Finding Hope in the Hard Seasons

In this episode we sit down with Chad Doyle, Executive Director of Hope Harbor, as we have a conversation about finding hope in every season of life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hey, thank you for joining us this time on the Leading Life Change podcast. Today we are excited to sit down with our friend Chad Doyle as we have a great conversation just about finding hope in the hard seasons of life and how to navigate that. So let's jump into this one.

SPEAKER_03 0:21

Well, guys, it's Passion Week, an emotional week of ups and downs. We know that the disciples walk through, the people of God walk through, that really leads to a place of hope. And so I'm excited to be able to talk about hope today. And we have our friend Chad Doyle, who um works for Hope Harbor, but also has a podcast about hope. So, Chad, how is how has hope become such a central theme to your story?

SPEAKER_01 0:51

You know, it's uh it's honestly been a mirror of my life. You know, there's been moments of clarity, there's been moments of faith, um, but then there's been moments where I felt like God's been silent in that, right? And there were moments I didn't know God, and it was just like, what did I have hope in? You know, oh hope that this works out, but who am I hoping to, you know? Um, but it's having that hope in Jesus. And it's really central, um, you know, and it's not tied to circumstances, it's having hope in him, that knowing that he's the one that can give us hope, right? And uh just living it out daily um through Hope Harbor through my podcast, you know, we recently had a uh a family come in and uh and a mom had said to me, Hope, it's a fleeting word for her. You know, she's she's like, we've tried um all the counseling things, we've done love and logic, we've we've gone to marriage conferences, we've done this, but I just feel like hope is fleeting. And it's just like, well, there's only one person that you can have hope in, and you have to surrender it to Jesus. And then just uh our uh solid scripture that we stand on at Hope Harbor, which is Hebrews 6.19. You know, we have this hope as an anchor to the soul, firm and secure. Um, it enters the curtain behind the sanctuary, or it enters the sanctuary behind the curtain. And it's just really something that I've stood on because you know, you you use that anchor to stay stable, right? And I just refer to that anchor as hope. So it's it's central to my life in all ways. And then in terms of my podcast, it's really about how God finds us. Like we're always running from him. We turn around, he's there.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Absolutely. I think that's so good. I mean, you said hope is not tied to circumstances. That's like the that's the threshold that we have to cross, especially as believers, understanding that hope isn't a thing, it's a person. Yeah, you know, and when we find Jesus and really start to lean on him and understand that the just the way that he moves in our life and the way that we can trust him and we start building that relationship in that way, it it changes our approach to life from top to bottom.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Absolutely, absolutely. And I love the scripture you use because I've actually taught this before. We know that uh hope being the anchor of the soul, the soul is the seed of the mind, will, and emotions. Yeah. So when we're going through a difficult time and man, our emotions, our thoughts uh begin to really, you know, go off and and we're struggling, we're battling in the mind, man, there there's that hope, that person, Jesus, yeah, who really anchors us. And we know anchors are built for adversity. Yeah, right. They're not built for the smooth seas, they're built for adversity when the wind begins to blow. Yeah, and yeah, absolutely. And so so grateful that um, you know, the the idea of Christ being our anchor, hope being our anchor during difficult times.

SPEAKER_05 3:41

Yeah, me too. Me too.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

I think of um Passion Week and we can kind of tie that in. I think it fits so well because of what the disciples walk through that week. You know, they go, you know, they come into Jerusalem, Passover, they're crying out Hosanna, blessed is he, comes in the name of the Lord, they're laying down their coats and they're palm tr waving palm branches, and it's celebration, but before the end of the week, these are the same people that are going to be crucifying him. Yeah. And crying for his crucifixion. And the disciples walking through that, obviously the Garden of Gethsemane, um, him wrestling over God's will, but surrendering to that, submitting to that, dying on a cross, obviously the horrific beating and all those things that took place. The disciples watched, his mother was watching. I mean, you you think about the the the depth of despair that they were probably walking through, even though he told them. He said, And you tear this temple down in three days, I'll raise raise it up again. Yeah. Um so there had to be this, they had to embrace hope for them to navigate through the season. And maybe that's my question that you know you can kind of navigate through because you you deal with families that are walking through some of the most uh difficult moments of their lives. Like it's crisis, they're against the wall. I've had the I've I've had the opportunity to to connect with one of them and actually refer them to you and and their story's awesome, how God came through and there's a testimony now. But what what is it like in the midst of that hard time when nothing seems to be moving and God seems to be silent? How do you how do you help some of those families embrace embrace hope and realize that there's something beyond today?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

