Ep 026 Spiritual Warfare and Moving From Knowledge to Knowing with Hannah Smith
Welcome to a conversation with Hannah Smith, a certified biblical counselor, singer, and speaker. Hannah shares her compelling journey from pursuing academic knowledge to uncovering deep spiritual wisdom and mental peace.
Episode 026 covers the value of true biblical substance over worldly knowledge, the costs of casual Christianity, and the importance of understanding spiritual warfare. Hannah gives practical tips for finding healing in community and time spent in the secret place to heal emotional wounds and strengthen our mental health.
Join us as we explore practical strategies for overcoming depression, shame, and spiritual stagnation and discover how to live a life fully alive in Christ.
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About Hannah
Hannah Smith is a Singer, Podcaster, Writer, Speaker, and Certified Biblical Counselor, and the face behind the Marked Brand.
Hannah's calling is to speak healing, life, and the truth of Jesus Christ to wounded spirits and souls, and to create a multi-faceted platform where daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives can lean toward being totally freed from the emotional wounds, mind-sets and “heart-sets” that bind us.
The Marked Brand is one that was birthed to nurture, equip, admonish, and ignite the Woman of God whose aim is pure intimacy, deep emotional healing, and resolute holiness in her heart and home.
The Marked Brand is comprised of rich faith-based products, services, and resources for women, including:
- She's Marked Podcast
- The MRKD Store
- Marked Life Blog
- Marked Worship
To stay connected with Hannah and explore her work and services, you can follow her on Instagram at @its_hannahthebrand and check out the She's Marked Podcast at www.shesmarked.com
Other ways to connect:
Facebook: its_hannah
The MRKD Store: www.mrkdstore.com
More Resources
Are you eager to establish healthy habits for life? Let’s talk about how to flourish in body, soul, and spirit—from eating and exercise to stress management to spiritual disciplines and everything in between. Schedule a Discovery Call to learn more about how Health & Wellness Coaching can help you thrive:
Show Notes
Note: Podcast transcripts are automatically generated and may contain some errors. The transcript below has been lightly edited for grammar and readability, so may not match the podcast audio verbatim.
Episode 026: Hannah Smith Interview
[00:00:55] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: Welcome today on the podcast. We have Hannah Smith and she is a singer, a podcaster, writer, speaker, and a certified biblical counselor. And she's the face behind the marked brand. Hannah's calling is to speak healing life and the truth of Jesus Christ to wounded spirits and souls and to create a multifaceted platform where daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives can lean towards being totally freed from the emotional wounds, mindsets, and heartsets that bind us. And I'm so thankful to have connected with you, Hannah, and to have you here today.
[00:01:27] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Oh, Stephanie, it is such a reward to be here, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. So thank you.
[00:01:33] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: You know, being a holistic health podcast is about so much more than physical health. It's about more than diet and exercise. Our mental and emotional health are so vital. To our wellbeing, and those are topics that are sometimes a little bit more difficult to grasp. And sometimes the things that go along with that are very deeply rooted. And one of the things that I saw about you and your background that really fascinated me was you talked about your degree in psychology, having a background of studying cognitive behavioral therapy, but how you notice that increasing and all this knowledge wasn't necessarily providing Lasting change and freedom. Can you tell me a little bit more about that background?
[00:02:17] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Absolutely. So as you mentioned, I got my undergraduate degree in psychology and I had pursued psychology at that particular time in my life because one, I was interested in But because of my, my background and some of the dysfunction and traumas and pain that I had gathered and accrued at that particular period of my life, I was looking for answers.
So psychology intrigued me in the sense that it, it was the study of the human mind. the study of human emotions, why we take the way we take, why we do what we do. And so I took an interest in that. And after I got my undergraduate degree I went on to pursue graduate studies in positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy.
And I went down this path that probably lasted maybe. 10 plus years in personal development and going into deep introspection and trying to understand myself better and other people better and trying to grasp and master and gain all this knowledge. But what I think is important for us to remember is that We are not just physical, but we are spirit.
We have spirits, we have souls. And you know, the word reminds us that what is seen as temporal, what is unseen as eternal. And so while we are looking, while I was looking for answers, I wanted to see something tangible. I was neglecting my spirit man. So I was eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and I was Worldly wise, I was gathering earth and knowledge, but I was totally neglecting the giver of wisdom.
