The Shared Struggle: Why We Carry Each Other’s Burdens

Life is the great equalizer. It doesn't check your bank account, your zip code, your gender, or your status before it delivers a season of hardship. When the storm hits, it’s easy to feel isolated—to believe that the weight you’re carrying is uniquely yours, or worse, that your struggle is a sign that you’ve been abandoned by God.

But what if the friction of your life isn't a sign of failure, but a preparation for mission?

The Shared Struggle challenges the internal narrative that says our pain is meant only for us to endure. We often try to personalize our trials, forgetting that we are part of a larger, interconnected body of believers. In this conversation, we look past the surface of "just another hard day" to uncover the profound, often difficult truth: we go through things not just for ourselves, but for the sake of the people waiting for a testimony that matches their own.

When we hold onto our stories, we withhold hope from others. When we release the need to make our suffering about "me," we open the door to becoming the exact help someone else needs to navigate their own valley.

Join us as we break the cycle of silent suffering. We’ll discuss why staying anchored in your faith during a crisis is the most powerful thing you can do for those around you, and how your hardest chapters are actually the bridge God is building to lead someone else home. It’s time to stop asking, "Why is this happening to me?" and start seeing how your life is being used to carry the burdens of the world.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So, this is the Berean Podcast, where we ask questions, examine the scriptures, and we seek truth. I'm your host, Andre Franklin, and I want to welcome you to the first episode of the Berean Podcast. So, why is it called the Berean Podcast? Well, I just want to let you know in Acts 17, verses 10 through 12, it says, The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. So these people examined scripture to make sure what they were receiving was true. And that's what we're uh gonna be doing on this podcast. So in future episodes, we're we're gonna talk about uh you know different topics, and we are going to examine the scriptures and what the scriptures actually say about those things. We're gonna ask questions and we are going to seek truth. All right, but today I want to introduce myself to you guys who I am, why I do this, and why I'm doing this. And um, so this way you know who I am, and we can connect. And so as you listen or watch, you can see like this is who I am, right? So um I was born and raised in a church. Um, I'm sure a lot of people can uh you know can attest to that and they can, you know, um uh uh connect with that. So I was born and raised in a church. Um it was uh a Pentecostal church. Um we believed in um a lot of the uh things of the Pentecostal church, uh where we spoke in tongues and we prophesied, and we um, you know, we were slain in the spirit, and you know, when you would pray and you would fall out, and you know, the pastor or the preacher or the prophet would come and they would pray for you and you know, lay hands on you and you would fall. And um, and we had a lot of that. Um I prophesied. Um I did all of the things that that um you know I knew to do because uh this is what I was raised on. Um, you know, I was uh um I had grown up in the church and it was a family church. Um and then what happened is probably around the time I was I want to say 12 or 13, my uncle, he actually separated from the church, the main church. Um, and he uh, you know, like started his own church. And so the family, they didn't like that, of course. And so there was uh uh the schism between the main church and then my uncle's church. I went uh with my uncle because my mother went uh with him, my other aunts, uh, you know, cousins, uh, you know, and we all moved and we had our own church. Um and then from there we moved to to Florida. So um I was born and raised in New Jersey. So all this happened in New Jersey. I was born and raised there. And um so we moved down to Florida and we had the church there. We grew uh you know a little bit. Um and but then in 2004, he passed away. Right, he went home to be with the Lord, and the church was turned over to my aunt and her her daughter, right? And so from there we went and we um the church was expanding, but there was a lot of um you know what's called spiritual abuse, right? There was a lot of things where if you questioned the leaders, if you if you questioned what was being said, you were um told not to touch God's anointed, that that person is connected to God, and if you challenge them, then you're challenging God. And so our church was conditioned to believe this thing, and we we did not challenge anything. Even when things were questionable, even when things were um um uncomfortable, we did we knew not to question because if we questioned, we would get judged. Because as the prophet of the house, you better not say anything or God's gonna judge you. And I'm gonna be the one to call down the judgment on you because I'm connected to God. So there was a fear factor involved with that as well. So you, anytime anything was off and you had questions, you better not ask those those questions, right? And so, but there were a lot of prophecies uh that was spoken over my life, over my uh my family's life, uh my mother, uh, you know, my sisters, you know, cousins, things like that. There was a lot of prophecy that was spoken, um, a lot of future uh successful prophecies, like you will be married, uh your