Podcast

How Do I Follow God When it’s Hard? Hannah Bowman

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Unshakable Hope Podcast, where real life intersects redeeming love. I’m Kelly Hall, and this is where we wrestle through faith questions, such as how do I trust God’s heart when His ways and delays are breaking mine? We’ll hear from people just like you and me, who have experienced God’s faithfulness when life didn’t unfold as they expected.

My prayer is that God would renew our hope in His Word and His love through these conversations.

Kelly: Hey friends, in case you’re not aware, I am doing a Bible story series this summer called Redemptive Wrestling. I’m being joined by some gifted Bible teachers. And we’re having so much fun as we dive deep into some pretty amazing stories in the Bible that God has used to anchor my heart to his heart during some really hard seasons, times when I was weary of waiting on the Lord [00:01:00] for breakthrough, times when my heart was broken, times when I was just scared half to death about what was happening in my life, or times when God was asking me to follow him into a new adventure in ministry.

Hannah Baldwin has joined me for the first three episodes in this series you Today’s our third one, and it is also my 50th episode of the unshakable hope podcast. I’m full of amazement at what God can do, even with people who are super reluctant to follow him.

This whole story alone is a huge redemptive wrestling story and I celebrate that. So I’m thankful Hannah gets to join me for this special day. Now, just because some of you have asked, there will be eight episodes in this series.

I will continue to provide links for all the episodes in the show notes. Also, you can go to kellyhall. org and find any of my past podcast episodes. I do highly recommend you go back and listen to Hannah’s story, [00:02:00] which kicked off this series, because I promise y’all will be encouraged.

Today, Hannah and I are going to dive into the story of Jeremiah. And I thought the question We were going to be addressing today was how do I trust God when things in my life are going from hard to harder? We will talk about that, but I’ll be talking about that question a lot more next week.

This week, we’re really laying a foundation that is absolutely essential for each one of us because it offers a framework for all the wrestling of life. Jeremiah was a master at wrestling through some really, really hard things with God. And yet Jeremiah remained obedient to Him. His heart of courage is such a beautiful example to us and helps us answer the question. How do I follow God when life gets hard? So let me introduce you again to Hannah. She founded a ministry called livingfromtheoverflow. com. She has tons of helpful resources on [00:03:00] there. She is an author, speaker, podcaster, wife, and mom.

And now she is a good friend of mine. I’m so grateful to have her here with me today. So Hannah, welcome to the show.

Hannah: Thank you, Kelly. It’s a joy to be here today with you.

Kelly: We’re only going to do chapter one today, and I’m wondering if you could just give us an overview of who Jeremiah was and what was going on.

Hannah: Well, sure. I’d be happy to. I love Jeremiah. I resonate with Jeremiah a lot. He kind of on the surface level is a social outcast. I’m not saying I’m a social outcast, but I definitely know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in and thinking to yourself something’s just not quite right here.

And I feel like ….poor Jeremiah, so much of his life was being obedient to the Lord and being a mouthpiece for the Lord to a people who really didn’t want to hear what the Lord had to say.

And so Jeremiah’s nickname is the weeping prophet, the lamenting prophet, because he had such a [00:04:00] burden for his people to turn and repent to the ways of the Lord and in a time for this nation that was really hard and it went from hard to harder and Jeremiah’s life and his calling kind of went from hard, the harder. And so I think that all of us know what it feels like.

To be in a hard season, and most of us know what it feels like to be in a hard season that gets harder than we ever thought it could be. And so I just resonate and relate to Jeremiah a lot in that sense. Yeah. And I have found a lot of hope and strength in his words spoken so many years ago.

Kelly: Me too. I love that.And you know, what’s interesting is he had a 40 year ministry. I love how often 40 years comes up in the Bible. Yeah. Okay. So we’re just going to read a portion. In chapter one, God calls him. I’ve heard so many people find encouragement in just these few words.

So would you mind reading Hannah verses [00:05:00] five through seven?

Hannah: Sure. So Jeremiah chapter one verses five through seven say, I chose you before I formed you in the womb. I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. But I protested, Oh no, Lord God, look, I don’t know how to speak since I’m only a youth.

Then the Lord said to me, do not say I am only a youth for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you.

Kelly: So God is calling him. His dad was a priest and he has this priestly family. He has a godly upbringing and he’s probably 17 to 20 years old from what the commentaries I read said, but I love what we learn in that very first verse. I chose you. And the NIV says, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born. I set you apart and I appointed [00:06:00] you. And so we learn some pretty important things about our relationship with God right there in that verse.

What stands out to you, Hannah?

Hannah: Well, what stands out to me is that God has a very distinct purpose for our lives before we are even born. And he is forming it He already knows it, but even while he’s physically forming us in our mother’s womb, he is forming the purpose and the giftings and the talents and everything we’re going to need to walk out our calling here on this side of heaven.

