1
00:00:00,600 –> 00:00:04,080
In 2025, I found myself
wrestling with frustration that

2
00:00:04,080 –> 00:00:08,520
God was not giving me joy.
And then God very patiently told

3
00:00:08,520 –> 00:00:11,200
me what was actually happening.
It wasn’t that he was

4
00:00:11,200 –> 00:00:14,080
withholding joy, it was that I
was rejecting it.

5
00:00:14,560 –> 00:00:18,200
What followed was an invitation
to spend 30 days looking at 30

6
00:00:18,200 –> 00:00:21,320
passages on Joy and turning it
into a devotional called

7
00:00:21,320 –> 00:00:24,800
Rejecting Joy No longer.
You’d think I would have learned

8
00:00:25,000 –> 00:00:28,160
that coming into 2026, I was
wrestling with hope.

9
00:00:28,840 –> 00:00:32,040
God, why are you making me so
hopeless?

10
00:00:32,640 –> 00:00:35,480
And God very patiently let me
know the reality.

11
00:00:36,080 –> 00:00:39,160
He wasn’t withholding hope.
I was rejecting it.

12
00:00:39,560 –> 00:00:43,520
And so now here I am, spending
30 days looking at 30 passages

13
00:00:43,560 –> 00:00:46,560
on hope.
And my hope is that this

14
00:00:46,560 –> 00:00:49,440
encourages you.
One thing that’s different this

15
00:00:49,440 –> 00:00:52,160
year is I felt like God was
inviting me to be publicly

16
00:00:52,160 –> 00:00:56,440
transparent with my processing.
To actually go live on social

17
00:00:56,440 –> 00:01:00,880
media, pull out a random verse,
and then read and process

18
00:01:00,880 –> 00:01:04,440
through it on camera.
This isn’t me coming to you as

19
00:01:04,440 –> 00:01:08,440
an expert on hope, but me coming
to you honestly as someone

20
00:01:08,440 –> 00:01:12,120
wrestling with hope.
And by witnessing that some of

21
00:01:12,120 –> 00:01:16,720
you might feel less alone, may
feel seen and understood, may

22
00:01:16,720 –> 00:01:19,880
end up being encouraged in a way
that is far deeper than the best

23
00:01:19,880 –> 00:01:23,240
platitude.
So join me as I spend 30 days

24
00:01:23,440 –> 00:01:27,560
navigating 30 passages on Hope.
This is day 29.

25
00:01:29,280 –> 00:01:33,280
You’re listening to episode 236
of the Where Did You See God

26
00:01:33,280 –> 00:01:48,040
podcast.
Probably God, I want to thank

27
00:01:48,040 –> 00:01:50,600
you that you are God and you are
good and for the gift of your

28
00:01:50,600 –> 00:01:51,880
word.
Thank you.

29
00:01:51,880 –> 00:01:55,760
That is living an act that it is
something that can cut deeper

30
00:01:55,840 –> 00:01:59,560
than we realize or sometimes
even want that you are trying to

31
00:01:59,560 –> 00:02:03,680
get us to understand true
reality, not just the here and

32
00:02:03,680 –> 00:02:05,560
now reality that makes sense to
us.

33
00:02:05,560 –> 00:02:08,400
And so, Holy Spirit, we invite
you to move in this verse

34
00:02:09,840 –> 00:02:14,360
serious to hear and minds with
spiritual creativity to

35
00:02:14,360 –> 00:02:18,320
understand hope in ways that we
couldn’t have otherwise.

36
00:02:19,000 –> 00:02:25,560
Must have his holy name, Amen.
We’re in Titus, Titus, Titus 1

37
00:02:25,760 –> 00:02:30,280
verses 1 and 2.
Paul, a servant of God and an

38
00:02:30,280 –> 00:02:34,640
apostle of Jesus Christ, for the
sake of the faith of God’s elect

39
00:02:34,640 –> 00:02:38,320
and their knowledge of the truth
which accords with godliness in

40
00:02:38,320 –> 00:02:42,040
hope of eternal life, which God
who never lies promised before

41
00:02:42,560 –> 00:02:46,560
the ages began, Let’s pull up
Titus.

