you. Jesus is right there with you and He feels your pain. If you love anyone in your life, and I'm assuming you do, and I don't think that's a great assumption.
I think that everybody loves somebody. But if you love somebody in your life, to watch them go through something painful breaks your heart. Absolutely will break your heart. Why would we think that it would break God's heart less? Or why wouldn't Jesus weep? Because He's seeing the people that He loves going through some really hurtful things. I quit watching the news 11 years ago because I couldn't take all the negativity, all the things coming at me. Not that I don't want to know what's going on in life, but man, the heart's not made for some of the stuff that we have to deal with, and our answer is to turn to God and say, God, I need you in the midst of this.
Anyone else got anything you'd like to add, Grant? I think that there's a plan for it. We have to realize that not everything is going to go perfect for us.
No, it won't ever go perfect. My family taught me this. Nothing would go wrong if you just say it with the Lord.
Absolutely, that's great. It was absolutely beautiful what you said about tear prayers, right? That all you can do sometimes is shed tears. And there's an amazing thing in the 58 Psalm, excuse me, the 56 Psalm that says, Thou tellest my wanderings, but thou my tears into thy bottle are they not in thy book. In other words, number one, he keeps them in a bottle, and number two, they're in his book. So, you know, the point of all that is amazing that that bottle that, you know, I had a person in my church ask me, Robby, how many bottles does he have and what are they made out of, et cetera, et cetera. Well, fascinating that that word that's used for bottle is actually a wineskin.
Okay. And it's a fascinating concept that, you know, Jesus spoke a lot on wineskins, on putting new wine into new wineskins. And what happens is, you know, those are getting better with age. And when you think about what you just said, that your tears are prayers, and he keeps, you know, all the prayers in bowls is incense, and they're like your heritage to an extent.
The things that you pray for your children and on go on and on and on and on. It's a really, really cool thing that he, those are, how precious are those to God that he keeps them in wineskins? Yeah.
And, you know, the beauty of that is when you really are at that point, and I love that song and I love how it speaks to your heart, is that when you are really, really, really, really there, I think you have God's heart almost more than any possible time that you have, because at that point in time, how could you be more poor in spirit than if all you can pray is tears? Right. What I said, nothing can go wrong. He's wrong on that. But maybe so I could re-discuss it. Yeah.
Say it was wrong. Yeah. You know, I think, Greg, the point you said earlier that, you know, nothing's going to be perfect. Well, there's only one thing perfect that ever walked the earth, and that's Jesus, right? And so we're not going to be perfect. The things we face aren't going to be perfect. We're going to have hardships. Jesus tells us there's going to be trials and tribulations, right? And we know that.
It doesn't make them hurt less. Yeah. I don't know.
Grant's hair is pretty perfect. I don't know if you ever noticed that. Like, man, dude. Well, when you think about Easter, and you think about this Holy Week and the events that took place and the abandonment that the disciples and everybody around Jesus felt, because here things are apparently, circumstances have gone woefully wrong. They have arrested Jesus. They're going to crucify him, and he's going to be nailed to a cross.
And everybody's scattering. But this was the plan of God. And, you know, I've thought about that a lot the last couple days, is that circumstances don't dictate what I should be trusting in. And I agree with Harold that it just feels like God has abandoned me, but God has never abandoned anybody, because he says he'll never leave us nor forsake us. That's what his Word says. And so when we look at that, here's also a group of people who, it was written, everything that was going to happen, and Jesus had told them what was going to happen over and over again. But just like us, and it's easy to look back and go, man, he told them three chapters ago or whatever.
It's easy to look back on that. But we do the same thing. We know what may happen.
We know what's going to happen. But still, it may not be the plan that we were looking for, because I've learned lately with this cancer diagnosis, something that my plans and the plans that are happening are few and far between separated most of the time. That does make sense. And that echoes a lot of what Jim said when he, well, he didn't say it.
He texted us on this topic. The rest of the topic was the feeling of abandonment, but what happens if you wait a day or wait three days? Everything changes. As God's plan unfolds, everything changes. Everything becomes as it's supposed to be. Now, it doesn't make it perfect, as we talked about, but it's as God intended it to be.
Yeah, ask Jonah. Yeah. Three days later. Yeah. Yeah. A whale of a problem. Yeah.
I don't think he probably ate fish. Shark bay doo-ha. Yeah. Any last thoughts on Easter, on any of the stuff that we've been talking about? Not talked enough. We don't talk about it enough. Yeah, we don't talk about Easter enough.
That's right. And the specialness that it is. Rodney, anything else you want to add? No, it's just the more we sit here and go through a topic like this and you think about Easter, it just really starts to sit on you really heavy. And you just, there's so much you want to talk about, you really can't just go talking about it, because it's just bigger than what we have to do on a radio show.
Absolutely. There is so much more to go through. We do have a boot camp coming up. It's coming up November 20th through 23rd in Royston, Georgia. Go to masculinejourney.org to register. Again, that's masculinejourney.org to register. We'll talk with you next week. This is the Truth Network.
