1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 2: I knew the scriptures and I know the character of God. 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 2: Then I've walked with God for many years, and I 4 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 2: knew that his grace would be sufficient. But knowing it 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 2: in your mind because you've memorized the scripture and walking 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 2: it out in daily life completely different. 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: Welcome to the. 8 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 3: Faith of a Fear podcast, where we share powerful truths 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 3: to quiet anxiety and fear big and small. 10 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Carol McCracken. 11 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 3: Now, if you've ever wondered, can I trust God when 12 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 3: life doesn't turn out the way I hope today's conversation 13 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 3: is for you. Now, here's the lie that we're naming today. 14 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 3: If my circumstances don't change, my. 15 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: Faith will fail. But here's the truth. God's presence isn't. 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 3: Dependent on our circumstances. He's faithful even in the dark. 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 3: What happens when your life changes overnight and there's nothing 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,119 Speaker 3: you can do to fix it, when the prayers don't 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 3: bring healing and the outcome isn't what you hope for. 20 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 3: Today's guest, Chad Roberts, knows that reality firsthand. After unexpectedly 21 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 3: losing his sight, Chad had to wrestle with what it 22 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 3: means to really trust God in the dark, and in 23 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 3: his book Blind Faith, Seeing God through the Darkness, he 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 3: helps us see how suffering can deepen, hout destroy our faith. Chad, 25 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:32,839 Speaker 3: welcome to Faith over Fear. 26 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 4: Thank you for having me. 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: It's a pleasure. 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 3: Can you share what happened and how the journey of 29 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:39,559 Speaker 3: losing your site began? 30 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 4: Absolutely. 31 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,639 Speaker 2: I was thirty eight years old when I went blind. Okay, 32 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 2: I had been training pastures in Central America. We hiked 33 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 2: a very large mountain to go to the top of 34 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 2: a Christian radio tower. When I got to the top 35 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 2: of that tower, blood vessels burst. It was like looking 36 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: through a spider web of blood. Of course, the blood 37 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: quickly dissipated, but as you can imagine, I was panicking internally. 38 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 2: But when I got home, I went and of course 39 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 2: they said, Chad, you're gonna have to go to a 40 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: retina specialist. Chad, You're gonna have to have surgery. I 41 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 2: had two failled surgeries back to back, and in this 42 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 2: second felled surgery, the surgeon accidentally toward my retina and 43 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 2: then fifteen months later I was completely blind. 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 4: In my other eyes. 45 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 2: People ask me today if I'm visually impaired or am 46 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 2: I completely blind? 47 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 3: No? 48 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 2: I am one hundred percent blind. I can look directly 49 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 2: into the sun, feel its heat, but not see any. 50 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 4: Light at all. 51 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 3: Wow, when you realize that your blindness might not be temporary, 52 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 3: what was the first lie that tried to take root 53 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 3: in your mind? 54 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 2: Well, it felt like there were more questions and there 55 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 2: were answers. Yeah, and I thought, what kind of pressure 56 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 2: is this going to put on my wife and my 57 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 2: four young children? 58 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 4: So young? How could I go on pastoring? How could I. 59 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 2: Even preach when I can't even see a Bible? But 60 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 2: the greatest question that we had to wrestle through is 61 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 2: how is God good even when life isn't? And that's 62 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: why we've written this book. We know what it is 63 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 2: to doubt and to wonder and to go into those 64 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 2: areas of have I made God angry? Or why has 65 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 2: God allowed this when he could so easily prevent it? 66 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 2: And he taught me that he doesn't do anything haphazardly. 67 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 2: He doesn't do anything by accident or coincidental. He has plans, 68 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 2: he has purposes, He has goodness in every single thing 69 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 2: that he allows. 70 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: Did you believe that? Write at first? When you went blind? 