Chris Grainger: 1:43

Welcome to The Line Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be their leaders. God intends you to be. I'm your host, Chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas, spiritual kickoff time. Let's get into it. Okay. So the scripture of the week this week is in the book of Psalms, the 142nd one, fourth verse. So 142, verse 4. It says, Look and see. There is no one at my right hand. No one is concerned for me. I have no refuge. No one cares for my life. That verse just hits hard. I know it does, guys. And we're going to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life. Psalms are pretty, usually pretty easy to find. And this week we're going to talk about something that I think too many guys are feeling here lately, particularly guys that I'm talking to on a regular basis, and that's feeling alone. And there's something here about just the ache of being unseen that I think it's worth taking the time to consider and to think about and to see how God's word can just encourage us as we're in our own discipleship journey. Because there is a deep ache, let's just be real, when it comes when we feel like we're invisible, it just hurts, man. And as a man, I value the moments when I get to share thoughts and encouragement with others. And that's one of the reasons I love the podcast in the Lions Den community because I just love doing this. Um and speaking of, by the way, our Lions Den community is doing some great things right now. We have support groups going on in the Lions Den fellas. I'm telling you, it's incredible. The daily spiritual kickoff is amazing. Been growing gangbusters. Check all that stuff out at the linewithin.us. So yeah, I enjoy helping others. I enjoy providing encouragement. Um, what happens though when you're trying to help others and those words aren't welcomed, or when it feels like no one notices you. And I tell you what it does for me, it sends me usually into a tailspin of negativity, or I isolate, or I just start doubting myself. And there, when you think about a faith setting like a church, if that happens to you in that setting, it cuts even deeper. Because that's where we're supposed to be connecting and growing and encouraging each other, right? So if you're left out or dismissed in that space, the hurt doesn't just sting, it lingers. And brother, I guess I'm just telling you, I've experienced it firsthand, uh, and it the impact was far greater than anything I like to admit. And the reasoning behind the response I received uh was misguided, for sure. It wasn't what they were they weren't right, let's be honest. But the pain that I felt was real. And over time, being treated as an outsider, uh like a forgotten family member, it just won me down, guys. It is. And it's slow, it slowly broke something deep within me. And initially, when these things were happening, I just got mad. I got mad, I got angry. Uh, and if you sit in that headspace too long, fellas, trust me, uh, it can be spiritually and emotionally exhausting just to stew. But through reflection and prayer, I've come to realize a few things. When we feel like we're unseen by people the most, God sees us. He sees us. He saw me showing up, trying to serve. He saw me pulling out of the parking lot Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday night after Wednesday night, completely defeated and discouraged. He saw me completely just be spiritually drained to where bitterness started taking root. And that's where turning the scripture is so important because the rawness of King David's words right here in this psalm, it brings us comfort. Because he's pouring out emotion of being overlooked and rejected. Yet he always returns to the truth that God is near. And it's easy to focus on King David's victories, right? And forget how much loneliness he endured. But the scripture doesn't hide his pain, it highlights it right for us. It gives us like a blueprint to help us reframe our suffering. Because one of the things we we learned from King David is that he didn't wallow. He didn't dismiss the pain, but he didn't, he refused to stay there. And that's super important to remember. Because in the darkest moments, when it's when it felt like no one cared, he clung to the truth that God was his refuge. And it strikes me that no one, and I'm talking no one, that the strongest among us, is immune to the sting of loneliness and isolation. You've heard me say it before, isolation is the enemy of excellence. It's true. Even Jesus, at the start of his ministry, withdrew into the wilderness alone. And there, what happened? Satan came to attack him directly. And for us, the enemy may not show up in visible form the way it did for Jesus, but the battle is real. It's fought every day in our thoughts and our perceptions. But the weapon that we use remains true. And that's God's word. That's truth. Think about how Jesus fought back. He declared it is written over and over and over. So must we. So when Satan tempts us in our loneliness, it may show up as pride or anger or distraction. We have to be prepared to confront his lies. This is super important. And when I start thinking about that phrase, it is written, it has a whole new light now. Because it's reminding us that God's word is our primary weapon against the worldly temptations that are out there. And it also tells me I better have a whole lot of it is written truths stored up in my heart to be ready to use as needed. Because you're not, I'm gonna tell you what. If you knew when the attacks are gonna come, the exact moment, you would be ready. But we never know when or where. But we can be certain that they will come. So if you're like right now and you're in a season where you feel invisible, I'm sorry. Look, God sees you. Please hear that. God sees you. He sees your quiet faithfulness, He sees your unseen service, He sees your hidden heart hurt and how much you're hurting right now. You are not forgotten. Even when no one else is standing around you right now, right? The King of Glory is walking with you. So let that truth of who he is speak louder than the silence of anything else is out there of voice. Okay? You are seen, you are known, and you are loved. He's never going to turn his face away from you. I just think we just need to remember that. That's why Psalms and God's word is such a comfort because it gives us the truth that can is be it's so much more fulfilling and rewarding and helpful when times of hurt than anything anyone can ever tell us or say to us. I'm just telling you, as someone who has dealt with isolation and loneliness for a long time, uh God's word is the ultimate comforter. Okay. And our our meet episode on Wednesday, guys, we're going to unpack this at length a little bit further. We're going to pull on these threads of being alone and how we can combat that with God's word. Okay? And that's my promise to you. And look, you know, every for every spiritual kickoff episode, look, if you're listening to this and you're lonely right now, and you're in a season of maybe you're depressed, just you feel isolated, no one listens, no one cares, and you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, today's the day. Today's the day where you can make that profession of faith and ask Jesus to come into your life, and it will change everything about everything. Now, will everything automatically get magically better? No. It's not the way this works. Becoming a Christian doesn't mean it's all of a sudden just cupcakes and butterflies and rainbows.