You know, I I think we have to start by mentioning that Saturday existed too. You know, and I'm sure there was a whole day where everything felt lost, where all hope was gone. And like you said, that's what the way a lot of families come into Hope Harbor. They're hopeless, they don't know what to do, they're broken, um, they don't know the next step. And and we bring them in and and we we start with just telling Christ is at the center of everything that we do. You know, without God, we have no hope. Um and it's just really teaching them to rely on him. And and they're there's so much going on in their home, there's so much chaos, there's so much brokenness that they they lose sight of hope. They lose sight of who Jesus is, right? And they try to fix things themselves. And it's just reminding them it's like, no, you can't do any of this without God. You have to rely on him, you have to remember that he's the center of everything, and that he will and he can, you know, and it's and it's just not having that, it's having that blind faith, you know.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Yeah, I think it's important. I mean, that phrase, man, that's that could be like a life statement right there. Saturday existed too. Like when you wrap your mind around that one, that uh that Saturday existed too. We talk about Friday's crucifixion, right? The loss and the death, and and then we talk about Sunday's resurrection and the fulfillment. Um, but we don't talk about Saturday's waiting, right? And sometimes that seems to be the the place that we find ourselves in more than we want. You know, we is that waiting season. And uh, but but it's just important, it's it's so vital for us to understand that that's part of God's process too. You know, that's part of the growing process, the learning process, the discipleship process, the build, like for us to get that foundation of faith, because if it was all just if it was all just the the resurrection, yeah, how deep would our, you know, how deep would our faith be? You know, we walk through those things, and as much as it causes pain and it causes, you know, like difficult seasons and those hard seasons, that's so vital to the development of us as believers and to to help us to stand firm. You know, Pastor, I loved what you said. The anchors are built for diversity. Yeah, you know, they're built to withhang with withhold the storm and like hold even in the midst of the storm. And the only way that we get that like solidness is that is that we we we have some storm seasons in our life. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Absolutely. And I was uh man, I was thinking about again the disciples in Saturday, and you think about this from the story, the narrative of scripture. If they would have trusted him and kept their eyes on hope, they wouldn't have been hiding. Right? Yeah, they would have actually been at the tomb. Like he said he's gonna rebuild this, he said he's gonna come alive. Yeah. And it's so easy for us in that Saturday season to get our eyes off of hope and to begin to, you know, uh move away from that trust. But I do believe Saturday exists for us to trust God. Absolutely. If you're in a Saturday season, if you're in a season where nothing's happening, it's quiet, that it feels like there's been loss, there's been death, that um I don't know if I can go into tomorrow. You know, it's so vital that we do keep our eyes on hope. Yeah. Um, but with that being said, let me ask you guys this, and this is you know, you grow up in church, you you kind of get um you taught get taught the scripture. I'm so grateful for my history and my all that I was taught. Sometimes things get told to us though that can become strongholds that are not necessarily true, right? And people mean well and intend well, but it's the idea of can can doubts and hope exist at the same time coexist. Now, growing up, you know, kind of in a in a Pentecostal environment, um, a lot of times they're like, oh no, you can't doubt. You gotta, you know, you gotta have faith. You can't doubt. Get doubt, you know, doubt's gonna derail you or whatever. And and yet scripture says be merciful to those who doubt.

SPEAKER_05 9:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

And so I'm like, what does scripture really say about doubt and us struggling and and battling and yet still trying to make sure we're focused on hope? Because I know again, we we talk with families, we minister to families that they love Jesus. I mean, they authentically love Jesus, they're doing everything they can to serve him. They are in the midst of a storm that they never ever saw coming. Yeah. And now there are things that are rising up in them questions, doubts, what ifs, you know, what if I'd have done this differently? And and yet still trying to focus on hope. How how how do you feel? How do you guys feel? Um people can do that. If somebody's listening, they're like, man, yeah, that's me. Like, you know, and and I don't believe we're called to shame people, right? We're called to help them and be merciful to them when they're doubting and try to help them experience the fullness of God's hope that they're gonna get beyond this season. It shall come to pass. What would you say in that tension as you've talked to families, ministered to families, maybe even experienced it yourself? How you navigate that?

SPEAKER_01 10:53

You know, with me, it's it's about surrender because there's so many times that I've tried to control outcomes or control the situation, or how can I control what's going on, or how can I fix this? And that's usually, I feel like as as humans, right, in flesh, we're always thinking about how can we fix a situation and never truly surrendering to God. Yeah, we can pray about it, right? We can we can do all the things that we know, but it's truly surrendering it like God, I can't do this, I can't hold it anymore. I'm giving it to you completely. I'm lost. I need you to take this for me. And I feel like that is a big part of it because when you when you're trying to fix it yourself, it's you're trying to control, and you think control is strength, and I'm doing this, but you just really have to surrender. And for me, like I've learned that a lot in my life recently, it's just like there's a lot of things going on. And because I think, you know, and those both of those things can exist at the same time, but it's just like okay, I have to fully surrender this. And what does that mean? And what does that look like?