71 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 4: I did what I did not know. 72 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 2: So going into it, I knew the scriptures, and I 73 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 2: know the character of God, and I've walked with God 74 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 2: for many years, and I knew that his grace would 75 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 2: be sufficient. But knowing it in your mind because you've 76 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 2: memorized a scripture and walking it out in daily life 77 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 2: completely different. And that's another lesson the Lord's taught me. 78 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 2: There's a difference between knowing scripture because what the scriptures say. 79 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 2: Don't just be a hearer of the word, be a doer. 80 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 2: I had to learn how to do God's word. One 81 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 2: thing I wasn't prepared for as a fully sided man 82 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 2: going blind. No one told me that I would still 83 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,799 Speaker 2: dream and vivid color. Isn't that crazy? I tell my kids, 84 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: I'm only blind half the time. The rest of the 85 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 2: time I'm dreaming. But in those early days, I can't 86 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 2: tell you what it was to wake up from a 87 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 2: vivid dream to pitch blackness. And days like that, my 88 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 2: emotions tried to keep me in bed, and I've done 89 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 2: this more times than I can count. I would set 90 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 2: up on the edge of my bed and I would 91 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 2: say to myself, this is the day that the Lord 92 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 2: has made I will rejoice and I will be glad 93 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 2: in it. And the Lord taught me how to go 94 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 2: from here the word, knowing those scriptures but doing them, 95 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 2: applying them well. 96 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 3: Was there a moment when your fear of not having sight? 97 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,119 Speaker 3: Did it ever turn into something else? Did you have anger? 98 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: And did you have grief? Re viet numb? 99 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 2: It's interesting someone asked me just last weekend. They said, 100 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 2: how long did you stay angry at God? I don't 101 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 2: think I ever felt angry? Confused, yes, despair, yes, questions 102 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 2: all that. But for me it was like a rollercoaster. 103 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 2: One day I would be fine and I would feel productive, 104 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 2: like okay, I could do this. Then the next day 105 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 2: down into despair. And in the early days, the Lord 106 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 2: showed me that I was like a pendulum. I was 107 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 2: just swinging wildly. And what was so terrible is I 108 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 2: never knew where I would land. I would be good 109 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 2: or I would be hopeless. And the Lord just said, no, Chad, 110 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 2: find your center. I don't want you swinging wildly. And 111 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 2: the Lord was so kind and gracious to me. And 112 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: an old man told me when I went blind, and 113 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 2: I really put this in my heart, he said, Chad, 114 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 2: you can let this grind you down, or you can 115 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 2: let it polish you up. And I made the choice 116 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 2: right then to polish me up. What does James one Tuesday? 117 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: Count it all joy? My brothers, when you encounter trials 118 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 2: of various kinds. And the Lord had to teach me 119 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 2: joy is not a feeling, it's not an emotion. If 120 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: I had just sat around and waited for joy to come, 121 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 2: it would have never come. I had to choose joy, 122 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 2: count it all joy. I had to make a deliberate 123 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 2: choice that I was going to be joyful in the Lord. 124 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 2: Even if I couldn't be joyful in my circumstance, I 125 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 2: could be joyful in God. 126 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: I love it. 127 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 3: Your book just doesn't tell your story. You walk us 128 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 3: into Joseph's pit. Oh yeah, joads ashes and ultimately to cross. 129 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 3: So why was it important to root your suffering in 130 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 3: the larger story of Scripture. 131 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 2: It's so important to me because this is not a 132 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 2: personal narrative. My life does not teach anyone how. 133 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:03,359 Speaker 4: To suffer well. 134 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 2: Scripture teaches us how to suffer well. Jesus teaches us 135 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 2: how to suffer well. 136 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 4: All I am as a guide. That's it. 137 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 2: In my darkest days, I found a well of grace 138 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 2: that completely sustained me. And all I'm trying to do 139 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 2: is point people did that exact same? 140 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 4: Well? 141 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 3: Wow, okay, well when you read Joseph's story now, do 142 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 3: you see anything different ly than you did before losing 143 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 3: your sight? 