What's going on guys? I'm Thomas Carney and this is Pursuit of Calling Podcast. If you
like this podcast, you can share it out on all your social media platforms and give this
podcast a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcast. This episode is called Trials,
Endurance, Character, Hope, aka Growing Pains. So if you're going through trials or you've
gone through trial in the past and you don't really understand, you don't know why you
went through it. You just know it happened and you don't, you never really understood
that you had a purpose for it. This episode really is for you.
What's going on guys? Thanks for sitting down with me for this episode of the podcast. I
wanted to ask a question real quick actually. So I think I might have asked this in the
last episode. Cole asked, or he asked if we had like the community of the Pursuit of Calling
Podcast had a name for the listeners. And like, I want to know if you guys, what you
guys thought. He asked if you guys would be called the Pursuers. And I actually kind of
like it to be honest. Like what do you guys think about being called Pursuers? Like if
I were to say like, whenever I'm talking to you guys and ask you like, Hey, how's it going
Pursuers or something like that? What would you think about that? Let me know in the comments.
I don't know. Is this something, something I'm thinking about? So today's episode, as
you might already see, is called Trials, Endurance, Character, Hope, Growing Pains. And you might
already kind of get where I'm getting this information from, what this is derived and
based off of. And I did kind of something, you might see it. I don't know. I did something
kind of fun. You look at Trials, Endurance, Character, Hope, and if you put those together,
if you put those into like an acronym, it makes the word tech. And I just like, that's
kind of cool. So I just, I kept it like that. That was fun. But really like, I want you
to like remember, I don't know, like, just think about, like think about your trials.
This is what I want you to kind of think about. Think about the things you're going through
right now that maybe are hard, the ways that you've suffered in the past, the way maybe
you're currently suffering. And right now that's just where I kind of want you to stay.
I'm going to read something real quick. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings
because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.
So I don't know if you remember the meme whenever everyone was wondering why guys always think
about the Roman Empire. Like I'm definitely one of those, I'm definitely one of those
guys, you know, like, and like this verse is one of my reasons. This verse and also
the writer of the verse is one of the reasons I probably think about the Roman Empire probably
like every single day, at least once, if I'm being completely honest with you. So would
I read is actually written by a member of the ancient Rome. His name was Paul. He was
a pretty good, pretty cool, pretty cool, pretty good guy. I never met him, obviously, but
I know a lot about him. I've read multiple of the letters that he's written and now those
are letters are, are in the Bible. I think you probably got that by now. I would go back
to this verse a lot though, whenever I am really stressing out, maybe I'm lacking hope
or my condition is spiking so hard that it's hard to imagine my life without it. I know
that dystonia does not have a known cure, which does kind of suck. But however, I know
that God is the healer and through trials, he provides hope. So what does it, what does
this have to do with calling though? Since this podcast is called the pursuit of calling,
like why am I talking about trials and endurance and pain and like what, what does that have
to do with the pursuit of calling? And well, another way to say this verse, another way
to think about it is our trials are essentially, they're putting us against the grindstone.
They're sharpening us and making us into more of who we are meant to be. I believe that
you have to have a good character in order to properly pursue your calling. The, like
we all have this call. I believe we all have a particular calling on our lives, but in
order to live in it well, you have to have a good character and that character is molded
and as character is in your character is sharpened and honed in to a fine point through the trials
that we go through. And like, because you know, when the going gets tough, whenever,
whether it's a physical or a mental trial, you want to be one of the people that are
able to keep going. And we do this by being able to endure the suffering well, you know,
like Lee Hanyo mentioned in his episode that he endures and pushes others to endure the
pain of growth because everyone is able to do more than they, than they believe that
they can. Even who you are right now, think about a trial that you've gone through in
the past and how now you've gained this endurance. I'm running a touch more on this later. You've
gained this endurance to be able to take on even more later. Think about the trials that
you went on in the past again. I'm going to say it again. Think about the trials that
you went on in the past that you're already focusing on and how much that has grown you.
Think about who you were before, who you were during and who you were after. Like I guarantee
you weren't, you aren't the same person.
No, God knows this about you too. Like that, like he knows that you're capable of doing
more than what, what you're currently doing. That's why he allows us to go through these
trials because he knows that if we rely on him, that there is growth into suffering.
You know, you've heard me talk about my dystonia before multiple times and how much of a struggle
it is in my life and how much of a trial it's been. However, my character has grown so extravagantly
since the beginning of this trial that without it, I wouldn't be the man that I am. You know,
I wouldn't be doing this podcast right now. I wouldn't have the confidence, the hope,
the joy, the certainty that I am capable of enduring more than I would have been able
to do a year ago and I'm still going and I can still keep going and I'm still going.
I'm still going to grow more. He's always more to grow in. I don't have this in my notes,
but bear with me for a second. You're there's, we can always, there's always a point. It's
never going to, no, there's never going to be a point where we're done growing with.
There's no more growth to happen. There isn't, there is an infinite ceiling. The sky is not
the limit. There is no limit, right? There's no limit to how much you can grow. There's
no limit to how much you can learn. There's no limit to how much to the people that you
can teach and the people that you can grow alongside of you. Like don't put limits on
that kind of stuff. There's no, like, there's just not one. Think about it. Like I said
before, think about the trials you already went through. We all have them. If you don't,
if you haven't gotten anything through anything, you can't think of anything, you know, you're
probably, you're pretty blessed, but you know, those are coming. Um, this trials are coming
if you have, if you can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure, um, that's not to
be discouraging. It's just, you know, to be realistic, they're coming. And that's also
to be encouraging, right? That, you know, whenever you're going through something hard,
that there is a purpose for it. Your past trials have reduced endurance out of you to
be able to suffer even more later on. I've said this multiple times already, but I feel
like that's something that really needs to be pounded in like a hammer on a nail. And
it needs to be pounded in so that you really understand that your trials have a purpose.
