How to Retain Hope When Life Hurts and Hardship Hits

June 24, 2025
00:00 34:14
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When life hits us with numerous hardships, we may wonder, Where is God in all of this? How do we keep hoping when our strength is gone, our prayers feel unanswered, and our hearts feel weary?

In this episode, we’ll talk about how to maintain hope—even when your circumstances don’t change. We’ll explore:

✅ How to wrestle with God and why this is important
✅ How to keep praying for relief while also accepting what is
✅ What our pain can teach us regarding God's goodness, and more.

Resource referenced: Watching for the Morning:90 Devotionals for When Hope Is Hard to Find

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Discussion/Reflective Questions:

  1. What resonated with you most in this episode?
  2. How easy or challenging do you find it to express your feelings unfiltered to God, and why do you feel this is?
  3. How comfortable do you feel expressing your emotions to God?
  4. When have you determined a painful time to be a blessing due to the intimacy you experienced with Christ?
  5. What might it look like, in your current season, to pray with hope for change but also acceptance for what is?
  6. What is one action step God might be inviting you to take having listened to this episode?

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Meet Your Hosts
Jennifer Slattery, founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, is a multi-published author, national speaker, and speaking coach passionate about helping God's children reach their full potential and live fully surrendered to Christ. She is a host on Your Daily Bible Verse and Faith Over Fear. Find her online at https://www.JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com
Carol Ogle McCracken is a fun-loving wedding planner, speaker, Bible teacher, and author who brings to Scripture to inspire a personal, vibrant relationship with Him. Her authentic challenges faced while journeying through alcoholism, raising a child with special needs, and divorce, equip her to teach, entertain and encourage you. Carol currently serves as the Minister of Discipleship at her home church and is a Christian communicator in many different forums, large and small, and especially enjoys teaching at women’s retreats. Her book Wisdom, Where to Find It if You've Lost, Forgotten, or Never Had It was released in November 2020.
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