Janna Van Gelderen: Hello, I’m Janna Faith. 

Anna Faith Gillmore: And I’m Anna Faith, and welcome to episode 30 of Faith Talks. 

Janna: Also, welcome to the year 2024. It’s exciting. I hope everybody’s Christmas went well. I know this year, just looking towards it, there’s a lot of things you might be scared about or excited about. For Anna Faith and me, there are a lot of new things and changes, but we’re excited. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to be with Anna Faith to do this podcast today. 

Anna Faith: I’m excited to be with Janna, definitely not taking for granted being together these days. 

Janna: Yes, and it’s a blessing to have more of a conversation rather than just you going at something for Faith Talks. So we’re excited to be together, and we’re just going to talk a little bit about what’s going on in the next year for both of us so you can stay informed and pray. Also, we’re going to talk about our new theme for this year. We’re excited about that. 

Anna Faith: I don’t know if any of you have been able to listen to the last Go Mission episode, but I would encourage you to go listen to that. Our family is going to be taking… we’re leaving tomorrow. 

Janna: It’s crazy; you should tell them about the Christmas Day thing. 

Anna Faith: Yes, I will, but first, I’ll explain a little bit about our trip. So our whole family, except for my oldest brother, eight kids are going, and my parents on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea. We’re going to be gone for six months. We’re leaving tomorrow, December 24th. We’re recording this a couple of days early. We will be getting back around June 25th. 

Our trip, of course, I said go back, listen to the other episode because it explains it probably a lot better than I will, but I’ll give you a little summary. We’re going to be starting in the Central Highlands area with a church for about two months. Then we’ll go to another church in that area. We’ll be going over to the east coast. We’ll be living for a couple of months, I think, on Mushu Island right off the coast there. Then we will be taking a gospel survey expedition up the Sepik River, and my dad calls it “a highway into the unreached villages.” So we are excited to do that survey with hopefully some nationals and maybe some other friends are going to join us. We are very excited about the opportunities, and yes, it is overwhelming to think of being gone for six months and the different experiences that we’re going to go through, but it’s also very exciting to think of what God’s going to do.

I was just thinking this morning of just the privilege and just overwhelming blessing it is to be able to take the gospel to people that have never heard. We’re just so humbled that God would use us. I’m just so excited to go on this trip. I was talking to another friend that it reminds me of faith and how faith you don’t do things that are comfortable. When you’re walking by faith, you’re doing things that are outside of your box, and this definitely feels like Peter stepping on the water and trusting—

Janna: Literally as you go down the river, right? 

Anna Faith: But just trusting the Lord in these moments of maybe risks it may seem or just a lot of unknowns so, but we are and we are very excited about this trip. I will share this with you that we’re leaving tomorrow; we’re leaving Christmas Eve. We fly out of Chicago. We go to Los Angeles, which we actually gained a couple of hours on Christmas Eve. But then after that, we are heading west so we’re crossing the international dateline in that direction which means that you go ahead in time. So we’re actually going to completely miss Christmas Day.

Janna: Wow, that’s crazy when I heard about that I was like oh my. 

Anna Faith: I’ve been crying basically all these days. Just kidding. 

Janna: Somebody said you should write a book and say like the year we didn’t have Christmas.

Anna Faith: Right, and everybody will feel sorry for us. 

Janna: Wow, well, I’m excited too to even just hear about what God does with their family. I know they’ve been working towards this trip and praying and planning for really years now. So this is a huge answer to prayer that they’re at this point. 

And then I shared a little bit in the last podcast, but I’ll be just staying at home working. Looks like I’m going to do some caregiving for elderly and for some babies and be teaching just a few students and getting ready for the wedding. So that’ll be May 17th. 

Judson and I are moving to Martinsville, Indiana, and he’s going to work with the youth there. He’s actually moving—he’s going next week to be there, just to move and start that all. But I’ll move with him after the wedding. And he’s going to be working with the youth. And they have a large public school ministry that they do, that they have about 150 kids each week that they’re able to do Bible study in public school. So that’s a huge ministry they want him working with and just other things being a blessing to the people there. So just pray for me. It’s definitely going to be different, not being home and stepping out into ministry, but also very exciting and just excited to see what the Lord’s done this past year and what 2024 is going to look like. 