I was totally neglecting the source. And so it was like I was eating, but I wasn't being nourished. I was, I was getting full, but there was no true substance. And I began to really, the truth of the matter is Stephanie, those things became an idol in my heart. Instead of seeking out God's word. And what he said in his truth about the emotional dysfunction, the emotional pain that I carried, the anguish, the despair, I was looking to what the textbook said.
Because it gave something, what I thought it gave something tangible, something that I could see the language. It gave the narrative, it explained it, it, you know, tried to help me connect the dots. And so I kind of looked to those things as God. I looked to those things as the final word. And what I wasn't realizing was that even though I was raised in the church, even though I was still attending church and reading my Bible and doing all the things that seemed.
Morally right. I was growing further and further apart from God. He was no longer the sound authority. I was giving more weight to what I had learned in textbooks and, and before long, it was creating even a sense of pride in me that I knew what to do. And I knew the, the source of this and the source of that it started to create pride in me.
And in all the while I would apply the methodologies. the concepts, the understanding that I thought I had, it was not eradicating and truly dealing with the sin that was still very prevalent in my own heart. It never challenged me to look at my own heart. It, it kind of kept me in this place of being the victim.
It kind of, it kept me weakened. It was powerless in breaking the strongholds that were In my life at that time, and I didn't come to this realization when I was on this path, I came to this realization after the Lord delivered me out of it. I was able to truly see it for what it was. You know, I think also of that scripture that says that.
The things, the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God. And so, you know, the truth of the matter, when I look back at a lot of my time that I spent in that space and that world even a lot of the people who created a lot of those modalities and theories and things, they were not believers. So yes, a lot of what they created, it, it made some sense that it even, you know, there was some truth to it, but it was not coming from the Holy Spirit.
So it was powerless and truly dealing with the issues of my heart and setting me free ultimately.
[00:06:53] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That's so good. And it's something I relate so much to because I'm a learner. I love to learn. I would just go to school forever if I could.
And I know not everybody is that way. They think that's crazy. But what I can fall into this trap of. is constantly seeking the knowledge to fill and just thinking, well, if I just read that one more book, that's going to give me the insight.
If I listen to that one more podcast, it's going to give me that nugget that I need. And so you can just be constantly striving for more and more. And it's interesting how we think of so many things of this world. Like you said, they don't truly fill us. They actually leave us craving for more of that thing. And
even this pursuit of worldly knowledge can be that way.
[00:07:42] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: yeah, yeah. And I, you know, it's, it's interesting. And I jotted it down here in Proverbs 21 30, it says no wisdom. No understanding, no council can avail against the Lord. And Proverbs 28, 26 says, whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. And, and as I cleaved and clung to this knowledge, I started trusting in myself more.
I started trusting in what the psychologists were saying. Like I was. Holding onto these things and I wasn't being delivered. I might've been receiving a little bit of alleviation. I think in one of my earlier podcast episodes, I said it was like taking a Tylenol. You have this headache and you take the Tylenol and it, it does help.
It alleviates the pain for several hours. But after the, the several hours are done, that headache is coming back. It's not dealing with the real issue. It can't even really identify what the real issue is. It's kind of giving this blanket antidote to
kind of the general population, but the beauty The beauty that came with looking to Christ Jesus for my deliverance and finding my deliverance that was hidden in him was that he knew my individual story.
He knew my individual makeup. So the antidote and the deliverance and the healing and the solution that he was going to give me was tailor made for me according to the path and the journey that I have walked according to the sins that I have committed, according to the pain that I have lived through, he knew, you know, in I think it's in first or second Samuel, God told Samuel, he said, Men see the outer, but I'm looking at the heart.
And I think that's when Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to find the next king. And David was there and they didn't think it would have been David. He was the youngest son. He, you know, in his form, he was still young. He wasn't big and strapping and anyone could have easily thought that it would have been one of David's brothers that would have been King, but it was just the most unbecoming unseeming young boy that was King.
God is looking through to our hearts. So he can speak to and touch the issues of our hearts in such a way that no, no research board that has gotten together and put all their collective thoughts together could ever do. So I just wanted to add that in there.
