A Reason To Live

Well, hey there. Welcome to Made for Mondays. I'm so glad that you're tuned in today as we engage in our journey. I believe that we are made for Mondays, that Mondays aren't supposed to harm you. You were made to conquer that Mondays are a space where you will run into, you will own that you own your Mondays, and Mondays don't own you. So today I thought about the opportunity to engage in our podcast a little bit further. And you guys have heard me talk about my book Necessary Endings. And as I've talked about the book Necessary Endings, I don't think I've taken time to actually engage it with you. I want to talk about necessary endings and actually take some time to walk through each necessary ending over the course of the next few weeks on our podcast. Now, listen, I've talked about this book. It's my first book I ever wrote called Some Things need to Die In Order for your To Live, where I talk about four different funerals and how you end those things to begin again in your life. And so I want to bring that to you. And in a way, it's also me showing you steps I'm taking in my own journey. Oftentimes, I've been so reticent and scared to really engage further beyond the writing of necessary Endings, because writing, it was a big deal for me. But this time around, I said, you know what, Let me engage it. Let me talk to you about it. Let me engage with you about Necessary Endings. And, well, so the next couple of weeks, we're gonna take some time to walk through why the endings are important, where I was and why I'm giving you this story, and hopefully get to a place where you can see the places where you need to end some things for you to live. So welcome to Made for Mondays. Today as we talk about necessary Endings. Some things need to die in order for you to live. You have a reason to live. You have a reason to live. For me, in my life, death was more than a thought. It was a wish. I attempted suicide in 2012 for the first time when I was at college, college at Marquette University. I attempted suicide the second time in 2014. The first time was for attention. I wanted friendships. I wanted colleagues. I wanted people to care about me. And really, it was just certain individuals who care about me. In 2014, it was because I really just didn't want to live. To tell you the truth, the full story behind 2014, I'd gone through some things in school. I'd gone through some things personally and professionally to a Point where I was at a worship service. I never forget. I went to a revival the second night of a revival night, and I was asked to lead worship, Got up to lead worship, had a sermon that just really didn't really agitate me. I was frustrated with the culture of church. I felt disrespected. I was already very low at the moment. Nobody knew this. I felt so disrespected and down that night. I left from church that evening. I went on home. I remember texting, Courtney at the time was my girlfriend, not my wife. I went home to my apartment and I just decided I was going to cut myself. I cut myself, got into a bathtub, and I just was done. I played music, I told Courtney. Courtney ended up telling some friends and people who called and ended up waking up and blacked out. Ended up waking up. And the waking up for me was so difficult. I didn't want to live. I did not want to exist. And I remember I researched and thought and researched and tried to find exactly where to cut myself on my leg so that I can make sure that I die this time. For some reason, life became an option. I was second year master student at Vanderbilt University. Seemed like everything was going well, and it was just a very difficult time. I was desperate. I wanted to be seen, I wanted to be heard. I wanted to be cared for. I wanted to be loved. I hated everything about me, and it felt like even those who loved me hated me. The lies, the weight of life, the weight of pressure, all in my mind really made me feel worse than what my life actually was. Because I felt like I had no reason to live. I was in a sea of my own blood, but alive. I was frustrated, but I was alive for a reason. I had purpose. And from that moment forward, I made the decision to live. And since then, I've made decisions to live. I promised God, I promised myself. I promised my now wife, promised my child to have a reason to live. And I realized the attempts I made to end my life were in vain. I kept coming back alive. The first time I tried to end my life was through alcohol and through pills and taking it in college. And I kept living. And all it did was give me a really bad stomach ache. So since then, I've been determined to find life, determined to live life, determined to find purpose. And now that I've found what I sense my purpose is in my life. And now that I've found a reason to live, I've owned those reasons. So here I am now. I'm a husband. I'M a father, I'm a pastor, I hold a lot of different hats in our community. And I realized that my life simply needed focus. That's really it. I needed focus. I was focused on the wrong things, focused on gaining attention, focused on gathering attention, and not really focused on living. So I want to take you on a journey the next few weeks through these hidden and unsured aspects of my life that really have served as a way of how I've shaped and framed the world. Because throughout my life I've been told what matters instead of discerning what matters. Throughout my life I've been told what matters instead of discerning what matters. I want you to consider in your own life, where in your existence have you been told who you are? Instead of discerning who you are, where in your life have you been told what you must do, how you must live, what you must become, instead of discerning and holding onto who you are, what you're doing and what you feel God is calling you to become. So instead of moving based upon somebody else's opinion about my life, to make a decision to live your life, that's for me because I'm a Christian, listening to the voice of God, a triune God who has completely rearranged my life. That's trusting the voice of my wife, someone who loves me unconditionally, that's trusting the love that comes from my son. Someone who also sees the absolute best in me, who wants to mimic me. Who are the individuals around you who give you a reason to live. Thank you for existing. Thank them for existing. So I'm able to hold onto what God has prepared me to do. With the light. I'm able to hold onto with what I know my purpose is now with the light and bear what I thought was for me because I thought they, I thought it, I thought other things were for me. Because really, y', all, if our steps are ordered by God, then life's journey ought to be filled with joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. And every place that God's going to take us is going to be joy filled. So because life's steps are ordered, Psalm 37 and 23, then I want you to see that the expected in your life is an unor. Is an organized, sorry, predestined mess like Calvary. Our lives are an organized, predestined mess like we see on Calvary's cross that God does something beautiful with our worst messes. And if God can work with our mess, then so you can as well, so as we go into this journey together of necessary endings, I want you to consider the things in your life that you consider messy, that we can look at and say, man, that's beautiful. I want you to consider the things in your life that you think are bringing you sadness and pain, that God says, no, it really brings you joy once you consider the things that God has allowed you to endure, to encounter the people around you. Who are you going to encounter today that have been ordered to encounter you? Who are you going to see in meetings today that have been ordained, have been destined, that have prayed to encounter you, have sought to see you? Who can you give light to today? Who can you give hope to today? Who's giving you hope and joy? Who is around you even right now? I want you to consider your children, your spouse, your loved ones, your brother, your sister, who is around you today that is giving you life. You have a reason to live. You have a reason to exist. You have a reason to expect the absolute best in your day. You have a reason to see that there are some things that are against you, that instead of you embracing what's against you, you can leave it in the dust. You have something that you can destroy the walls of your insecurity. You can wrestle with the woundedness on your body and believe the voices that believe the absolute best for you. You can hold joy, you can hold peace, because you have a reason to live. My hope is that over the next couple of weeks, we can discern what your reasons are together. Consider these three questions as you go into your day. Today, this Monday. Number one, how are you? Before asking others, how are you doing? I've asked that question often to people and ask them, how are you? And the worst thing that's ever happened to me is when I asked that question to someone and they said, how are you? And I told them an answer said, how do you know? So I want you to ask yourself the question, how are you? How do you know? How are you? And how do you know? Number two, what brings you joy? Consider today, this basic Monday, what brings you joy? If you're listening to this on a Wednesday or Friday, what brings you joy? If you're watching this on YouTube or Tuesday or Thursday, what brings you joy? What excites you? It's amazing that we know what makes us angry, we know what makes us anxious, we know who makes us angry, we know who makes us anxious. But we don't hold on to the truth of what brings us joy. And I also want to challenge you, your joy is not an act of resistance. Your joy is an act of self reliance that I am relying on this deep well inside of me to bring something out that boils over that everyone grabs a hold of the contagion that is my joy. What brings you joy and what will you do today to ensure that you have that joy? Who will you surround yourself with today? Who will you make sure you call to hold onto your joy? Thirdly, and finally, what are you expecting God to share with you this week? It's not a matter of my hope. My hope and my prayers are not things that I'm just hopeful that are going to happen. I'm not just this far out yonder thing that it may or may not occur. No, it's an expectation. I'm expecting that God will do this. I'm expecting because of the word of God, because the promises of my life. This is my expectation. God will do this. What are you expecting God to do this week? Run into the week knowing you have a reason to live, you have a reason to exist and you're good. We have affirmations we say here Made for Mondays. Would you say our affirmations with us today? Repeat after me. Just say I am me. I can be me. No one will stop me from being me. You are absolutely amazing and I look forward to the best week of your life.