SPEAKER_04 11:51

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

I think sometimes, you know, it is important to understand just the reality that doubt is real. Yeah, you know, I know, Pastor, you talked about how growing up in church, like that that kind of question like arises. And I remember even having times in my life where it's like, well, if I'm doubting, am I like, does that mean that I don't have faith? You know, does that mean that I don't love God the way that I should? Or does that mean that there's like sin in my life? You know what I mean? Like it's like this whole list of questions that you're going down where you're like, why am I feeling this way? Yeah. And and and the reality is that both can both can exist, you know? And I think that it's important for us as as leaders to to speak to that. Because I think that there's there's a misconception that you know, if you're going through struggles, then it everything, you know, kind of that thought that like everything's tied to a demon, you know what I mean? Like where it's like, well, if you're walking through something, like, then there must be sin in your life, or there must be, you know, it must be oppression and it must be this and this and this. And like life is hard sometimes. Like sometimes life is just life and it come and it feels like everything's against us, but but it doesn't innately mean that we don't love God, or that we love God less than we did during this good season, or that our faith is, you know, is less than it was here. But as we walk through those things, just understanding and keep reinforcing, like, hey, like hard seasons are real. We have to, regardless of if it's a hard season or an easy season, we have to continue to lean on the Lord. Yes. And that's the principle that we have to establish in our life. We have to, we hope in the Lord the same through this storm as we do in the calm. And we we put our hope and our trust in Him and we understand His goodness sustains us through every season. Yes. And so I think that I think that sometimes there is that misconception. There is that like just kind of that like that that voice in the back of our head that that would try to convince us. And I mean, that might be, you know, a tactic that the enemy uses where it's just like, hey, like, you're failing because, you know what I mean? And like Satan can try to tear us down and get us to believe that, well, we're we're we're failing because you know, our faith isn't there, or we don't, we must not love God, or we must have some hidden sin that we don't know about. And like, well, have what have I prayed enough, or have I, you know, have I read enough of my Bible? Have I worshipped enough? And we would try to equate it to those things as to why we're feeling why we're walking through this thing. But no, we just need to stay strong and hold on to hope with Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

And and he kind of referred to that, and you mentioned like the the you you get into striving, right? Like I I have to strive to get there. Yeah. That it almost like you mentioned controlling the outcome. Yeah. And I love what you said that I believe some people that are listening need to hear that you it's just a matter of surrender. Right. Um, I personally, um, you know, I you know some of my story. My dad was an alcoholic. I grew up in an alcoholic home. I mean, it was rough, really rough. Um I mean, I still have some of those memories that rise up a little bit. I think God have been healed of of a lot of those, but I still can I still can you know remember some of those things. And um and they say typically, you know, in in the psychological world, if you grew up in an alcoholic home and felt out of control, which I did my entire childhood, yeah, you know, um because of that, then what you typically do to overcompensate is when you become an adult, you control more.

SPEAKER_05 15:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Right? Because it's not gonna happen to me again. I'm not gonna walk through this again. And so you you you try to control things, not with wrong intentions, and it's not really a not even a desire necessarily to control, it's just I don't want that feeling anymore. I've I've had enough of that, I've experienced that, I'm not gonna have that in my adult life. But the problem is what happens is when we're walking through things, instead of surrendering, instead of trusting God, instead of sitting in silence and Saturday and saying, Okay, I'm gonna be still still my soul and know that you're God, then we try to control outcomes and we try to make things happen. And we try to generate because we feel that pressure of of control. And I think the the the you know, you think of what really needs to be crucified in us is that tendency to want to control outcomes and make things happen.

