S2 E10 Lost Sheep Series Stop Asking Why

You've seen them clearly. You've learned when to go forward and when to pull back. You've let them go and you're watching the road.

Now it's time to fight.

In the finale of the Lost Sheep Series, Charlene Condu brings everything home with the most powerful truth of this entire series: you are not helpless. You have never been helpless. You have access to weapons the enemy cannot match, strategies he cannot counter, and a God who fights on behalf of mothers and partners who refuse to quit.

This episode is a full breakdown of the Armor of God from Ephesians 6 — not the Sunday school version, not a memory verse — but a tactical field guide for the woman who is fighting for a child or a family member in the invisible war. Charlene walks through every piece of the armor and shows you exactly how to put it on for someone who won't put it on for themselves.

She also delivers the most important message of the entire series: the battle was never yours to win. It was always God's. Your job is to suit up, show up, and not quit.

This is the finale. Come ready.

Thanks for listening to Me Again, God with Charlene Condu.
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You’re not alone in this walk — we’re learning, growing, and coming back to God together, one episode at a time.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome back to Me Again God. I'm Charlene Conduit, your host. We made it to the finale. Three episodes, three weeks, because this material is not easy. It's not comfortable. It asks you to look at hard things and sit with harder truths. And you stayed. In episode eight, we saw our children clearly, not as villains, but as lost sheep. Confused and scared, unequipped young people who are being actively discipled by a culture that does not love them. And we made the decision to see them as the mission. In episode 9, we learned the hardest lesson: when to go forward and when to pull back. We sat with the father in Luke 15, who let his son go. We talked about the difference between pursuing and pressuring. We talked about letting them, really letting them, and trusting God with a timeline. And today, today we suit up. Because here's the truth I've been building towards through this entire series, and I need you to receive it with everything you have. You are not helpless. I know it feels like you are. I know you have tried everything you can think of in the natural. You've called and texted and shown up and pulled back and written letters and bitten your tongue and said the wrong thing and said the right thing, and none of it has moved the needle. And you feel like there is nothing left to do. But here's what you have not yet fully unleashed. The most powerful weapon available to a human being on this earth, the one the enemy cannot intercept, cannot counter, cannot neutralize, cannot silence. Prayer. Strategic armored warfare-level prayer. And today I'm going to show you exactly how to use it. I want to start by making sure we all understand what we are actually dealing with. Because if you think this situation with your child, this estrangement, this coldness, this confusion, this rebellion, if you think this is just a family problem, a communication problem, and this one I hear all the time, a generational problem, you're fighting the wrong battle. In Ephesians 6.12, and listen carefully, it says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, not flesh and blood. Your child is not your enemy. The culture confusing them is not your enemy. The friends pulling them away are not your enemy. The ex spouse feeding the narrative is not your enemy. The enemy is the enemy. And he is working through every one of those things to accomplish one goal, to keep your family broken, your child lost, and you exhausted and defeated. And here is what that means practically. You cannot fix this with better communication strategies alone. You cannot therapist your way out of a spiritual battle. You cannot parenting book your way to breakthrough. You need spiritual weapons for a spiritual war. In 2 Corinthians 10, 4, it says, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. One more time, divine power to destroy strongholds. So a stronghold is a lie that has taken up permanent residence. It is a thought pattern, a belief, a narrative that the enemy has built like a like a fortress in your child's mind. Maybe it is the lie that they were never loved enough. Maybe it is the lie that they are better off without family. Maybe it is a it's it's the lie that their pain is your fault, and the only power they have is to withhold themselves from you. Maybe it is a lie so deep and so old, they have never questioned whether it is actually true. You cannot argue your way into a stronghold. You cannot love bomb your way through the walls, but you can pray those walls down, and that is exactly what we're gonna learn to do today. Ephesians chapter 6, verses 13 through 18 tells us specifically about the armor of God. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. And I want to walk through every piece of this armor, not as a memory exercise, but as a daily practice, something you physically, intentionally put on every morning before your feet hit the floor. Because here's the thing about armor: it only works if you're wearing it. A suit of armor hanging on a wall protects nothing. So let's suit up. And as we go through each piece, I want you to think about how it applies not just to you, but to your child, because you're not just dressing yourself for battle today. You're standing in the gap for someone who cannot or will not suit up for themselves. That is called intercession, and it is one of the most powerful things a human being can do for another. All right, the belt of truth. Stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth. The belt in Roman armor was the foundation piece, everything else connected to it. Without the belt, nothing held together. Truth is your foundation, not feelings, not the narrative your child has built, not the story the enemy has been whispering to you about your own failures. Truth. For yourself, this means starting every day angered in what is actually true. God loves you. God loves your child. The story is not over. You are not a failure, and your child is not beyond reach. For your child, pray the belt of truth over them like this. Lord, cut through every lie that has taken root in them, every distorted narrative, every false belief, every story that they have built to explain their pain. Let your truth penetrate it. Let them know what is actually real. The breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covered the heart and the vital organs. It protected the things that, if it was struck, would kill you. Righteousness here is not about being perfect. It's about living in right standing with God, keeping your own heart clean, your own conscience clear. Because here's the here's the tactical reality. The enemy looks for open doors, an unguarded heart, an unconfessed sin, a bitterness you've been holding on to. These are vulnerabilities he will exploit for yourself. Guard your heart. Forgive, not because what happened was okay, but because unforgiveness is a hole in your breastplate. Bitterness toward your child, toward the other parent, toward the people who have enabled the situation, it's a poison that will only hurt you. For your child, pray, Lord, protect their heart. Guard the deepest parts of them from the enemy's access. Keep them from the decisions that would cause permanent damage. Put a hedge around them. The shoes of the gospel of peace as shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Shoes in battle are about stability and mobility. You cannot fight if you cannot stand. You cannot advance if you cannot move. Peace. The deep, settled, God-given peace that surpasses all understanding is what it's what keeps you stable in the middle of the chaos. This piece of the armor is specifically for you in this season because you cannot watch the road from the place of constant panic. You cannot be the light in the window if anxiety has blown you out. You need peace that is not dependent on circumstances, peace that holds even when the phone doesn't ring and the holidays come and go and nothing has changed. In Philippians 4 7, it says, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Ask for that peace specifically out loud every single morning. God, give me the peace today that is not dependent on my child's choices. Let me stand steady. Let me be the stable one. Let me be the light that they can find their way back to. The shield of faith. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. So the Roman shield was large. It covered almost the entire body, and soldiers were trained to lock shields together so that what came against one came against all. Your Jesus jam, your cord of three strands, is shield locking. When you gather your women and you pray together for your children by name, you are locking shields. What the enemy aims at one of you hits the wall of all of you. The flaming darts, and this is so specific, so personal, so targeted. They are the thoughts that come at three in the morning. The what if I never get them back? The what if I ruined them? The what if God isn't listening? Those are not random anxieties, those are aimed and faith-active, declared, out loud faith extinguishes them. When a dart lands, you don't sit with it, you name it, and you counter it. Out loud if you have to. I believe that. I stand on that no matter what I feel right now. Free child, pray, Lord, raise up a shield of faith around them even when their own faith is gone. Protect them from the darts aimed at their destiny. Let your faith cover what theirs cannot right now. The helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the mind. And this is so critical in this battle because the mind is the primary battlefield. For you, keep your mind anchored in the truth of your salvation. You are seen, you are known, you are not forgotten. God is not punishing you through your child's choices. This is a battle, not a verdict. For your child, this is the peace you pray over them most fervently. Lord, protect their mind. The confusion, the lies, the noise of this culture, let none of it have permanent residence. Protect their ability to think clearly, protect their conscience, keep the door of their mind open to you. In Romans 12, 2, it says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Pray that over your child by name every day. Lord, renew their mind, transform it. Don't let the world finish the job it has started in them. The sword of the spirit, that's the word of God. This is the only offensive weapon in the entire list. Everything else is defensive. Protection, stability, standing firm. But the sword, the sword goes forward. The word of God is living and active. Hebrews 4.12 says, it is sharper than any two-edged sword. It divides soul and spirit. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It gets into places nothing else can reach. This means when you pray scripture over your child, when you open your Bible and pray specific verses directly over their life, you are not just saying nice words. You are releasing a spiritual force into a spiritual battle. You are putting the sword to work. And I want to give you some specific verses to pray over your child. Write these down, put them on your mirror, pray them out loud with your child's name inserted. Jeremiah 29 11, for I know the plans I have for. And I want you to understand what it is and why it matters. And Ezekiel 22, 30 it says, and I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it. Standing in the breach, standing in the gap, placing yourself, your prayer, your faith, your intercession between someone and what is coming for them. This is what Moses did when Israel sinned and God's wrath was kindled. Moses stood between the people and God and said, Remember your covenant. Remember what you promised. Let your mercy speak louder than their failure. This is what you're doing when you pray for your child, who is not praying for themselves. You are standing in the gap. You're saying, God, they cannot come before you right now. They don't know how. They don't believe they can. So I'm standing here in their place. I'm bringing them before you because they will not come on their own. Have mercy. Remember them. Find them. This is not a small thing. This is an enormous, holy, powerful act of love. And here's the promise underneath it. God honors intercession. Throughout all of Scripture, when someone stood in the gap for another, when someone prayed on behalf of the lost, the wandering, the rebellious, God moved. Not always on the timeline we wanted, but he moved. Your prayers for your child are not bouncing off the ceiling. They're not disappearing into the air. They are being held, every single one of them. And God is working in your child's story in ways you cannot see right now, through people you don't know in moments you will never hear about. In the quiet of their own heart at three in the morning when they're alone with what their choices have cost them. He's working. Your job is to keep standing in the gap. I have to be honest with you about something. Everything I have said in this episode is true. And it is also exhausting. And some of you have been doing this: the praying, the watching the road, the suiting up, the standing in the gap for years, and you're tired. Not faithless, tired. And I want to speak to that directly because I think the church does a disservice to people in long battles when we only ever say, keep going, keep fighting, don't give up, without also saying, it is okay to be tired, it is okay to grieve. It is okay to sit down for a minute. Even Elijah, that great man of God, that that prophet who called down fire from heaven after his greatest victory, ran into the desert and collapsed under a tree and told God he was done. He wanted to die. He was completely spent. And what did God do? Did he rebuke him? Did he tell him to get it together and suit up? No. He fed him. An angel touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. The journey is too great for you. Not you are too weak. Not you should be stronger than this. The journey is too great. The journey itself is hard. And God acknowledge that. Come back to the table. Come back to the word. Come back to worship. Come back to your people. Let God feed you. Let him touch you in the exhaustion and remind you that the battle belongs to him, not to you. I want to share something personal with you. Something that still sits tender in my heart, even though I've had time to process it. A few years back, I had one of those rare, precious occasions where I was with both my boys. Boys at the same time. And if you're like me, those moments become fewer and farther between as they grow up and build their own lives. I sat down with them in the middle of a conversation they were already having, and they were talking about hardships they'd been through. Hardships I knew nothing about. I sat there feeling completely in the dark, alone, quietly devastated that I hadn't known any of it. And then both of my boys looked at each other and then looked at me and they said, Mom, we give you permission to live your life and not worry about us. We're gonna live ours. We're gonna do what we do and figure out our problems the way men do. If we exhaust all our efforts, we'll come to you. We promise. But right now, we give you permission to not worry about us. So I'm gonna be honest with you, first reaction. I was insulted. These were my boys. Boys who in my heart still had more growing to do, but boys I was still learning how to reach, still gathering wisdom for, still figuring out how to love well in this new season. And here they were telling me, essentially, that they had already decided I wasn't in the loop. That somewhere along the way they had made a decision about what role I would play in