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October 27, 2026 · 57 min · Hope in the Night
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Hope for the Heart is a worldwide biblical counseling, coaching, and caregiving ministry founded by June Hunt in 1986. We’re passionate about helping people
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0:18 The following program is prerecorded. From the Hope Center in Plano, Texas, this is Hope in the Night, late night talk radio offering biblical hope and practical help. We've been on0:30 the air for over thirty years helping people. I'm Tom Petrosky here with author and speaker, June Hunt. We're a ministry of hope for the heart. To find out more about our ministry, go to our website, hopefortheheart0:42 dot org. You can find all sorts of things that we've been working on, and you can hear previous Hope in the Night programs, make donations. And if you sign up on our website, we'll send you some free0:54 resources that are samples of June's most popular books. Well, June, tonight we're gonna be talking about forgiveness. And sometimes there's a forgiveness that becomes unfinished1:06 business because a person leaves us before you've kind of cleaned that up. So how can we help people with that?1:14 Well, you've just mentioned something that is all too common. Now think about it. Think about years ago, I mean,1:26 centuries. The disciples, they're they're grieving because Jesus had just told them he's going to return to the father, but they1:38 don't wanna hear it. They they don't wanna let go. And, obviously, some thought his mission was incomplete. It wasn't1:49 finished. So they're focused on an earthly kingdom rather than a heavenly kingdom. But Jesus assures them that his work2:01 will... It... It'll be soon finished, and it's actually for their benefit that he leaves. I don't think they understood that, but Jesus2:13 reassures them very truly. I tell you, is for your good that I'm going away. Unless I go away, the advocate2:25 will not come to you. It is really referring to the spirit of God, the holy spirit. But if I go, I will send him to you. That's John sixteen seven.2:37 And so Jesus encourages his disciples to be hopeful, by describing the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit.2:50 In fact, my favorite term for the holy spirit is called the spirit of truth. And here it is in John sixteen thirteen. When he,3:02 the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. And sometimes those who are grieving have difficulty3:15 letting go of the pain and even saying goodbye. One way to help with this is3:27 sometimes you think about now practically. Let's say there's someone who is someone who is no longer3:39 here on earth. There has been a death. What do you do when it's like I I feel3:51 there's something more, but I don't know what the something more is. I can't get that person back in my life now to live4:03 where I could talk with them. So what you can do is to literally write a goodbye4:15 letter to your loved one. And after you've written the letter, you can place an empty chair in front of you4:27 and imagine that that person you've lost, meaning someone who is no longer here on earth, imagine that person sitting in the chair ready to hear4:39 whatever you need to say. By the way, I had a niece who was struggling4:51 with a father who had died, but there were a lot of things he did that were not good. And she loved him, but,5:03 there was a lot of rejection, a lot of hurt. And I remember she and I were together when5:14 this approach was taken because she needed to say the things having to do with even her forgiving5:26 him for what he had not done. But what it could be is you look back and verbally5:38 reflect on the history you've shared and what was lost. And you acknowledge that history as a permanent part of your past. You5:50 know, as I think about it, you can call the name. You know, I know this is part of my past. And you express the unfinished business6:02 regarding the past and resolve that any remaining issues or feelings, acknowledge what they are, and you bring them to a6:13 closure. The helpful part of this is it's not like you're not doing anything. You are doing something concrete, and that can be6:25 ultimately a closure. It's concluding what you did not do, what you did not say in the past,6:37 and you can write this all out. If you say, well, you know, what if I say it wrong? Just write it out. You could have somebody even look at it. This can be6:48 immensely freeing.7:00 If you struggle with stress and anxiety, you're not alone. Maybe you're dealing with a conflict at home or you're exhausted from work or just dealing with circumstances beyond your control. You might7:12 even wonder, where is God in this? And does he even care? That's why we created our new bible study. It's called cast your cares, and it's a ten week bible study on anxiety7:24 and the God of peace. Cast your cares explores the stories of people in scripture who faced fear, doubt, and overwhelming circumstances, and yet God met them right where they were with7:36 compassion and grace. So whether you're battling worry or longing for peace, this study is an opportunity to get to know the God who wants to carry your burdens. Cast Your Cares releases December twenty7:48 second and is available for preorder now. So visit hope for the heart dot org forward slash cast or text the word cast to seven zero nine one nine to learn more.8:00 At Houston Christian University, our graduate program offers you, the working