SPEAKER_05 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

And it's usually when we get into trouble again, right? And it doesn't help us, it actually only escalates the emotional struggle that we're in. And so I I think man, surrender. And and I've been there where I'm like, okay, Lord, I own all I know to do right now because I can't control it, I can't try to make it happen, I can't persuade anybody that I just need to surrender. And I have to do that more than once. Yeah. Right. And uh so I I love I love that you said that. One of the other things I was thinking about was how you you guys kind of mentioned a little bit of how the enemy will capitalize on our our struggles, yeah. And and and try to either shame us or make us feel less than or something's wrong. Um I think that there probably are people listening that the enemy is also persuading them that it's not gonna get any better. Right? That um it's this hopeless feeling because this is where I'm at. I don't know if it'll ever change. Now that's where we do instigate faith. Yeah, right. There isn't there is an element of faith that I'm gonna get through this, I'm gonna live through it. Right. But when I get on the other side, I feel like I'm gonna be a better believer because I've learned how to trust and you build muscle and tension and you know, strain and all the spiritual strain and all those things. You you learn how to exercise your faith muscle muscle. Um but to know that it may not look exactly like you think it should look, but you're gonna get through and and there's there is hope for tomorrow. Yeah. Right? Um, what would you tell somebody that the enemy's telling them um your best is behind you? You know, it's not gonna get any better. That almost speaks this voice of death and hopelessness and despair over you that I don't but the opposite side of the spectrum, God doesn't want you to have either, right? Yeah what would you what would you say to them if you're if you're if a family's navigating through that or you're ministering to a family who has a child that's just really struggling at Hope Harbor, or maybe they're not even in Hope Harbor yet. What what are some of the things that you would you would share with them to to not not give them a shallow optimism, but a biblical hope that's grounded in the resurrection of Christ and who he is.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

You know, you said shallow hope and a biblical optimism. To me, you know, shallow hope is things, I hope things work out, right? And uh biblical is I trust God no matter how it does. And and just remembering that Jesus won. Like he's he's he's already won it. And just letting them know it's just like it doesn't we we've seen so many families come through here navigating these seasons, right? We've seen God show up in ways, and usually when he's he's pruning, right, and he's doing something behind the scenes because he's always working even when you don't see him. And it may not be the outcome we want, but it's maybe the outcome that God has for us. And he could be keeping us from something that's protecting us even further. And at the end of the day, it's just really about just keeping him at the center of what you do, believing in him, trusting in him, and knowing his plans are greater than ours. And that's really what it comes down to. Um, and and doing it his way and not our own way, because so many times we try to do things on our own way and our own strength, as we mentioned earlier, but we have to give it over to him and let him work. And it's trusting him in that process. You know, there were even times as I was gonna refer to this earlier, the disciples walked with Jesus, they saw miracles, yes, and they still lacked faith and trust. Yes. So it's okay if you're struggling, it's okay if you don't have hope, it's okay if you're doing these things. It's just turn to God, you know, surround yourself with community, get in the word, and just trust him.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Yes, absolutely, absolutely. I um I was thinking about this, like if somebody is in a uh a heavy season, what are some things that in a practical way, if if you know, if they're like, okay, this is where I'm at, but what are some practical ways that they can cultivate that hope? Maybe it's some daily practices, some things that you would encourage them to do, to to step into that will that will help them navigate the the clouds and the storms and and the season they're in.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Yeah, you know, the first thing would be be in the word. Trust God, know God, read his word. That way you know when he's talking to you. You know, the other thing would be surround yourself with community, surround yourself with people that speak truth um over your life, not just sugarcoat things or maybe tell you what you want to hear, but will challenge you. Um and my wife and my personal life is really good at that too. Like she will listen and she'll empathize, but she'll challenge me. Yeah, you know, and I think obviously prayer and um just remembering what he's done, you know. Find find yourself a good church if you're not going to church, if you're struggling. Um, maybe listen to a podcast like this. There's just there's so many things that you can do, but at the end of the day, it's just surrounding yourself with a good community and trusting in him. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

I think uh so one of my favorite verses is Revelation 12, 11, where it says they triumph by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. I think that as we're walking through that and we're trying to like intentionally build faith in our life, we have to, we have to ingest testimonies. Yeah, because it's like it it helps us to cross cross that threshold. Threshold of like being a spectator to then like looking at people's stories and and and saying, Oh, this might be for me too. Like if God could do it for them, then God, then maybe God could do it for me. You know, like people walk in all the time carrying shame, fear, and comparison, whatever it is. And then somebody gets up and they're like, Hey, I was walking through this, you know, it's like it's it's like speaking exactly to what they were walking through. And they're talking about how God sustained them, how you know, like God built hope in their life and and all this. And then yeah, it just helps them cross that threshold from just listening and being like, Well, I'm here on my island, you know, and it keeps raining on my head. But but now they're like, oh man, if God that person was in the same place that I am, yeah, and look what God did to them, and now they're up there saying, like, man, God, God made a way, you know, and and and so I think that just finding testimonies, you know, a lot of times when we were doing youth ministry, I'd encourage kids, like, hey, go to Google and just type in testimonies about this, you know, like testimonies about anxiety, testimonies about fear, whatever it was that they felt like they were facing, you know, and and and I mean there's hundreds of videos where people have recorded and shared their testimony on YouTube, and it's just practical, you know. Spend 10 minutes just listening to somebody's testimony, you know. And I'll tell you what, sometimes like that's what we need to help us realize, oh, maybe it's not as bad as, you know, as the enemy's trying to get me to believe it is, you know, and and maybe I could maybe I can walk through today with a different level of hope.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Absolutely. I love that. And I think what scripture says, when scripture says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, there's a prophetic nature to testimony. Yeah. Right. And when we hear a testimony about somebody that's overcome in an area where we're struggling, it it becomes like a prophetic picture for us that we can get through that. Yeah. I think that's also important why that's also the reason why we should be faithful to share our testimonies. Like when we encounter um victory in life and God's done that. And I know your podcast, yeah, um, Hope Found Me podcast, talks a lot about that. Like people have overcome and they're sharing their testimony.