Kelly: That is so encouraging. Every one of us have a call. You might read this and you might think, well, this applies to pastors or people called into ministry, but every single one of us are born with a call that can only be carried out by us. If we don’t fulfill it, it’s never going to be fulfilled in the way it would have been had we followed God into this place.

Hannah: Right.

Kelly: Psalm 139 verse 16 says, [00:07:00] all the days ordained for me were written in the book before one of them came to be. God knows who we are, whether we follow him or not. He created you. He knows you. He has a call on your life. He loves you. Yes.

Hannah: Yes. I take so much comfort in that. And It’s really amazing when we sit in this truth that, well, I was chosen by God, you know, and like you said, the NIV says, before I formed you, I knew you, so God knows us intimately. I’m pretty confident that the root meaning of no is an intimate knowing like a husband and wife know each other.

And it’s like, God knew all of us, like every single. fiber cell, thought, feeling, emotion, desire, distaste that I would have before I was even born. And it brings me a lot of comfort because a big lie from the enemy is that we’re all alone and no one understands us or that we’re rejected or we don’t have a purpose.

But that’s [00:08:00] a big fat lie as we see right here in Jeremiah chapter one. Verse five. God intimately knows us. God’s always with us. God has purpose for us. And we are never ever alone.. It really amps me up.

Kelly: The fact that we can feel so overlooked in our lives, we can feel so unknown. But you are intimately known by your creator. God, who has a purpose for you and with loving intention created you for that purpose. Ephesians 2 10 in the NLT it says for we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. So he’s not saying here, you have to earn your salvation, go and do.

He’s saying, I have so many rich blessings for you that you get to walk in that I have planned for you. And the part that I love so much is he says you’re a masterpiece. Yes. So [00:09:00] many times in our lives, we may feel like. A misfit, like we don’t fit in. We don’t belong. We’re not enough. I’ve heard so many people say that.

I felt that myself, even as an officer’s wife, as I stepped into that command position, so many of them were Dressing up in certain ways and having certain things on their tables. I didn’t have any of that. I was much more laid back

Hannah: that would be me.

Kelly: So there were times I thought, okay, don’t touch anything. Don’t say anything. But God says you’re a masterpiece. I created you for this time. You were placed here for such a time as this, and you’re not a misfit because of his empowering in you.

Hannah: Yeah, my, I have a really good friend. Her name’s Tabria Catchings, and she also has a YouTube channel. And we were podcasting together once. And she’s like, so many of us think that we’re just like, maybe the frame to the masterpiece. And she’s like, girl, you’re not the frame. You are the masterpiece. It’s just [00:10:00] like, we, but we do that, right? Like we’re, maybe I can just be this frame or this supporting piece, or maybe even just the screw that holds the frame together, but that’s not true.

We are actually a masterpiece. And in the NIV, it says we are God’s Workmanship and Kelly and I were talking before we hit record on this podcast. Like my dad can build anything. My father in law is also a carpenter and it’s like, these men can literally build anything and anything they put their hands to is a workmanship.

It is a masterpiece. It takes intentionality. It takes time. It takes forethought that to see in their mind, what it is they’re creating before they create it. And to watch it come to life is such a beautiful thing. And it’s that’s who we are to God. We are his workmanship. We are his masterpiece. We are not this afterthought supporting piece.

We’re the masterpiece.

Kelly: That is so powerful. I love that. We can write that on our bathroom mirror every morning. Just say it to yourself. I’m created by God as his [00:11:00] masterpiece. I’m not the frame.

Hannah: That’s right.

Kelly: Let’s move into the wrestling portion so Jeremiah  says, I don’t know how to speak. I’m only a child. Throughout scriptures, we always see people who are being called by God with an excuse on their lips or with insecurities being voiced. And that’s what we see right here. And then the Lord’s reply is don’t say that. Stop speaking those excuses and lies. And then he just tells him how to speak what is true. Why don’t you talk to us about that?

Hannah: Yeah, well, it just makes me think of like You know, the callings God puts on our lives, like it could be to disciple our children, it could be to be an encouraging wife, it could be to run a company, you know, there’s so many, there’s so many different things. And I think for us in modern terms, in modern times, a lot of us would say, I don’t have the time., I can’t do this because of the lack of this [00:12:00] resource or the lack of this wiring or the lack of this connection.

And cause I think we can read this, you know, and we’re like, well, I’m not. I don’t really relate to that. I don’t feel young. I don’t feel necessarily inexperienced, but I think in our scarcity mindset culture for a lot of us, it’s, I don’t have time. I don’t have the money. I don’t have the margin. I don’t have the personality.  I just think it’s so fascinating because sometimes I think God calls us to the things he knows we think we can’t do so that we have to rely on him in a whole new way. And so we can be like, Well, actually I truly can do anything through, through him, through the one who gives me strength, you know?

