Hello, and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends. Welcome. Welcome to this Friday. I know I usually say Fri. Yay, but I don't know about you. I feel like this week has been tough, hasn't it, friends? This week has been heavy for so many reasons. It has been difficult. I know in my own personal life, it has been difficult in the world. It has been very, very heavy. And I feel like as collectively, we've got heavy hearts. And so I really want to address some of the things that are happening in the media and talk to you about those today. It is Friday, and we talk about the habits for healthy families. And today are talking about being hopeful. We're in a series that I'm calling like the Beatitudes in the Bible and some be attitudes, literally be attitudes and ways that we can be. And I plan today to talk about being hopeful. Now, how do we be hopeful in a time that seems like it is saturated in fear with 911 this week and other events that are happening in the news that I'll talk directly about in just a moment. It does feel really, really hope bliss. And I want you to know that everything that you do to try to brighten someone else's day, there's sometimes where we feel like we have these little expressions of hope. And does it really mean a lot? Well, I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me yesterday that really gave me hope. So yesterday I was driving. I was on Interstate, 45 in Texas, just north of Madisonville. And it was 9 11, of course, as I was driving. And my heart was just so heavy as I was driving. And if I'm really honest, I had some tears that were coming. I was praying. I was talking with the Lord, and I was just feeling very discouraged. And as I was driving down the freeway, I looked up at the overpass over the freeway. I don't know who you were. I don't know why this was going on. I don't know any of the context, but all I can tell you is that here I am on 9 11. Thinking back on 9 11, all of the other heavy events that are happening, and I look up and I see the entire overpass draped in American flags. I see fire trucks, I see first responders. And I thought, oh, my goodness, is this an accident? What, what, what else horrible has happened? And as I went by, there were just a bunch of first responders just standing at the edge of that overpass and they were waving and they were smiling and they were saying, God bless you, God bless America. And, and I want you to know if that was you on that overpass, it made me smile, it made me smile. Just to see, just a simple gesture, just of, you know, thinking about what had happened to our country on 911 and to see that gesture of unity, it really did my heart a lot of good. And as I drove on, on the second overpass, I saw another even larger group gathered there. And so I just want to thank those of you who take the time to, to do any little gesture of sharing hope with your fellow American, sharing hope with your neighbor, sharing hope with your family, sharing hope with anyone in the world that you're sharing hope with. I just thank you for that because my heart is heavy for our country. My heart is really heavy for this young generation. So yesterday I was with a very large group of young people and as I walked in the conversation was all about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which everyone has seen on the news of course. And I was very curious as to how this was impacting young people. And as I walked in, this was a very big group. So I'm sure that we have all, all different kinds of kids in this group, college age kids. And as I talked with them, their eyes were just so heavy. So I said, let's talk about this. I said, how many of you are thinking about this? Almost every single one of them raised their hand. And then I asked them, how many of you saw the video of what happened? Because that was what I was hearing in this age group. Is that the video just of the actual event, what happened, the violence of that was spread widely throughout social media and especially throughout young people. I am telling you, every single kid in this group raised their hand and said they had seen the video. Then I asked them, how many of you saw it? Not seeking it out, but you just saw it accidentally, someone sent it to you. You scroll through your social media and almost every hand went up. And I'm telling you the anxiety, the fear was palpable. And as I was talking with them, I had already brought in a pre prepared lecture. And one of the slides that I talked about was the keystone mark of, of the generation. That kind of m watershed moment in each generation. That question that asked you will know the question for your generation. So if you were in the greatest generation, where were you on v E Day? If you were in the silent Generation. Where were you when you heard about Pearl harbor viewer baby boomers? Where were you when JFK was shot? If you are a millennial, where were you on 9 11? And all of those events that happened, for the most part when they happened, they brought the country together. There was a sense of unity. I remember where I was on 9 11. I was actually in nurse practitioner school. I was with my class in the middle of a health assessment class. When we found out about this, we didn't have communication like we did now. Nobody knew what to do and we all went to church. I just showed up at my church with my husband and there were dozens and dozens of people there at the church. Now you look at Gen Z and do you know what their question is? Their question is, where were you when the world shut down? Where were you when quarantine started? And as I asked this question to the group of young people yesterday, they all nodded their heads so affirmatively. It was like a big group of bobbleheads. They're like, yes, yes, we know exactly what that is. We, yes, that is the language of our generation. Now on the slide I had, I had Gen Alpha, which is just, they're just now becoming teenagers. The oldest gen alphas are about 15. And. And I put the question for their generation I had written on the slide, still loading, dot, dot, dot. And I stood and I looked at this group and I said, I think the question of your generation is going to be where were you when Charlie Kirk was assassinated? And they started nodding and they thought, why is this? Well, it has nothing to do really with, it has nothing to do with politics except for political violence. This was something that happened live streamed. And I think the violence of that is something we really need to give some consideration to. And that's what I want to