The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

Expectation Series: Exploring the Curvature of Resilience

Life can be hard, and for many of us, our natural inclination is to avoid taking risks and thereby avoid the suffering and potential failure that comes with challenging ourselves. However, the Book of James tells us not to withdraw from these trials, but to embrace them. In fact, it is during these difficult times, when our expectations are challenged, that we become humbled enough to listen to God. This allows God to build us up and give us confidence and hope. Indeed, every time we descend into difficulty, persevere in faith, and bounce back, we become stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to deal with whatever challenges God calls us to in the future.

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James 1: 1-8, 12-18

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

 

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Responding to the Unexpected Call

The hero's journey begins with a call to adventure, which often prompts fear and hesitation. However, heroism is proven when the call is embraced in spite of uncertainty. Mary exemplified this by responding to God’s unexpected call with faith, even as she faced doubts, fears, and questions about the unknown. Her story reminds us that while God’s plans may feel overwhelming, we are invited to trust in Him, knowing He walks with us in our struggles and doubt. Community, like Elizabeth's encouragement to Mary, helps us reframe our fears into faith, offering a godly perspective that reveals God's blessings amidst the challenges.

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Luke 1:26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

How Our Expectations Define, Break, and Shape Us.

Expectations, whether big or small, define our lives. To our dismay, our lives often don’t go according to our expectations. Time and time again, we wrestle with expectations that are placed on us and that we have of others, and we agonize over the delays, disappointments, and comparisons, even to the point of criticizing ourselves for struggling with our struggles. However, the gospel is good news because God understands that in our humanity we struggle with expectations. The process of faith can at times feel awful, but in our surrender to his sovereignty, we can take a deep breath knowing beauty and redemption await at the other end of his call, as they did from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection.

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Matthew 26: 36-46

Gethsemane

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

⁴³ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Resilient: Don't Look Back

In this final segment of his series on resilience, John Eldredge reminds us of the world's darkness and how easily it can wear us down if we don't intentionally seek and grow in resilience. Too often, we become ensnared by the world and turn to insubstantial reliefs that don't provide the wholeness, beauty, and intimacy our hearts ultimately desire. In order to cultivate resilience and protect our hearts, we have to plan. The idea is not to try and fit God into our busy schedules, but rather to center on God and determine how to shape our lives around Him. For God's promise of Eden provides hope, and that hope is the source of resilience that enables us to endure life's trials. 

Resilient: Unconverted Places

This week, John Eldredge continues our series on resilience by exploring the unconverted areas of our lives. In difficult times, rather than being Christ-like, many of us react with fear, anxiety, anger, or rage—these are our unconverted places. To cultivate greater resilience, we must bring these emotions to Christ in the very moment they arise, asking Him to enter and unite with us in these areas. By giving Christ access to parts of us He has not yet touched, we open the door to gradual transformation, leading us toward greater wholeheartedness and a much deeper resilience than we could ever achieve on our own.

Advent: How the first Noel redeems the human story.

The first Noel reveals profound truths about human frailty and dependence, overturning the myth of self-made independence. Jesus, as a vulnerable infant, required the nurture of others, exposing the illusion that we can thrive on our own. His incarnation also affirms the transformative power of attachment—how community and mutual reliance are essential for strength and redemption. By entering the world as a helpless child, God demonstrates that tenderness, not power, is the path to conquering the world and restoring its beauty.

Advent: Finding your place in the Adventus

The Advent of Jesus is most often described as the arrival of Christ to the world, but implicit to an arrival is a story of departure. Christ’s departure from an eternal status quo to corporeal calling in the gospel of Mathew sets the scene for Nativity and the drama implied by His arrival. The significance of Christ’s arrival to the present invites us to take part in the story of redemption and create space for God’s movement in our own lives. The First Noel reflects an opportunity to pause from our norms, make space for the Father’s prompting in our lives, and find our place in the Advent story.

Resilient: The Deep Well Inside Us

In this next segment from his series on resilience, John Eldredge demonstrates the practice of spending time with Christ within us as the ultimate source of resilience. Most of the time, we operate in what Eldredge terms the shallows and the midlands of our being - the distractions and concerns of this world which leave us feeling exhausted or directionless. By practicing benevolent detachment and surrendering the noise of the shallows and midlands to God, we make room to access the depths of our being and address what our soul truly needs. It's in our innermost depths where Jesus invites us to draw closer to Him and commune with Him, not just for survival when we feel most weary, but for every moment of our lives.

Fortune Telling: The Distortion of Telling the Future

When we face situations where we think failure is inevitable, we can become so caught up in our emotions that we focus only on the catastrophe ahead. However, no one is a fortune teller, and by getting caught up in fear, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to build towards a better future. Instead, when faced with such situations, we can start by recognizing that our emotional swings are normal and that God will be with us regardless of our fears. Then, we can shift from doubt about the future to faith in the future. It may not be easy, but with practice, we'll become quicker and better at doing so. In this way, we can move beyond our fears, because, after all, God can make even the seemingly impossible possible.

Christ's Sacrifice For All And Forever

We often wrestle with the weight of our past mistakes, living in the shadow of guilt and feeling like we must constantly atone for our failures. The gospel offers a radically different message: Christ has borne our guilt and shame through His one perfect sacrifice, freeing us from the need to earn forgiveness. This freedom doesn't absolve us of responsibility but invites us into a life of sanctification, where we are transformed into Christ's likeness for the sake of others. Instead of operating out of fear, we are called to live in the freedom and love of Christ, choosing holiness as a joyful response to His grace.