Kelly: That is so true. I am enough in Christ. And a phrase so many people have heard is God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. And even though it may be super familiar, it’s full of truth that you were just explaining.

Hannah: Yeah. And so it’s just what I love about this is it’s like Jeremiah gives us permission to give our excuses to [00:13:00] God. He’s like, it’s just like we were talking about last time about how David, you know, he shows us how to be honest before God, but to house our feelings within the truth of who God is. And here Jeremiah is also showing us like a formula for our emotions and a formula for our less than, or our not enoughness, or our failings is just be honest. Yeah. Just be honest with God. He knows it anyways. He knows you feel this way, but for us, God doesn’t need us to be honest for his sake. He needs us to be honest for our sake, because it’s in this, in the vulnerability and the transparency, authenticity with God is we’re able to release that to him.

And we’re like, Hey, this is how I feel. And now I’ve made room to hear what you actually have to say about it.

Kelly: Absolutely. That is exactly what we have to do. It’s impossible to receive God’s truth into our hearts, into the depths of our hearts to really receive it and embrace it. Unless we pour out.And truth, tell everything that’s standing in the way, whether it’s [00:14:00] because we’re afraid or because like you said, we just have a lot of excuses and a lot of concerns about what it is he’s saying does, or maybe even it’s just confusion. And if you don’t voice your confusion, it becomes a roadblock to following the Lord wholeheartedly.

Hannah: Absolutely. My favorite question to ask God is inspired by Jamie Winship and it’s Lord, what do you want me to know? Like I, I read my Bible in the morning and after I’m done reading through my plan, I’m like, Lord, what do you want me to know from this today? Or we’re in a tough season in parenting right now.

And I literally just like, babe. Telling my husband, we got to go to the Lord and ask him, what do you want me to know right now? Yeah. Cause like I’m not seeing whatever it is. I need to know.

Kelly: That’s one of my favorite questions to ask God as well. And either God, what do you want to say about this? Like we need to hear from you, God. And he promises if you call to me, I will answer. You have [00:15:00] discovered, as I have, that it’s when we ask questions that our hearts are poised to receive an answer.

Hannah: Yes, exactly. It makes me think of our kids were in public school for a season and then it became very evident that the Lord was calling us to bring them back. back home to homeschool. And I was terrified to do it again because our first attempt at it went okay until it did not. Yeah. And so, but I just had to keep coming back to her like, what do you want me to know? Because anxiety is great within me. What do you want to know? Because every time I think about taking these kids out of school and bringing them home, I’m feeling panicrise up within me. And he just kept telling me, this is going to be a redemptive season for your family. And I was like, okay. But if I had not been honest with him, if I had not gone to him and been like, this is how I’m feeling. This doesn’t feel like maybe we should be doing this. And I would just ask him, what do you want me to know?

He would speak right to where my insecurity was lying that I was gonna, it was going to be a mistake to take my [00:16:00] kids out of school. It wasn’t going to go well. It was going to push me over the edge. It was going to push them, you know, all of these lines. And he just kept telling me it’s going to be a redemptive season.

And what’s so beautiful about that is, and I housed our entire first semester back in homeschool of, no, this is a redeeming season. So I don’t need to place a lot of expectations on myself or the kids. I don’t need to commit to all of these things. I don’t need to have them in all these extracurriculars.

This is a redemptive season. And so even the Lord. Giving me that word because I was honest with him about my feelings and kept asking him, what do you want me to know? It was something that I held on to, to be able to follow through with our decision, but then it also was the framework for how we executed the decision.

And so I see that in Jeremiah as well, where he’s bringing this to the Lord. He’s like, this is how I feel. And the Lord’s like, well, this is what’s actually true. And Jeremiah takes that for what it is. And I know he used that as the framework to execute all of the decisions as to whether or not he was going to be obedient to the Lord, how he was going to speak with the [00:17:00] Lord, told him to the immediacy of when he was going to speak it because he took the Lord at face value and really relied on what the Lord said instead of his feelings.

Kelly: Yes, I’ve often wondered how many times he came back to the memory. When God speaks, his word is always true. He never lies. He doesn’t change his mind. He’s not tricking us when we can go back to what God said, even if he hasn’t spoken to us recently, what is the last thing God you told me about this and go back, read it, camp on it.

Think about it. We know it came from God. So we just keep rehearsing it in our mind and asking the question, what do I need to know about this? How does this help me today? And I know Jeremiah came back to this calling on his life because his life was so full of difficulty.

People plotted to take his life. Nobody believed his word. He had death threats and sometimes Even in one place and 11 verse 18, God reveals [00:18:00] to him a death threat that had been, that was taking place. And he said, I was like a lamb going to the slaughter. I had no idea, but God revealed it to him and saved his life.

And so I know he kept going back to this when things were hard and saying, God, you called me. I didn’t imagine this. This is from you. I’m not going to talk about being young or being ill equipped because you’ve told me don’t be afraid.