talk to you about. Because how do we give this younger generation, how do we ourselves have hope in such a time of intense fear? Now, if you're old enough, you might remember when the nightly news came on at 6 o', clock, it was very curated, it was very edited, it was very filtered. It was one person sitting behind a desk. For certain generation, it was mostly Walter Cronkite. We did not see everything. We saw what someone else chose to show us. Something that was highly vetted. Vetted, highly edited. And to be honest, it was grainy footage. It was not very good footage. If you even watch football games, baseball games from the 60s, 70s, 80s, it's not that clear. Now our kids do not have to wait for the 6pm news, they see things literally happening live. And that is what happened with this event. And they don't just see it happening live. They see it up close and personal and high definition. And what once was carefully packaged news delivered to you at a certain time of the day, it's now non stop. It's raw, it's live. Teenagers can watch a school shooting. They watch the murder of Irina Zarutska. This week, they watched that. Not that it happened this week, but that was, definitely all over social media. And they see violence streamed in real time. It is not a headline. It is a lived trauma that they feel like they are living alongside those who are dying. So today I really want to dig in and explore how families can face this age of fear with unshakable hope in Christ, and why it matters so much for the next generation. Because I am, I am really concerned about how this social media news feed is shaping their world. And they're not even waiting for the news. The news is chasing them down. Every time they pick up their phone, they're getting, they're getting notifications. That is really, really difficult. And when we think about older generations, we did not see those graphic images that kids are seeing today. And kids today are seeing violence unfold in real time. I've given you two examples, but there are many. This has just become very normalized, and we need to be very careful because there is a psychological impact to seeing unfiltered exposure to violence. It completely overwhelms your brain, especially for a child. Children are not developmentally ready to process what they're seeing. Their nervous systems go into fight or flight as though they were there. So we see these thousands of people who were traumatized at the assassination of Charlie Kirk. There are millions who have watched it on loop online. And neurologists advise that repeated exposure to violent media can rewire your stress response and makes you more anxious. It makes you have trouble sleeping. And I will tell you, these kids I was with this week, they are not sleeping. They are anxious and they are feeling afraid. It is a silent trauma as the weight of witnessing it. It's a heartbreaking reality that kids are witnesses to global trauma on a daily basis. They see strangers die. They watch cruelty. And unlike an adult who might analyze it as news, kids might internalize it as if it happened to them or it could happen to them at any moment. That's why we see kids afraid to go to school, because they're afraid of violence. They carry this invisible trauma into their classrooms, into their friendships, into their Churches into their homes. I mean, imagine being 10, 11, 12 years old and seeing a live stream of a violent attack. You go to bed that night, you're not just afraid of monsters under the bed. You're afraid of real monsters out there inflicting real violence. You're afraid of war breaking out in your neighborhood. That fear just lingers. And our smartphones are now a trauma delivery system. They were designed to connect us, but in many ways, they have become instruments of, of trauma. Because every buzz, every notification has the potential to bring just not just information, but despair. I know even as I was looking for news and trying to scroll through different news sources and social media sources, I was feeling deeply anxious because there were things that I did not want to see, but I knew that they could come across my screen at any moment. And instead of being informed by the news, kids are being formed by the news. They're being formed by fear. They are being shaped by images of violence. They are becoming conditioned to expect the worst. And as parents, a lot of times we underestimate what our kids are consuming. Even if you think your child isn't watching the news, they are. Because if you ask them, are you watching the news? They're going to say no. Because the news doesn't come from Walter Cronkite anymore. It doesn't come from the nightly evening news. It doesn't come from the 6 o' clock local news, the 10 o' clock news. It comes from peers on social media, anonymous apps. It comes from video game chatting. It comes from viral videos that are shared in text message. And what used to be rare breaking news moments are, now this endless drip feed of violence and tragedy that come with a double dose of anxiety and depression. And every feed is tailored by algorithms that are designed to keep your child's attention. So if they pause for just one second on one violent clip, the app's going to serve them more and more and more and progressively more violent because it senses a demand for that. And an algorithm doesn't have discretion or discernment to say, oh, this is a child. They shouldn't be seeing this. Let's shut this down. Matthew 6:22 says, the eye is the lamp of the body. What we watch, we take into our souls. And that is why, friends, that is why hope in Christ becomes not just spiritual, but practical. Families have to guard their hearts and their eyes because what we take in shapes the way we think and what we feel. That what we even believe about the world, it shapes our very worldview. And so we are Carrying this witnessed trauma from our smartphones. What is this doing to us? What happens to us when we are taking in all of this fear, all of this pain that doesn't even belong to us. Everywhere you go, people are asking, why is this impacting me so personally? Why do I feel like this is someone I know? Why do I feel so deeply connected? It's because we are connected. This is so deeply personal because so many of us were firsthand eyewitnesses via social media. That happens. And we feel grief for the loss. We feel grief for the injustice of it. And that's what we're going to talk about. I got a lot more to say when we come back. I'm going to talk about trauma dumping and how it's impacting us and what we can do about it.