You got to admit it, that that's pretty cool. This newly found endurance you have produces
a greater character inside of you, not just to be able to suffer more the next time. Right.
You also gain some new abilities. And I say, let's go back. I say, not just to be able
to suffer more. Like, um, we talked again, I'm going to go back to Lee, cause that, that
is like that whole episode is kind of on the same topic. Like it's learning how to suffer.
Well, you don't like just because like me, I'm going to use myself as an example, just
because I'm going, it's cause I'm in pain every day because I'm suffering honestly,
every single day. And whenever I honestly think of suffering, I like I'm suffering pain.
I'm dealing with pain, I'm enduring pain. Right. But it doesn't mean my life is cause
my circumstances suck did not mean my life sucks. I've said it before in a previous episode.
And again, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, if you haven't listened to Lee's episode
yet, definitely go back and listen to it. It is worth the listen. Now, so let's go into
the, the abilities I've just mentioning. Like I said, you don't just gain the ability to
suffer that suffer well. You also gain some new abilities, like the ability to walk with
people who are going through what you've already went through or help people avoid the same
pitfalls that you've, that you've already fell into. Like, you know, like, I like how
John Maxwell said, he talks about leadership a lot of the time is like a leader doesn't
stay at the top. Like a leader already has gone up the mountain. That's like the pioneer
has gone up the mountain all the way to the top. And then the leader isn't the one who
stays at the top, the leaders and like looks down on everybody and says, Hey, come on and
get up there. I know you can cause I've done it. It's being able to walk back down the
mountain and walk with people back up and telling and being able to help others avoid
the same pitfalls and T and being able to teach them through your own experiences. So
you also gain some wisdom. Personally, the wisdom I've gained by wanting, I've gained
some wisdom through this trial that I've going through. Like I've gained by wanting to know
more about my condition. I, I've gained like, um, about like some wisdom about how I can
reach and influence people I've never met, regardless of my circumstance, like how, you
know, how I've learned more about my health than I ever thought I'd care to know. And
now I can't imagine even go into the grocery store and not looking at every ingredient
in something before I buy it. It, like some people definitely would think I'm weird, but
I care way more about my health than I ever have before. And it's honestly because of
the, of this trial that I've gone through and it's, it's a part of my life that I mean,
I can't, it's part of my life, like the actual, um, caring about my health. I can't imagine
having not caring now. Like I can't believe how much I didn't care before. You know, I've,
you know, I've also learned to, to lean into the fact that our time on this earth is short.
I want you to hear this part. This is extremely important. I've learned to, I've learned to
to lean into the fact that our time on this earth is short, that it doesn't matter where
the circumstances are as much as it matters what you do with what you've been given. And
that's where that, and that's how calling, how this all has to do with your calling.
We're all given, we're all, we're all in trials. That's why God allows these trials. He doesn't
put, he doesn't, I don't, he doesn't put us in trials. Sometimes I will sometimes he,
maybe sometimes he does. Sometimes he wants to hone you in, but I believe in circumstances
like mine, where I'm going through physical pain. And if you're a Christian, you know,
like we are beautifully and wonderfully made. We are made in the image of God and in His
perfection. Pain is not, was not part of His plan, but because of sin that was introduced,
because of sin, pain was introduced into our life. If you're not a Christian, that, if
you're not a Christian, that doesn't make sense. I encourage, I encourage you just to
do, to look into that a little bit. You don't need to believe it. You don't need to believe
it. That's okay if you don't. I, I pray that you still get as much as possible out of this,
regardless of whether you, you don't believe in certain things, things I'm saying, but
I pray that one day you will. But there's, but it matters. Like I said, it matters what
you do with what you've been given. Your calling is what you can, it's honestly, honestly,
it's the best thing you can do. Your calling, honestly, the way you live in your calling
is you being able to use your past circumstances to others benefit. Your calling is bigger
than you. Like I, I just, I just heard John Maxwell say in a podcast recently that if
your purpose isn't bigger than you, that he doesn't believe that you're, that you're,
that you have your calling yet. That you're, that you don't have your, that's not your
calling. If the purpose you see for yourself isn't bigger than just you, then that's not
your calling. And that's why I'm saying all of this, like everything that you're doing
with your life, it needs to be bigger than you in order for you to live in your calling,
in order to live in this larger, bigger purpose that is out there for you. You know, everything
I've talked about today and everything I've talked about today, beside the trials is optional.
You don't have to allow your character to develop for the better. You don't have to
have hope. You don't even technically have to endure if you think about it. It's all
a choice, but if you do all this well, you'll be, you will begin to live in the calling
that is destined for you. It's all about the pursuit. And that's what I have for you guys
today. If you enjoyed this episode of the podcast of the pursuit of calling podcast,
you know, give us a five, give, give this podcast a five star review on Spotify and
Apple podcasts and wherever you can listen. I just found out recently that you can give
a five star review on pocket cast. If you listen on pocket casts, my favorite podcasting
app. And again, I love you guys. Thank you for listening to this whole episode. Share
it out on all your pla on all your social media platforms and I'll see you next time.
Peace.