Because I’m with you and I’ll rescue you. And so every time God saved his life, , Jeremiah was adding up this long list of God’s favor being poured out of on him, he was adding up this list of God’s faithfulness. And God’s reminder, don’t be afraid. I am with you. Like that’s his answer. That was his answer to Moses. That was his answer to Gideon. That was his answer to David.

That’s the best promise.

Hannah: It is the best promise because in Corinthians, I [00:19:00] can’t, I can never remember if it’s one or two, but it’s 3:18. It’s like where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and he is with us.

All the time. So everywhere we go, we have access to freedom and not just like a little bit of freedom, but deeper measure of freedom. And so it’s like, it’s a big promise. It’s a big reality. It’s huge. It’s life changing. It’s miraculous that the God of the universe. Is with us everywhere we go. And as a result, we are never trapped by people’s opinions.

We are never trapped by our circumstances. We are never trapped by our health, our finances, our emotions, none of that. Because wherever the spirit is, we have freedom and the spirit is everywhere we go. So it’s just like. To me,

Kelly: Mind-Blowing! And along those same lines, 1 Corinthians 4 20 says the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk. It’s a matter of power. We have the presence of redemptive power pouring out of us, filling us up, working on our behalf. At all times. Yeah. Remember one time I was very [00:20:00] discouraged in ministry and it seemed like, okay, God’s calling me, but nothing is happening. There’s I’m not seeing much fruit and I’m feeling very stuck.

And God brought me to that scripture. The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk. It’s a matter of power. My redemptive power is at work in you. Through you right here, right now. And man, that just infused me. It infused me with so much God confidence in that moment. I love that.

Let’s go to verse 11 and 12. And this is a powerful promise that God has used so many times in my life. When god’s promises didn’t seem to align very well with the circumstances in my life.

So I’m going to read it and then I’m going to let Hannah speak to it . But the word of the Lord came to me, what do you see Jeremiah? So . God gives him a vision and Jeremiah says, I see the branch of an almond tree.

And then the Lord said to me, you have seen correctly for I’m watching to see that my word is fulfilled. [00:21:00] And as English speakers that comes across really like what in the world is he talking about? But this is such a powerful promise. Do you want to say anything about that?

Hannah: Yeah. So I’m a bit of a word geek. I always have been, and so I love blueletterbible. org for your listeners. It’s a fabulous resource to take, you know, all of this is translated into English. And so we just don’t have quite as many words and we don’t have quite the right words always to convey what’s actually going on in the text.

But if you look at the root meaning of the word or what the root word is for almond tree, And what the root word is for watching in the Hebrew, there’s only one letter that’s different and it’s just a vowel. It goes from an A to an O, I believe. And so it’s, we’re like, what? This is so random. He sees an almond tree and the Lord’s like, yes, I’m watching you.

But the Lord is using symbolism here. The promise of an almond tree, like those words are so similar. And he’s like, I’m telling you, I watch over my word to accomplish it. So [00:22:00] the Lord doesn’t just speak out things to us. He makes sure that he makes sure that it comes to fruition. And it’s just another layer of the cake.

Of the Bible that God’s word. It’s sure God’s word is never failing. God’s word is it’s a promise to us when he speaks it, we can take it at face value and know that it is going to happen in his perfect time and in his perfect way.

Kelly: Yes, I have those words written out. My Bible is so messy.

Hannah: I love it. It should be. Our Bible should be like a textbook that we highlight and write in and write prayers. And it’s like, it’s a gift we’re going to give to our kids someday.

Kelly: Yeah. If my kids could read it, they would probably love it. Those two Hebrew words. So it’s. S A Q E D. And then the word for watching is S O Q E D. It’s so powerful. God loves to play with words. You see this throughout scripture.

When you take the time to do a Hebrew word study or a Greek word study, depending on what part of the Bible you’re in. [00:23:00] And then on the other side of my, of this page, I have written, the Lord is watching over his word to perform it. Exclamation point. God always keeps his word. Even though Jeremiah had to keep looking to the Lord over and over and over throughout his four decades of ministry, where things just went from hard to harder, he kept looking to the Lord and God kept encouraging him. Jeremiah, I am watching over my word to perform it. Everything I spoke to you will come true. And one of the other facts that I just discovered about the almond tree is that where Jeremiah was from was this town called Anatoth and it was a village that had been given to the priests.

And it was known for its almond trees. . And one thing about the almond tree is it is always the first tree to bud in the spring. And so God was also making the point that I am quickly going to fulfill my word. I am behind it. I’m already moving. And that is [00:24:00] something that is encourages me so much when I know I do not have to pray a certain way, like things are not happening in my life. So I think, Oh, how can I pray to get God’s hand to move? No, he does not need to be manipulated to move on my behalf. He is already moving and every area that concerns my heart.

