The Real Reason Why We Get Stuck In Fear

The Real Reason Why We Get Stuck in Fear 

In this episode, Amber Pearce shares her profound encounter with a homeless woman while waiting for her son, exploring the themes of choice, compassion, and divine guidance. She discusses the importance of understanding our divine assignments and the power of free will. Through personal reflections and biblical teachings, Amber highlights how incorrect perceptions of God fuel fear and hinder our spiritual growth. She urges listeners to engage in service and self-reflection to truly know God and discover the gifts they possess, emphasizing the impact of individual contributions regardless of magnitude and the exchange of divine gifts for service. The episode calls for a reassessment of our views on God, challenging listeners to seek a deeper relationship with the divine and use their unique gifts to aid in His work.

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00:00 Welcome Back & Gratitude for Support
00:29 Sponsor Shoutout: Thrive Life. 
01:34 A Life-Changing Encounter: The Story Begins
01:57 The Harsh Reality of Addiction and Homelessness
06:23 A Divine Intervention and Personal Revelation
08:11 Understanding Our Divine Purpose and Gifts
13:26 The Parable of the Talents: A Lesson on God's Nature
16:12 Overcoming Fear and Misconceptions About God
22:56 The Importance of Giving Back and Knowing God
30:47 Closing Thoughts: Christ's Generosity and Hope

Transcript

Amber: 0:00

Hello, it's Amber Pearce with Hope Smiling Brightly and welcome back. Wow. What a response from launching my first episode last week. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you listened in and for all the fantastic reviews and sharing this podcast with other people. I truly can't express enough gratitude So without further ado, let's jump in to the next episode I am so grateful to be able to have the time and means to produce this podcast, but it wouldn't be possible without Thrive Life. Thrive Life is the best freeze dried food that you can possibly find with a 25 year shelf life, high quality food, and a delicious taste. You cannot put a price tag on peace of mind and preparedness. So go to amber. thrivelife. com and set up a delivery to get 15 percent off retail price and free shipping on any orders over a hundred dollars. President Spencer W. Kimball taught, Before we came to Earth, we were given certain assignments. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to do. You're listening to episode two, The real reason why we get stuck in fear. I want to tell you about an experience that changed my life. I was sitting in a parking lot with my windows down in my car as I was waiting for my son to finish his swim practice. When a woman ran up to my car in complete panic, she was begging to use my phone, but I couldn't really understand why or what was going on. I asked her what she needed, calmed her down a bit, and she explained to me that she didn't have a phone and she had to make a virtual court date or she would be fined and a warrant would be put out for her arrest As I observed her, I noticed several things right off the bat. She was homeless. She looked young in some ways, but old and worn out in other ways. Her teeth were rotting. Her skin was dull. She had sores on her face, bruises on her body, scars down her arms from drug use. And I felt that I was supposed to help her. So I explained to her that I would hold my phone, but I'd be happy to help her join this virtual court date. I dialed the number and we were immediately put into a virtual waiting room. And so we had nothing to do but to talk to each other. And I was surprised at what I learned from her. I asked her a little bit about her situation, honestly, kind of trying to fish to see was there anything I could do besides offer my phone to help her? She explained that she had been living on the street for quite some time. She was addicted to drugs and had been in and out of rehab. She had a boyfriend who she pointed to sitting on a picnic table, not far away, who often beat her and I couldn't help, but feel deep sadness as I heard her story. But then I found myself asking her a question that honestly is not a question I would normally ask. But I remembered something as I was speaking to her, a dream I had had just a few days earlier that was similar to the situation I was currently in. In the dream, I was sitting in a park talking to a homeless woman and I asked her a question and she gave me a specific answer. So I asked this woman standing in front of me, Do you choose to be homeless? And she looked at me and immediately answered the exact same answer that was given to me in the dream. She said, yes, I choose this life. It's so much easier not having to worry about anything. All I have to worry about is getting my next hit. This broke my heart. I asked her, just in one extra desperate reach. Do you have any family, anyone that loves you and is wondering about you? And she immediately said, Oh no, both of my parents are drug addicts. My siblings are drug addicts. No one cares about each other. At that point, the judge got on the call, and it made me even more sad to realize that this judge and this woman knew each other well. This hadn't been her first