144 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 4: Yes? 145 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 2: I think when I think about Joseph's life, I wonder 146 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 2: the questions that he had. We have the benefit of 147 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 2: looking back. We know he was imprisoned for certain what 148 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 2: was it thirteen years? I think he was imprisoned. He 149 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 2: was probably in his twenties at the time because he 150 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 2: was sold at age seventeen, and some of the timeframes 151 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 2: we don't know. 152 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 4: But best guess is. 153 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 2: We know he was promoted at age thirty, So from 154 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 2: seventeen until age thirty, he didn't know how the story 155 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 2: was going to turn out. And every twist and turn 156 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 2: you know you're rooting for him. He does the right thing, 157 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 2: he makes the right choice, hees godly man, and rather 158 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 2: than reward him, it appears as though God punishes. 159 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 4: Yeah, but what God had? 160 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 2: God had eighty more years of what the Bible calls 161 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 2: Joseph a fruitful vine. That just tells me God's not 162 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,679 Speaker 2: finished with our story. You know, God has so much 163 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 2: more for us. Sometimes we get lost in whatever suffering 164 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 2: we're in. We don't know when it's going to end, 165 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 2: so we just have to be patient and know that 166 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 2: God's working a plan. 167 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 3: Well, I would like it if God would send me 168 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 3: an email sometime and just explain what we're together do that. 169 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 4: That's right. 170 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 2: God's word is lamp to our feet and a light 171 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 2: to our path. Well, a lamp only shows you the 172 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 2: next couple of steps. I want one of those neck 173 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 2: the ear lamps that they put on the trucks. 174 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 4: You know what I'm talking about. I do how far? 175 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 4: I want to see me too. 176 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: I like explanations. I like the whole picture. 177 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 3: And this is why Job is not my favorite character 178 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 3: because he never gets an explanation. I'm uncomfortable with that. 179 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 3: I do better with explanations. And I know we're supposed 180 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 3: to trust. But Joe, he actually got a revelation of God. 181 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: How did that truth shape your heal? 182 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 2: And Job twenty three? Job says, I looked for God 183 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 2: ahead of me. He wasn't there. Behind, he wasn't there. 184 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 2: I couldn't find him on my left or on my right. 185 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 2: So often we feel that way blindness may be unique 186 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 2: to me. The times of darkness, seasons of suffering, times 187 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 2: of uncertainty. That's not uncommon. We all, as Christ followers, 188 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 2: go through that. And what I love about Job is 189 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 2: this was his conclusion. He said, when I looked around 190 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: and I couldn't find God anywhere twenty three nine to ten, 191 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 2: Job said that he knows the path that I take 192 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 2: may not be able to sense God or see what 193 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 2: God's doing. That I can be confident God knows exactly 194 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 2: where I am and he knows what He's doing. And 195 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 2: then Job said, when I have been tried, I will 196 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 2: come forth purer than gold. In other words, there was 197 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 2: purpose in it. God doesn't waste anything that we face. 198 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: I love it. 199 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 3: You talk about building an unshakable confidence in a God 200 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 3: that will never leave us. How is confidence in God 201 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,839 Speaker 3: different than confidence in outcomes? 202 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 2: One of the hardest lessons that the Lord had to 203 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 2: teach me, but he taught me very gently and very graciously. 204 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 2: In Mark eleven twenty two, Jesus said, have faith in God. 205 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 2: And the Lord taught me that in the early days 206 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: of blindness. You know, I'm crying out to God. I'm saying, God, 207 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 2: prevent it, change it, don't let this happen. Don't make 208 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 2: me walk down this path of suffering. And I knew 209 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: God could just speak the word and things would be different. 210 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 2: And as I prepared and I went down this path 211 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 2: and I'm crying out to God, the Lord said, Chad, 212 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 2: what your faith is in is your faith? Your faith 213 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,839 Speaker 2: is in the outcomes that you want. Really, your faith 214 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 2: is in prayer and the outcome of prayer. But Jesus 215 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 2: didn't say either of those things. Jesus said, have faith 216 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 2: in God. And when our faith is in God, because 217 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 2: we know his character, we know his nature. We know 218 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 2: that God is good, and He's working all things together 219 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 2: for our good surely goodness and mercies pursuing us all. 220 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 4: The days of our life. And when we know. 221 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 2: These things, then we gain an unshakable confidence in God that, yeah, 222 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 2: the outcome may not be what I had hoped, The 223 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 2: prayer may not have been answered the way that I 224 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 2: thought that it should. I may feel disappointed or let down, 225 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 2: or I may feel hurt, But at the end of 226 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 2: the day, I trust God and I know that God 227 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 2: is good. 228 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 4: That's an unshakable thing. 