42
00:02:47,400 –> 00:02:49,080
The whole book of Titus is very
short.

43
00:02:49,080 –> 00:02:51,120
If we really wanted, we could
read the whole thing.

44
00:02:51,120 –> 00:02:55,240
But let’s start reading chapter
1.

45
00:02:55,320 –> 00:02:58,200
But I don’t know that we’ll read
all of it.

46
00:02:58,560 –> 00:03:00,880
Not that it’s not good.
I don’t know that it’s relevant

47
00:03:00,880 –> 00:03:02,880
for our conversation, but who
knows?

48
00:03:04,000 –> 00:03:09,160
All right, so Titus chapter one
verse one Paul, a servant of God

49
00:03:09,160 –> 00:03:13,240
and an apostle of Jesus Christ
to further the faith of God’s

50
00:03:13,240 –> 00:03:17,600
elect and their knowledge of the
truth that leads to godliness in

51
00:03:17,600 –> 00:03:21,080
the hope of eternal life, which
God who does not lie promised

52
00:03:21,080 –> 00:03:24,280
before the beginning of time,
and which now at his appointed

53
00:03:24,280 –> 00:03:27,560
season, he has brought to light
through the preaching entrusted

54
00:03:27,560 –> 00:03:32,040
to me by the command of God our
Savior to Titus, my true Son in

55
00:03:32,040 –> 00:03:35,280
our common faith, grace and
peace from God the Father and

56
00:03:35,280 –> 00:03:39,600
Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is a common way for Paul to

57
00:03:40,000 –> 00:03:43,400
begin his letters.
He introduces himself, the

58
00:03:43,400 –> 00:03:48,200
person crafting the letter and
gives reason why.

59
00:03:49,160 –> 00:03:51,520
And then he says, who the
letters to to Titus.

60
00:03:51,840 –> 00:03:55,880
But let’s read verses one
through 3 again and I’ll try to

61
00:03:56,760 –> 00:03:59,840
break it into the sections.
So first, who is he?

62
00:03:59,840 –> 00:04:04,720
Paul, a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ.

63
00:04:05,720 –> 00:04:09,280
So this is important ’cause all
his life he had considered

64
00:04:09,280 –> 00:04:12,080
himself a servant of God when he
was a Pharisee, A Pharisee, a

65
00:04:12,080 –> 00:04:15,040
Hebrew of Hebrews as unto the
law, blameless.

66
00:04:15,520 –> 00:04:17,200
But this qualifier is very
important.

67
00:04:17,480 –> 00:04:21,440
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
All of his understanding of who

68
00:04:21,440 –> 00:04:25,760
God was and what being a God
follower, servant God was

69
00:04:26,120 –> 00:04:30,360
shifted significantly when Jesus
knocked him off his feet,

70
00:04:30,800 –> 00:04:33,400
confronted him and changed the
course of his life.

71
00:04:34,040 –> 00:04:37,640
And he threw everything away,
considered it all rubbish for

72
00:04:37,640 –> 00:04:41,160
the sake of knowing Christ.
And so now he considers himself

73
00:04:41,160 –> 00:04:45,080
not just a servant of God, but
an apostle of God’s Son Jesus.

74
00:04:45,960 –> 00:04:49,560
Why is he writing to further the
faith of God’s elect?

75
00:04:50,120 –> 00:04:53,040
So God’s elect has faith, but he
wants to further it.

76
00:04:53,200 –> 00:04:57,280
He wants them to go deeper into
their understanding of who God

77
00:04:57,280 –> 00:05:00,880
is and why we should trust Him,
and their knowledge of the truth

78
00:05:00,920 –> 00:05:05,160
that leads to godliness.
So godliness wasn’t just

79
00:05:05,160 –> 00:05:08,040
something they could attain in
the normal ways they assumed.

