When Pressure Reveals Our Hearts: Relying on God's Word

In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy shares her personal journey of trusting God to maintain integrity under pressure. Julie discusses a situation where she felt intense pressure but witnessed God's faithfulness in guiding her to tell the truth. She outlines practical steps for Christians to avoid succumbing to their natural desires under stress: memorizing and praying scripture, seeking prayer support from trusted friends, and relying on God’s promises. Julie encourages listeners to access a free resource titled 'Five Steps To Experience More Confidence in God' and invites them to share their experiences of God’s guidance.

00:00 Welcome to the Confidence in God Podcast

00:12 Introduction to Overcoming Carnal Urges

01:06 Resource for Building Confidence in God

01:45 A Personal Story of Pressure and Faith

03:53 The Moment of Truth

05:46 Steps to Maintain Confidence in God

06:34 Summary and Encouragement

07:45 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

0:00

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. I'm so excited to share with you a process that I've learned to help me from caving into my carnal self or the urges of my own natural desires when extreme pressure comes into my life. As Christians, we strive to do the right things, to be honest, kind, generous, patient, loving. We strive to live according to God's word, in a way that pleases him. And then it happens. Just like grape juice squeezed out of the grape when pressure is applied to it, sometimes pressure in our lives squeezes our true selves right out of us, our carnal selves, and we do something we aren't proud of and that wouldn't please God. But we can have confidence God will keep us from caving into our carnal selves. Before jumping into this story about how I learned this lesson, I wanna mention a resource I have available for you. It is called Five Steps To Experience More Confidence in God. You can instantly access it at confidenceingod.com/resources, or click the link in the show notes. If as you are listening to how I learned this lesson about God's faithfulness to keep me from caving into my carnal self in times of pressure, you find yourself doubting that God would do the same thing for you, then I encourage you to grab this free resource. Several years ago, I experienced a situation that caused me great pressure. I felt my carnality being squeezed right out of me. I needed to meet with a CEO. The meeting was arranged by two lower level executives, but the president, who would not have supported the meeting, had not been informed. The day before I was to travel to the meeting, someone arranged a meeting for me with the president. It was scheduled one hour before the meeting with the CEO. The pressure intensified. I suspected the president would ask me what brought me to the city, and I knew the implications of telling the truth. There was more than just my position on the line. There were two other executives involved, and both of them could suffer from this situation. I prepared to answer a general question the president might ask, such as,"What brought you to the city today?" I could explain the matter I was there to handle, but not necessarily tell him about the meeting I was having with his superior. I also prepared myself through prayer. I asked a few of my friends to pray with me as well. And I prepared myself by recalling the scriptures I often rely on when I need confidence. I remembered God guides me with his eye while holding my right hand in his right, hand face to face. Also, that God will fill my mouth with the words he would have me say when I open it to speak. And I rely on Psalm 81: 10 for that. The Lord is my confidence and will keep my foot from being caught according to Proverbs 3 26. Ultimately, I saw the faithfulness of God and I learned a new promise in his word. After a pleasant meeting with the president, he walked me to the hallway while shaking my hand. He asked, who else are you meeting with today? I am sure I turned white as a sheet. I had not anticipated that direct question. The pressure squeezed my carnality right out of me. I was about to name the executive who had arranged the meeting. I knew I was not being honest. But the pressure I was under and the implication on three of us for having arranged the meeting was too great. I opened my mouth very ashamed for what I was about to say. To my surprise, the name of the CEO came out. I told the truth. I didn't have it in me to tell the truth in that situation, but I did. Afterward, I asked God how that happened. He pointed me to Psalm: 1 19, verse 11."I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." God is faithful. When I opened my mouth to speak, he filled it with what he wanted me to say, and he kept me from sinning against him with the words I intended to say, which were false. Because I had stored up or hid his word in my heart, he kept me from lying to the president. So here are the steps I learned that will help us be confident that God will keep us from caving into our carnal selves. In times of great pressure, before pressure ever intensifies, commit verses to memory and pray them regularly. And then in the heat of pressure, ask trusted friends to join you in prayer about the situation. Remind yourself of God's promises in his word and pray those as well. And then trust God. If you open your mouth to speak, he will fill your mouth with the words He would have you say. Acknowledge him as you take action, and he will direct your path. Let me quickly summarize this lesson. As we strive to do the right things, to be honest, kind, generous, patient loving, in other words, as we walk in the spirit, as the apostle Paul teaches in Galatians 5:16, so that we don't satisfy the desires of our flesh, we sometimes encounter such great pressure in our lives that our true human selves are squeezed right out of us. But if before we encounter such pressure. We commit some verses to memory and pray them regularly, we ask friends to help us pray as we anticipate the times of great pressure, we remind ourselves of God's promises in His word, and we pray them as well and trust God to be faithful to his word, then we can have confidence that when we face such pressure, the Lord will keep us from falling back into our own human ways and depending on ourselves to protect us from the situation. As you listened, did you feel that lack of confidence that this process would work for you? If so, then go to confidenceingod.com/resources or click the link in the show notes to get that free resource titled Five Steps To Experience More Confidence In God. This resource will help you build your confidence in God. Please let us know if you've encountered similar situations and God has helped you refrain from falling back onto your own devices to protect yourself. We'd love to hear from you. That's it for today. Please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out. Also, it would mean the world to us if you would rate or review our show. That way more people can find out about it. Until next time, let's be confident in this that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.