229 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: You can tell you're inspirational. 230 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 3: With that being said, what does suffering well, look like 231 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 3: on a Tuesday afternoon when nothing seems inspirational. 232 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 2: Well, that's a great question. And let me tell you 233 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 2: what the Lord I think has taught me. Okay, when 234 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 2: my life came to a grinding halt, I mean I 235 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 2: couldn't just jump in my car zip through town. I 236 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,199 Speaker 2: couldn't go meeting after meeting and place after place. I 237 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 2: couldn't even leave my house if someone wasn't willing to 238 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 2: come pick me up. 239 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 4: What a hard thing. 240 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 2: And so what the Lord taught me was I'm twenty three. 241 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,079 Speaker 2: So many of us we love that chapter. But one 242 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 2: thing I'd never seen before until I went blind. Verse two, 243 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 2: David said he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. 244 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 2: I could feel the hand of God making me to 245 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 2: lie down. When I did, I found that there were lush, 246 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 2: green pastures of contentment that I would have never known 247 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 2: any other way. So what does it mean to suffer? Well, 248 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 2: I think it means to lie down to trust God. 249 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 2: My wife says something all the time that changed my life. 250 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 2: She says, doubt is not the opposite of the faith. 251 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,560 Speaker 2: Control is when we let go and we trust God 252 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 2: and we say God, I don't have to control everything. 253 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 2: That's again going back, have faith in God, not in 254 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 2: what you can control. 255 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 4: That's what I think it means to suffer. Well. 256 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: Well, so how do you guard your heart against bitterness? 257 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 4: That's a great question. 258 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 2: And that's not to say that there's not going to 259 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,359 Speaker 2: be sometimes you have to fight those things. I'm surprised 260 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 2: how quickly anxiety can come on me. I'm surprised how 261 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 2: quickly that discouragement or even being hurt or disappointed with God, all. 262 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 4: Those things come. 263 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 2: But you know what Martin Luther said of the fifteen 264 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 2: Hunts is the way he said, he said, I can't 265 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 2: help it if birds fly around my head that I 266 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 2: can stop them from building a nest. You can't help 267 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 2: so times how you feel, but you don't have to 268 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,559 Speaker 2: stay there to dwell in how you feel. You can 269 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 2: say no, no, no, I'm going to apply God's words. So, yeah, 270 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 2: you know, Paul says that we are fighting a fight 271 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 2: and fighting bitterness and fighting resentment or that's part of 272 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 2: the fight. But remember what Paul called it. He called 273 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 2: it the good fight. Then in our struggles, it's a 274 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 2: good struggle. 275 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 3: And then aman to that boy with that, why don't 276 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 3: we go ahead and take a sponsor break Well, welcome back. 277 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 3: I've been having a wonderful conversation with Chad. And Chad 278 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 3: I have another question, of course, when you lost your sight, 279 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 3: what part of your identity felt threatened? 280 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 4: Well, you asked good questions, Thank you. I was so 281 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 4: afraid of losing my mobility. 282 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 2: The first time that I tried to go to a 283 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 2: public restroom as my eyesight truly failed, I got lost. 284 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 4: I couldn't find my way out for several minutes. It 285 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 4: was embarrassing. 286 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 2: And again to be in public and to ask someone 287 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 2: to help you step to the restroom, it's an embarrassing thing. 