time to court. He quickly dismissed the charges, waived any fines, and the call was over. I felt at a loss. I knew in that moment there was not much I could do, for this woman had made her choice. There was a fast food restaurant just on the corner, and I asked her if I could go there and at least get lunch for her and her boyfriend. And she was very grateful. As I drove and got the food, I just felt overwhelmed with this deep sadness and burden. Just feeling helpless, knowing she wasn't the only one in the world with this situation. And just feeling overwhelmed on how do we help these suffering children. And in this moment of sadness and desperation, I cried out and asked, Heavenly Father, why aren't you helping your children? And then something happened that doesn't happen often. I got an immediate answer back. It was firm, but it was kind and loving. And he said to me, I am helping my children. I helped you, and in that moment I saw something I had never seen before. I could have been that woman, standing in that park, addicted to drugs, with nothing else to do, but wait for my next hit. You see? My parents started their family in a hippie commune. My mother was addicted to drugs. My father was an alcoholic. But the difference is, when God reached out and opened the door to a new path for them, they used their agency to make a better choice. And that choice forever changed their life and the lives of generations to come. Also in that moment, I was filled with such gratitude for the life I had been given. You know, I had always been taught in church, we're taught that we owe our lives to God. But in that moment, I actually I truly saw and believed that my life was not my own, my life had been given to me and saved and protected in ways I had never seen before. And I know that I am not the only child of God that this is the case for. But what I also realized is that just as much as God is helping us, he also respects our agency. We have to choose. And he'll reach and reach and reach again, but we have to make that choice. And the final thing I learned from that experience is that one of the most common ways God intervenes is by sending us to help each other. It is so Important for us to look around, follow promptings, and use our lives to bless the lives of others. I honestly wish I could find that woman, tell her how much she blessed my life that day. One would think that I was sent to help her, but in reality, she was sent to help me. I wish I could reach out to the home teachers that were brave enough to walk Into a hippie commune and invite my parents to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, how grateful I am that they had that courage and that love to reach out to some of God's children that many people might dismiss as hopeless. That day was another turning point in my life. I was filled with this increased desire to return to God what He had given me, to let Him take my life and whatever you ask, I will do it. I think it will do us all good to ponder what has God given to us in our lives? And what gift can we give back? For years, I've had a scripture on the wall opposite my bed so I can see it every morning. And the scripture says, before you were born, I set you apart. That's from Jeremiah 1:5, a daily reminder that I have a work to do for him. President Spencer W. Kimball taught,"Before we came to Earth, we were given certain assignments. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to." The neat thing is, though, whatever we return to God, He returns back to us. Malachi 3, return unto me and I will return unto you. So what is your tithe? And obviously I'm not talking about money, but your gifts. And he has the same promise when we give back our gifts. Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I love this quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell."The usual gifts and their derivatives we give to him should be stamped justifiably, return to sender, with a capital S. Even when God receives this one gift in return, the fully faithful will receive all that he hath. What an exchange rate," close quote. So why do we hold back what we've been given? It's a powerful story in Acts 5 of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple who had promised the proceeds of the sale of their land to God. But when push came to shove, they sold the land and decided to keep a little of the money for themselves and lied and gave the rest. Now, thankfully we don't have the same condemnation they did where they were both struck dead. But honestly, when we are constantly holding back, our spirits cannot really live because they are not filling the measure of their creation. We also have the parable of the talents that teaches so many profound lessons on the importance of giving our gifts, our lives back to God. This is one of the most well known parables, but I think most people miss the most important thing taught in this parable. Yes, the master gave one servant, five talents, which he doubled and another servant, two talents, which he doubled and another servant, one talent, which he decided to hide. End of story, right? No, what I wish people would talk more about is that why, why the unfaithful servant didn't increase the gift he was given. Why was he