[00:10:11] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That is so true. And I'd love to jump to related to that topic. There's also a difference between cultural Christianity. And having this living relationship with Christ,
because we can have great resources, but sometimes we can get caught up in even just doing, going through the motions of doing the things of Christian culture, attending the events, picking up the resources, but not experienced the heart change and not experienced that living relationship with Christ.
So what have you seen are the differences between those two?
[00:10:48] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Yeah. I think I think the biggest difference is that that casual, it's, well, the biggest difference between being a lukewarm cultural Christian and someone who is fully alive in their relationship with Christ is the fact that the lukewarm cultural Christian is casual. There's a casualness. I think that, I think that a lot of professing Christians are well meaning And their walk with the Lord or their desire to have a walk with the Lord.
They want to be morally right. They want to be good citizens of society, but that is not what God is requiring of us. And I jotted down some notes here to be casual means to be relaxed, nonchalant, Without definite or serious intention. And the lukewarm Christian is likened to casual dating. So when you're casually dating someone, you like them enough to want to hang out with them regularly, but you're either not ready for a serious relationship, or you just don't want one.
And I think that someone who is fully alive in Christ has considered, and they are aware that there is a cost just like Christ had to pay a cost. He wasn't the only one. That had to pay a cost. We have to pay a cost to we see in scripture. Jesus always said, take up your cross and follow me. We see that.
I think I don't remember if it was Paul, but he said, I died daily. There is a dying that has to take place. And then I think of that scripture that talks about a seed that goes into the ground. It says, unless that seed grows, goes into the ground and dies, it cannot bring forth fruit. And so there's this, this gripping fear.
And I think a lot of ignorance around what it even means to die. when we're challenged, when we're faced with having to die, we see how much we're actually holding onto. We're able to see those little idols that have erected in our hearts. And so lukewarm. Cultural Christianity does not challenge you to die in any way.
And so because you have not like a seed gone into the ground to die, you're not experiencing what it means to be fully alive in Christ. You're not taking into consideration that there is life to be had because you're cleaving on to what, you know, there's no challenge. So the lukewarm Christian, that lukewarm Christian culture, it's very casual.
We never that that particular person, that particular individual never gets to experience the rivers of living water that flow. From Christ's throne. You think of even bodies of water when it's when when the water is stagnant, there's no movement. You think of all the mosquitoes and bacteria, there's no flow, but someone who's fully alive in Christ, they are flowing.
There's a move of the spirit. You see the fruits beginning to take place and take root and manifest in their lives. They're going from glory to glory. If you will, there's there's life taking place continually.
[00:13:46] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: So good. And you have talked about a breakthrough encounter that you had, and it was on December night. It was in a parking lot. Can you share that story with us?
[00:13:58] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Yeah, it's so funny. I've talked on my own show about sharing this. And I just, I haven't gotten to the full place where I feel like the Lord has given me the permission to share it in full. But in this particular season of my life, I think I had reached the pinnacle of all the earth and knowledge that I could gather.
This actually just happened not too long ago. It was in 2018 actually. And Like I said, I had spent well over 10 years on this path of gathering knowledge. But underneath the surface Hannah was very depressed. Hannah was very isolated. Hannah was riddled with a lot of self pity. She was very vain.
There was just a lot going on under the surface. And so I had gotten to such a place of exhaustion and even crying out to the Lord. And I feel like this was his appointed time for me where he heard me. I love the scripture that reminds us that we don't choose him. He chooses us. And so I truly believe that this was an appointed time for me with the Lord allowed me to reach such burnout.
Mentally and emotionally, he permitted me to reach this place of exhaustion because he knew ultimately it was going to steer me toward him. So I don't remember the specific details that led me to this point, but I became very hungry and very thirsty for God's word. I, for some reason, I wasn't turning to my textbooks and all of my knowledge.
I wasn't doing another personal development assessment and, and all these things. But I began to cry out to God in earnest desperation. And as the Lord would have it, I had come across a Bible teacher that is no longer living. He passed many, many years ago. And I remember as a little girl, my mom used to listen to him, but I didn't pay any attention.
And so I had ended up coming across one of his videos on YouTube and I began to listen. And for some reason it was just hitting me differently this time around. And so on this particular December night, well, actually, let me rewind Stephanie a few days before this for the first time I had spent significant amount of time in prayer and fasting I was in my word and It's like I couldn't get enough and think of those the rivers of living water again It was like I was drinking deeply and I was I was realizing like my goodness. I'm so thirsty. I'm not getting enough I'd spent almost about 16 hours Something I had never done before.
