Perhaps you are facing a time in your life where the world around you seems to be crumbling, and your heart is heavy with the weight of unexpected trials. How, in the midst of our struggles, can we remain steadfast, continue to show up, and face each day with courage and resolve when the pain and fear threaten to steal any last shred of hope we have? Our guests this week believe that every challenge, every hardship, is a part of God's grand design. They found strength in the belief that their trials were not random occurrences, but purposeful events, shaping them, refining them, and guiding them toward a deeper understanding of God’s love for us. 

Jay Hewitt, a pastor in Southern California, found out at 37 years old that he had a malignant brain tumor. What could have sent him into a tailspin fueled him to do something that seemed counterintuitive to someone who would face months of chemo and treatments that would weaken his body: he decided to run an Ironman race. What he learned in this process about his faith and his relationship with God changed his perspective and gave him an appreciation for how God works through our suffering like he’d never had before. Amanda Held Opelt, a seasoned author, speaker, and songwriter, focuses on faith, grief, and creativity. With fifteen years of experience in non-profit and humanitarian work, she’s seen the human love that rises above and surrounds a hurting community—and the hope that gets rediscovered after seemingly, your life is destroyed. 

 

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jesus Always

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Meg Apperson

Upcoming interview: Jana Monroe

 

Jay Hewitt

IRONMAN race

Grade II Astrocytoma

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV

ABC’s Wide World of Sports

Nehemiah 8:10 NIV

I Am Weak, I Am Strong: Building a Resilient Faith for a Resilient Life

 

Amanda Held Opelt

Matthew 26: 36-46 NIV

www.amandaheldopelt.com

Holy Unhappiness

 

Interview Quotes:

“I’d wrestled with God plenty of times before, and I think that real strength comes from wrestling. When you wrestle with God, He strengthens your inner being.” - Jay Hewitt

“I've got the grace that I need to get through this. Somehow, I'm going to get to experience God's power being demonstrated through my weakness. And not only that, but I'm going to get to experience the paradox of faith that it's when I'm weak, that I'm strong.” - Jay Hewitt 

“Any time there's a large obstacle ahead of you, there's great opportunities within that obstacle.” - Jay Hewitt 

“In His power, get up, stay strong, and press on and see the dreams that God has given you be fulfilled in your life.” - Jay Hewitt

“I'm passionate about how the experience of loss or hardship becomes integrated into a person's story—how it makes them who they are, how it impacts their relationship with God and with others, and how people rise up and move forward in the aftermath of grief or a disaster.” - Amanda Held Opelt

“I got to witness what happens when people show up for other people when we live as neighbors and offer ourselves and offer resources to one another and come alongside one another in those spaces of lack.” - Amanda Held Opelt 

“We are given these holy songs of lament as a form of worship, because part of being human made in the image of God, is to suffer pain, and in fact, God Himself is a highly emotive God.” - Amanda Held Opelt 

“I think part of the reason I believe lament is such a high form of worship is that to me, worship is just any time we stand in agreement with God about what is true, about who He is, and who we are, and when we cry out to Him because the world is not as it should be, when we lament injustice and violence, or when we weep over death.” - Amanda Held Opelt

“I think what God really wants with us, where He knows the blessing is, is in intimacy. He wants a relationship with us, and that's where we find the blessing. Relationship with God, intimacy with God, is something He offers to all of us, and sometimes it's actually the path of pain or those uncomfortable emotions. It's the path of lack that brings us into a deeper, richer intimacy with God.” - Amanda Held Opelt

“I love committing to rhythms of prayer and scripture reading, because those practices serve as a safeguard to us when our emotions aren't really feeling connected to God. When we have these habits, they make space for our faith, even when our faith feels small.” - Amanda Held Opelt 

“I think grief will still feel like grief, loss is still going to feel like loss, no matter our commitment to the spiritual disciplines. God doesn't always take away that heavy burden we are carrying, but I do believe He gives us the strength that we need to carry it.” - Amanda Held Opelt 

“My prayer is that as a Christian, I would not be someone who's just marked so much by my happiness, but more that I would be a person who is marked by hope.” - Amanda Held Opelt

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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!

Audio Episodes:     https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7 

Bonus Podcasts:     https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw 

Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer:  https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C 

Peace for Everyday Life:     https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj 

Peace in Uncertain Times:     https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u 

What’s Good?     https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj 

Enneagram:     https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY 

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