Ask Doctor Nurse Mama Friday focuses on courage and choosing faith over fear
And before we end today, I'm going to talk about faith and fear, choosing faith over fear, and how we can live out our convictions with courage. I heard a pastor yesterday on the news, the actual news, saying that in the absence of courage, truth is an orphan. And I'll, talk about how we can have courage to speak our convictions and how we can give that courage to our kids, too. I'll be right back after this break. I want you to picture this. Her name is Kayla. She is 17, alone, terrified and pregnant, sitting in a clinic, tears blurring, thinking abortion is her only option until she was offered a free ultrasound, paid for by a hero just like you. The moment Kayla heard her baby's heartbeat, the decision was made. And today, her little baby boy, Gabrielle, is thriving because preborn walked with Kayla every step of the way. Now multiply that by 38,000. That's how many babies preborn has helped save just this year. How many mothers preborn has come alongside with practical and spiritual resources to make motherhood possible. But here's the most important thing you will hear today. Their goal is to save 70,000 by the end of the year. And they can't do it without us. Every $28 provides that ultrasound. The moment everything changes, will you be the reason the next Kayla chooses life? The reason Gabrielle fulfills his destiny? To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby, that's pound 250 baby. Or donate securely at preborn.com/AFR, that's preborn.com/AFR.
>> Your Way's Better by Forrest Frank: Oh Lord, I need you now more than ever Would you put my heart back together? I searched the world 'till my head hurt Just to find out your way's better oh, your way's better oh, your way's better oh Lord, your way's better. Jesus.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is your way's better by Forrest Frank and isn't that the truth? God's way is better in a world that we just don't understand. I, say this all the time. I heard it when I was young. I don't know who to attribute the quote to. Every time I look it up, I can't find a source. If you know a source, let me know. But it goes like this. If God was small enough to be understood, he wouldn't be big enough to be worshiped. And that is just where we are. There are some things that I just don't understand in this world. But I do understand and know the ways that God has been there for me. The ways that God has been so real in my life, the ways that I've seen him work miracles in my own life and the lives of others. And I know that. I know that. I know I'm convicted to my core that God's way is better. Even in a world where we see it seems broken. In a world where that is not good, God is still good. Today we are talking on Ask Doctor Nurse Mama Friday. How do we have hope in a world that seems anything but hopeful? How do we be hopeful? That's what we're talking about today. And I talked about how smartphones are really a sort of trauma delivery system. It is a, ever present trauma threat. And segment three, we're going to talk now about what happens, after that trauma and the few in the future segments for the next two, I'll be talking about what happens when that lands in our lap.