SPEAKER_05 24:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:22

Because there's people that are gonna listen that are in, if not identical, very similar circumstances, that are now gonna embrace hope because Jesus did it for them and he can do it for me. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And the power of God um hasn't changed, and God wants to meet them where they are. And so I I love that. Yes, we we should be consuming testimonies of what God's done along with his word. One thing I heard this weekend, I love that you said the first thing we do is get in the word.

SPEAKER_05 24:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

Because usually the first thing that goes is when somebody's going through a battle, is the the most vital things, right? The word, church, prayer. And uh then you become isolated on an island and and you're struggling, and and the very lifelines you have you're not even using. Yeah. But I heard somebody say this that you don't fight a thought with a thought. You have to fight a thought with the word. So you can't just overcompate in your thinking towards a negative thought or to a season of difficulty you're in. It's not gonna work that way. What you have to do is the eternal word of God is you read that and that speaks to where you're at. And there's a lot of tools we have now, concordance and and and Google and hey, give me scriptures on, anxiety or whatever. And and as you begin to digest and and bring that into your heart, that word that speaks to those things, that's how you fight your thoughts. Yeah, right. Um and so somebody, you know, maybe listening, going through a hard season and say, you know, I just want to turn over a new leaf, I want to think differently, again, that's you're gonna run out of gas. That's that's not gonna work, that's not gonna be sustainable. What is sustainable and what's truly life-changing for us is allowing the word of God into those areas. And sometimes even when you're not feeling it, you're reading that scripture, and you're like, dude, I'm not feeling this. Yeah, but I'm reading it, and I'm gonna continue to read it, and I'm gonna, if I have to memorize it, and I'm gonna put it up where I can see it, because this is truth. You know, this is truth, and truth needs to be the very thing that exposes and and and really um dismisses the lies that the enemy puts in our spirit and you know puts before us. So I love that you said that.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

You know, he's the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow, right? And if he did it for me, he can do it for you and and everybody else. And I just uh I really want whoever's out there listening to know just have hope in Jesus and trust him and stop trying to do things on your own.

SPEAKER_03 26:54

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um so let's speak to the church, because obviously there's there's pastors listening, there's staff listening, there may be business leaders that are listening that are faith-filled Christian business people. How can communities, whether it's the church or maybe it's somebody's business or Hope Harbor, become places where people genuinely experience hope? Like how do we how do we make sure that we are facilitating a culture of hope?

SPEAKER_01 27:27

You know, I think it's it's the same at Hope Harbor, is the same for the church, authenticity. Yeah. You know, a place where people can feel feel seen and not judged, right? That where authentic relationships happen, where people can come around each other and know, like, hey, like even the power of the testimony, like, hey, share with what's going on. I'll be real with you, I'll be there, I'll be transparent, and I want to help you. And I think that's the biggest thing is just allow people to come in with their brokenness and meet them where they're at. And I feel like we do a really great job of that here under your leadership and guidance. And I just feel like um nobody makes people feel seen. I feel like more than you do at this church. So I feel like we do a really good job of that. And it's the same at Hope Harbor. Share what's going on with your family, share the brokenness, share the struggles, know it's okay. Like it's not anything that we haven't seen, it's nothing that God hasn't seen. Yeah, but we're gonna love you through it and we're gonna create a safe space for you to do that.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

Yeah, I think the authenticity part of it is so vital uh for the church to be healthy and for for believers to like really have a well-rounded uh out outlook on life, you know, and and our walk of faith. I think that it's just important for us not to not to belittle or shame the trials of life. Yeah. You know, I again I think that's something that we do well here too. Life changes, everybody's welcome. I mean, we have we we have some rough people that walk through the doors on Sunday. Absolutely, yeah. But but the thing that persists through it all is that we love people.