80
00:05:08,040 –> 00:05:11,800
That’s what Paul ran into.
He was seeking godliness, but he

81
00:05:11,800 –> 00:05:14,080
came to understand through his
interaction with Jesus in the

82
00:05:14,080 –> 00:05:17,520
subsequent journey with him that
he needed to deepen his

83
00:05:17,520 –> 00:05:23,000
knowledge of the truth that
leads to godliness, not just try

84
00:05:23,000 –> 00:05:25,720
to figure out what godliness is
and do it and obey the laws.

85
00:05:26,080 –> 00:05:29,640
There’s a truth that Jesus
brought that is what leads to

86
00:05:29,640 –> 00:05:33,120
the godliness.
So all of this is in the hope of

87
00:05:33,120 –> 00:05:38,160
eternal life, which God who does
not lie promised before the

88
00:05:38,160 –> 00:05:41,040
beginning of time.
The next section goes with it,

89
00:05:41,040 –> 00:05:44,320
but let’s pause there.
So here’s where our hope comes

90
00:05:44,320 –> 00:05:46,640
in.
And this is been a recurring

91
00:05:46,640 –> 00:05:51,120
theme throughout the last 29
days, is that this hope isn’t

92
00:05:51,320 –> 00:05:54,720
about the here and now.
The here and now is impacted by

93
00:05:54,720 –> 00:05:59,840
this hope, but this hope is for
something eternal in the hope of

94
00:05:59,840 –> 00:06:03,480
eternal life, not just a good
life here, but eternal life.

95
00:06:04,040 –> 00:06:07,440
He saved us through the washing
of rebirth and renewal by the

96
00:06:07,440 –> 00:06:11,640
Holy Spirit, whom He poured out
on us generously through Jesus

97
00:06:11,640 –> 00:06:15,520
Christ our Savior, so that
having been justified by His

98
00:06:15,520 –> 00:06:19,640
grace, we might become heirs,
having the hope of eternal life.

99
00:06:20,000 –> 00:06:23,120
This is a trustworthy saying.
So there is a promise of eternal

100
00:06:23,120 –> 00:06:26,080
life that what we’re
experiencing here, what we

101
00:06:26,080 –> 00:06:31,360
understand as life is, is not
is, is nothing compared to the

102
00:06:31,360 –> 00:06:34,120
eternal life.
The eternal life is the thing,

103
00:06:34,120 –> 00:06:37,280
and there is a hope for that.
It is a hope because they cannot

104
00:06:37,280 –> 00:06:40,160
yet see it.
They cannot fully understand it

105
00:06:40,160 –> 00:06:43,720
or grasp it.
So they are barreling forward on

106
00:06:43,800 –> 00:06:47,640
this, this mission, this, this
path for something that is

107
00:06:47,640 –> 00:06:50,560
beyond their comprehension, but
they are holding to the hope

108
00:06:50,560 –> 00:06:54,080
that it does exist.
And this is a hope which God who

109
00:06:54,080 –> 00:06:58,120
does not lie promised before the
beginning of time.

110
00:06:58,120 –> 00:07:02,520
So this was not an afterthought
when God created.

111
00:07:02,840 –> 00:07:06,160
It was for this eternal life,
the here and now.

112
00:07:06,160 –> 00:07:10,760
Life was not the purpose of
creation, which can help explain

113
00:07:10,760 –> 00:07:13,320
all these things that don’t make
sense to us here in the hear

114
00:07:13,320 –> 00:07:14,640
now.
Why is God doing it this way?

115
00:07:14,640 –> 00:07:17,360
Why is God doing it that way?
Why is God allowing sickness?

116
00:07:17,360 –> 00:07:19,960
Why?
A big part of that is because we

117
00:07:19,960 –> 00:07:21,800
are hyper focused on the here
and now.

118
00:07:22,360 –> 00:07:24,520
But God didn’t create us for the
here and now.

119
00:07:25,280 –> 00:07:28,480
The here and now is a lead up to
this eternal life.