your uh your ministry will be big, you'll have uh you know um you know a lot of riches and glory. Um uh you're gonna be the one above all the people because you're gonna have the highest influence and changes are gonna come because you're so connected to God. So a lot of those prophecies were building us up to feel as though we were better than other people. Because if God is choosing us to do these great things, then that must mean we're special. And a lot of it was taken back to the Old Testament of, well, God's people were blessed by going into the promised land. So, like those people, we're gonna be blessed by going into the promised land. And the promised land at the time was Florida, right? So we moved out of New Jersey to go to the promised land, which was Florida. Then the promised land changed to California. So we moved out of Florida into California because the promised land changed. And then what happened was in 2022. So you have to remember, like, with all these prophecies and all these promises, I'm thinking like, okay, my life is, okay, my life is about to blow up. I'm waiting for all these great things that's happening. And it just did not seem like anything was was uh was going on. And then when I would ask, like, you know, where is it? You know, you would be told, well, you gotta have more faith. Just have more faith. It's coming. Don't worry about it. It's, you know, God's not gonna lie. So then you're like, okay, good, good, good. Um, but there was a prophecy that my mother was told and given that she would be married, she would have a healing ministry, and that she would be like the main person of our church to be the healer, right? And so um that is like something that was uh prophesied over her, but I knew that prophecy. So, so even though it wasn't my prophecy, I knew that it was okay, okay. So she has that, I have mine, my sister had hers, my cousin had his. So everybody had their own personal prophecy. So I was okay. But in the year of 2022, um, it was Valentine's Day, and my mother, she went to to um, you know, normal uh doctor's checkup, and they tell her that she has stage four breast cancer, right? And so that at first I was just like, oh, okay, cool. This is part of the process of her going and you know, going through this so that she can come out and say, you know, God healed me from cancer. And and now this ministry, this great huge healing ministry that I'm supposed to have is going to happen. Okay, perfect. And she had faith all the way through, and she knew, like, oh no, God's gonna heal me, this is gonna happen, and right, and so me and my siblings were following her, like, okay, all right, if you if you believe it, then we believe it. But deep down we knew like like like something was off, something was wrong, but we didn't want to admit that, right? Um and you know, later I'll tell you like that um in three months, so no, so February 14th, she got uh diagnosed by June 9th, she passed, and it threw everything off for me personally, um, because not only was I banking on my own prophecies, I was banking on hers as well. So she she never married, she uh the healing uh ministry uh never happened, she was never um um opulent uh the way the the prophecy was told. Um and so I had a lot of questions and I was mad at God and I was mad at everybody, and I had this journey of trying to figure out what in the world was going on. If you told me all these things, why did it not come to pass? Right? Like why why would you say these things and then she's not here? How can she have these things happen if she's not here? So I was, you know, I was confused. I was, you know, the stages of grief. I was confused, I was mad, I was, yeah, so I didn't have I didn't have a foundation of of um knowing what was actually happening. And then when I made mention of those things, like, well, how come she didn't do this? And how come she didn't do that? You you prophesied that. That is what you said God told you. And instead of taking it, it was, well, that was for that time. She didn't need to do that, her path changed, and now she was supposed to go through this. I was like, but you didn't say that. Like the prophecy never changed. So, like, like, what do you mean? And then the other thing uh that was said was you don't question God because God can change whatever he wants to, or he can change however he wants to. And so I was confused again, and it it got to a point where where I was just I was numb and I was lost, and I was just like, what in the world is going on? But the one thing that uh my mother instilled in me, and I love her for the uh, you know, to this day because of it, she always made me have a relationship with God. From as far back as I can remember, I remember I was five years old and I wanted to get baptized, but I was scared of the water, so I didn't do it. And I was crying, oh God, uh, you know, and she and she was like, hey, don't worry about it. You know, God sees your heart, it's all good, don't worry. I was like, but I need to get baptized. I just want to, I just love him, right? And so the foundation of that love and relationship was there, but I was definitely mad at him because I put the prophecy that came through the voice of the prophets that if you are saying this thing, and I know in your word it says, your word shall not return unto you void, then why is this word returning void? Because even though I even though I wasn't grounded in the word, I knew enough of the the scriptures to know the character of God and even the relationship that uh that he had established uh with me and I with him, I knew like, hey, this