288 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 2: Today I have to depend on other people, and really 289 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 2: it's the sweetest part of my ministry now is that 290 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 2: I can't do anything without the help of others. And 291 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 2: that just goes back to what Jesus taught us. He 292 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 2: is the vine, we are the branch. Apart from him, 293 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 2: we can do nothing. And I think in our culture 294 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: and at least it's the way it was in my 295 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 2: life and ministry. I was so self sufficient that I 296 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: was in an area of sin. And that's what Jeremiah 297 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 2: two thirteen says. My people have committed to evils, they've 298 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 2: forsaken me the fountain of living water, and they have 299 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 2: hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns for themselves that can hold 300 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 2: no water me. 301 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 4: And when blindness came, the Lord graciously put me in 302 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 4: a position where I have to depend on so many Wow. 303 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 3: Okay, So how do you separate who you are in 304 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 3: Christ from what you've lost? 305 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 2: I think about it this quite often, and when I 306 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 2: have hard days, and I still have hard days. You know, 307 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 2: my hardest moments my children. Right now, my two girls 308 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 2: are fifteen and thirteen, and my two boys, Hudson just 309 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 2: turned nine today, Today's perfect day. 310 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 4: Hudson and John Mark. 311 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 2: Who's seven, and they all four play about every sport 312 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 2: that you can name. 313 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 4: And when I go to their games, it's the hardest 314 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 4: for me. I feel like a shell. Yeah, I can't 315 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 4: keep up. 316 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 2: I don't know what's going on. They'll ask me to 317 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 2: play ball with them. I can throw it at them, 318 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 2: but I can't catch it. So moments like that, those 319 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 2: aren't my hardest moments, and I still have hard days. 320 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 4: But this is what Paul said. 321 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:00,080 Speaker 2: Paul said, our afflictions are light, and they are or 322 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 2: momentarity compared to the weight of eternal glory. I know 323 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 2: that what we suffer in this life is going to 324 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 2: glorify God for all of eternity. So that means that 325 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 2: you and I we only have a handful of years, 326 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:19,440 Speaker 2: maybe a handful of decades, that we can uniquely glorify 327 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 2: God with suffering, because we have an entire eternity ahead 328 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,920 Speaker 2: of us where there'll be no suffering, to the point. 329 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 4: Christ will wipe away every tear from our eyes. 330 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 3: So what would you say to somebody who feels like 331 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 3: they're suffering has disqualified them from usefulness. 332 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 2: I would say to that precious brother or that precious sister, 333 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 2: I would say, your faith will survive this. Like me, 334 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: you may have lost mobility, and your situation may not 335 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 2: be a physical handicap. It may be a past trauma, 336 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 2: an emotional wound, a law. People sometimes will come to 337 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 2: me and they'll say, Chad, I'm going through this, but 338 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 2: it don't compare to your blindness. And I tell people, no, Listen, 339 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 2: we all face the same devil, we're all fighting the 340 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,439 Speaker 2: same warfare. We're all in the good fight. Loss is loss, 341 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 2: hurt is hurt, grief is grief. We all feel it, 342 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:11,959 Speaker 2: we all face it, and I would say to that 343 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 2: precious brother, that precious sister, I would say, no, your 344 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 2: faith is gonna make it. 345 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 4: Just have your faith in the right place. 346 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 2: Don't have it in you, don't have it in others, 347 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 2: don't have it in some pastor like me, have it 348 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,160 Speaker 2: in God and God alone. 349 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 3: Amen. Okay, Then, so say somebody comes fresh from their 350 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,280 Speaker 3: grief or disappointment, help me out. 351 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: What's the first thing you don't say? 352 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 4: Yeah, you don't be Job's friends. That for sure. There's 353 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 4: plenty of those, right. You know. 354 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 2: I have good friends, and I've got good brothers and sisters, 355 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 2: and they're good people. And I listen, I believe in 356 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 2: divine healing to my core. I believe God's the same 357 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 2: yesterday to day and forever. And I've had well meaning 358 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 2: people who will say, Chad, do you think if you 359 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 2: had more faith and be going through this, oh now, 360 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 2: that will raise my blood pressure? Yeah, because it's opposite 361 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 2: of what Jesus said. What did Jesus say? He said, 362 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 2: if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, 363 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,199 Speaker 2: it's enough to move mountains. 364 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 4: Right. 