120
00:07:28,800 –> 00:07:33,920
He promised this before the
beginning of time and which now,

121
00:07:33,920 –> 00:07:36,960
at his appointed season, he has
brought to light.

122
00:07:37,200 –> 00:07:39,840
There’s another passage that
talks about how so many in the

123
00:07:39,840 –> 00:07:44,800
past just longed to be able to
have access to these spiritual

124
00:07:44,800 –> 00:07:49,600
insights, this understanding,
this truth, and God did not

125
00:07:49,600 –> 00:07:51,640
reveal it then.
He revealed it when He did

126
00:07:51,640 –> 00:07:53,400
because it was an appointed
season.

127
00:07:53,480 –> 00:07:56,080
There is a reason for when it
was revealed.

128
00:07:56,640 –> 00:08:00,440
Now with Jesus and with the
apostles and with Paul, it’s

129
00:08:00,440 –> 00:08:02,280
clear to them that this is the
appointed season.

130
00:08:02,280 –> 00:08:06,800
God is bringing all this to
light, and he’s doing so through

131
00:08:06,800 –> 00:08:09,680
the preaching entrusted to
individuals like Paul by the

132
00:08:09,680 –> 00:08:14,880
command of God our Savior.
Paul’s life was devoted to not

133
00:08:14,880 –> 00:08:19,120
just sharing who God is, who
Jesus is, who the Spirit is, but

134
00:08:19,120 –> 00:08:24,040
to then, as he puts it further,
the faith of God’s elect to, to

135
00:08:24,040 –> 00:08:26,920
help them not just know who God
is, who Jesus is, who the Spirit

136
00:08:26,920 –> 00:08:31,280
is, but to go deeper into that
relationship so that they can

137
00:08:31,280 –> 00:08:33,480
come to a hope of this eternal
life.

138
00:08:34,000 –> 00:08:37,200
And this is what has shaped
Paul’s life, what allowed him to

139
00:08:37,240 –> 00:08:41,919
throw away all of who he was and
all of what he had done, his

140
00:08:41,919 –> 00:08:46,880
accomplishments, his acclaim,
probably more than we’ll ever

141
00:08:46,880 –> 00:08:49,160
know.
He was able to throw that away

142
00:08:49,160 –> 00:08:53,560
because of this understanding of
this hope of eternal life.

143
00:08:54,320 –> 00:08:58,200
And so he spends the rest of his
life not just writing these

144
00:08:58,200 –> 00:09:01,160
letters, but visiting these
bodies of people, staying with

145
00:09:01,160 –> 00:09:05,200
them for days, weeks, months,
years, coming back, doing these

146
00:09:06,080 –> 00:09:09,240
journeys, missionary journey
after missionary journey after

147
00:09:09,240 –> 00:09:12,000
missionary journey.
And then eventually sensing an

148
00:09:12,000 –> 00:09:16,320
invitation from the Spirit to
not continue that approach and

149
00:09:16,320 –> 00:09:20,080
instead allow himself to be
taken captive, imprisoned, put

150
00:09:20,080 –> 00:09:21,920
on house arrest, and eventually
killed.

151
00:09:23,160 –> 00:09:25,720
And he was able to do that
because he knew that his hope

152
00:09:25,720 –> 00:09:27,840
was not in a here and now
reality.

153
00:09:28,440 –> 00:09:32,840
His hope was in an eternal
reality, an eternal life, so

154
00:09:32,840 –> 00:09:37,400
that if he was persecuted,
ultimately that didn’t matter.

155
00:09:37,400 –> 00:09:40,280
If he was killed, death had lost
its sting.

156
00:09:40,640 –> 00:09:43,240
Ultimately it didn’t matter.
His life was shaped with an

157
00:09:43,240 –> 00:09:47,320
understanding that the here and
now life wasn’t itself nothing.

158
00:09:47,760 –> 00:09:51,120
As he puts it elsewhere, if I
die, I’m with Christ.