Well hey, Made for Monday's listeners, Justin here. I'm on here to give a shameless plug about. Well my book. I wrote a book called Necessary Endings and this book is simply a book detailing. It's called Some things need to die for you to live. It details four different funerals that I believe you to have to go on a journey of mental well being and mental success.

I pray that you take a moment.

To go ahead and grab it. You can grab it on my website@jr Lester.com or on Amazon. It's a book that addresses mental health, faith journeys, relationships, friendships, everything in between. Prayerfully, it'll help you be all that you need to be everything God's called you to be. So go ahead, take a copy of Necessary Endings. Some things need to die for you to live. Available on Amazon or jrlester.com thank you. Well, thank you for joining us for Made for Mondays Justin and I'm so grateful that you guys did so today. If you want to get in contact with me, please feel free to go to my website www.jrlester.com. you can find me on Facebook at justinrlester and our public page and simply like or message us on there. And also on our website, jrlester.com, you can see a copy of the books that we've written, the notes that we've given out as well, and the work that we're doing, and the videos we've recorded and places we've spoken. I hope that something you say or do helps you be all that God has called you to be. That's all I'm here for. I want you to live and I want you to thrive. And I want you to be all that God's called you to be. Listen, would you say our mantra with us? With me today? Simply repeat after me. Say, I am me. I can be me, and no one will stop me from being me. Have an amazing day. You are amazing.