Navigating the Shadows: Cultivating Radical Hope and Trust in God's Plan

“Not everything is going to be okay.

And our assignment is to carry this truth without yielding to despair, and while tending to the flames of radical hope — the kind that demands our grittiest love and biggest imagination.“

How do we hold onto hope when we're faced with the stark truth that not everything in life will turn out okay? Journey with Lora East, as we grapple with this haunting reality and the transformative power of radical hope. In this episode, inspired by the wisdom of Simone Sol, we contemplate the gritty reality of life's trials and the resilient faith required to move through them. You'll discover how to cultivate a trust in God that's as unwavering as it is necessary, even when the path forward is veiled in uncertainty. This isn't just about finding light in the darkness; it's about learning to navigate the shadows with a hope that is audacious and love that is tangible.

As we move through our Lenten series, Trustful, we're reminded of the undeniable influence of Jesus Christ's example of gritty love and how His teachings can guide us in fostering trust. By embracing the idea that while not every outcome is within our control—or even within our lifetime—our capacity for hope and love can still flourish. Tune in and be inspired to imagine the boundless possibilities of faith and to employ the greatest version of yourself in the face of life's relentless challenges. Let's embrace this season together, understanding that although everything may not be okay, our trust in God's plan can still shape a future filled with grace and redemption.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Resilient Faith, the podcast.
Opportunities to find deeperresilience within ourselves can
come when life seems mostchallenging.
This podcast is to help youdevelop that resilience and
connection with God.
Being resilient and havingpower starts with faith.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome, friends, to another episode of the Resilient
Faith podcast.
I'm Laura East, the associatepastor at Brentwood Presbyterian
Church.
I came across something onsocial media recently that I

(01:01):
wanted to share with you becauseit really has got me thinking
and I thought maybe you wouldwant to ponder it alongside me.
This comes from Simone Sol, andshe wrote this Not everything

(01:24):
is going to be okay, and ourassignment is to carry this
truth without yielding todespair and while tending to the
flames of radical hope, thekind that demands our grittiest
love and biggest imagination.

(01:45):
I'll read it again Noteverything is going to be okay,
and our assignment is to carrythis truth without yielding to
despair and while tending to theflames of radical hope, the

(02:08):
kind that demands our grittiestlove and biggest imagination.
What comes to mind for me issomething that I feel like I
hear somewhat regularly, whichis that it's all going to be

(02:32):
okay, and if it's not okay, thenit's not over yet.
That's not a direct quote, butthat's just my memory of that
phrasing, and maybe you'refamiliar with that as well this
idea that things will eventuallybe okay, whatever that means,

(02:59):
whether that's in a few monthsor in a few years or, who knows,
maybe in a few thousand years,even after we're gone and there
are future generations in ourplace.
I don't know exactly, but I dofeel like the implicit meaning

(03:22):
in that has to do with the powerof God to make good things
happen with the messes that weas people are so very good at
making for ourselves and foreach other, this idea that

(03:46):
ultimately, god is at work tobring goodness out of the
terrible things that come out oflife.
So if it's not okay now, itwill be eventually, because
through God's saving powersomething will be resolved and

(04:10):
healing will come, regardless ofif we are able to see it with
our own eyes.
So what Simone says here pushesback against that in a way,
when she says not everything isgoing to be okay, but she

(04:38):
doesn't leave it at that.
She goes on and our assignmentis to carry this truth without
yielding to despair, and I thinkthat that's so meaningful that
just because everything is notgoing to be okay does not mean

(04:59):
that we get lost in despair.
She goes on and while tendingto the flames of radical hope,
the kind that demands ourgrittiest love and biggest
imagination.
So she still names the radicalhope that is necessary, the

(05:22):
grittiest love.
To me that is just a tangiblelove, that is a love you can
chew, that is a love that youcan taste and feel, and then
with our biggest imagination.
So, even though this initialphrase not everything is going

(05:56):
to be okay can seem awfullynegative, actually where she
leads us through is quitehopeful and really is a call.
This Lenten season we are movingthrough a series called

(06:23):
Trustful, where we are exploringtrust and spaces where we
either struggle with trust, ormaybe seasons in our life where
we have depended on trust, whereit seems like things are so far

(06:45):
out of our control or life justseems relentless.
And so what is the trust thatwe are called upon to have, what
is the trust that we wouldchoose to have as we move

(07:10):
through this life of faith?
And so I think in what Simoneis saying here, there is an
element of trust, trusting thatGod is still at work.
I mean, I don't know how elseto counter despair, but having

(07:38):
trust in God.
I don't know how else to tendthe flames of radical hope, but
to have trust in God.
And gosh, when we look at anexample of gritty love, I mean,

(07:59):
is that not Jesus Christ rightthere?
That is some gritty love thatdude experienced humanity and
life and pain and suffering andcrucifixion and death.
That is some gritty love, y'all.

(08:22):
And then, of course,resurrection.
Now, that is some bigimagination that God has, and
that is some big imaginationthat God has entrusted us with,
that God has gifted us with.

(08:43):
That is a blessing right there,and so I hope that, even as we
wrestle with this meaning of, iseverything going to be OK?
Maybe everything is going to beOK, maybe not everything is

(09:05):
going to be OK as we wrestlewith that, I hope that we can
still lean on the trust that wehave in a God who is with us and
for us, and a God who comes toearth in the form of Jesus

(09:27):
Christ, to experience this life,to experience death and then,
ultimately, to conquer the grave.
Let me read one last time whatSimone says Not everything is

(09:53):
going to be OK, and ourassignment is to carry this
truth without yielding todespair and while tending to the
flames of radical hope, thekind that demands our grittiest
love and biggest imagination.
Thank you, beloveds, forgrappling with this phrase, for

(10:24):
wrestling with this alongside me.
Maybe we can continue to takethis to God in prayer this week
and see what God has for us interms of radical hope, gritty

(10:44):
love and big imagination.
Thank you, simone Sol, for thiswriting that we are able to
wrestle with today.
God bless you all.
My friends, until next time,take care.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
You've been listening to the story of landlady and
the church of the Lord.
You've been listening toResilient Faith.
The podcast Resilient Faith issponsored by Brentwood
Presbyterian Church in West LosAngeles.
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(11:29):
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