SPEAKER_05 28:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

And and and so I think that, you know, I do think that there was there was a season in the church where that wasn't the case. That's right. And I think that there are still probably some churches that are still fighting through that um and wrestling through that, what that looks like. Um, but when we can get past like that, that judgmental tendency where we're, you know, looking at people's situations and what they're walking through and we're not being supportive, we're not being encouraging, we're not, you know, coming alongside of them as the body of faith, I think that that that's it's just a dangerous place to be. You know, because then we're then we're stepping into the territory of sacrificing. We're we're getting in the way of their encounter with God. Yes. Because we're being, whether it's ignorance or just misconceptions, you know, but just loving people and and and fighting to to not shame people and uh and and to belittle people. I think that's just it's important for the church to get to that place so that people can really like find a community of faith to be encouraged in.

SPEAKER_03 30:03

And I agree with that. I think no matter what people say, because we know the broken world we live in, that we should be very understanding, be a good listener. Yeah, um, let people process, not not be shocked, right? Because we do live in a a sin-scarred, broken world that is getting worse. It seems like I mean, the enemy's enemy's working in people's lives, and it's like, okay, no matter where you come from or what you say or you know what's going on in in your mind, you know, we we're here, we're here to help you, we're here to meet you where you are. Yeah, because that's what Jesus did. And um, and Jesus loved us enough not to leave us there, right? And he began to speak truth to that. Yeah, and he began to love people authentically in a way that um you know, because love does speak truth, you know, and and he did that and and he brought people out, but they first about they first felt cared for. Yeah. And um, in addition to what you guys said about, you know, loving people and being authentic and listening, I think, you know, the other idea is, and I think sometimes we get so in a hurry in the church and in life that we're always looking to the next thing. Yeah, and sometimes we fail to lock eyes with people. And I think of Jesus at the woman of the well, I think of so many of his encounters where I'm sure he was very busy, but he locked eyes and he took time. And sometimes the Lord may, as you pay attention to the Spirit of God and you're you're ministering to somebody, somebody's pouring out on you that the Lord would would probably lead you to pray for them. Yeah, right. That they feel cared enough not just to be seen, but to be spiritually cared for. Like, you know, we're a hospital, we're a trauma center, that we're saying, okay, you know what, I I know that it's it hurts. I I don't understand what you're going through.

SPEAKER_05 31:49

Right.

SPEAKER_03 31:50

Jesus does, because he was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Yeah, right. He understands, but I can pray for you that that you encounter him in a way that no, you know, no person can do for you. Yeah. And uh and I just want you to know that I'll continue praying for you and then mean it. Right. Right? Put it down, write it down. And and uh that's part of authenticity from this side, right? We want them to be authentic. Absolutely. But I think authentic authenticity has to meet authenticity and say, we want to be authentic with you. We we're here for you. We're we want to walk with you. We're not running ahead, we're not looking over your shoulder. We're you know, you're an individual, your story matters. And um, you know, we talk about this that um every number has a name, every person has a story, every story matters to God. Yeah. And uh you don't even know the the power you could unleash in a word of encouragement or a prayer for someone that could make a difference. And that's not just in the church building. In fact, it's probably more outside the church building, right? Is we're paying attention through the week and see people, encounter people that we're we're attentive to how the Spirit of God wants to use his body through the week. And um, so I I I I love that. I love what you guys said of that. And let us be real, let us be authentic, no matter what the wound is, no matter how deep the trauma is, help us meet people where they are and give them hope. If someone listening today feels feels hopeless, um, and I know we talked about daily practices and some things that are really important, um but what what's the one thing, the small step they can take right now to get through where they're at right now? And again, we can kind of relate that to Passion Week and kind of what the disciples had to do. And even though they kind of got in a bad spot and were hiding and fearful and anxious and not really believing like they should, there there were still some things that they could have done to help them navigate that which felt like a long season, right? And and sometimes it may only be a few days or a few weeks or a few months, it may feel like it's been decades. Right. Um, because that's our that's our feelers. And if we're feelers, sometimes we experience that. What's what's one small step they can take right now? If somebody's listening, that's man, I'm in I'm in a horrific season, hard season. What's that one step I can take?