He’s accomplishing things behind the scene that I wouldn’t believe if he told me.

Hannah: I know there have been so many mornings in this season that I’m in where I’ve woken up and I’ve looked over to my husband. I’m like, the Lord did a work while I was sleeping, you know, and I think that we overcomplicate prayer.

And. Prayer is like, it’s such a beautiful mystery that we have so many clues about, you know, like we, we think we know what prayer is for and what its purpose is and how to pray effectively and all of that. But yet God in his grace and mercy, he’ll just give us good gifts because he’s a good dad that we didn’t even think to ask [00:25:00] for.

And I think we can honestly get works based in our prayer life and forget that the whole purpose is to pursue the heart of the father and to communicate and be in relationship and just keep our heart open to him. And so it’s, you know, for you, for me, for Jeremiah, for people listening in, it’s just such a beautiful reminder that we don’t always have to have the right words.And we don’t always have to say the right words at the right time for the father to do right by us.

Kelly: So powerful. Two of the things I just want to say about prayer, because everything Hannah said is so important the whole purpose is to connect with God’s heart that we may know him. He already knows us in this intimate way, like we’ve talked about, but we have the privilege of seeing him. Stepping into that knowing and there is so much more to discover about his heart and every day he is pleased to reveal more of who he is to us.

One of the things that I have done and I’ve heard a lot of people that I respect in the [00:26:00] ministry that is so common with all of them is they start with a moment of silence. Silence. And I had started doing that previously where I would just sit with the Lord and I would imagine his love just surrounding me.

And as I just sat in his love. It was amazing. The things that would happen in my heart. Sometimes I would just start crying and I would sense that God was just restoring some tattered pieces of my soul. I couldn’t even put words to. Yeah, there are powerful things that happen when we just sit with the Lord, just acknowledge him.

And then the other question I would often ask. Is Lord, help me say the deepest, truest things, what are the deepest truths? What is going on deep inside of me? What am I afraid of?

What is holding me back? What am I missing about who God is? . And that’s actually a prayer that came out of Psalm 139, the very end where David praise God, search me and know me [00:27:00] that I can know if there’s anything standing in the way of following you more closely.That’s my paraphrase. So Hannah, I love these truths that you have shared. what else do you want to say?

Hannah: Well, I’m just sitting here absorbing what you’re saying about prayer.

And like, , I am a prayer warrior. I’m not tooting my own horn. That is a label the Lord has given me. And so I’m very passionate. About prayer. And I’m passionate about praying God’s word because. It does something inside of us. It fuses, like you were talking about, that fusion, like your tattered pieces of your heart coming back together.

The Holy Spirit fusing things back together and a lot of that has happened for me. You know, he does work in me while I’m sleeping. He’ll work in my mind. Then dreams to me at night and he’ll be doing, he’ll be doing all of that, but a way that I have partnered with him and I have been very intentional and actionable is praying scripture.

And so even like. In Jeremiah, verse five of chapter [00:28:00] one, I chose you before I formed you in the womb. I set you apart before you were born. Okay, what does it look like to pray that? Lord, thank you that you chose me before you formed me in my mother’s womb. Thank you that you set me apart before I was born.

Thank you that you have appointed me for a specific purpose on this earth. And if it does something inside of us, it makes us more aware of the power of the Holy Spirit, more aware of the living, breathing, active word of God, and more aware of how special and how chosen we are by our father who created us to be a masterpiece.

And so in seasons that are hard and only getting harder, like my lifeline has been prayer, and it’s not been anything fancy. It’s been picking up my Bible and saying, Lord, Thank you that you chose me before you formed me. Thank you that you set me apart. Thank you that you have a specific purpose for me.

I’m taking my cue from the people that have walked hard and harder because you’re not a stranger to that. I’m not a stranger to that. If people don’t know what I’m talking about, you can listen [00:29:00] to my sharing some of my story that I did with Kelly a couple episodes ago. Cause I don’t think we really have time to re unpack things here, but just that the power of prayer and partnering with the father’s heart.

Kelly: Amen. So powerful. We’re going to talk about some practical strategies regarding prayer. And we have several more stories to share . But first, Hannah, I’m so grateful you shared that example of your homeschooling adventure.

You didn’t know what it was going to look like. You were scared to death, but you definitely sensed God calling you and you wrestled through that. And that’s what Jeremiah one is all about. It’s about God’s call on our lives. And then the fact that he is saying, I’m the one that’s going to carry it out. It’s not up to you to, to work the results. And that’s a place of such freedom. So I want to share a story from my own life , and I just want to talk to our listeners for a minute, you know, whether God is calling you.

Right now to step into a new job or to step into a new role, or maybe there’s a dream. He’s been [00:30:00] birthing in your heart that you want to talk to him about, and you want to have the courage to just walk forward in it. Or maybe he’s calling you to support someone who’s been struggling, or even to step in.