unknown: 10:40

No.

Chris Grainger: 10:41

No. It's still, you're still gonna have the attacks and the and the pushback from the world. But you're gonna have the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling within you. And that, my friend, that is gonna guide you, direct you, it's gonna give you joy in those moments when they make no sense. It's gonna give you peace when everything around you seems like it's falling apart. When you got too much month and not enough money, and you just don't know what to do. The Holy Spirit is gonna be your guide, your comforter. It's gonna come alongside you to assist, to, to, to, to give you discernment and wisdom. But you only get that when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And it's very simple to do this. First, you just need to recognize that you're a sinner. And that's a stumbling block for lots of guys. Lots of guys may think that, you know, I may have these areas that I've struggled with in the past, but I don't know if I go far saying I'm a sinner. Remember what a sin is. Anything that separates us from God, that's it. Don't overcomplicate it. You are a sinner. Every single one of us are. And we need a savior. Okay? So admitting that. And then, okay, once you admit you're a sinner, you need a savior, you can't do this on your own. You got to put your belief in something. You need to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is our Savior. He came on a rescue mission for you. For some reason, he did. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. And that you have to believe that with all your heart and all your mind and all your all your soul, everything that Jesus came for you. And then he went to the cross. He paid the penalty for your sin. They laid him in a tomb. He overcame death. And then he ascended. He's at the right hand of the Father right now. That is Jesus. We don't worship a dead guy, we worship a living Savior. So you have to believe that he is the Son of God, the Messiah. Then you had to confess him as Lord. And this is the hard part. Admitting and believing, that's, you know, guys can get there, but confessing him as Lord means we have to do something. We have to give up control. I know I just lost a lot of you guys. But for that one guy who's alone right now and you're struggling, and this message is making so much sense to you, maybe it is the time to give up control, to let go, to recognize that his ways are so much better than ours. And to just fully, fully turn it over to you. Say, Lord, I'm following you. So if that's you, and you're ready to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, hey, let's pray together right now. I just want to pray with you. And it's and just and just give you encouragement. And look, you don't have to be in a church sitting on a pew to do this. You can accept Jesus Christ anywhere. And the peace that passes all understanding, the power of the Holy Spirit is going to come and dwell. And that's going to change everything about everything. So that's so for that one listener, let's pray right now. So, Father, just thank you so much for this opportunity to share the gospel. And there's one listener, I'm sure, who's just at the end of their rope. They feel alone, they feel isolated, they feel invisible. But they are not invisible to you. You know them. You knit them together in their mother's womb. You tell us that. They are fearfully and wonderfully made. Maybe they're just finally recognizing this to be true for the first time. And they're calling on you to be their Lord and Savior. They recognize that their sinner in need of a savior. They recognize that their way has not been working, and they recognize, Lord, that you are the Messiah. So as they make this profession of faith, Father, I just pray you just give them peace, give them encouragement, put people in their path that's going to help them walk and begin this most important discipleship journey that they are beginning today. We love you, Lord. We praise