Trauma dumping on social media is impacting mental and emotional health of young people
Because we're not just watching, we're not just bystanders. We are literally absorbing the pain that we see. Now. This actually is a phenomenon that has a name that is relatively new because of social media. It's something called trauma dumping and it's quietly shaping mental and emotional health of an entire generation. So let's talk about trauma dumping and why this might be impacting us so much. There's a lot of different factors. I'm just going to cover a few and some of those emotional and mental health reasons. Because trauma dumping happens when someone shares really raw, unprocessed, just graphic details. You witness someone's pain, you witness violence, you're not prepared for it, you don't know that it's going to happen much like people who have witnessed some of these acts of violence, they're just going about their day. They're not thinking or preparing themselves. I mean, when we Prepare ourselves for something difficult. Say you're having a surgery or you're going to have a difficult conversation. You prepare yourself in that way. But right now, it just seems like trauma is this crazy little jack in the box that you never know when it's going to pop up without warning. And in real life, that can be just someone who all of a sudden just tells every painful detail. Now we see of something that happened to them, whether it's abuse or divorce or some sort of trauma. But what we see is kids absorbing this on social media. You watch a reel, and all of a sudden everyone shares every detail of their trauma and they just dump all of that on you, and you're not ready for it. It can be live streaming violence. It can be posting graphic videos of tragedy. It can be typing out what happened in really long captions, those kinds of things. And adults might be able to set boundaries. They might be able to say, this is. This is not my story to carry. This is not the time for me to read this. This is. I'm not in a place right now where I can handle all of these details. But it is a lot harder for younger people to have those boundaries. So they scroll and they absorb. And that's what I heard even from a young person this week who had watched a video of the violence that happened 10 times before they finally realized, okay, I'm actually watching someone, someone die in real time. Like, this is not something that I am meant, to absorb. And it isn't. But it's so normal to, to watch social media that it's those blur, those boundaries are all blurry. And whereas we in older generations, we have a sense of what that looks like, it's very difficult for that. And so we see in the digital age, this constant stream of, honestly, trauma dumping, because social media is going to amplify it. The platforms reward things that are shocking, things that are salacious, things that are sensational. Because if they get clicks, if they get likes, if they get shares, if they get views, then the more money they can make, the more advertising they can make, the more users they can have, the more intense the story, the more viral the story, the more it goes around. And an algorithm, like I said, it doesn't have wisdom or discernment or these other human characteristics that God gave us. It doesn't distinguish between, oh, this is a healthy story we should share in a, in a thoughtful way. It just says, oh, hey, this is what's grabbing attention.
About half of teens say they have encountered distressing or harmful content online
And, a Pew study found that about half of kids say that they absolutely have encountered distressing or harmful content while online. I think that has gone up. I imagine that in the last couple of years that's become much more normal. And nearly one in three teens say they have seen someone post about self harm or thoughts of ending their life. They have seen this. And we know that exposure to this kind of content makes people more anxious. On the other hand, it also makes people more emotionally numb. But it can also cause secondary traumatic stress. It causes, it's not, it's the same stress that it's experienced by first responders. Let me explain to you this to you in a way that I think will help you see it. Many of you may remember Demar Hamlin, the NFL football player who experienced a cardiac arrest during a game on the field. The whole stadium, you could hear a pin drop as a circle gathered around and everyone together. Millions of people basically collectively held their breath thinking this man's life hangs in the balance and we don't know what's going to happen. And, and I know that there were a lot of people because I talked to them who told me flat out, either in specific words or told me in a way that I recognized it before they did that that was traumatizing to watch that man's life hang in the balance. Now first responders do this every single day. And we're exposed to this kind of trauma. But basically we have a generation that's become first responders on social media in a certain way looking at this as eyewitnesses. That is emotional overload. And they, kids will feel the effects of this. They may feel depress, depressed, they may feel just unsafe. They just, it's contributing to a worldview that the world is unsafe. They feel this constant hum of anxiety in the background because you never know. It's like the, the soundtrack of that jack in the box. It's just going off in their life all the time 24 7. And you never know when the jack in the box is going to pop up out of that box. That's hard. Now again, on the flip side, when we have repeated exposure, it numbs compassion. And kids may see these things and it completely normalizes it. And it's not because they don't care. They've just seen too much. And that numbing, it robs families of empathy and it is really damaging to healthy relationships. And that's hard. And there's a generational divide