To step into the process of reconciling a relationship, a hard relationship in your life, whatever it is, and we just pray the Lord will use the examples we’re sharing and the power of his word to just walk you into that next step.

So there was this time in my own life where God had called me to write courageous faith. And that is a whole long up and down journey that was crazy and hard for me to step over so much fear. But for three years I had been teaching it and writing it and editing it. And then God told me to write it for publication.

And then he added this wonderful idea to actually film a DVD to go along with it and tell our big story, our 20 years of raising kids with special needs. And I was so mad that he had done that. And I [00:31:00] was terrified of, you know, I was still trapped in a lot of people pleasing. So I told God, , I’ve noticed there’s a lot of Christians out there who write books and that you’re not making them film a DVD. So I just really want to talk to you about that. I wanted God to let me off the hook, but he wouldn’t. And so he and I just went to our women’s group and I said, okay, you know, God is making me do this.

This is not about me. I promise. I need an audience for this filming. Please come. I do not want to be filming it in front of an open, empty sanctuary. And so all these people agreed to come and support me. And it was so great. So sweet and we had a guy that worked at our church who was going to record it and everything was planned.We had food that we were going to bring afterwards to share with people. And then our pastor called us the night before the filming. And he said, You’re not going to be able to do this because the guy who was going to do the filming no longer works for our church. And I can tell you, I’m so thankful my husband answered the phone [00:32:00] because he said, I hope this isn’t a big inconvenience. And my husband replied, Oh, of course not. You know, you got to do what you got to do.

Okay. That was the right response. I would have had so many more words to say! We immediately got on the phone. We got in touch with everyone that we could think of and said, it’s canceled. We’ll get back to you when it’s rescheduled. And then we had to be there at the church at the time when it was going to happen, because we knew we hadn’t reached everyone. And so we were explaining to them and turning them away.

And then I’m sitting with the Lord and just saying, Oh, maybe you’re letting me off the hook. I’d be fine with that. That sounds like a good plan. Let’s just skip this whole DVD recording thing, but God wouldn’t do it. And he drew me to this passage. This is how he spoke to me, this passage from Jeremiah, where he says in verse seven and eight.

Don’t say I’m only a child. , and mine was don’t say you’re not equipped for this. Don’t say you’re not [00:33:00] qualified. He knew I had fear of what people would think, but he said to me, Go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you to and don’t be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you.

And I read that that day and it came with so much authority and yet it came with so much comfort. I sensed him saying, I’m going to help you. I’m going to be with you. And there was some freedom, but then there was also like this deadline of when I had to release the DVD so they could be, you know, reproduced and put in the Bible study.

And so I just kept every day just going to the Lord and he brought a song, I can’t remember the, the artist who sings this, but something like I’m by your side and just reminding me every day. This was from him. He was walking me through it. I was not abandoned and he was going to make a way.

And before long, we did get it recorded and the audience was much, much smaller than it would have been. But God allowed it [00:34:00] to happen. , but the thing that I just want to communicate to people and Hannah, I know you resonate with this so deeply is that when God calls us to do something, he’s the one who’s responsible for the result.

Hannah: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we see that. Here in Jeremiah five, he says to Jeremiah. I chose you before I formed you. I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet and then in seven and eight he talks to him like, here’s how you’re going to walk this out. And it’s You know, when we’re in seasons of the Lord’s calling and a tangible purpose is laid out before us and we’re pursuing that, but the outcome takes an unexpected turn or the, or the path to the outcome.

Like there’s an unexpected plot twist. It can be so easy to doubt that we heard correctly or to think maybe we did something wrong, but we just have to keep coming back to the truth that nope, God chose me. God set me apart. He appointed me. He is with [00:35:00] me. I’m not abandoned. I’m not forsaken. I trust him.

He’s the author. I’m just part of the story. Um, because it would have been so easy for you to sit in that room. Maybe God’s letting me off the hook. And it would have also equally been very easy for you to sit in disappointment. Like, God, I obeyed you. How could you have allowed this to be the outcome? But you were a faithful steward.

Right. And you trusted him and you kept pursuing him and he allowed it to happen in his perfect timing and his perfect way with just the right size audience and just the right amount of attendees, you know, it’s just like when we can frame it in that. It’s like, actually. The only reason it felt disappointing is because I was expecting something specific, but our job isn’t to expect something specific.

Our job is to abide in him and be with him and trust that he’s with us and he’s, he’s leading and directing us in the way we should go.

Kelly: Yes. Amen. I love what Susie Larson shares that her friend had said to her. Expectations are simply [00:36:00] premeditated disappointments.

Hannah: Yes, it’s so true.

Kelly: So along those same lines, if we are holding the results with open hands before the Lord, like, okay, I’m going to walk in obedience. I don’t know what the path is going to look like. You’re responsible for the results. I just want to give somebody this story that really helped me because I’m a conscientious responsible person.

