Intro: Hi I’m Neal Preston. My wife, Amie and I, along with our three children Bradlie, Kaden, Quince and an entourage of extended family and friends have all dedicated ourselves to helping lost, hurting and broken people find their God-given calling and make life count. We do this through creating resources that affect, effect and infect people's lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Last year we wrote a book called WayFinder, A Wake-Up Call For A Wandering Soul. The concept we are talking about today was sparked from a chapter in WayFinder called Brighter Days. To check out more of these recording and get resources to help you Find Your God-Given Calling and make life count go to NealAndAmie.com or follow us on social media @nealandamie

Let’s jump into today's episode of brighter days entitled “Black Hole Sun”

Do you ever feel like your life is dropping into a black hole?

Chances are you’ve either been in a black hole, you’ve come out of a black hole, or you’re on the way to a black hole.

When you are stuck in the hole your whole being cries out for the sun!

Light is the only answer for darkness.

How do we land in darkness… hahahaha…

The real question we should ask ourselves is how do we not land in it!

Selfishness, pride, envy, addiction, abuse, divorce, failure, fear… all of these are a one way ticket to the black hole.

Today we are going to talk about how to reach for the sun when you’re buried in the black hole.

Hell and all its workers, the dark angels, what the bible calls demons are constantly seeking to keep you stuck in the pit.

Today we are going to talk about how to exit the night and enter light!

Life is too short to live miserable. There is a better way. Today is the day to find it.

Lets dig into this a little deeper

Out in the desert there are old mines all over the place.

A friend of mine is a county fireman and one time he was called out to a rescue.

A young man was riding his dirt bike and didn’t have a clue that just around a blind corner was one of those mines.

In seconds this young man found himself at the bottom of a black hole.

This story doesn’t have a happy ending. The hole this young man fell into was so deep there was no oxygen at the bottom of the hole.

When emergency services arrived they attempted the rescue but quickly realized the hole was too deep. It required an oxygen respirator to get down to the young man.

What a tragedy!
Sadly, just like that young man who didn’t know what was around that blind corner on that sad day, you and I drop into spiritual black holes because we are unaware of what’s around the corner.

When we drop in the hole our life goes dark. We are consumed with emotion. Jealousy, anger, sadness consume us, and we don’t know how to get out.

When this happens we need a rescue the same way the young man did!

If you stay in the hole too long, sometimes time runs out and it’s just too late.

We all need a rescue! When you are stuck in the pit, you can’t climb out on your own.

Let’s look at some scripture to see some common pitfalls that happen in life when we are running blind from corner to corner.

Pride, selfishness and the mentality of “I don’t need anyone’s help” is one of the biggest pitfalls that land us in a black hole.

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Over the years working with people in our businesses, church, coaching athletes and parenting I’ve developed a saying I like to use to point out this mentality.

Pride has a saying… Pride says “I know!” Humility say’s “Teach me!”

1 Corinthians 8:1 says, “The man who thinks he knows, doesn’t quite know as he ought to know.”

Have you ever heard the saying, “The older I get the less I know.”

A mentality like that is what the bible calls wisdom!

Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. Proverbs 17:6 ESV

We all need guidance! All of us. This side of heaven, no one arrives at perfection.

That means there’s always more to learn. We need to develop a humility that says “there is always more to learn.” I call this the mentality of a lifelong learner.

The easiest way to land in a spiritual black hole is arrogance. A mentality that says, “I know” is a spirit killer.

Over the years I’ve performed many many funeral and memorial services.

Somewhere along the way it dawned on me that humans are made of dirt.

From dust we were formed and back to dust we go upon our death.

That’s why the classic funeral saying is “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”

I was reading the other day in the old testament book of Isaiah the prophet.

Chapter 45:9 says, “Woe to the one who fights with his maker. An earthenware vessel among vessels of the earth! Will Clay say to the potter, "Why did you make me like this?”

Who are we to question our maker?? You and I are made from earth, literally formed from dust.

The context for this section of Isaiah is that there was a wrestling match between God having His rightful position and maker and creator and humans trying to elevate themselves to a position that doesn’t belong to them.