because often older generations will misinterpret their kids reaction. You might think why don't you care? When really that's just their emotions shutting down out of a pure survival reflex. Or they may laugh because they don't know what to do. They. They're so overwhelmed, their senses are completely confused and they don't know what to do. And so that comes out. Now we cannot ignore this because this creates, this trauma Dumping creates a culture of emotional instability. Kids are carrying stress, parents fear, helpless. So they kind of disengage. And we don't really talk about it because who wants to talk about this? Who wants to sit around the dinner table and say, well, let's talk about how we process hard things. That's. That's not a thing that we want to talk about, but we must talk about it. And we have hope in the word of God first. Peter 5:7 tells us, cast all, all a L L all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. But instead of casting their cares on Christ, we see a lot of them casting their cares onto strangers online. Like, I'm just casting my cares out there. Who is going to bear this burden with me? That's why we are designed to walk in community with people we know, people we love, people we are invested in, people who will show up, who know us, who love us, who will carry our burdens with us, who will share burdens human to human, not algorithm to algorithm, but God designed for us to bring our deepest pains and anxieties first to Him. So what can we do about it? I mean, there are a lot of things that we can do about it. And I'll talk a lot more about this as we go. But just as a preview right now, the first thing that we can do is teach discernment. Don't assume your kids can handle alone. Don't assume they haven't seen anything. I honestly, if you have kids, any with any access to a screen, I would sit down with them sometime this weekend and just say, hey, tell me about what you've been seeing on your screens this week. Is there been anything that's been bothersome to you? Anything that you're worried about that you're thinking about? A lot. Talk to them about what they've seen and how they're processing it and tell them what's the difference between healthy storytelling, like sharing a testimony of what God has done, sharing the redemption, sharing a story of what happened without any of the graphic details. Because very, very rarely is that needed outside the context of, m. A therapist relationship, a parent child relationship, a spouse relationship, a very close friend relationship. Most of the time those graphic Details aren't needed. You can share a little bit about the experience without sharing everything. And, and we also don't want to share those raw wounds without healing and hope and just leave it for the other person to pick up the pieces. We really need to set some boundaries on content. Tell your kids unfollow accounts that regularly post violence. Unfollow them if they're constantly, putting out doom and gloom and ranting and those kinds of things. Tell them to guard their feed. Just like we are to instruct it in scripture. To guard our hearts, we are to guard our feed. Be very careful about what you look at on social media. Be intentional about the accounts that you go to for reliable sources of news without just mindlessly scrolling the for you page or whatever it is on whatever social media, ah, platform that you're on and process it together. So if your child has seen something traumatic, if you've seen something traumatic, don't brush it off. Is ask questions like, okay, how did that make me feel? And then what do I do about this emotion? Do I feel angry? Do I feel discouraged? Do I feel afraid? Do I feel sad? What do I do to cope with that? That is really important. And for as many of those bad news stories that happen, look for the good news. Where are the hope filled stories that you can share? Use your own family history of God's faithfulness as a source of encouragement. I know I do this in my home. I have certain little mementos around the house that I, that I got specifically to remind me of a good story, a God story in our lives. And maybe I'll just go get that object and just bring it out to the family and say this is the time we're going to share this story. We're going to share this story over and over and over again. So if trauma dumping and unfiltered news feeds and doom scrolling, it's sowing fear, depression and anxiety in the hearts of our family. Where do we go for hope that's unshakable? I think we know that and we are seeing that message loud and clear. We are seeing people shout that more than ever that our hope is in the eternal hope of Christ. And that is the only thing that can carry our families through the darkness of this world. And it is dark. We talk about a lot of things on this show that are deeply disturbing, quite frankly that are fear inducing. We talk about the mental health crisis. We talk about cultural impacts of what kids are facing today at school. We see tragedy, trial and trauma. All the Time. But how do we choose faith over fear? How do we live out our convictions? Because the world is feeding us a 24, 7 diet of fear. We are constantly afraid. And anybody could look at the stories that happened in the news this week or anytime back this year or the last several years and you can feel afraid. But we have got to go back to the truth of God's word. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power and love and a sound mind. And this week the fear isn't even so much perhaps what's happening. It's the fear of speaking out about what you believe. In this world of polarization, words are twisted and reputations are destroyed. It just feels safer just to stay silent. We want to hide. But silence and fear have never been defining characteristics of God's people. They have never been defined by silence and fear. God's character defines and marks his people by hope. We can be hope filled people even in the situations that seem the most hopeless. God is always there. Now why are people so afraid though? If we know that, we intuitively know that many of you are saying, yes, I know that if God is for us, who can be against us? Well there are people who are against us and it can be scary in that way. So why are people afraid? Well, they're afraid because of political polarization. America is extremely politically divided, more than at any point in recent history. And there is something to be said for the lack of civil discourse. And a Pew survey in 2023 found that almost, almost 2/3 of Americans say they just feel exhausted when they're talking about politics. And 55% feel angry. And that makes conversation about values or faith just charged. Families may feel tension at a holiday dinner. You're afraid to say something at work. You might even be afraid to say something in your church. We also face cancel culture. It's a created a climate where one misstep, one unpopular conviction, it can result in being shamed, unfollowed, even fired. And for Christians, that fear is real. What if I lose my job for what I say? What if my kids are targeted at school because of what we believe? What if I'm misunderstood? What if I'm attacked by online and young people and particularly are deeply aware of this? And more than half of Gen Z say they self censor their true opinions online out of fear of what is going to happen. And we're also afraid of rejection. None of us wants to be alienated or labeled or cast aside. But Jesus himself promised if the world hates you Keep in mind it hated me first. Those are words from John and we are afraid of consequences. We're afraid of speaking the truth in love because we feel like we're speaking the truth in love. But it's, it's labeled as judgment, as intolerance, as hate, and we have extreme language in that. But the hope of eternity far outweighs the fear of today. The Bible is so clear. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. That's from Matthew. Our hope is not rooted in cultural approval. Our hope is rooted in Jesus Christ. And we can have fearless conviction in that. The early church flourished under persecution, not comfort. When we come back, we'll talk more about that conviction, choosing faith over fear and choosing to be hopeful even when things hopeless. I'll see you on the other side of this break.
>> Dr. Ligon Duncan: Dr. Ligon Duncan from the American Family Studios documentary the God who Speaks. Paul says, remember that the sacred scriptures teach us the way of salvation which is by faith in Christ. And in the first instance, Paul is talking about the Old Testament. So here's a a New Testament letter written to a minister of the word who already knows about the word because he's been preaching the word for maybe a decade. And yet Paul is exhorting him to continue in his high view of the Word and even reminding him that the Old Testament reveals salvation which is by faith in Jesus Christ. And then in second Timothy 3:16 he unloads, you know, perhaps the greatest single verse in all the the New Testament about the authority of scripture. All scripture is God breathed or breathed out of the mouth of God. Visit thegodwhospeaks.org.
>> Impossible Things by Chris Tomlin: You heal the broken hearted. You set the captive free. You lift a heavy burden. And even now you are lifting me. There is no healer like the Lord our maker. There is no equal to the king of kings. Oh our God is with us. We will fear no evil cause you do impossible things. You do impossible things.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Impossible Things by Chris Tomlin. And if you've been watching the news this week, you can think it seems impossible that we will find hope in a world that seems so hopeless. And how do we find light in a world that seems so dark? How do we help our families choose faith over fear? That's what we're talking about today, the habit of being hopeful. And we're talking about Romans 15:13, which has been just such a comfort for me. I have gone back to it so Many times may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, joy and peace, as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It seems impossible to have joy or peace. But you know what? It seemed impossible for the early Christian church right now. I. I just did a Bible study on King David, and now I am doing a Bible study on Acts. And it is so inspiring to see how the early Christian church lived under constant threat, social rejection. They were tortured, they were thrown in prison, they were killed. But history shows they had a deeply rooted hope. That is the hope of our faith that has gone to the uttermost parts of the world and to you, reached into your heart and your home today. That is not based on circumstances. Those are circumstances that seem completely impossible. How can hope flourish in the midst of that? But the early church found hope and the resurrection of Jesus as the cornerstone of their faith. And they believe that just as Jesus Christ was raised and is living and sitting at the right hand of God, we will be there in heaven one day too. Death lost its sting. And even death is seen as temporary suffering compared to eternal life with Christ. We have hope through the Holy Spirit's presence because Jesus promised us, I will never leave you or forsake you. And those early believers clung to the Holy Spirit's power. It gave them courage. It gave them boldness. We have Peter, who went from denier to proclaimer, and on this rock I will build my church. He went from denying. And I think it's so interesting, our pastor even said about how when Jesus was resurrected, he said, go tell the others and Peter to make sure he knew that Peter would be restored and to see that transformation is nothing short of impossible. They found hope in their Christian community because they were not alone. It says, forsake not the gathering of yourselves together. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to go to church on 9 11. I want to break bread, I want to pray. I want to encourage each other. That fellowship gives us strength to endure persecution together and reminds each other of, what God is doing in our lives that's so important. The early church also found hope in the sovereignty of God. They trusted God even when they didn't understand it. They knew that Paul wrote, trials produce character, endurance. Endurance, character, character, hope. And that hope does not disappoint. That is one of my favorite scriptures, because. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts. And as persecution continued, they had hope in their eternal world. the eternal reward they fixed their eyes on what was unseen rather than what is seen. And they hoped for Christ's return, which is where we are today. The early church did not flourish. It did not thrive under comfort, under riches, under blessing or favor from the government. It flourished under persecution. And they carried that hope for their eternal souls into a culture that was every bit as hostile as the culture is today. And people were saved by the thousands. People were drawn to that joy. People saw that that was different. And that same Holy Spirit dwells in us today. So how does this play out in our families? Parents, we have got to. Grandparents, coaches, any older generation. We have got to model courage. Kids are watching how we live our faith in public spaces. How do we live our faith? Is our faith something that's compartmentalized at church? Is it something that's very private at home? Or does it go into overflow, into our work, into our conversations with our neighbors, what we say online, in our interactions with people who serve us out in the public? If we shrink back in fear, they learn to shrink back in fear too. We have got to model courage. I said before the break, I heard yesterday a pastor say has been really sticking with me, saying that in the absence of courage, truth can be an orphan. It was. I may not be saying it exactly the right way, but that was the gist of what he said. And I thought, we have got to be courageous. We've got to also teach discernment. Not silence, but discernment. We need to help our kids learn when to speak, how to speak, and what to speak, and how to do that with grace. Silence isn't the answer, but neither is recklessness. We have got to teach our kids discernment to know when, how, where to speak up. Because the scripture tells us to always be ready to give an answer for our faith. And we need to build that resilience together. It's so important for, us to be connected to a group of believers, to a group of Christians, to go to a Bible believing doctrinally sound church, walk with people who are walking with the Lord, share stories of missionaries, share family heritage stories, share stories of others who stand firm in their faith. Those can be anchors of courage for kids who are looking with that.
We need to anchor our conversations in Christ, not in politics
And there's some practical ways that we can live out hope every single day in our lives. Some of the things we can do are to speak with gentleness and respect. First. Peter 3:15, as I said, reminds us, always be ready to give an answer, but with gentleness and respect. And I think about one time when I was traveling, and they, needed my ID for something. I think I was checking into a hotel and they needed my id. And I remember the person saying, why are you smiling? Nobody smiles on a driver's license. Period. The driver's license picture at. Period. And, I said, the joy of the Lord is my strength, and I've got joy. And I was able to share that with him. Now, I could have just made any kind of offhanded comment. And I wish that I could say that I was always that bold, always that on point. But we've always got to be ready to give an answer with gentleness, respect, and joy, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. We've also got to anchor our conversations in Christ, not in politics. I am telling you, I talk to hundreds of kids all the time, all over. All over the country. Honestly, I talk to kids all the time in all kinds of different contexts, and they are so weary of the political infighting, and they understand that there are values. Yes. And there is a conversation that needs to be had in a political forum. I am not saying that that doesn't need to be happening, but that same kind of conversation isn't the kind of conversation that should be happening at the dinner table. We need to anchor those conversations in Christ. What we believe, why we believe it, pursuing healthy relationships. And then those other convictions just come as an outflow of that. Keep the main thing. The main thing, which is Jesus is our living hope. And every conversation should always be anchored on our conviction in Christ. That is so important. And again, the other ways that you can model a fearless faith is praying, pray out loud. This is something personally I've really been working on. When people ask me to pray for them, or when people share a need, they share a burden. I just say, I'm gonna pray for you right now. And I just pray for them right now. May I pray for you right now? I have yet to tell someone. No, I don't want your parents think, no, I don't want those. Yes, people want that. And how can you share how God helped you? How can you share a testimony? How can you speak those, Those. Those words of fearless faith? That is really, really important. And we also have to reframe rejection because we may share our faith and other people reject that. That's not failure. That is just being faithful. Honestly, that is being faithful. We trust God with the outcome. And we can practice some small acts of boldness. Like maybe you share a Bible verse, in your social