And so I had went on a grocery store run and I was so desperate. I was just listening to the teachings as I'm grocery shopping. And in this particular teaching, he was just talking a lot about deliverance. He was talking a lot about the influence of evil in our lives and how that can impact our walk.
It can impact the way we think it can impact our emotions. And it was speaking to me so deeply. So I couldn't wait to get out the grocery store. And I said, you know, if I go home, I'm not going to be able to pray because my little ones are there. They're going to be demanding of me. They're going to be calling for mommy.
I said, so I'm going to go in the car. I need to pray. I need to talk to the Lord about what I'm feeling inside. And I could say that That night, the Lord revealed himself to me as Jehovah Mufalti, which is the Lord, our deliverer. He was revealing and dealing with my heart in a way that I hadn't experienced before.
A lot of times when the gospel is presented to us, especially here in the Western world, we focus so much on God being a God of mercy, a God of grace, a God of love, but we don't always remember that God is a God. of holiness. He's a God of truth. And, and we have to remember that the word of God, and we're told this in scripture, the word of God is sharper than any two edged sword.
It divides bone from marrow soul from spirit. And in this particular encounter, I felt the Lord piercing and dividing and revealing and cutting and convicting. And it was such a, It was a painful experience in the sense that I was now, it was like he was literally removing something from my eyes and I was seeing myself the way that he saw me.
Now see, when the enemy brings guilt and shame, his end game is to destroy you, to make you hate yourself, to make you want to hurt yourself. It brings such a. A weight that makes you feel such guilt and shame. But when the Lord begins to convict you, and when his word begins to pierce you, you are brought to repentance.
You are brought, brought to a brokenness. You are able to see yourself the way he sees you. And then he gently bids you come, and then he wraps you in that love. He wraps you in that redemption. And so when I went in that car. And I was just listening to the rest of this sermon. And I, I, I had started to realize the ways that I had invited the enemy into my home.
And when I say my home, I mean my temple. And I had given him stake in my life. I had given him stake over my emotions. I had given him stake in my mind, my mindset. And I realized how and where he had his hands in my life. And I began to repent deeply, more sincerely than I had ever done before. Okay. And in that car there were tangible real manifestations of the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light where Jesus literally met me there and he delivered me.
And so that's, that's as much as I can say about that experience at this time, but it was truly a turning point in my faith in my walk.
[00:19:46] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: I want to say that I really appreciate the way you're sharing your story. And I think that there's a lot of pressure in today's society to define authenticity as having no boundaries or that I must share every single thing with every single person in order to be authentic.
[00:20:08] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: yes,
[00:20:08] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That's incorrect. And so there is wisdom in knowing who you share what with and that everything is not for the public.
Some is for your chosen few friends and that, you know, this is not about hiding things.
But there is there's some power in discretion. And so I really appreciate that. And I think that that's something good for us to all keep in mind, because I think sometimes people feel pressure to overshare.
And at the same time, we have seen. The close connections and close friendships in society become fewer and farther between.
[00:20:47] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Yes,
[00:20:48] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That's something where it's like, there are certain things in our life that are meant to be shared in close relationship with others that are built over time. It's not just a public free for all in all areas.
[00:21:01] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Absolutely.
[00:21:02] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: Yeah.
So On this topic of spiritual warfare, that was something else I really wanted to talk about today because the body of Christ overall addresses spiritual warfare in different ways. Some it's very vague, some it's very specific. Sometimes the language we use around it is different, but just based on your experience, how would you define spiritual warfare? And then how we battle effectively in this area.
[00:21:32] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I think it's unfortunate that there are some churches that don't talk about it at all. I think it's a great disservice to the body of believers. Because spiritual warfare is not just for a select few. It is something that is a part of our journey as followers of Christ.
And so we're told in scripture, especially I always think of Ephesians six, that our battle is not against flesh and blood. It's against principalities against powers. It's against the kingdom of darkness. And so I would always start with these two things, asking these two questions to anyone is, well, anyone who may even just struggle with the concept of spiritual warfare.
One, do you believe that God's word is true? His word says that every word of God proves true. And then also, do you believe in the concept of absolute truth? I find that a lot of people struggle with the concept of absolute truth. And if you do believe in absolute truth, do you believe that God is absolute truth?