unprofitable? And spoiler Alert, it was not because he buried it. It was not only because of fear. Why did he fear? Well, let me show you, and you're going to be astounded. I hope you never forget this. So let's go to Matthew 25 and look at verse 24, where the slothful servant explains why he hid his talent. He said, Lord, I knew thee, and thou art a hard man reaping where thou has not sown and gathering Where thou has not strawed. Quite honestly, I would glaze by this verse because I didn't quite understand it. I understood that he thought the master was a hard Man, how would you describe a hard man? So he thought the master was a strict and authoritarian, demanding, unmerciful, hard to please. And when he said about the reaping and gathering where he had not sown or strawed, he's basically saying. That he thought he was an unjust master. He was saying, you make everyone else do all the work while you relax. And then you come in and get all the benefit from our hard work. So let's revisit that question again. Why did the slothful servant fear the master? Why did he bury his talent? It was because of an incorrect perception of the Master this is the same reason we hide our own talents in fear. It's because we don't know God like we think we do. Because notice how he started his explanation with, I knew you, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. What he knew was a lie. So, do we do the same thing, say we know God, but act in a way that proves otherwise? What are some of those incorrect perceptions we have about God, and how might they stop us from increasing the gifts that we've been given? I found myself in this exact place, paralyzed with fear, because I was sure that God was always going to be disappointed in whatever work that I did because it could never be perfect. I knew God was demanding that He was frustrated with me and hard to please. That if I didn't get the job done in a certain way, he would accept it, but you could have done better, Amber. That's who I thought the master was. Someone who was like me, focused on the outcome instead of focus on the effort. When he's actually opposite, he loves our efforts. Who cares about the outcome? He's got that covered. These perceptions paralyze, create shame, create anger, create distrust, create exhaustion. So what is his real nature? He's not hard. He's patient. He's compassionate. He's forgiving. Merciful and incredibly generous. He doesn't take, he gives. He gives strength, miracles, angels, revelations, encouragement, giving what you did not know you even needed. It's interesting that the slothful servant accused him of taking from work that he did not do when If you read these verses, he did not take from the servant who produced 10 talents. He did not take from the servant who produced the four. In fact, he did not intend to take from the slothful servant who had one talent. If you look in verse 25, he says. Lo, there, thou hast that is thine. Basically, he was taking the talent and giving it back to the Lord. Like here, I don't want it. What's the big deal? No loss, right? And we might even get confused by verse 26, where the Lord repeats to the slothful servant exactly what he said. But if you just put a question mark at the end of verse 26, it completely changes the meaning of this verse. I feel like the Lord is almost speaking in hurt that he has been accused of being such an unkind master. So read it this way. His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou newest, that I reap where I sow not, and gather where I have not strawed. He's like saying, what are you talking about? You can't know that because that is not me. And here is even more mercy, more evidence. Of the amazing character of God in verse 27, where he says, you should have just put the money to the exchangers, do the minimum, it would have taken little effort and it would have gained interest. And I would have accepted that. Do you see how gracious our master is? And so finally, though he didn't want to, he took the talent that the slothful servant offered back to him. and gave it to a servant who wanted it. I always felt sorry for the slothful servant and thought God was being a little hard on him. But now I understand. There is another example of not knowing the master and therefore not letting him increase you. In Malachi 3, the same verses I referred to when it comes to tithing, where he promises that he will give back whatever is given. And how do the people reply? Down in verse 14, they basically say, there's no point in serving God. What does it profit me? Look, look, look at that person over there. They don't go to church. They don't read their scriptures every day and they're happy. So why should I do it? The proud are happy and those who are evil get away with it. Comparison is dangerous as well as seeing life as this checklist. Elder Neil a Maxwell said in pondering and pursuing consecration, understandably, we tremble inwardly at what may be required. Yet the Lord has said consolingly. My grace is sufficient for you. Do we really believe him? He has also promised to make weak things strong. Are we really willing to submit to that process? Yet, if we desire fullness, we cannot hold back part. Those that hold back those that question God's