So what I would do every time God, invited me to step into a new role, I would just scoop up the role and all the responsibility and I’d put it on my back and then I would just carry it like, Oh, it was so heavy. Like I’m responsible now for making this happen. And, I was talking to somebody who said responsibility is actually a word that didn’t even show up in our vocabulary until the industrial age when it was just suddenly get out of your house, go and work because before that, when we were an agrarian society, it was always every day.

You have the ability to respond to the needs of that day. And so you just [00:37:00] step into it. And so when we hold the calling in front of us, then we can partner with the Lord and just respond to the ways he’s leading us. And it’s totally different.

Hannah: It is totally different.

It actually, there’s such a beautiful connection between Jeremiah 1, 8 and John 15. And, and Jeremiah 1, 8. God is saying, don’t be afraid of anyone for I will be with you to rescue you. So when you’re talking about industrial culture versus agrarian culture, like this with-ness, this remaining, this abiding God is with us.

That’s how we’re rescued. God is with us. That’s how we don’t have to carry everything on our back. It’s how we can hold things open handed, but we also have to be with him. You know, Jesus is the vine. The father is the gardener. We are the branches and we cannot bear fruit. On our own. And we can’t bear much fruit or fruit that will last on our own.

Only we can only do that if we’re connected to the vine and we’re allowing the father, God, the gardener to, to prune things out of us that [00:38:00] don’t belong. And so, so many times we put this burden on our back and it just does not belong there. And if we really want to bear lasting fruit, nutritious fruits.

helpful fruit. All we have to do is abide in his presence, abide in his word, just be with him. And anytime there’s an unexpected plot twist that we didn’t see coming, it’s honestly just an opportunity to give God thanks and say, Hey, thank you for leading me. Thank you for not letting my limited understanding dictate how this path goes.

Thank you for loving me so much that you’re actually rescuing me from the plan I had because you have something better. And when we can just. sit with him and remain in him and remain in his goodness and trust that his thoughts are higher than ours, his ways are better than ours. It really just kind of keeps us grounded and, and like really bear our responsibility well, which is just to remain in him and trust him and live open handed and in surrender.

Kelly: Absolutely. And what I hear you talking about, I hear the [00:39:00] word invitation and everything you’re sharing. He’s offering us an invitation to step into the story that he is writing rather than remaining stuck in a story that’s not nearly as good.

Hannah: Yeah, I don’t, I don’t want the kind of good or good enough story.

I want the best story, but we, we can’t have the best story if we aren’t remaining in him. And if we’re not walking with him and if we’re not willing to allow him to rescue us from our limited understanding.

Kelly: Amen. Hannah, I’m going to have you share a story about how praying the word rescued your heart and then I’ll have you close our time by praying for our listeners., I love your example of how we pray the word and I just wanted to add that if you have trouble memorizing the word, just make a list of scriptures that speak to the deepest need of your heart. And it’s so helpful just to pray them every day. As we pray the word of God, it gets written on our heart and this is what infuses our prayers [00:40:00] with power. If you feel like I am so overwhelmed in this situation, I don’t know how to pray, then just grab a verse like one of the ones we’ve mentioned in Jeremiah one, God, thank you that you’re watching over your words, perform it. Thank you that you are with me.

I don’t see it. I’m weary, but thank you that right now. You see me, you know my needs you are fulfilling every promise and every word that you have spoken over my life. Thank you. And when we do that, our hearts are filled with confidence because these are words God has already spoken to us through his word.

So Hannah, I’d love for you to share, your story about how powerfully this was worked out in your life.

Hannah: Okay. So after my third was born, I had really bad postpartum anxiety. And it got to a point where I could not separate what happened in my sleeping thoughts and what happened in my awake thoughts. And so I would get, like, I would have these horrible dreams where I had left my family or I had left my kids in the grocery store and I just left.

Like, I [00:41:00] just abandoned my family. And that is totally the opposite of who I am. Yes, of course. And I would look at my husband, I’d be like, are the kids still here? Cause it was just so real to me. And so my mom, she just really encouraged me to stay in the word. She’s like, you know, this is true. And so what I did is she actually, for my birthday gave me postcards and I wrote down like the same verse and it’s do not fear for I am with you.

Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. And, or like, he will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast upon me because he trusts in me. And so like I had verses like this posted around my house. And so I read them on my little card, stick a piece of masking tape on it, put it on doorways, put it on my bathroom mirror, put it above my toilet, put it above my kitchen sink, put it above my oven, put it above my door to my garage, everywhere where I would pause for three seconds, I would just read it out loud.

And I’m like, this is true. I would literally say out loud, this is true. And I would say, Lord, thank you that this is true, Lord. Thank you that when I set my mind on you, you give me peace. Thank you. When I set my mind on you, I am [00:42:00] not all tattered on the inside.