Do you believe that his word is absolute truth? And if your answer to that is yes, well then he tells us, he, he takes out the guesswork. He tells us that we will face spiritual warfare. We have an enemy of our souls. The word of God also tells us that the enemy Roams about like a lion seeking whom he may devour.
The word of God tells us not to be ignorant to Satan's devices. He is out to do three things to kill, to steal, to destroy. What is he out to kill, steal and destroy? He wants to kill, steal and destroy our faith. He wants to destroy our covenant with the Lord. He wants to destroy our hope. He wants to destroy anything that will cause God's purposes to be furthered.
And so that's why we experienced trials and tribulations. That's why we experienced a lot of the things that we see in the world that are so evil and chilling. Those things are all spiritual warfare. The things that come to tempt you and lure you away from the Lord or the purposes of the Lord, that spiritual warfare.
The things that cause you to doubt the things that cause you to move away from being conformed to the image of Christ. Those things are all spiritual warfare. But going back to Ephesians six and in terms of how to battle effectively, Ephesians six talks to us about putting on the whole armor of God.
We have the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, our feet being shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the breastplate of righteousness. These are, these are all of the things that we can arm ourselves with. I can't stress enough the power of the word of God, where I used to open up a textbook or go to a particular website.
I now go to the word of God because what I've learned over the past few years in my studies of the word of God is that the Lord. Effectively deals with and speaks to every facet of human life. And people may say, well, I don't see a specific verse about guilt, or I may not see a specific verse about boundaries, or he may not explicitly line everything out, but the principles, the concepts, the precepts that he gives us, it addresses and touches on those things. I also believe in the spoken word of God. And how do we hear the spoken word of God? We hear it in our times of prayer and fasting. He feeds us as much as we want to be fed, as much as we'll open up our mouths and eat and drink deeply.
He will feed us with fresh manna, fresh revelation, fresh wisdom, fresh insight. But he says, seek and you'll find, you have to seek. You have to make that sacrifice. You have to seek after him. And I promise you that as you're seeking after him, you're not going to come up empty. You're not going to come up dry.
And not only is he going to give you answers and solutions to the issues that you face, but he is such a thorough God that he's going to deal with your heart in the process. He's going to deal with things that you don't even know are there, things that you haven't even factored in. He is such a thorough, thorough God, and we cannot come to war.
Without our weapons. So if you, if you are trying to walk this walk as a follower of Christ and you are malnourished because you have not been spending time in God's word, you have not been Psalms 91, he or she that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.
If you have not been abiding in that secret place, if you haven't established a secret place yet, you are wide open. I was wide open for many years because I thought that I needed to look this way to the to the right. And I was totally uncovered back here. I wasn't. I was a perfect target for the enemy, and he started to slip in through the back door, and I didn't realize that those emotions and those mindsets and soon enough, those behaviors were literally being orchestrated.
by the kingdom of darkness. He had an influence on my emotions. I was totally vulnerable and wide open. So in order to battle effectively, arm yourself with the word of God and cherish, learn to cherish time in the secret place. It's the safest place you'll ever be.
[00:26:56] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: I know we don't always like to talk about dark things, but as you look around you, as you see what's happening in the world, it's hard to make sense of it without having an understanding that there's evil in this world. There are some things that cannot be explained in any other way, but to know. To have. The understanding, the discernment to know who that enemy is, is so key for us in this breakthrough area. And I know there are so many believers out there and they're struggling to do the right thing, but they feel stuck and they may be going to church every weekend, but they feel stuck in a mental pattern, in an emotional thing that those triggers just come up and before they know it, they feel like they've gone 20 years back in the past, like they're still just doing the same thing, stuck in those same patterns. And can you, you talk a little bit more about these emotional ropes that tie us.
[00:27:53] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: the biggest emotional ropes that ties us down is our mindset. The word of God tells us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And I just, I pray that if, if listeners receive anything from this, that they would receive. The emphasis on focusing on the mind, we can think that doing the things is what is required.
So we may try to listen to more Christian podcasts. We might try to go to one more church service. We might try to get on the board and somehow serve the church or the body of Christ. We may think that we need to sing or listen to one more worship song and that should be the thing. But I think that we need to focus on our, what is happening in our minds.