is not matching up. This is not like what's going on here. And so whenever uh whenever I would bring that up, I would just get challenged. Like, you don't know what you're talking about. That's not that you didn't have enough faith, or or or it was always on the other people. It was always on us. It was never on, hey, that was a wrong word that you gave. That, you know, that was wrong. So my mother's death started a journey of I need to like I need to know what's going on because I have all these these things over here, and they're not adding up with what I know the scriptures to be. And so I went on this long journey of trying to figure out what is happening. And I cried out to God, and I was just like, God, help me get to you the truth. Like, none of this is true. Like, it's not, it's not adding up. It's not matching with what I know to be true of you. And to this day, I give God praise and honor for not allowing my mother's death to have me turn my back on him, right? Because that happens a lot where people will go through through something in this world, in this life, and it'll cause them to completely turn away from God, not understanding that it had it had, you know, absolutely uh nothing to do with that. It had everything to do with the life that we live and on the planet that we live, and in the sinful state of this world that we're in, life happens to every single person. Right? It does not matter if you're rich, if you're poor, if you're a Christian, if you're an atheist, life happens to everyone. And when we correlate the bad that happens in our life with God, then we fall into that that that that battle of, well, well, if God was good, why did he allow this? When that has nothing to do, they don't correlate. God is still good, he is still powerful, he's still awesome, even in the midst of this world being um in a fallen state, right? So I had to really um ask the heart questions to God and talk about my church and ask questions about the people in my church. Now, they're family, and I love my family, and I I pray for my family because you know, we they're still believing in things that are not biblical, but I love them, and I can admit that it's hard to talk to them, and I know that eventually God will lead me to do so or not to do so, uh, based off of his will. If he wants me to be the one to speak and to say these things, then I know and I trust that he will um uh lead me there. And if not, I still trust that they will be the ones to find uh that they will be able to find the truth as well. Um, and so a lot of what I learned and was taught in the Pentecostal church, I found out that a lot, if not all of it, was unbiblical. Um and mainly of the things that we know of as as far as uh uh salvation, where you have to speak in tongues and they have to, you know, uh, you know, tarrying for the Holy Ghost, that's a good one. Um where, you know, and for those of you who know, you know what I'm talking about. You're there for hours on end, you know. Uh you know, hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. And then eventually this tongue is supposed to come and you know, okay, now you're saved. Um you know, needing to be baptized, and that uh being part of the uh the salvation process, um you know the uh the prophecies, a lot of the prophecies and how the prophets in the Bible were speaking uh with a hundred percent accuracy. And there was no question. And if they weren't speaking with one hundred percent accuracy, they they were not the prophets of God. Um those things started to um reveal uh themselves the more I got into the word, the more that God would would open up uh different avenues uh for me to find people talking about the things I was asking about. Um I had a so because I'm in uh Pentecostal, we believe in oneness, right? So we believe that there's one God and He has expressions where he's a father, he's also the Son, He's also the Holy Spirit, uh but it's one. So he was the Father in the Old Testament, he was Jesus in the New Testament, and he was the Holy Spirit, um, everything else uh there. But I always had a question because it was always like, well, how does that make sense if Jesus was down on earth where was the father? And it was always, well, the father was in Jesus, and I was just like, but that doesn't make sense. Because doesn't the father talk to Jesus from the different um areas? Like when Jesus got baptized, the f the the father spoke out of heaven and to the son. And these were the questions that I was asking, and it was they you know they were met with the same type of um I guess care or lack of care as the other questions. Um and so, but I was um revealed uh the Trinity or the Triune Nature through the scriptures and uh with the help of you know uh certain uh people who were uh well um studied in the scriptures. Um you know. And uh, you know, in future episodes, I can uh, you know, I'll talk about who those uh the uh those people were, you know, give them a shout out. But like it was just a lot of uh different things. Now, I do want to say that it was very hard to come out of these doctrines. So when I would see the truth in the scriptures, and I had to be honest, I did not like how it felt. It felt uncomfortable. It felt like honestly, it felt like I was turning my back on God because these beliefs were so ingrained that I thought that those beliefs were connected to God. So when I would look at the scriptures and how they would be be broken down, I'm like, wait, that doesn't, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I can't, I can't accept that. I can't accept that because that's