professional, the curriculum to advance your career with the flexibility to keep your life focused. The personalized and affordable8:11 approach you deserve in the most desirable fields, all designed to take you where you want to go, but remain grounded in where you are. Let our sixty years of education8:23 experience get you there. Discover how at h c dot e d u slash8:33 circumstances, but sometimes stress, busyness, or life's disappointments make it difficult to be thankful. That's why we created our new thirty one day journal called Growing in Gratitude. It's designed to help you slow8:44 down and notice God's grace in your everyday life and cultivate a heart of gratitude. We'd love to send you a copy as thanks for your gift to the ministry of Hope for the Heart. Go to hope for the heart dot org slash8:55 give or text the word give to seven zero nine one nine.9:14 Welcome back to Hope of the Night. If you have any questions about what you've heard so far tonight, June was reading from her book on grief. And if you'd like to order that or any of our other resources,9:26 contact our support team at one eight hundred four eight eight HOPE or text support to seven zero nine one nine. They work during normal business hours, and they can assist you in finding and purchasing9:37 materials from a vast library of over a hundred topics. June, tonight we have a brand new caller. Linda is calling. Welcome, Linda.9:48 Hi. Thank you.9:49 Hi, Linda. Delighted you're with us. How can we help you?9:57 I've been struggling with this and dealt with the death of my brother who I did not get along with at all, and his dad was pregnant and10:09 the car accident, but I was... And just getting hit10:13 with the10:14 Wait, miss. Hold on. Hold on just a second. Just a second. So did you say the death of your brother?10:20 Yes.10:21 Okay. And how long ago was that?10:24 That was August.10:28 Wow. So this is fairly recent. It wasn't a long time ago. Okay. And...10:40 But you did not have a a good relationship with him. Is that what I'm hearing?10:46 That is correct. It was not good at all. It was pretty tense, very mentally and emotionally exhausting.10:58 It was just sad. And so I did try to apologize in the past, and he just made it hard to get along with him.11:10 I wasn't the only sibling that he didn't get along with. I have two younger brothers and an older sister that he would get along with them off and on. He did11:22 get along with one brother and one sister at the time of his death. I just feel very heavy over it and very sad11:34 because I'm worried about his soul is the bottom line. Mhmm. I'm very worried about his soul, and I know what's done is done, and God has his plan.11:46 How to do... How do I deal with this? How do I be strong for my granddaughter who is also in the vehicle whenever he... Having ride with my mom, and she survived. So I'm trying to be very strong for her12:00 and myself.12:01 So are you saying this was a... An automobile accident? Is that what you Yeah. You mean? Okay. And and the daughter was... His daughter was in the car. Is that correct?12:14 Yeah. He, well, adopted my my niece, so he he was her legal guardian. And, he he... They went off a cliff12:26 in August, and my granddaughter lived. And she was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, but she she she miraculously... I was12:38 witnessing God's healing in the hospital. It was theirs being answered by everybody that was praying so hard because that fall, I mean, I was witnessing God's miracle, and I still12:49 am with her. I mean, it's just... It's beautiful and insane, and this whole thing is just bittersweet. And I heard you talking to13:01 somebody about grief one time, and you really touched on it. I can't remember the exact words because I caught the ending of it. And that's the day and age and I called also13:13 because you touched on grief pretty good.13:16 Yeah. By the way, how old is his daughter now, your niece?13:24 Twelve. She's twelve. Twelve. This is my granddaughter.13:29 Oh, okay. And and how is... How how is she? I know you you feel certainly,13:40 she survived, but how is she about the loss of her death? She13:50 is... Hasn't really dealt with it really too much. She's... Has come out a couple times saying, why did God do this? I I told her that14:03 God scared her, that he has a special reason for her. She wants to know why my brother and my mom were taken from her, and and she... I told her that. And then14:15 she said, well, wasn't I good enough? Why didn't he take me too? And it was very hard for me to be able to answer that. I didn't know how to answer that, but just to hold her and tell her I'm sorry that this happened to14:26 you. And, you know, I wanna be able to answer her without her having any bitterness towards God.14:35 Mhmm. Well, obviously, he has a plan and purpose for her to live now, and he... She won't know what the plan is. But one of the14:47 things you could share with her down the road, you could say, you know, you asked me a question and, you know, why did God not take me? And14:59 there's a good reason in... Write this scripture down. It's Jeremiah j e... Just put j e r twenty nine eleven.15:10 Jeremiah twenty nine eleven says, I... This is God speaking. He says, I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper15:22 you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And that's very important. It's... I know the plans15:34 I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Meaning15:45 there are good things. Notice it says not to harm you. It's