What are we believing and receiving and feasting on and chewing on in our minds? That is going to reveal a lot about our hearts, where we're at, where our faith rests. One thing that I can encourage people to do, take, take stock, take notes of your daily thoughts. Track that for as long as you're able to.
What do you ruminate on? What do you think a lot about when situations arise in your, your mind? Where's your faith going to? How do you feel about God in those times? How do you feel about yourself? Get a grip on where your mind is. What are you feeding your mind on a daily basis? What are you listening to?
Whose voice are you listening to? What is going on in the mind? We can find freedom again through God's word. Once you've made that list. Begin to compare it. Research scriptures based on those things. If worry is something that plagues you, research scriptures on worry. If, if jealousy or lust or covetousness, anger, if those types of things are what is taking place a lot in your mind, if you're constantly feeling offended or slighted or things of that nature begin to find target and find scriptures.
Books resources on those specific things. You're going to want to know what the Lord says
about that You're going to want to know what truths has he spoken? What does he have to say about it begin to compare it? I think those are some of the beginning ways that you can start to find freedom on those things assessing what is there Confessing it before the Lord and seeing what he has to say There's another scripture that talks about casting down every high and lofty thing that presents itself against the knowledge of Christ.
You're going to have to confront those thoughts, those imaginations that come up. They can seem convincing. They might have, you might, you might even be able to validate those things, you know, for the longest time. With a lot of the pain that I experienced in my life, it was as a result of things that people actually did to me.
It, there was no lie in that it was offenses and, and, and violations and things that I suffered and I walked through, but I began to see. See what the Lord said about it, because I would always, the enemy would elevate it in my mind and I'd come into agreement with it. Like, well, they did this to me, and, oh, I'm so depressed and I'm so hurt and I'm no good anymore.
And, and, and all these things. They just begin to take precedence and sit as king in my mind. But then I started learning how to cast those things down. I started every time the enemy confronted me and reminded me of what was done, reminded me of what was said. I had a scripture. to battle that, to go against that.
I had comfort in the word of God that told me otherwise. So learn to love and cherish the word of God. And again, learn to cherish time in the secret place from with him. That is where your healing is going to take place. And if that's something that you have to do in community, please do so find other believers who can hold your arms up when they get tired.
That would be my, my encouragement. Yes. Yes.
[00:32:00] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: a lot of power in repetition in the things that we are repeating to ourselves and the enemy, he's relentless. It says he's the accuser of the brethren and he's going to accuse day and night. And so when we think about that, when we're taking off the old man, putting on the new man being transformed by the renewing of our minds, it takes repetition.
And so we need to be as diligent as we can be, and knowing that that's a process, that that takes time, like there are times that God can do a miracle or heal or break something in an instant. And we have faith and believing for that. But then there's also the repetition. Of it, which is a process that takes time and it's as well worth the investment to continue to water your mind with the word of God and be refreshed.
[00:32:54] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: And something else I wanted to add to that a quote that I had heard from that Bible teacher several years ago. And I loved it because it was true. Deliverance is for the desperate. Healing is for the desperate. Think about the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. Her daughter was severely possessed by demons and she went and she sought out the healer.
That was the first thing she acknowledged and recognized who the healer was. Hannah, several years ago, Even though I was in church, I did not have the Lord in my mind as healer. I figured, okay, he can heal your physical ailments, but I didn't truly crown him as healer. So this Canaanite woman, she recognized that Jesus was healer.
So she knew don't go to anyone else, go to him. And as she went to him, he said to her, it sounded like it was offensive. And I'm just paraphrasing, but he said, I can't take. The children's food and give it to the dogs. Now she could have turned in offense. She could have gave up. She could have said, Oh man, you know, I'm without hope.
I'm despaired. There's no hope for me. But she stood firm. She was so desperate and she said, well, yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall to the floor. Like she put her foot down and she said, like, basically I'm not leaving until you heal me. And it was her faith that reached the heart of the Lord Jesus.
It was her faith. that got that thing done. So deliverance is for the desperate. Like you said, repetition, consistency, It may seem like nothing is going to happen, but I'm going to tell you, if you partake of the Lord's bread, healing is the children's bread. The Lord desires to heal you. And if you partake in the things of God, you may not see what is happening, but as you are eating.