not so it took me a while to actually accept the different uh biblical doctrines that are actually biblical and that uh you know changes from what I was taught. And so the Trinity was one. Um, you know, as I said, you know, the prophecies, uh what salvation is, you know, some of the the of the different topics. And we'll talk about different topics as uh, you know, the episodes go, but you know, the main thing is who God was and the character of God. And a lot of people who are brought up in churches, they don't get the character of God. They don't get who God actually is. They get who man tells them who God is. So when they're listening to their pastor or their bishop or even their family member, their grandmother, their father, their sister, their brother, whoever it is that's telling them what the scriptures say, they're not getting who God actually is, but who tradition says he is. And the biggest problem with that is when people actually get or they they're they're actually um introduced to the true God, it's hard and it's very difficult for them to undo all of the the damage that has been done. Right? And so the journey that I had, I thank God for, and I know I'm not the only person who's had that type of journey. The people who grow up in church sometimes have more of a what's the word? It's more of a a um deeper experience when they come out of that because all they knew was uh uh that tradition or or what they were taught. When a person doesn't have a foundation at all, they're they're coming in and they're receiving the truth from the get-go. If you know, if it's it's it's actually you know preached right, you know what I mean? But but they're getting the truth. They don't have to to to uh to go through the weeds and uh uh you know God doesn't have to remove all of these things in order for them to to get to the truth. It's they have no uh they have a blank slate and they can just come through. Um and so a lot of people who were born and raised in the church and who have gone through these things, and when God, you know, finally, you know, brings them out, they start to see like, oh my goodness, all this time I was believing this and this and this, and this is not, you know, this is not right. And the hardest thing is when you have family members who you love, who you grew up with, who you have relationships with, and you come out of that, and they're not, you know, and they're still there, and they question you, and they they look at you differently as if you're now a completely different person. You know, it's the same person that you've always been, same personality, same relationship, but now you believe what you're supposed to believe. Because when you believe the scriptures, right, when you believe the gospel, when you believe um everything that the word of God says, you're believing what you're supposed to believe. And when you don't believe that because of tradition and and and uh uh uh you know practices, that's not what you're supposed to be believing. Over time, it's been, you know, and we'll talk about this in another uh you know another episode of church history, and just where did it where did it go wrong? Right? So we'll talk about that in another episode. But the point I'm making is when we have the truth and when God is, you know, uh uh you know giving us that truth, then all we can do is stand on that uh that foundation. And we start to see how different things are, and we the different doctrines and the different traditions and the practices, like nobody did that. Nobody did that. Okay, okay. So now you're uh you're uh you're able to stand. So that was the thing that that that's that's uh uh you know started my journey. My mo uh my mother was my rock. And that was another lesson that I had to learn. I was relying on her more than I was uh relying on God. She was the one that was like, you know, you know, praying for me and and and giving me those things, uh uh uh uh uh that wisdom. And she was like my crutch. And God wanted him to be my everything. He wanted him, he wanted me uh, you know, me to come to him uh for for all uh wisdom and knowledge and peace and love and joy. He he wanted that, right? And so um anything that we go through is always for the glory of God. Always. Always. If you can remember that one thing, no matter what it is that we go through, no matter what it is, how bad it is, how rough it is, how tough it is, it is it is to to to glorify God and he will use that to get the glory. And we will come out of that with God having the glory. And we will now have a testimony to go out and help someone else. I tell people all the time, you don't you don't go through what you go through just to go through it. You're going through things for someone else because there's gonna be be someone else that you go to that's that's gonna have the same testimony, and now you're gonna be able to let them know, hey, this is what I did when I went through this. Yes, I was mad at God. Yes, I was questioning God, but I didn't leave him. And in his mercy and his grace, he allowed me to have my moments, but he brought me right back. So you can tell that person the same thing, hey, I empathize with you, brother or sister. I know what's going on. But God has you, right? And that was the thing that that grounded me. So even though I had to go through the stuff that I had to go through and I had to uh uh rewire and and and and and you know, recalibrate, you know, God was there the entire time, right? As the word says, he will never leave us nor forsake us, right? He will always be there. Um, and so that is where I was, and and so I