Chapter 45:7 says, “I am the Lord and there is no other. The One forming the light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity: I am the Lord who does all these things.”

Isaiah 45:6 says, “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.”

Here’s the thing, arrogance in humanity causes us to think we are pretty cool.

I remember my dad saying to me one time, Neal you're getting a little big for britches don’t you think!

He put me in check by saying, “Just remember, I used to wipe your butt.”

Talk about cutting me down to size. He checked me by saying that.

He saw that I was stepping off track in my attitude and wanted to let me know that Pride comes before a fall!

He did me a favor by putting me in check.

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction and an arrogant attitude before a fall.”

Lucifer was one of the premier angels in heaven before he became proud. Angels are created beings. Creating beings cannot become greater than the one who created them. When we try to elevate ourselves to the level of the creator He is forced to cut us down to size.

These passages help us to see that we can’t get too caught up in what we know.

Again, the context for the Isaiah passages I’m speaking of are on the heels of God trying to get through to His people. They developed a mentality of a “know it all.”

They said in their hearts. I am awesome. I’m the man! It says in scripture that they said in their hearts, “ I am it, and there is no one besides me.”
It’s kind of like they thought the sun revolved around them rather than thinking properly…
You and I revolve around the sun!

The first commandment is this…. “There shall be no other God before me.”

When we put anything in front of God, we are out of order.
When we get out of order we are set up for a fall.

We are set up to land in a black hole.

Here’s the good news! When we get and keep our priorities straight, when we order our love properly we can keep ourselves out of the pit!

How do we do that?

Humility! Know your place. Know your role. Recognize that we are the pot and He is the potter.

We are a creation, He is the creator.

You’re creator didn’t create you for destruction, He created you to have an awesome life and to live into your divine destiny!

That’s the purpose you were created for!! You were made for more than darkness.

BUT. Make no mistake, God will allow darkness to overtake you if it means teaching you to trust in Him rather than your own power, smarts or goodness.

Sometimes the greatest gift God can give us is a black hole.

From that black hole we then cry out for the sun, the son of God that is!

Then and only then can we discover the goodness we were actually made for!

If this is you, then I want to encourage you. You could be at a turning point.

You can wake up from wandering and live into a relationship with God that will exceed your wildest expectations.

How do you get there, you ask???

Cry out! Cry out from wherever you are and ask your maker to help you!

When He rescues you from the darkness you have fallen in, you then learn to follow Him and only Him all the days of your life.

Amie and I have created resources to help you with this.

We have committed our lives to helping people caught in darkness come to the light.

I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of our new book, WayFinder. You can order a physical copy of this book or the rough cut audio if you prefer to listen rather than read it yourself. We also have an online community experience to help you Find the Way. This community will teach you how to become a Spiritual Tracker. That’s a person who knows how to hush the distractions of the world around them and hear the voice of the Spirit in order to follow Him to brighter days.

Now is the time. Don’t allow yourself to stay stuck in the hole another day. It’s time to cry out for help… don’t let your pride keep you from the goodness God has for you.

Can I pray for you?

Jesus, I pray for my friend who is listening today. I pray that if they are off the path you designed them to be on that they would get so sick of their circumstances that they would lift up their voice and cry out to you right now. I pray that you would meet them where they are and show them you are good. I pray the lies that hold fast in their mind would be broken today, that they would know there is hope for their future no matter how dark the hole may seem. Help them to see the light of day and move toward your light… In Jesus Name. Amen

If you are ready to begin to follow Jesus and His way for your life, repeat this prayer after me.

Lord Jesus, I want to know you. I have wandered this life without you long enough.
Show me who you are. Teach me how to follow you. Fill me with your Spirit. I want to discover all you have created me to be. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

If you made that life changing decision and are ready to learn to follow Jesus and discover His plans for you then get a hold of us. We want to send you resources that will jumpstart your journey toward your divine destiny.

Remember, the WayFinder book and community experiences

Go to our website www.NealAndAmie.com for more information. Send us a message and share your story with us. You can also find us on social media @nealandamie

Today is the day to climb out of the hole and come to the light.
We believe brighter days are in your future. God bless you.