So we’re going to now just introduce the theme for 2024. 

Anna Faith: Yes, so just looking at the different options that we’ve done before, God gave us a new theme, and it is “Perfect and Entire, Wanting Nothing.” This is taken from James 1:3-4, “knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.” We’re very excited about this topic, obviously just learning more about faith and God’s perfect journey for us through the trying of our faith. And we’ll be hearing more stories of faith from women who have gone through trials, and we have some exciting stories already that we are very excited to share with you.

Janna: Something I like to do is just look up online. You can look up what the Greek words mean. I was just looking at James 1:3-4, just some of the words. What do they mean? Because I know, just looking at the theme, I don’t want anybody to look and say, “Oh, perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Oh, I’m never gonna be perfect, and you know I’m not gonna be that model Christian or whatever.” That’s not really what it’s talking about.

So going through a couple of things, it says, “knowing this that the trying of your faith” and it’s really talking about the testing. Think about if you take a test in school, say you take a history test, what is it doing? It’s testing to see what you know. You might say, “hey, I totally know that whole chapter,” but then you take the test and you see if you really do or not. And it’s the same way in the Christian life. You might say, “hey, I know God’s good.” But then if you go through a trial, it’s like a test. Are you really going to believe that God’s good even though you can’t see it? Even, you know, you’re not experiencing that God is good, but are you going to still stay true and trust him? So that was just interesting thinking of your trials as tests.

And what do those tests do? Well, they work patience in your life and that idea of endurance and time that God grows you by keeping you in moments where you really can’t see the end.

And then it goes on, “but let patience have her perfect work that she may be perfect.” And I looked up what does this word actually mean? It’s used in other verses to mean “mature” or “to be men,” “to be full grown.” The idea that perfection is not when you’re never gonna sin again, but the idea that God’s growing you and that sanctification, He’s growing you to be mature and entire, which has the idea of being complete and you’re complete not in your own self, but you’re complete in Christ.

And then “wanting nothing,” it ends with that little phrase that, you know, once you have Jesus, you’re really content with Him and not wanting all these other things to fulfill you in your life.

Anna Faith: Now as we talk about just the trials that you may go through and trials of faith. We wanted to just encourage you even with a couple of other passages that have been a blessing to us, even in relation to trials and suffering. And I know it may not be something that we like to talk about, but we just want to talk to you today about how it actually can become something that in your mind is not a negative thing. And that’s something that God does. And we’re really excited to share some of these thoughts with you as well.

Well, recently I’ve been reading in 1 Peter—all of 1 Peter is so good—but 1 Peter 4 especially has just really encouraged me, and I wanted to read a couple of those verses to you. So I’ll start in verse 1 and 2 and share those.

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”

And these verses really encouraged me because they give us a glimpse into the reasons and the purpose why God gives trials to us. That is so that we can have the mind of Christ and we can partake with Christ, the suffering that he endured for us.

It’s just neat to realize that when we live and we have that mind of Christ, we’re walking with Christ in a hardship, in a trial, or suffering, major suffering that you may be going through. We live above the lusts and the sins of the world because we see what it means to walk with Jesus and just realizing that it is a miracle for you as a human being growing up as a little kid. You just gave in to the desires and lusts that you wanted and realizing that you can live above those and above the desires that you may have and you can live walking with Jesus. This is the pathway, in order to walk that way and God uses these trials to bring us to that point.

Later on in verse 14 was also a really huge encouragement “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”

I just think it’s so neat to realize the purpose, what is our purpose in life as Christians? Our purpose is to glorify God. And when we suffer with Christ, and even just thinking about when somebody, when we’re reproached for his name, He says that we are to be happy because Christ is being glorified and just realizing that when I suffer, my purpose for life is being fulfilled. It’s not a negative thing. It’s actually fulfilling the purpose that God even put you on this earth in the first place.