you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right. So look, if you just confess Christ as your Lord and Savior, touchdown, baby. Let's go. Like 2026, let's get in. Let's rock and roll. I want to hear from you, okay? Because I want to send you some free resources. We have Bible studies. We have guides. We have scriptures to help you memorize those it is written as I was talking about earlier. I got 10 of them. I'll just give them to you. We put them in a nice little PDF. I'll send that straight over to you. All this stuff is just free. And I just ultimately just want to give you some encouragement, okay? And also help you figure out what to look for in a church. You know, there's some really good churches out there. There's some really bad churches out there too. So discerning between the two, we want to help you with that, okay? So you can email me, Chris, that's C-H-R-I-S at thyonwithin.us. Feel free to shoot me an email. Tell me which episode you listened to that you just confessed, Jesus, and we'll take it from there, okay? So come back on Wednesday, guys. Come hang out with us for our meet episode this week. We're gonna unpack this idea of loneliness even further. I think this is an important topic. We don't just want to go off by this. It's important to take some time to think about it. And hopefully, other than that, it's gonna be an encouragement to you. So if you give us a rating and review, that would be awesome. Connect with us on the Bible app. Again, all pretty much when we do these solo weeks, that content, that material is on the Bible app. These are great plans to go through with fellow brothers, maybe with your Sunday school class, whatever it may look like, right? All that stuff is on the Bible app. It's completely free. Great resources. We get a ton, a ton. I mean, hundreds of guys sign up for these things every day. It's it's incredible what God is doing, how He is moving. And if you want to take part of that, go check it out. So just open up the Bible app, search for The Lion Within Us, follow our page there, and then when these plans come out, you'll be updated on a regular basis. And uh hopefully you'll be encouraged by it. All right. So give us a rating again, rating review, all that stuff helps. Thelionwithin.us, start your daily spiritual kickoff, join the community, and put in your application for the leadership mastermind. Okay, great ways to get plugged in with us. And we do have our live event coming up here very soon in April. So when this episode comes out, you probably got a couple months left, fellas, and get locked in for the live event. All right. Have a great day. Get after it, guys. We'll see you next time. Keep unleashing the lion within. Let's just say it out loud. Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God can give a man, and one of the most consistent places where we can feel unsure of what we're doing. Even the strongest marriages have moments where you look at your wife and you think, you know what? I love you. I'm so committed to you. But right now, I have no idea what I should do next. And that's why we launch something new inside the line within us community. It's our very first support group, and it's for husbands. And we're calling it committed and occasionally confused. This isn't just a place for men in crisis. Though if you're there, hey, you're welcome. This is for any man who refuses to coast and wants to take his marriage from good to great. So inside you'll find an active chat and a feed, honest conversations, and brotherhood that says, you're not alone. We've been there. Let's bring this to God and grow. And we're also doing a monthly couples night where your wife is invited because we're not letting the world set the agenda for our homes. Now, if you want access to this support group, it's very simple. Go to thelionwithin.us and join the Lions Den. Okay, that's the LionWithin.us. Start your 30 day free trial of the Lions Den community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group. We'll see you inside the den.