365 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 2: A lot of people have faith, they just don't know 366 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 2: what to do with their faith. And faith is a 367 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 2: verb action that's where you go from being a hero 368 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 2: of the Word to being a doer. So let scripture say, 369 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 2: rejoice in the Lord. You may not be able to 370 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 2: rejoice in what you're going through, but you can't rejoice 371 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,920 Speaker 2: in the Lord. Scripture says, don't be anxious about anything, 372 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 2: but by everything, with prayers supplication, let your request be 373 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 2: made known to God. Somebody told me when I first 374 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 2: started it in ministry. They said, they said, Chad, there 375 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 2: gonna be times you don't want to pray. My mentor 376 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 2: Terry Whitson, he said, let me tell you what to do, Chad. 377 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 2: In times you don't feel like praying, he said, you 378 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 2: tell God how overwhelmed you feel. You tell God what's wrong. 379 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 2: You tell God why you don't feel like talking to him. 380 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 2: And he said, guess what you just did. You just prayed. 381 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 2: And that's what I would tell believers. Just keep going forward. 382 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,360 Speaker 2: One Peter four nineteen says, let those who suffer according 383 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 2: to the will of God. 384 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 4: Continue to do good. 385 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 2: Don't stop in your suffering, hut up one foot in 386 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,160 Speaker 2: front of the other, and keep going forward. 387 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: That's excellent. 388 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 3: How do we avoid offering cliches or instead offer real hope? 389 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 3: I think you alluded to it. But the first thing 390 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 3: is to try to make somebody feel better, I think, 391 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 3: and then that's all the cliches and everything else. 392 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 2: Well, Romans, I think it's Chapter twelve tells us love 393 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 2: with genuine love. Just be genuine with people, as you 394 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 2: so wonderfully said, I don't need a cliche. What I 395 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 2: need is someone to encourage me in the Lord and 396 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 2: my faith, encourage me with the scriptures. My wife is 397 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 2: so strong in empathy. We celebrated seventeen years last week, 398 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 2: and the longer than I'm married to her, the more 399 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 2: I realize. I don't think I ever really had empathy, 400 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 2: and that's an area I'm trying to grow in. But 401 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 2: you know, people can feel when you're genuine, and I 402 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 2: think we need to treat one another with genuine love. 403 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,919 Speaker 2: When we do that, those silly things will take care 404 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 2: of themselves. 405 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: That's good advice. I like that, Chad. 406 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 3: Was there a moment when you tangibly. 407 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: Since God's nearness and your blindness? 408 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 4: Yes, there had been many, but one that stands out 409 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 4: to me. Just right off the cuff. 410 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 2: I was already blind in my left eye because of 411 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 2: the torn red now, and I was very swiftly losing 412 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 2: eyesight in my right and I was preaching through the 413 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 2: Book of Acts. This was a Saturday night and it 414 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 2: was late, you know, it was maybe PM something like that. 415 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 2: My family was already in bed, and I was just 416 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 2: polishing up, thinking. 417 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 4: Of the last parts of the sermon. 418 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 2: And it was on the chapter where Peter was about 419 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 2: to be executed, and I think that's Acts twelve. And 420 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 2: all of a sudden, a large blood vessel burst behind 421 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 2: my right eye. There was just this black streak across 422 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 2: the middle of my vision. Now I remember, I'm blind 423 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 2: in my left but I've never been totally blind, and 424 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,880 Speaker 2: this black streak goes across the middle of my vision. Instantly, 425 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 2: the undershirt I had on instantly was drenched and sweat. 426 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 2: I just panicked my knees. I cried out to God. 427 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 2: I said, God, please please prevent this. And you know, 428 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 2: as your readers know, the story. The night that Peter 429 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 2: was supposed to be executed, he was chained to Roman 430 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 2: soldiers and an angel appeared in the prison and the 431 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 2: Bible says he's shone with a great light, and that 432 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 2: didn't wake Peter up. You remember what this scripture said, 433 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 2: The angel did he struck him on the arm. Now 434 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 2: you think about that. Peter knew he was supposed to 435 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,439 Speaker 2: be killed the next morning, and he's sleeping soundly. And 436 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,360 Speaker 2: the Lord told me. The Lord said, if Peter can 437 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 2: go to the night before he was to be executed, 438 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 2: you can sleep and be peaceful. 