159
00:09:51,120 –> 00:09:54,520
If I live, I’m able to be here
and and serve and support you

160
00:09:54,520 –> 00:09:57,200
all.
These are both good option which

161
00:09:57,200 –> 00:09:59,000
I choose.
I mean, I’d much rather be with

162
00:09:59,080 –> 00:10:02,640
Jesus, but I also love you and
so I’m willing to stay.

163
00:10:03,160 –> 00:10:04,640
He knew the purpose of his here
and now.

164
00:10:04,640 –> 00:10:08,600
Life wasn’t the life itself.
It was to love God and love

165
00:10:08,600 –> 00:10:11,720
others.
And if being in service of that

166
00:10:11,840 –> 00:10:15,960
necessitated persecution or
death, he was game for it

167
00:10:16,640 –> 00:10:19,320
because he understood that
something eternal was at play

168
00:10:19,320 –> 00:10:20,920
and something eternal awaited
him.

169
00:10:22,760 –> 00:10:25,640
For Paul, this played out in
really overt ways.

170
00:10:25,640 –> 00:10:27,280
We’re talking persecution and
death.

171
00:10:28,200 –> 00:10:30,840
For many of us, it is not so
overt.

172
00:10:31,080 –> 00:10:36,520
For many of us, the threat of
death is not looming, and so it

173
00:10:36,520 –> 00:10:40,040
can be very easy to be very
focused on the here and now

174
00:10:40,040 –> 00:10:44,480
reality, the here and now life,
and for the eternal life to seem

175
00:10:44,800 –> 00:10:50,400
like speculation, to seem like
nice theological introspection,

176
00:10:51,120 –> 00:10:54,320
but doesn’t impact today,
doesn’t impact here and now.

177
00:10:54,320 –> 00:10:57,640
It can be very easy for us to
just live our lives and look for

178
00:10:57,640 –> 00:11:01,440
ways to bring God into it rather
than for us to realize that our

179
00:11:01,440 –> 00:11:06,080
lives are in God and we can
bring the here and now into

180
00:11:06,080 –> 00:11:07,880
that.
It’s hard for us to make that

181
00:11:07,880 –> 00:11:10,600
switch like the Apostle Paul did
and for the apostle Paul to do

182
00:11:10,600 –> 00:11:11,960
it.
It took Jesus knocking him off

183
00:11:11,960 –> 00:11:14,760
his feet.
It took him throwing away

184
00:11:14,760 –> 00:11:18,120
everything that he had built and
worked his life towards.

185
00:11:18,680 –> 00:11:21,000
It took throwing away his
reputation to the point that

186
00:11:21,000 –> 00:11:25,640
even those he sought to serve
for a long time rejected him,

187
00:11:26,360 –> 00:11:29,120
opposed him.
It took him experiencing bodily

188
00:11:29,120 –> 00:11:31,600
harm and shipwrecks and eventual
death.

189
00:11:32,800 –> 00:11:37,200
So what does that look like for
us, for what we say and do, to

190
00:11:37,200 –> 00:11:42,120
be shaped around this hope of
eternal life which God who never

191
00:11:42,120 –> 00:11:45,560
lies promised before the ages
began, before we even began,

192
00:11:45,640 –> 00:11:49,960
before we were even a thought?
Or put another way, if eternal

193
00:11:49,960 –> 00:11:55,480
life isn’t really impacting our
here and now life, what are we

194
00:11:55,480 –> 00:12:00,560
doing?
Because this invitation to serve

195
00:12:00,560 –> 00:12:05,560
God, to follow Christ costs a
whole lot.

196
00:12:06,120 –> 00:12:09,000
And as Paul puts it, if all of
this, like if Jesus wasn’t

197
00:12:09,000 –> 00:12:11,920
raised for the dead, if all of
this was just for this life,

198
00:12:11,920 –> 00:12:15,720
then we’re most to be pitied.
Scripture only makes sense if it

199
00:12:15,720 –> 00:12:18,720
is about something eternal.
And if the eternal isn’t

200
00:12:18,720 –> 00:12:22,240
impacting us today, we might be
missing something.