And I think it’s just so amazing to realize that Jesus is glorified when I go through hard things and I choose to let Jesus out and let His response out.

Janna: I think it’s easy to think that when I’m done with this big trial then I’ll do something big for God. Instead of thinking, hey, you know, God’s actually put this trial in my life so that I might actually glorify him.

Anna Faith: Right. It’s not like something going wrong. It’s actually part, it’s like as much as any blessing in your life, it’s the same and maybe even a greater impact for your spiritual walk.

Janna: And I know I heard a message when I was in college on “We Would See Jesus” was the title of it. Often if you go behind pulpits, they’ll have that little phrase, we would see Jesus, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” The idea that when the preacher’s preaching that you should be seeing Jesus and not the but he went on, the preacher went on to explain just using that how often the times when Jesus is seen in you the most are the times when you’re going through suffering. And he showed just the different times in Christ’s life on earth where he suffered.

You even think of the pinnacle of when he was on the cross and just his suffering for our sins. And really, so often when we go through trials, unbelievers look at us and say, “What? They can have peace during a time of this trial, they can have joy?” and that’s what’s like, “Wait, huh?” And God’s so glorified through trials because Christians view trials so differently than unbelievers do.

It could even be to believers. I know for me there’s been some people, especially recently, that have gone through really deep trials that I’ve just looked on with awe at their trust in God and it even strengthens your own faith.

I know that was a huge encouragement to me. Just when you’re going through a trial, to realize that God wants to use this to glorify himself.

And I read this online, just talking about trusting God. I’m gonna read this little clip.

“Trusting God in adversity is difficult, but we must do it. Josh Moody gives a great example of how hurting can turn into healing. Think of a surgeon prepping himself to go into surgery. As he prepares, he knows in one sense that he’s about to do his patient great harm. He’s going to cut open his body and delve in with surgical tools. The patient will bleed. I mean, if there was no anesthetics, the patient would be screaming in pain, strapped to the operating bed. Now, that sounds evil. Yet, the surgeon rightly believes that he’s following the oath to do no harm, because harm is not harm when it does good. That is what I think the Psalms must be saying. Yes, this may hurt. That’s why you’re asking for help. Look to the hills, but do not stop there. Go beyond them. Look to the God who made the mountains, who made everything.”

And I think of my little nephew, we just went and saw him in South Carolina and he had to have skull surgery for his craniostosis and… when he had the surgery, I remember looking at pictures of his skull with the blood and the gashes and the sewed up stitches and you know half of you wants to say to the doctor like why did you cut him open? You know why did it look so awful? But to see how amazing he’s doing now because it’s healed and just what was done through that surgery.

You might be at the point in your life if you’re listening to this where you say like I feel like I’m on the operating bed like I feel like seeing you turning and I don’t see why but you have to trust that he is doing it for your good and that every single thing that he’s taking out or twisting he has that ultimate purpose and you think of I know we’ve used this illustration before but think of the rug on the back side it’s just all these threads going everywhere you can’t see the reason behind it but on the other side it’s a beautiful picture of what God’s doing in your life.

There are times—my parents said this last night it’s actually in devotions—but most of the time you live in the forest. You might see enough for the next step. You might see kind of a little goal here in a couple of months I’ll do this but every once in a while God will let you fly above and see what he’s doing. See the forest and see the plains and see just the whole pathway. So trust that he is working that in your life even if right now you’re in the thicket of taking the just the next step and not seeing it’s a matter of faith to trust that God’s bigger and he has that bigger plan in the trials that he’s putting in your life.

Anna Faith: Right, that’s so good. And I think even just thinking that realizing that that operating table that you’re on is not a negative thing, and I know that sounds so opposite of what we would think but it’s actually that’s what’s making you, that’s what’s pulling out the Jesus that’s inside of you. And this passage also talks about the gifts in other verses too, and it’s just really neat to realize when you let God work and do that surgery in you through trials through suffering, you actually come out with his touch in the specific way He made you. And I think that’s just so amazing how God uses each of us in our different way so that we can see a little different angle on Jesus and a little different part of who he is.