439 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 4: Now. Wow, And I did, and I slept great that night. 440 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 3: Wow, that's that's pretty cool. How can someone recognize God's 441 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,920 Speaker 3: presence when circumstances feel silent. 442 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 2: That's the hardest, when God feels silent, and that that 443 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 2: is one of the most frustrating experiences of being a 444 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 2: Christ follower when you watch God answer so many other 445 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 2: people's prayers, but it feels like Heaven's silent, right, And 446 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 2: that's something that we all go through. I have a 447 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 2: chapter in the book called Delays Are Not Denials. 448 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 4: So many of your readers are familiar with. 449 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,719 Speaker 2: Isaiah, where it says they that weigh upon the Lord 450 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 2: shall renew their stream. I remember God teaching me he's 451 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 2: in the waiting, and I remember the Lord asking me 452 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 2: one day, will you be part of that special group? 453 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 2: I said what group? He said, they not. Everyone's willing 454 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 2: to wait. They that wait upon the Lord. Will you 455 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 2: be part of those. So I would say to the 456 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 2: brother's sister who feels like God is being silent right now, 457 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 2: I would say, don't listen to your emotions because they're 458 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,640 Speaker 2: going to lead you every which way. 459 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 4: Stay in the word. Stay in the word. 460 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 2: Do you remember what Paul did in that awful shipwreck 461 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 2: he was in he ate? 462 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 4: He fed the whole crew. Now can you imagine that 463 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 4: there's a spiritual lesson there. You have to feed your soul. 464 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,679 Speaker 4: You are not self sufficient. I am not self sufficient. 465 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 4: And if you. 466 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 2: Will feed your soul the word of God, it will 467 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 2: sustain you. 468 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: That's good. I have a lot to dwell on today. 469 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:44,720 Speaker 1: All right. 470 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 3: Last question, if you could sit across from the version 471 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 3: of yourself before blindness, what would you tell him about 472 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,119 Speaker 3: what God was going to do through this. 473 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 4: I've never been asked that. What a great question. 474 00:24:58,880 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: Thank you. 475 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 4: Think what I would tell my pre blind self. 476 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 2: I would say, calm down, It's all going to be fine, 477 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 2: and it's all going to be worth it. It is 478 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 2: going to be worth it. God has opened doors through blindness. 479 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 2: Paul said, I have been given a thorn in the side. 480 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,199 Speaker 2: Never would I have said that prior to blindness. I 481 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 2: would have said I've been struck by I've been hit 482 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 2: with you, But given I would have never been able 483 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 2: to say that, and I would tell myself, no, every 484 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 2: word of God is true, every word. So just hold on, 485 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 2: go through it, and you're going to be just fine 486 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 2: and it will be worth it. 487 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 3: Chad, thank you. Your story is such a powerful reminder 488 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 3: that even when life goes dark in ways that we 489 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 3: never expected, God doesn't amen. What stands out to me 490 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 3: is this from what you've said, suffering may change our circumstances, 491 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 3: but it doesn't change God's character. 492 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: You refer to that over and over again. 493 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 3: He's still present, he's still faithful, he's still working even 494 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 3: when we literally see it. So if you're listening today 495 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 3: and you're in a season that feels uncertain, painful, maybe 496 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 3: or completely out of your control, here's your takeaway. You 497 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 3: may not be able to see what God's doing, but 498 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 3: you can trust who he is. And maybe your next 499 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 3: step isn't having all the answers. Maybe it's simply choosing 500 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,640 Speaker 3: to trust Him in the dark is Chad suggests, thank 501 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 3: you for joining us today on Faith over Fear. If 502 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 3: this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend, who 503 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 3: may need some hope right now. And don't forget to 504 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 3: subscribe so you never miss a conversation until next time. 505 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 3: Remember God is with you even here, and you don't 506 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 3: have to live in fear