The bread of life. If you are drinking from the rivers of living water, there's going to be something happening to you that you don't even recognize until some time has passed. So if you're looking for like a quick fix, you're going to feel disappointed with the word of God. You're going to feel disappointed with the Lord every time, but he says, seek and you will find diligently seek him.
He will be found by you. He desires to heal you. Stay consistent. The word also reminds us that the trials, it reminds us of patient endurance, but it reminds us that the trials and the tribulations that we're facing are not to be compared to the glory. So think, think in terms of eternity. Again, the things that are seen are temporal and it may not feel that way, but the truth of the matter is what we're facing, what you're facing.
It is temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal. So let that be your strength and your hope. There is nothing ever wasted with the Lord. Our pain is never in vain. It's never in vain with the Lord. We will experience suffering because we're told that we're going to experience that, but it's never in vain.
He is working through you. If you allow him to,
[00:36:02] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That's so good. And as a biblical counselor, I'm curious. And just with all the ministry that you do and various facets, which we'll talk about in a second, do you see some common themes for women in their mental and emotional health as you're ministering to people and talking with them. Like in our day and age, what do you think are the most common things that women are struggling with?
[00:36:25] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Women are struggling with a lot of definitely a lot of depression, a lot of regret, a lot of shame. You know, not feeling loved, not feeling. appreciated, not not feeling seen or understood. I also see that fear is a great thing to fear and uncertainty seem to be some common threads as well.
Also just dealing with the impact of the things that have happened to them. So dealing with the initial thing that happened, but then when it's all said and done, just kind of the grief and the disbelief. feeling like a void, like something has just been ripped out of you and how, how women have seen themselves after.
in the wake of something haven't happened to them, whether it was something traumatic, whatever the case, trying to come to grips and move on with life in a quote unquote normal fashion while pretending that they are okay and still having to deal with all the things that they normally have to deal with, whether it's motherhood or working, trying to hold it together and keep up an image, if you will, seems to be pretty common.
[00:37:36] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: Yeah, that all seems like it really resonates. And I think most women can certainly relate to all of those things you mentioned. And just, I sense in women, this desire for wholeness,
the desire for mental and emotional wellness, whereas Perhaps in other times people would have pushed those things aside. I think people are now in a time of really seeking after emotional healing of mental health. And so what would be a final encouragement and steps that you would give to that woman who was seeking after those things?
[00:38:13] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: sure. I think there's so much that I can say, but I think The most important thing to be said first is that there is hope for you. I think that when we know that there is hope for us, it causes us to hold on. Even if we're holding on faintly, it causes us to keep our grip and hold on. There is nothing that you have walked through.
There is nothing that you have lived through that the Lord cannot meet you in. There is no place you've been that he cannot meet you there. Sometimes, we can feel like there is no hope for us. We could feel like our situation is a little too intense, a little too complex, a little too challenging, a little too messy.
The Lord is not Intimidated by moved by shaken by our mass. He is aware of it. We don't, and I think this is kind of relieving too. We don't have to come before him in a reformed fashion. We don't have to come before him pretty and made up. We don't have to come before him and try to prove anything to him.
He sees everything we are bare before him. And so that's a comfort because he still loves us. the way that we are. He loves us in the mess. He's not going to leave us in the mess. He desires covenant and communion and fellowship and intimacy with us. So I think that for this particular woman who is in a current battle community is going to be important.
You know, when I went through my really, really rough and low years of suffering I was isolated. And that was something that was a certain aspect of my life that was certainly influenced by the enemy feeling shame or, you know, not wanting to divulge or not wanting to be in a group. And so healing happens best in community.
So there's a time that we spend in the secret place. But if you can get in a community of. solid, strong, passionate, compassionate, caring women where you can confess and heal. That is probably one of the most important things. You know, the word of God tells us to confess your faults one to another. And it doesn't just mean faults as in things that you've done, but even things that you're suffering through the ponderings of your heart.
the deepest thoughts of your mind. You, of course, you, you want to use wisdom with who you choose to do that with, but find community and get help in prayer. Don't suffer it alone. Don't go it alone. Don't let the enemy fill your mind with, with shame and wanting to keep those certain things that need to be let out, keeping it in and stuffing it.
