S8.4 | Walking Alongside Jesus: Understanding the Partnership in Our Healing and Growth
In this episode of Affirming Truth, Carla Arges dives into the idea of teaming up with Jesus for our healing and growth. With her down-to-earth approach and real-life stories, Carla breaks down the importance of taking action in our faith walk, highlighting how it plays a key role in our transformative journey with Christ.
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Key Takeaways
Working Together with Jesus:
Carla emphasizes the need for active participation in our partnership with Jesus, pointing out that while He provides the resources, we play a crucial role in making use of them through our actions.
The Power of Doing:
Through relatable examples, Carla empowers listeners to recognize their own agency in their relationship with Jesus, accentuating how taking intentional steps can bring about impactful changes in their spiritual journey.
Transformation Through Active Engagement:
By sharing personal experiences, Carla motivates her audience to embrace their part in the process of healing and growth, emphasizing the profound impact of their active involvement.
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Renewing Hope Course —-> https://www.carlaarges.com/renewing-hope
Come hangout on IG with me @carlaarges
Check out the blog
Resources:
5 Steps to Building Resiliency
Affirming Truths Facebook Community
TRANSCRIPT
Carla Arges [00:00:08]:
Hey friends, welcome to affirming truth. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to.
Carla Arges [00:00:28]:
Me if you would leave a review.
Carla Arges [00:00:30]:
I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hello friends.
Carla Arges [00:00:38]:
Welcome to this episode of affirming Truth. I am your host and your friend, Carla Arges, and we are going to look at a question someone asked me recently on an instagram post. I was talking about how really our healing, our growing, all of that stuff is done in partnership with Christ. And someone asked the question, what does it mean to partner with Jesus?
Carla Arges [00:01:10]:
What does that look like?
Carla Arges [00:01:12]:
And I thought that was a fabulous question that I wanted to bring here to the podcast. It really reminded me of my early days in my walk with Jesus, where a lot of these things felt abstract. I remember sitting in confusion for a long time on what does it mean to renew your mind now? It seems so simple and obvious, but.
Carla Arges [00:01:40]:
There was a while where it felt.
Carla Arges [00:01:43]:
So abstract I couldn't get my head around it.
Carla Arges [00:01:47]:
Or there was a while where I.
Carla Arges [00:01:49]:
Couldn'T understand my purpose or my call. It felt really abstract when really it's quite simple for all of us. And so this idea of partnering with Jesus in our healing, as we walk through suffering, as we walk through trauma, as we walk through mental health challenges.
Carla Arges [00:02:09]:
As we walk through the valley of.
Carla Arges [00:02:11]:
The shadow of death, what does partnering.
Carla Arges [00:02:14]:
With Jesus look like?
Carla Arges [00:02:16]:
And we're going to dive into this. The first thing I want to do is remind you that the Godhead itself is partnership.
Carla Arges [00:02:26]:
The Godhead itself is partnership.
Carla Arges [00:02:29]:
The father plans, the Son speaks, the spirit moves.
Carla Arges [00:02:34]:
It's a partnership.
Carla Arges [00:02:36]:
And that is exactly what God wants.
Carla Arges [00:02:38]:
To do with us.
Carla Arges [00:02:40]:
I remember reading this analogy about a woman who was so hungry, and she kept praying to God, God, give me bread. God, I need bread.
Carla Arges [00:02:51]:
God, supply bread.
Carla Arges [00:02:53]:
And someone dropped off eggs. And she was a little disgruntled. No, Lord, I need bread.
Carla Arges [00:02:59]:
Please provide bread.
Carla Arges [00:03:01]:
And someone dropped off some flour. She was a little disgruntled, Lord. God, why aren't you listening to me? Why aren't you hearing the call of my heart? Lord, I need bread. And then someone dropped off some salt. And she was confused and she was angry and she was feeling like God was deserting her in her time of need and said, God, I needed you. You said that you would answer. You said that you weren't here. Why have you abandoned me? Why have you not answered my prayer? And God said to her, I gave you everything you need to make bread.
Carla Arges [00:03:42]:
This is a beautiful example of what it means to partner with Jesus.
Carla Arges [00:03:46]:
He gives us the resources, but we.
Carla Arges [00:03:50]:
Have to work to bring it all together. Right? God will give us the ingredients for.
Carla Arges [00:03:56]:
The bread, but we actually have to.
Carla Arges [00:03:58]:
Put our hands to work and make the bread.
Carla Arges [00:04:01]:
That is the partnership that Jesus calls us to.
Carla Arges [00:04:05]:
In one corinthians three nine, it says.
Carla Arges [00:04:08]:
We are laborers together with God.
Carla Arges [00:04:11]:
In John, Jesus talks about him being the vine and we being the branches. We can't do anything outside of Christ. I mean, we were designed from the beginning of time, even before sin, to work in partnership with God. We read this in Genesis 215. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. God could have done that. God could have made it self sustaining.
Carla Arges [00:04:42]:
But God's idea, God's heart, has always.