And so we just encourage you. It’s a new year. You may look around, and everything seems like it is falling apart. You could look at the wars in Ukraine, Israel, the maybe the wars that seem to be coming sooner, family, at your school, or wherever you’re at, you can look at all the negative things and think all the things you want. But realize that these things that we’re going through that are hard, or maybe you’re going through a huge trial right now and suffering, it’s actually making you who Jesus made you to be. And it’s bringing others to Jesus.

Janna: I think that’s good to realize: the trials are not coming. I mean, sometimes Satan can send trials, but view the trials as from they were allowed by the surgeon and they are from Jesus, and he’s going to use them, instead of thinking like “oh woe is me you know the devil got me again,” but instead trusting that God’s more powerful and he’s the one that’s molding you and shaping you.

Anna Faith: Right, we just want to end with one last verse, the last verse in 1 Peter 4, verse 19, “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” We just want to encourage you, choose faith in these trials, commit the keeping of your soul to Jesus. And it says, “in well-doing as unto a faithful creator.” He is faithful to us and he will be faithful. He’s not going to give you more than you can handle. He’s giving you exactly what you need so that your purpose for being here can be fulfilled and that Jesus can be glorified.

And I am just so excited to see what God’s going to do in this year. There’s going to be hard things. There’s a lot of change for us. Obviously, our family is going to experience a lot of different things. I don’t even know. I can’t even begin to think of the different things that we’re going to experience. And maybe some of it will be hard. Maybe, maybe it won’t be. I don’t know.

Janna: She’s going to come back with a tan and like chocolate and I don’t know whatever you’ll see.

Anna Faith: Right. We’re actually one of our, the house when we’re on Mushu Island is, is right by a white sandy beach. We get our own private white sandy beach.

Janna: There we go.

Anna Faith: You want to come join us, just let us know.

Janna: I’m also excited to hear from the different ladies this year. We have, actually we’ve already done a couple and a couple more to come, but I know for me. My faith is always strengthened when I hear another lady’s journey. And you can sometimes hear the journey and be like, oh, mine’s going to be like that. And it’s usually never. But hearing how somebody weathered something and how God taught them through it, it makes when you’re in your own trial too, you know, I can trust God like that person did. And just using their faith even to encourage your own faith. So I’m excited to hear more from people.

Anna Faith: And just another thought I had that my dad shared recently. Sometimes people look at this life and we’re like, “suffering, trials—stink—this is gonna be a terrible life.” And my dad was just sharing he’s like “remember that this isn’t this physical life isn’t the life we’re living for. We have eternal life and right now we can live in that realm while we’re down here.” Obviously, we’re going to heaven soon so that’s when we see our eternal life being fully unveiled. But here we are as physical beings with eternal life. Live that eternal life right now, and that’s gonna be what’s gonna get you through those trials. And if you can realize that is true reality as you’re on this earth and as you’re serving the Lord and realize the purpose, why he created you, so that you could glorify Jesus and so that you could bring others to him. It brings such peace and such joy to your life, realizing that you’re not living for this world and whatever this world may bring and even people people may not understand you and may be attacking you in different ways and things and just realizing that doesn’t matter; I have Jesus and I know that eternal life that he’s given me and I have a better way to live.

So we just encourage you as you begin 2024, maybe you don’t have any trials, we’ll pray that God gives you some.

Janna: You know that passage that says pray for the hornets? That’s more if you have a family member that’s, you know, away from God something that you pray that God would bring the hornets in their life but no we won’t pray any hornets on you.

Anna Faith: Yeah, we’ll refrain from that.

But we just encourage you just to choose faith in whatever you may be going through and whatever you maybe think might be coming you know looking towards the future, and choose joy. Say “God, when that comes when that hard thing comes I want to choose joy. Bring me to that point where I can. Show me what it means to walk with you and to have that eternal perspective in my life.” We just encourage you as you go through your days, finishing maybe your Christmas break, spending time with your family, whatever you may be doing, choose to ask God to give you that perspective and to choose joy in suffering.

And remember faith doesn’t just talk, faith walks.