SPEAKER_01 34:10

You know, for me it would be don't isolate. And I think about, you know, oftentimes people, the enemy wants you alone in your own thoughts. Yeah, right. The because the only thing he can have is your mind. He can't have your soul or anything else. He just wants your mind. And and when we're alone and we're speaking those thoughts out loud, we're giving an invitation for him to come in. And I think the biggest thing is again, don't isolate, surround yourself with some community, go to a church, um, go to someone that you know loves Jesus, that will speak truth to you, that will challenge you, um, and don't give the enemy that time. And it's just really focus on that.

SPEAKER_02 34:43

Yeah, that's good. I think even, you know, what you're talking about, don't isolate, even back to that scripture that I shared, Revelation 12, 11, that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. You know, Satan can't do anything to void the power and the blood, but he can convince us that our story doesn't matter. Yeah, he can convince us that our testimony and the testimonies of others aren't are worth it, you know. And so, and so just being being willing to talk about what we're walking through, yeah, you know, is so important in the process of uh of building our faith. And, you know, when we have meetings with other believers and we talk about, hey, this is the reality of what I'm facing, you know, we don't know what like maybe God gave them a word or they listened to a message that morning that's gonna be exactly what what God needs you to hear in that moment to give you hope. But if we listen to the lie of the enemy and we start to believe, well, I just gotta deal with this myself, you know, I just gotta walk through this myself, kind of that mat that uh toxic masculinity, you know what I mean, where it's like, well, my problems are my problems. I don't need to make them anybody else's. But when we actually cross that threshold and start to talk about what's going on and the reality of it in our life, it just opens the door for there to be opportunity. It's like we're setting, it's like we're giving God the opportunity to move, you know, and and we want to eliminate as many barriers as possible. I'll tell you what, if I'm going through a difficult season, I want to call all the people and have them pray for me. I want to be talking about it so that I can be encouraged so that I can intentionally be fighting my mind, you know, my mind, that battle in my mind. I can intentionally be like waging war against what the enemy would be trying to accomplish in my mind in that season. And so I think that we just have to, we have to have boldness just to just to not not harbor it, not try to, you know, what you said, Pastor, fight a thought with a thought, you know, out willpower this thing. Yeah. And uh, and just really like understand, like, no, God's given us tools, like God's given us people too. I mean, man, every Sunday we've got people that come up to the pro to the altar that are walking through stuff and they're taking a step with boldness and faith to be like, you know what? I'm done trying to figure this out myself. Yeah, I need somebody to encourage me, I need somebody to pray for me, and I need to, I need to like take this to the next step. And it's it's the level of freedom that you feel when you're able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

Yeah, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:22

The strategy of the enemy is always to isolate, yeah. So he can defeat. And so there may be people today that, you know, they they've had a failed marriage and they're hurting. Right. Maybe some of them have had kids that are running from God and and they don't feel like they're getting any closer. There may be some today that you know lost a job, or maybe in their business they their business is not going well, or maybe it's a situation where they um they're having struggles with their family, other other family members, and and they're just really, really battling today. And I would say exactly what you said. Don't isolate. You need people. Because what the enemy will do is, and this is one of the ways isolates, is you're the only one going through this. Yeah. Right? You're the only one going through this specific trial. And so what you do is, man, um, man, that's embarrassing her. I have shame. And and and what it does is it put walls up, and then you're suffering in silence. Yep. And that's never the intention of God. You don't see that in scripture. Right. Community is so important. Isolation is never God's plan. And so uh just an encouragement. Maybe it's a pastor that maybe, man, people left your church and and they tore things up going out, and you're just hurting, thinking, Man, should I even stay in ministry? I mean, there's so many different scenarios that God may be speaking to people today to say, you know what, it's not over.

SPEAKER_05 38:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:45

You know, you need to hear that. It's not over. That's a prophetic word over your life, that's a prophetic word over your situation. It's not over. It may feel like it, but it's not. You know, God wants to restore hope and in him and allow you to see hope. And hope is a person, and hope will bring you through it. And uh, and you're gonna not only live through it, I believe you can thrive through it. Yeah, I believe you're gonna get to a place where you know your your life is gonna be a testimony to somebody else. Right. And so I'm so so grateful for this conversation because I know, man, I just personally know some people that are walking through some deep trials that, you know, probably send this podcast to them and say, Hey, you know, let this let this be an encouragement to you in this season. And it let it remind you of Passion Week and the hope of resurrection.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

Which to that too, you know, remembering resurrection didn't end in death, it ended in victory. Yes. And just holding that close to you and remembering that and the outcome.