Carla Arges [00:04:45]:
Been in partnership with us to bring about his plans and his purposes. So are you doing your part? For a long time, I was asking God to heal me and rescue me from my suffering, to heal me of my mental illness, to take away the pain of my trauma. And that didn't happen. But what was happening and what I was ignoring was the fact that God would point me towards therapists. God would have the doctor recommend medication. God would point out through a sermon how I wasn't regularly reading the Bible. God would reveal to me unforgiveness in my heart, and yet I took no action on any of these things. I was like the lady with all the ingredients, but not doing the work to create bread.
Carla Arges [00:05:53]:
God was pointing out where there was unforgiveness in my heart, but it was my job to get into the heart posture of forgiveness. It was my job to make the decision I decide to forgive every day. I'm going to wake up and decide.
Carla Arges [00:06:10]:
To forgive the people that hurt me.
Carla Arges [00:06:13]:
Whether or not they've asked for it, because God has asked me of it every day. I'm going to work out. The forgiveness in my heart didn't come instantly.
Carla Arges [00:06:24]:
I had to work it out.
Carla Arges [00:06:27]:
When people deny their pain and instead buffer it or numb it or disassociate it from it with mindless scrolling or food or alcohol, you're not doing your part. God is revealing to you your pain so that you can feel and heal it.
Carla Arges [00:06:51]:
That's your part.
Carla Arges [00:06:53]:
But when we buffer in numb, we're not partnering with Jesus. We're not taking the ingredients and making, you know, so often we pray, God.
Carla Arges [00:07:06]:
Rescue us, God save us.
Carla Arges [00:07:09]:
We get upset when we don't see God answer our prayers in the prescription that we want them answered, that we totally ignore how he is showing up and pointing the way. We want instant relief. But God's plans and purposes for us is so much greater. He wants to make us more like Jesus. His plan and purpose for us is not instant relief, it's refinement. It is sanctification. It is dying to self and picking up our cross. It is surrendering to the word of God.
Carla Arges [00:07:49]:
It is surrendering to the will of God. God wants to transform us and he partners with us in doing it.
Carla Arges [00:08:00]:
We have to do the work.
Carla Arges [00:08:02]:
I heard another analogy where there was this huge flood. People were having to escape their homes. It was emergency evacuations. And this guy kept saying, God will save me. And the water kept rising in his house. So he went upstairs and he's like, no, God will save me. The sirens were going, they were being told to evacuate. Evacuation help was coming, but the man decided to stay in his house and said, no, God will save me.
Carla Arges [00:08:34]:
And the water kept rising and he climbed on his roof and he's like, no, God will save me. A guy came by in a boat and said, come on, get in the boat. Let's go, get to higher land.
Carla Arges [00:08:48]:
Let's go, get to safety.
Carla Arges [00:08:51]:
And the man's like, it's okay. God's going to save me. A rescue helicopter came and said, climb on. Let's go.
Carla Arges [00:08:59]:
We'll get you to safety.
Carla Arges [00:09:00]:
And the man was like, no, that's okay. God's going to save me. And the water kept rising and kept rising, and finally the man was overcome and he drowned. And he got to heaven and he.
Carla Arges [00:09:13]:
Said, God, I trusted you to save.
Carla Arges [00:09:16]:
Me and you never saved me. And God's like, what are you talking about? I sent the alarms, I sent the evacuation crew, I sent the man on.
Carla Arges [00:09:28]:
The boat, I sent the helicopter.
Carla Arges [00:09:31]:
You did not take that step forward. You did not do your part. We want instant.
Carla Arges [00:09:41]:
God wants partnership.
Carla Arges [00:09:43]:
It says in the word that God.
Carla Arges [00:09:45]:
Created us for good works. God created us for work. We work out our faith, we work.
Carla Arges [00:09:54]:
Out our healing, we work out our sanctification, not the work that earns us heaven. We can't earn it. We can't work our way to heaven. That's not the type of work I want. Heaven, salvation, eternal life is a free gift given to us by Christ by.
Carla Arges [00:10:13]:
What he did at the cross by his resurrection.
Carla Arges [00:10:16]:
There is nothing that we can do to earn it, and there is nothing that we can do.
Carla Arges [00:10:23]:
To disqualify us.
Carla Arges [00:10:25]:
If we are willing to come within a repentant heart. I'm not talking about earning our salvation. I'm talking about working out our faith. I'm talking about the daily walk through.
Carla Arges [00:10:36]:
The valley of the shadow of death.
Carla Arges [00:10:38]:
It doesn't say, God rescues me from.
Carla Arges [00:10:40]:
The valley of the shadow of death.
Carla Arges [00:10:44]:
That's not what the verse says. He says he's with me. He leads me to be led, though.
Carla Arges [00:10:52]:
Requires us to do the work of.
Carla Arges [00:10:55]:
Walking along with our rescuer. So many of us pitched a tent in our pain. We pitch a tent in our trauma. We pitch a tent in our suffering and want to be removed. God's saying, okay, come follow me. Follow me through this valley. Be refined as we go through this valley. I'll never leave you.
Carla Arges [00:11:17]:
I'll never forsake you. I will work out all things for your good. Come and follow me. And we don't get up and we don't walk, and we don't do our part.