media. Maybe you offer to pray with A co worker, you invite a neighbor to church. You just share your faith with someone out in the public. Boldness really grows by practice. And that's important because, yes, the world feels divided. Yes, cancel culture is very real. But the hope that we hold is so much bigger than that. Our hope exceeds and conquers all fear, all cultural backlash, all political divides. And the question is not, what if this happens to me if I say something? What if this, what if this, what if this? What if someone misses the hope of Christ because I didn't share my hope? We've got to share that kind of fearless conviction that we want to pass on to our kids. And so that's important to do. I really encourage families to curate your news together. Don't let your phones be the primary source of truth. God's word needs to be the primary source of truth. And you need to speak as a family about the sources you're getting your news from. Share those people that you feel like you have vetted who are trustworthy, who present content in a responsible way, in a way that shares your worldview in a way that is edifying. That's important. Empower your kids to curate their news feeds. That's really important. And again, when you see that difficult thing, name and claim your emotions. How did this make me feel? And what do we do when we feel angry? I'll give you a hint. All of the answers are in scripture. There are guide. There's guidance for dealing with every emotion that you can imagine. You can find a scripture as a family. It would be a great family project to find a scripture that matches an emotion wheel. And this is what we do. Replace doom scrolling with scripture scrolling. Anytime you find yourself doom scrolling, start scrolling through scripture. Download the Bible app. Open your Bible. Put scriptures in whatever form, whether you're writing them down, whether you're keeping an online, notepad of them, start scrolling through scripture. Swap those endless feeds of despair with feeds of hope. Scripture, scripture, scripture. That is really important. And we've got to remind our kids that their security isn't based on the state of the world. It's not based on the state of politics. It's not based on who is the president. It's not based on where they go to school or where they live. The only way their eternal security is guaranteed is in God's eternal promise. And our hope is real. It is anchored in God's character, not in our circumstances. Romans 15:13 doesn't say hope. If things go well, if everything seems like it's okay, if this Circumstance. It just says hope. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. That's the imperative for us to trust. It is grounded in the gospel. If Jesus rose from the dead, death and despair and hell and the grave have been defeated forever. Death does not have the final word. I heard someone saying this week on the news that Charlie Kirk is not dead. He is alive in heaven. And those of us who have that faith in Christ, we can be alive forever. And that is so very important. And hope works. Hope is an anchor for our soul. Daily remind yourself who God is. Truth will replace the lies that fear feeds you. Do those small daily habits that rewire your nervous system to trust. I'm Talking about the 52 habits for healthy families we've been talking about all along. Prayer, gratitude, honoring the Sabbath, reading your scripture before you consume your screens. That's important. Engaging in community. Because hope grows in the presence of other believers. We need one another to hold fast when that doubt creeps in, and I can't say it enough to tell and retell those stories of hope that you have. And when you're speaking and live your living, your convictions in your family, start with humility. Start with gentleness. Speak truth with grace. Speak it boldly and confidently, but with grace, with gentleness. And continually convey that eternal perspective. What matters eternally about this issue? When you're facing a struggle, I can hear my granny's voice talking to me, telling me, jessica, this is all going to be burned up in the fire. These things don't matter. What matters is your soul. Model courageous love. Practice small risks. That's so important, because hope is contagious when it is lived, when it is taught, when it is told. And when you. I'm talking to you. When you make those consistent small choices and that we've been talking about, they are a, powerful inheritance that you can share with the next generation. A legacy of faith. And in a world that says this is hopeless, your family can be a vibrant, visible sign that God is faithful. And he fills us with hope because it's the heart of the gospel. The kind of hope is only possible because of Jesus Christ. On our own, we are separated from God, hopelessly broken by sin. No amount of optimism, of positivity, self help, nothing can bridge that gap but God. But God, in his great love, sent his son Jesus to die on the cross in our place. He paid the penalty for our sin. And three days later, he rose from the dead, defeating death and offering us eternal life. That is not wishful thinking that is the surest hope in the universe. And this hope is personal because the Bible tells us if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you, you will be saved. Not maybe not if you're good enough, you will be saved. Do you have that hope? Not just a vague optimism about the future, but unshakable eternal hope of salvation in Christ. If not, today can be the day. You can pray right now. Lord, I need you. I believe Jesus died and rose again. I confess him as Lord. And families, this is the legacy we're called to leave. Not fear, not pessimism, not silence, but a living hope rooted in Christ that shines in the darkness. May the Lord bless you and keep you as you share that hope with the next generation.
>> Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