That's going to be a good start. And I'm always going to be an advocate and a proponent for biblical. And I emphasize biblical solid therapy or counseling that I know the therapy and counseling world is really sketchy. There are a lot of unbiblical practices and beliefs. So I highly encourage and stress, let it be a biblical counselor, a God fearing born again, believer who can, who can, Counsel you but they don't just leave you in a place where they're agreeing with you, that you're the victim and kind of just chronically empathizing with you being a victim, but they can be compassionate towards you.
And then they can hold up the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God to help you evaluate your own heart. And to begin to look at your heart and then to begin to reposition your focus on the Lord Jesus Christ as savior, as healer, and how you can become conformed to his image. Those will be some of my encouragements for that woman.
[00:42:19] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: Amen. That is good stuff. So I would love to hear as we close more about. your marked brand and the marked ministry and all that you're doing. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about where they can find you and what those different avenues are?
[00:42:36] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Yeah, I'd love to. So I am the face behind the Mark brand. The Mark brand consists of the She's Mark podcast. You can access that through www. She's marked. com. I encourage you to get on the email list there. I have once you go there, you'll see tabs for everything else that I'm going to say. So you don't have to try to commit it all to memory, but there's the marked life blog.
There's a link for that on the she's mark podcast website. If you are a social media gal, you can connect with my personal social media page, which is at it at it's underscore Hannah, the brand. The mark brand also has. Mark worship. I am a singer at heart. I got my start in singing and although I don't do it as much anymore, I still love to worship through song.
You'll see links for all that as well. And then the Mark store, which is one of the newer parts of the Mark brand, the Mark store is helping keepers of the home to create undisturbed places of rest. where the spirit of God dwells in healing and equipping abide. So you can find beautiful, aesthetically pleasing decorations for your homes, things that you can put up around the home to keep you reminded of that sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, things to keep you encouraged.
If you have little children in the home, they'll be able to see beautiful things around the home that affirm the And heal and bring about rest. God is a God of rest and rest is one of the gifts that he gives us. Also at the Mark store. There are little things for babies. I love infants, and so we have some beautiful onesies and things there that speak affirmations over our young children.
So the Mark Store is geared toward bringing about rest and healing in the home. So you can take a look at the Mark store if you visit www.mrkdstore.Com. And again, if you're a social media gal, you can access the Mark store on both Facebook and Instagram at the M R K D store.
[00:44:44] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: That's wonderful. Yes. And we will link to all of those in the show notes. So if you didn't catch that, just tap and go to the show and you can get linked up there. And Hannah, thank you so much for what you have shared today. It has truly been so powerful. And I would love if you could just close this out with a prayer for all the listeners.
[00:45:05] hannah_1_05-14-2024_173605: Absolutely. Thank you, Stephanie, so much for having me. This has truly been a reward and an opportunity. So, Father God, as we come before you, I thank you for Stephanie and her work. I thank you for what you have graced her to do. In this season and Lord God, I thank you for her podcast. I asked that she would bless her abundantly, that she can continue forth in the ministry.
And I thank you for every woman who is joining us here today. Every woman that will listen to this podcast, Lord God, you know exactly where they are. You formed in fashion them in their mother's womb. Lord God, you knew them before the foundations of the world were set and Lord, you knew their unique story.
stories, you know, the valleys, the wilderness is that they have walked through, you know, the things that trouble them, that bother them, that stir their hearts, you know, Lord God, the different places that they've been and father, you can meet every need you can do abundantly above all that we can ask or think there is no lack in you.
I pray that you begin to open up their eyes to this amazing, amazing God that we serve this mighty and Holy God. That we can run to as father, that you would begin the work inside of them, stirring their hearts, bidding them to come to you. All who are weary and heavy laden so that you can give them rest.
I pray for your rest over them now. And I pray for your strength for them, Lord God, that they would continue to fight the good fight, that you would increase their endurance, Lord God, that they would realize that the pain is never in vain and that they would learn to marinate in the seasons of waiting and to even marinate in the seasons of suffering because they know they serve a good, good father.
I thank you for all these things. And for this time together with Stephanie in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
[00:47:04] stephanie-hodges_1_05-14-2024_163605: Amen.
Just a reminder and disclaimer that this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or professional counseling. Please be sure to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise plan or starting to fast. If you're interested in more information about fasting and spiritual disciplines, check out danielfastjourney.com. Thanks for joining us on this journey to becoming wholly well.