And it was like maybe five different verses. Total throughout my home, but they were everywhere. They’re on the dashboard in my car, on my steering wheel. Like I couldn’t get away from what I knew was true. And that is how the Lord saw me through that season. And he did such a deep inner work in me of like, this is actually reality.

And so when you go, it’s hard to have, first of all, it’s hard to be pregnant, hard to give birth, hard to go from two to three, because you’re finally out, you’re outnumbered postpartum, anything. Your body’s weird. And then it’s like the hard just kept getting harder and harder and harder, but it was the truth that set me free.

And it was the truth that brought healing to my mind. And it was the truth that centered me. I just had to go back over and over. God says, this is true. God can’t lie. So no matter what my sleeping thoughts are or my awake thoughts are, if they’re not this, then I can’t trust them, but I can trust.

God’s word. And so it’s a really intense season, but the Lord saw me through and I had a lot of other things in place as well. But [00:43:00] like, if I had not done that, I know that season would have gone on and on, you know, I’m so grateful. It’s. There are, I have so many stories like this in my life of how the word has seen me through a hard to harder season and how it’s strengthened me.

It’s not left me barely having made it through. I’m stronger on the other side of that season because of his word.

Kelly: I’m so glad you brought that up. And that’s the redemption that takes place as we wrestle faithfully through everything that stands in the way of trusting God, he makes us stronger. And we, I mean, we can even celebrate the fact that.

Jeremiah’s story is redemptive. He was a world class wrestler, as I mentioned, and yet we are still going back centuries later and being encouraged by the truths that he wrote down for us to see, we discover God’s heart in here. We discover the freedom to wrestle. We discover the faithfulness of God. And we discover that Jeremiah survived.

He came through like this struggle didn’t kill him. [00:44:00] Why? Because God promised I’m going to rescue you. I’m with you. And one of the truths that has anchored me so much over the years is Deuteronomy 31, eight for the Lord himself has gone before you and will be with you. He’ll never leave you nor forsake you.

So don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. I can’t tell you the thousands of times that I have spoken that out loud and saying, this is who you are. And this is how you work right here, right now, today, you’ve already gone before me, you hold a solution in your hands to this very difficult season I am walking in, but I know that as I walk forward, I get to discover the gifts and the blessings and the favor that you poured out on us in this season.

I’m wondering, Hannah, as we close, if you wouldn’t mind praying for people who might just need to be reminded of these very truths in their hard to harder life right now.

Hannah: Yes, it would be my honor. Father God, we just thank you so much that you are always with us. That you do [00:45:00] not abandon us.

You don’t get tired of us. You don’t get sick of us. You don’t look at us and think, come on, I’ll just get it together. But you look at us and you have compassion on us. And you look at us and you love to send reminders of your goodness. And you love to send reminders of the truth that when we are weak, your strength is made perfect.

We just have to turn to you. And so Lord, I pray for. I pray for your children who are going through really hard seasons. Who perhaps are feeling tempted to doubt your goodness or to doubt that you’re still with them or to doubt that you love them, or maybe they’re believing the lie that they’ve done something to deserve what they’re walking through.

Lord, I pray that you would reveal the truth of John 3 17, that you sent your son not to shame this world, but to set this world free.

And

I pray Lord that you would bring a deeper measure of freedom and peace and hope to everyone who needs it. That the season would actually [00:46:00] be a beautiful unfolding of your faithfulness and that your word never returns void and that you are the keeper and the watcher of your word.

It is impossible for you to lie. It’s impossible for you to go back on your promises. And so I pray today, Lord, that you would impart fresh faith, that you would impart fresh strength, that you would impart a renewed spirit, that you would grant Everybody listening the ability to say, thank you, Lord, that you chose me before you made me.

Thank you that i’m set apart that you set me apart before I was born. Thank you, Lord that you have specific plans and purposes for my life. I pray Lord that we would rise above our circumstances and we would see things through a kingdom minded lens. That the truth is that whatever the enemy intends for evil you work together for good not just for our life.

But to expand your kingdom and to minister to the hearts of people who need it the most. So I pray Lord that we would lay down and surrender any lies we’ve [00:47:00] been believing, any pain we’ve been hanging onto, any lies Lord that have been controlling us, that we would lay those down in full surrender to you and that we would look to you and we would ask you, what do you want me to know?

And that we would take it for the truth it is, and we would walk forward in the victory that is ours for the taking. It’s in your name I pray.

Kelly: Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Hannah. What a blessing.

Hannah: It’s my pleasure. I love coming on with you.

If you were encouraged in your faith today, it’d be great if you’d help get the word out by subscribing, sharing with a friend or leaving a review. I’d love to hear from you. You can reach out through my website, kellyhall. org and pick up some free resources while you’re there. Thanks for listening to the Unshakable Hope Podcast.