SPEAKER_03 39:36

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

Yeah. I think I I think that's a great encouragement to leaders that are listening. A lot of times as leaders, we feel we just kind of feel that innate responsibility to to handle everybody else's problems. Yep. And so we don't, we definitely don't want to make our problems somebody else's problems. And, you know, a lot of times as leaders, we're the ones that people come to when they need advice or they need prayer or they need that extra shot of faith, you know. Um, and and so when we're walking through things, it's often difficult not to isolate because because yeah, like you said, we do feel that shit, we do feel shame, we do feel, you know, like we belittle our problems compared to what other people are walking through. And and so for leaders that are listening, I just encourage you, write like, write an email to a like get coffee with another pastor, make a phone call, whatever it is that you need to do, if there's something that you're just wrestling with or need encouragement with, take the time, like be bold, you know, as belie as as the body of faith, like we should, we should want to encourage each other. So just you know, like go into it hopeful, you know. I know sometimes that's a vulnerable place to put yourself when you're when you when you're like, okay, who can I who can I talk to about this? But uh, but sometimes like that step of vulnerability is what we need to really be able to to navigate that well and to and to build our faith in the Lord. And so Amen.

SPEAKER_03 41:07

Amen. Well, Chad, before we um head out, um maybe share with us if somebody has a child that's battling and age-wise and all that, but yeah, really could use some some help. How would they get a hold of Hope Harbor? How would they reach out to your ministry and and and what can they do?

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Yeah, you know, the first thing is just go to our website, which is www.hopemn.org and just fill out a client survey, let people know what's going on so we can try to help you with whatever the situation is. You know, the biggest thing that I've found is is families get to a point they don't really realize they need residential care, you know, and they wait too long. Um and it's just make you know, fill out a teen help survey. Does my teen need help? That's the first step. Um, give us a call. You know, our number is listed right there on the website as well. Somebody will be listening, um, somebody will answer the phone, they'll call, they'll they'll pray with you, um, and they'll walk through that with you. And just knowing that there is hope, you know, God moves and He and He does all those things. And and we're just wanting to be that vessel where people can find healing in the Lord. And, you know, just remembering it's not it's not just your teen sometimes, maybe your whole family needs help. And and just reach out and we're gonna walk alongside you and do those things with you.

SPEAKER_03 42:25

I love that. That it's not just getting help for the kid. Yeah, it's getting help for the family. Yeah. And I love that model that you guys have at Hope Harbor. So, yeah, and if you're a pastor, if if you know if you have a friend that maybe the as parents they're battling, um, I encourage you to to steer them towards Hope Harbor. I was able to steer a family that reached out to me a couple years ago and let this be a testimony to somebody maybe that is wondering if if it's for them. Yeah. Um, but steered them towards you guys. Uh, there was a couple different options they were looking at. They ended up going with Hope Harbor, and uh that girl and her mother testified at one of your celebration events about what God did in their lives and how God restored their family. And so let that be an encouragement for somebody that maybe is like, should I do this? Should I fill out the survey and um give it an opportunity, give God an opportunity through Hope Harbor?

SPEAKER_02 43:17

So awesome. As we wrap up today, Chad, would you just be willing to pray for those that are listening? Um, those that need hope or that might be walking through a difficult season, maybe even people that are, you know, uh pastoring or are helping to encourage people just for anointing on their words and for God to be present in their lives.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Yeah. You know, Father God, we just thank you for today. We thank you for opportunities like the Leading Life Change podcast and Pastor Quentin and Pastor Nate, God. And we just want to pray a special special blessing over all those out there listening today that need hope, that need encouragement, um, to know that God is there and he's faithful and he's one. And again, he's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and he loves you. And just whatever, whatever. Anybody out there is walking through, God, I just pray that you come alongside them, that you quiet their thoughts, that you allow them to lean into you, Father God, that you speak to them in the way that you can, to show them that you're there with them, that you love them, and that you have a plan for them, God. And I just pray that anybody that's out there listening right now, if there's a moment, a word of encouragement, if if something in this podcast speaks to them, God, we just pray that it you allow it to do just that. You know, the point of this podcast isn't to give a platform or anything like that. It's just to testify the goodness of your love and your mercy and your grace. So I just pray that whoever's out there listening needs hope that even if it's one person that they can find it through this podcast. If you're a pastor and you're dealing with the difficult season, just continue to do the things that you know that you already know how to do. Um, get rid of the enemy, allow him out of their thoughts, God. And I just pray uh uh protection of a hedge of protection over all the pastors, over all the listeners, God, over everybody that's out there dealing with hard things. I just thank you for the opportunity to be on here to share words of encouragement with my brothers. And God, I just pray that you bless this and and thank you for all the things that you do in our lives, and it's in your name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 45:10

Thank you for joining us this time on the Leading Life Change podcast. We will catch you in the next one.