their lives, and it was a smaller role than I thought I had. And then came the harder things. One of them told me he had spent years blaming his struggle on not having a father figure. The other one told me I wasn't there for them, that I didn't know either one of them. Those words landed like stones. And here's the part I'm not proud of. For a long time I stood directly in the line of fire and took every stone. I let the disrespect in. I let the narrative stand unchallenged. I think somewhere underneath it, I believe that absorbing their pain was proof of my love. That if I could just take enough of it without flinching, eventually they would see how much I cared and it would change something. But it didn't change anything. It only depleted me. So I did what they asked. I stepped back. And it was the hardest thing I had ever done because stepping back did not mean I stopped knowing nothing about their daily lives. It did not mean the relationship suddenly healed. It just meant I was no longer in the direct line of fire. And in that space, in that painful, quiet, uncertain space, I finally gave myself permission to live my life. Not because I stopped loving them, but because I understood something that took me far too long to see. I had a father who loved them even more than I did. That was the hardest sentence I have ever had to say. Because since the moment they were born, I had been the one who loved them more than I could put into words. The idea that anyone, even God loved them more than me, felt almost impossible to accept. But it's true. And the moment I could say it, really say it and mean it, was the moment I could finally put them down. Not abandon them, but put them down. Place them into hands that were stronger and steadier and more capable than mine. I know what you're thinking right now. I know the questions sitting on your chest. Why? Why can't they just love us? Why do they have to make it so hard? Why does it have to hurt so much? I'm not gonna insult you with an answer that doesn't satisfy because I don't think there is one that fully does. The honest truth is I don't know why it has to be this hard. I don't know why the people who owe us the least seem to wound us the easiest. I don't know why growing up sometimes looks like pushing down the people who love you most. What I do know is this there's an answer for how to move forward, not an answer that explains the pain. An answer that lets you live through it, that lets you take your hands off of what was never fully yours to control and trust it to the one who never sleeps, never stops watching, and never stops working, even when you cannot see him moving. Once the pain lifted, and it did lift slowly, imperfectly, not all at once, I could start to live. I mean really live. And that living, that fully alive, purposed, God-filled living became the thing I hope my boys come home to someday. Not a mother who spent every year of their absence falling apart, a mother who found out who God made her to be when she finally stopped trying to be everything they needed. That is the testimony. That is the rise and eat moment. You are not the savior of your child. That job is taken. Your job is to be faithful, to be available, to be prayed up and suited up and present. And on the days you can barely do that, on the days the armor feels heavy and the road feels endless, God is still in this. He does not need you at full strength to do what only he can do. Come back to the table, eat, and then get back up. I want to bring this whole series home with one final truth. And it's the most freeing thing I know how to say to a mother or partner who's been carrying the weight of someone else's choices. The battle belongs to God. 2 Corinthians 20, 15. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. Again, the battle's not yours, it's God's. You did not cause this alone. You cannot fix this alone. And you were never meant to fight this alone. God is not standing on the side lanes watching you exhaust yourself and occasionally sending encouragement. He is in this. He is fighting on behalf of your child in ways you will never see from where you're standing. Your assignment, your actual specific God-given assignment in this season is to suit up. Stand firm and pray without ceasing. Watch the road, keep the light on, and trust the outcome to the one who loves your child even more than you do. That is it. That is the whole job. Not to fix them, not to force them, not to manufacture the breakthrough on your timeline, not to carry the weight of every wrong choice they make, not to absorb every bit of pain they aim at you. Suit up. Stand firm, pray without ceasing, watch the road, keep the light on, trust God, and then live. Actually live. Grow. Build what He has called you to build because the most powerful thing your child can ever witness is a parent who is thriving in God despite circumstances that should have broken. This is a testimony they cannot argue with. This is a light they will be able to find their way home to. Three episodes, and here is what we covered. Your child is not the villain, they're the mission. Let them go. Watch the road, be the light in the window. And now, suit up, stand in the gap, the battle belongs to God. That is the La Sheep series, and I'm so honored to have walked through it with you. Until next week,