want to encourage you, right? I want to encourage everybody who's listening, everybody who's watching. I want to to let you know that no matter what happens, no matter how hard your life gets, if you are in Christ, you will be uh uh uh redeemed or or vindicated. God will um uh uh pull you out of whatever it is that you're uh you're going through so that you can be an example to someone else, so that you can have that testimony for someone else. Okay, it's not to just go through it because oh, God is bad and he's making me go through this. No. Life is life, life happens, as I said before, it happens to everybody. But in that, God will use that and in order to to uh uh to come out of that so that we can be that example, right? So I just wanted to to to um kind of you know introduce who I am, right? And oh, the other thing was I had spoken to my uh my mother uh way before she died, like I don't know, uh maybe a year and a half. And I said, you know, you know, mom, I'm I'm I'm you know, I'm uh uh thinking about doing a podcast. I don't know, it's just been on me to to do a podcast or like uh you know, you know, something where I'm talking or you know, like something like that. And she was like, Okay, yeah, I see it. I I see it. I was like, oh I said, Oh, you do? And she was like, Yeah, oh yeah, I've seen it for a long time. I was like, oh, okay. So, and she was really uh waiting, and she was always like, uh, did you do it yet? Is it out yet? Did you do it yet? And and you know, um, you know, I'll let you know, you know, I was scared. I'll just be honest with you. I didn't know, you know, I just didn't know. I I think a lot of it was because of how my mind works, I'm analytical, so I need to know like everything before I do something. Like all the pieces have to be in place. I have to understand, okay, why is this? What's this? What's gonna happen? So a lot of it was just me, me uh uh paralyzed by analysis. You know what I mean? So I had to have all these things in place when all God said was, hey, do it. He didn't say, oh, it has to be like this. He said, just do it. So it took me a while to really, you know, lean in and actually accept what God was was uh you know leading me down to. Um, you know, and like I said, so before she passed, I, you know, told her about it. And uh that was one of the main things that she said. So, you know, when you're gonna bring it out? When like, how come I can't see no episode? I was just like, well, you know, I'm still working on it. I still gotta, you know, do some things. Had no idea what I was talking about because I wasn't doing nothing. I was just scared. So, but but you know, I just, I just, so, so this is why I'm doing this, right? I want to be able to help those who need truth. And I want to be able to help those who um need help with the scriptures, who needs help, you know, understanding the the uh the lessons that the Lord has in his word, and to differentiate between tradition and what the scriptures say, practices and what the scriptures say, you know, what you were taught and what the truth actually is. And so that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna talk about a lot of different topics, you know. Some are gonna be controversial, but they have to get talked about. Uh some are gonna be right up your alley, you know, you might not like me. But the point is it's about truth. So even if you disagree, right, there there is beauty in the truth. There is beauty in God's word. And as long as we still love each other, right, as brothers and sisters, we can uh, you know, we can uh disagree. Not everybody is uh gonna agree on every single thing, but there are some things that we need to all agree with because there's one Lord, there's one baptism, there's one faith. So there are some things that we need to all be on one accord about. You know, uh uh some of the outside things that don't really matter. Okay, we can uh uh disagree on those things. Okay, that's fine. But for the foundation of what we are as Christians and the uh the the uh the true foundation and the cornerstone of Christ, yeah, we we we have to agree on certain things. We just have to. And so if you don't, then that's why you're here. Because we're gonna break it down and we're gonna only go by what the scriptures say. We're not gonna uh do tradition, we're not gonna do no no intellect. Oh, well, I got my degrees and I went to seminary. Okay. But if your degree and your seminary contradicts the scriptures, then I don't care what your degree or seminary says, because if it the scriptures don't say it, then you don't need to be uh believing it. And that's it, right? And so that's the thing. So we're gonna be searching truth out, just like the Bereans, and we're gonna make sure that whatever we hear is what it's supposed to be based off of God's word. So I just want to again welcome you all to the first Berean Podcast episode. Um, I'm happy that you were able to join, and I look forward to um, you know, uh going through this uh the scriptures together, right? Um, and we will make sure that we only use the scriptures and truth, and we will come to the conclusion that we're supposed to come to. So I just again I want to thank you guys for uh for coming out. I love you. I pray for each and every uh one of you who is watching or listening. If you have any questions, feel free to um to email me at the uh the Barian Podcast at gmail.com and uh you know we'll go over it, you know. So ask any you know question that you want, and we'll go over it using the scripture. So want to thank you all, love you guys, and uh be easy. The Barian Podcast.