201
00:12:22,760 –> 00:12:26,320
And so I think that’s our
challenge for today is to be

202
00:12:26,320 –> 00:12:31,720
honest about asking to what
extent is eternal life impacting

203
00:12:31,720 –> 00:12:37,340
my here and now life?
And if it is minimal or non

204
00:12:37,340 –> 00:12:42,720
existent, asking how can I grow
to understand the eternal more

205
00:12:42,720 –> 00:12:47,480
to the point where it actually
becomes more and more my focus

206
00:12:47,480 –> 00:12:51,280
than the here and now?
That will come with a cost to

207
00:12:51,280 –> 00:12:54,880
some extent.
And Jesus says, are we willing

208
00:12:54,880 –> 00:12:58,480
to count the cost and the cost
that the disciples had to count?

209
00:12:58,760 –> 00:13:00,520
The cost was everything.
It was too much.

210
00:13:01,200 –> 00:13:03,600
And then he said, all right,
Yep, it’s too much.

211
00:13:03,840 –> 00:13:06,360
So you coming?
Because Jesus knew what he was

212
00:13:06,360 –> 00:13:07,920
able to pay, what the Spirit’s
able to pay.

213
00:13:11,160 –> 00:13:14,920
Paul’s letters aren’t just for
good theological conversations.

214
00:13:15,920 –> 00:13:17,880
They aren’t for helpful
platitudes.

215
00:13:17,960 –> 00:13:22,080
And what Paul wrote was for this
hope of eternal life was not for

216
00:13:22,080 –> 00:13:24,160
the here and now.
It was for something eternal.

217
00:13:24,920 –> 00:13:27,960
So when we read his words, when
we read Scripture, that is the

218
00:13:27,960 –> 00:13:30,160
understanding we need.
And our lives were built,

219
00:13:30,920 –> 00:13:34,080
promised before the ages began.
We were created for something

220
00:13:34,080 –> 00:13:37,280
eternal.
So the eternal should be a part,

221
00:13:38,400 –> 00:13:41,240
should be the focus of
everything.

222
00:13:42,240 –> 00:13:45,960
Titus 11 and two, Paul, a
servant of God and an apostle of

223
00:13:45,960 –> 00:13:50,240
Jesus Christ for the sake of the
faith of God’s elect and their

224
00:13:50,240 –> 00:13:54,520
knowledge of the truth which
accords with godliness and hope

225
00:13:54,760 –> 00:13:58,360
of eternal life, which God who
never lies promised before the

226
00:13:58,360 –> 00:14:00,880
ages began by the God.
We just think it’s your God and

227
00:14:00,920 –> 00:14:04,200
your good.
And right now we acknowledge

228
00:14:04,200 –> 00:14:07,880
that so often our focus is on
the here and now life and not on

229
00:14:07,880 –> 00:14:10,480
the eternal.
We don’t know how to get to that

230
00:14:10,600 –> 00:14:12,600
deeper understanding and of
ourselves.

231
00:14:13,480 –> 00:14:15,440
We will take an intellectual
approach.

232
00:14:15,880 –> 00:14:18,480
So, Holy Spirit, we invite you
to move to help us to understand

233
00:14:18,480 –> 00:14:22,840
the eternal and the new way to
understand eternal life in such

234
00:14:22,840 –> 00:14:27,880
a way that it guides our
thoughts and actions more than

235
00:14:27,880 –> 00:14:30,880
the here and now pressures.
The here and now pressures,

236
00:14:31,000 –> 00:14:33,840
demands so much from us.
So by the guide, help us to

237
00:14:33,840 –> 00:14:37,480
learn how to not relinquish
power to our lives over to those

238
00:14:37,480 –> 00:14:41,000
things.
Instead, give it back to you who

239
00:14:41,000 –> 00:14:44,240
loves us and who has promised
eternal life.

240
00:14:45,120 –> 00:14:46,680
I was promised only name Amen.