ways. It's because they don't know God. and his grace and his promises. They don't realize that sacrificing all is the highest return investment we could ever make. So it might be helpful to ask, what is so precious to me that I am having a hard time seeing the real treasure that awaits me if I have the courage to give it up? Several years ago, I was sitting in a church meeting where it was over, and then a member of the stake presidency got up, apologized, and said that there was one more thing he felt he had to speak. Before we left, something that someone in that very room needed to hear. Of course, I just started looking around because, you know, surely it wasn't me that was holding up the end of this meeting. And even when he started quoting some verses from 2 Nephi 28 about how the people in these days would reject the word of God and say, we need more, no more, for we have enough. I was like, sure. Okay. This is not me., Well, a few days later, I was sitting down journaling and just pondering everything that I was so grateful for. I was in such a comfortable and content place in my life. I really felt like there was nothing more that I could ask for. And I found myself writing that down and expressing how, wow, I have enough. There's, there's nothing else I need. And the spirit immediately reprimanded me. And I realized that message from the church meeting was for me. The thing that is precious to me, that I have a hard time giving up, is my own comfort zone. And I know I'm not alone in this. When things are going good, We, we don't want to rock the boat, right? But when we say, we have received and we need no more. When we say we have enough, what happens? For unto him that receiveth, I will give more. And from them that shall say, we have enough, from them shall be taken away, even that which they have. Does that sound familiar? Back to the parable of the talents in verse 29 for unto everyone that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. What was precious to me what I was holding on to was Being in my own comfort zone, being content, not wanting anything to rock the boat, not wanting to challenge myself and do more. Just keep it at status quo. I found myself looking around at other women and being like, look at her, she's just Being a regular mom. Why do I have to do any more? Why can't I be like this person or that person instead of listening to what the spirit was telling me? That I need to do what gifts I had and what I could give back to God So if the key to increasing our gifts is to know God. How do we know him? In Mosiah 5, 13, it says, how knoweth a man, the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart. It starts with service. And in that service, We love to compare. We're the ones that put value on ridiculous things, we look around and judge other people's roles and responsibilities and say, Oh, that person is definitely a five talent person. That one's a two talent person. That's a one talent person. We rank ourselves. That's not the purpose of the five talents, the two talents, the one talents. It wasn't to show that God gives more to some and less to others. Think of it as just different. Responsibilities that we in our human nature like to put meaning on those responsibilities. He will whisper to you, who do you think you are? Or look at that successful person over there. She is so much more important than you. Why bother? Or his role is much more significant than yours. Don't try. You'll never be enough. But I love this quote from President Hinckley as he was serving as a prophet of God. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory. To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. Wherefore, be faithful, stand in the office which I have appointed unto you, succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees. And in doing these things, thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord. You have as great an opportunity for satisfaction in the performance of your duty as I do in mine. The progress of this work will be determined by our joint Efforts, whatever you're calling it, is as fraught with the same kind of opportunity to accomplish good as is mine. What is really important is that this is the work of the master. Our work is to go about doing good, as did he. It is time. Fill the measure of your creation, give it, and it shall be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. It will be poured into your lap. At this point, I had a nice handy checklist to give you of all the ways that you could start to expand your gifts and talents. Instead, I want to give you something more valuable, a question, a question to ask God, What incorrect belief. Do I have about you and a pleading, please help me to know you better. I also encourage you to do a study of the many gifts of the spirit and pray to know which ones you are blessed with. And that God wants you to use to move this work forward. So until next time, remember, Christ is generosity. Christ is hope. Smiling brightly. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen today. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with others that you think might be blessed from it. And thank you so much for leaving your ratings and reviews. Have a beautiful week.