Carla Arges [00:11:29]:
We stay.
Carla Arges [00:11:31]:
We want God to operate the way we want God to operate. It's not how it works. You want healing in your life? Do the work of forgiveness. You want joy in your life? Do the work of letting go of bitterness. You want health in your life? Do the work of exercise and choosing.
Carla Arges [00:12:00]:
Foods that support a healthy life.
Carla Arges [00:12:05]:
You want to know God more?
Carla Arges [00:12:09]:
Read his word.
Carla Arges [00:12:13]:
You want to heal from your trauma?
Carla Arges [00:12:16]:
Do the work that looks at. What are your core beliefs?
Carla Arges [00:12:20]:
How do you renew your mind?
Carla Arges [00:12:22]:
How do you grieve properly? How do you forgive?
Carla Arges [00:12:27]:
How do you get out of victim mentality?
Carla Arges [00:12:30]:
God will guide you through all of this.
Carla Arges [00:12:34]:
You have to be willing to follow him through it all. And unfortunately, and I see this in my line of work, people will book discovery calls with me and I can tell right away in a discovery call in a 15 minutes call if that person is ready to do the work. And unfortunately, I see a lot of women who want the work done for them. And then they stay stuck and they.
Carla Arges [00:13:02]:
Continue living a shell of their life year after year.
Carla Arges [00:13:07]:
They continue to stay stuck in survival mode year after year. They continue to live in negativity and a miserable life year after year because they are unwilling to commit to the work. Guys, the work is hard, but not doing the work is hard.
Carla Arges [00:13:29]:
You got to choose your heart.
Carla Arges [00:13:31]:
Are you going to choose the heart of picking up your cross and following after Jesus and partnering with him doing your part. God has put lots of options in front of you for your healing. Heck, renewing hope. My course is something that God may be putting in front of you for your healing, but you got to do the work. Partnering with God is saying, okay, God, lead me and I will follow you. See, intellectually, we know this. We know what partnering with Jesus looks like. Partnering with Jesus says, okay, I'm going to get into your word every day, so I know your voice and therefore I can hear your voice.
Carla Arges [00:14:18]:
I sometimes talk to women. They're like, I don't hear from God. Okay, when was the last time you read your bible? Outside of group Bible study and Sunday sermon, when was the last time you individually and personally spent time with God? Well, the answer is they haven't. I have some women come to me and say, I've been stuck for so long and I keep praying and nothing's changing. And I ask them, okay, so what have you done to produce change in your life? Well, what do you mean? I've been praying, okay, but what action have you taken? Pray, yes, but take action. Partnering with Jesus is us taking action with him, right?
Carla Arges [00:15:03]:
He created us for work.
Carla Arges [00:15:06]:
His intention was always for us to work with him like we read in Genesis, by being in the garden to work it and care for it. What work are you doing? What work are you doing to give God glory and grow closer to him? What work are you doing to align your spirit to obedience? Because oftentimes when we are stuck in pain, we are stuck living outside of what God wants us to do. The pain is not punishment for sin. Don't get me wrong. Don't get it twisted. Trauma is not our fault. Things that were done to us, it's not our fault. If you suffer from mental illness, it's not your fault.
Carla Arges [00:15:54]:
But my question is, what are you doing to improve on that? What are you doing to heal from that? That is your responsibility. And God's saying, here's my open hand. I'm ready to walk with you through it, but you have to put 1ft in front of the other. Partnering with Jesus is trusting him to guide you. And then you taking those steps. Partnering with Jesus is saying, holy Spirit, reveal to me where I need to heal. And then you doing the work to heal. Holy Spirit, reveal to me where I'm holding on to bitterness and unforgiveness.
Carla Arges [00:16:31]:
And then you do the work to forgive. Holy Spirit, show me where you want me to go. And then you go, even if you don't understand it, even if it's hard partnering with Jesus requires action. It's an action word. Partnering is an action word. You've got to take action. Beyond being in prayer, you got to take action. If you are struggling, ask yourself, what is something that I have done to move through my struggle? Well? What is something that I've done? What is an action that I've taken to move through my struggle? Well.
Carla Arges [00:17:21]:
This is key.
Carla Arges [00:17:23]:
Become self aware. My affirming truth for you today is I am committed to doing the work God gives me in my healing and growth. And I want to take you to two thessalonians 310 where Paul says, for even when we were with you, we gave you this rule, the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. If you are unwilling to do the healing work, you will not be healed. If you are unwilling to do the forgiveness work, you will die with bitterness. If you are unwilling to do the.
Carla Arges [00:18:03]:
Work of dying to self, you will die to this world. You have to be willing to work.
Carla Arges [00:18:15]:
So I know this is a very somber episode and I hope a challenging one for you, and I hope it takes you to the point of reflection. What have I done to move through my struggle, to move through my pain, to move through my healing? What actions have I taken? And blaming others is not action. Looking for others to do the work is not action. What action, specifically have you taken? Because if you are unwilling to do the work, you will not eat. I'll talk to you next time.
Carla Arges [00:18:57]:
Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at affirming truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye, friends.