it's Mhmm. For your good that... And and there are gonna be good things that you'll be15:57 able to do for others. So God has a plan to use you in a special way. And that, I think, could give her comfort.16:10 Yeah. It will. I believe it will. To go deeper into the story, I guess, so my granddaughter,16:21 she... Her mother is incarcerated, and so my brother took it upon himself to just, you know, adopt her, and he got with the whole family basically16:33 and kept hearing from everybody. And so, like, my first time seeing her in years was at the hospital, and he,16:45 like, said so much negative to us about us, you know, in front of her and other... You know, my nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews, which is just very ugly. And16:58 I would, you know, engage with the testing and all that stuff, which I shouldn't have, you know, but he he would work it into his plate to where I would be the one going off. You know? Anyways,17:12 she was kinda like, you know, her her world got wiped away because he was raising her and he kept it from everybody, like I said. And I was seeing her, and I was telling her, look. What's come17:24 of it? We're we're able to see you again? You know, trying to tell her that was one of the positive things, and it's just... She hasn't really... She's going to counseling and17:36 stuff, but really hasn't opened up too much. And I don't know. It's just hard.17:44 Yeah. Is she going to a Christian counselor?17:47 Yes. She is.17:49 Okay. That... That's helpful, where it could be a... What we would call a biblical worldview. So many people, they don't have any18:01 view that's from God.18:05 Right. And then right away, they wanna give medications or whatever. Yeah. So, you know, I'm... My daughter got her into a Christian counselor, so that was really18:16 good.18:17 Wonderful. That's huge. Okay.18:20 So forgiving myself for my brother, like, would never... Like, we we just couldn't forgive him. Like, do they know that we're... How sorry we18:32 are after they die? Do they do they realize their wrongs?18:39 Well, what the Bible teaches is, literally, there are two different judgments. One is there's18:53 the judgment seat of Christ. That's what it is called in the bible. And it's for those who are Christians and everyone19:05 who is an authentic Christian, will be a part of the judgment seat of Christ. And then there will be different things that will be brought19:16 out much later, not now, but... And there will be certain rewards that are given. And19:28 in in heaven, there's a a plan that God has that we aren't privy to totally, but it will be19:39 extraordinary and it's positive. Now the second judgment is called the white throne judgment,19:51 and that is for those who are not believers. And there will be a destination for them based on their choice. You... They have a20:03 choice to literally yield their will to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ to give them20:14 literally a purpose that is made plain where... What what I'm saying is, and I, at one time, knew nothing about20:26 this because initially, I was not raised with the bible, so I didn't know what the bible taught. But the great white throne judgment20:38 is for those who are unbelievers, And there are levels in heaven... I'm sorry, levels in hell. But20:49 my point there is that this is why it is so important to communicate to people and they have a choice. No one is21:01 forced to receive Jesus as lord and savior. But what I can say is most people wonder21:13 about what happens after they die. Mhmm. Most people have questions. They think about and they hear different things.21:25 Some things they hear are not true at all. Everyone does not go to heaven. And what I think is21:36 is is vital is what we want to do. It's like for that dear twelve year old21:48 along the way, she needs to know that she actually has a choice to receive Jesus as her personal lord and savior.22:00 And that... What that means is lord and... Lord means master, ruler, owner. It's giving him control of our lives. And it's not22:12 just believing mentally that Jesus existed. There was a time when that's what I believed. Yes. I believe Jesus walked on earth and I believed22:23 he did miracles. And so therefore, I I was asked, are you a Christian? And I said, yes. Well, I had no idea what it meant to be a Christian. But I was fifteen at the time.22:36 And the reason I'm saying this is it may be that you have a special role in her life or there's someone whom you know would22:47 be excellent at communicating this truth. I'll explain this a little more when we come back.23:00 No matter what you're facing, there is hope. Sometimes it's hard to believe that. When we face challenges at home, at work, in our family, or maybe a private struggle, it can be hard to see what God is doing.23:12 The good news is you're not alone. If you're facing a difficult life issue, we'd love to help. Give us a call at one eight hundred night seventeen to talk with June Hunt on the Hope in the Night23:24 broadcast. You can talk with June about any issue, whether it's family, anxiety, anger, grief, or just the everyday stress of life, June would love to hear your story23:35 and offer help and hope through God's word. The Bible says, there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. If you'd like to talk with June on hope in the night, give us a call23:47 at one eight hundred night seventeen. That's one eight hundred six four four four eight one seven. Sharing your story can be a blessing to you and others.24:00 Hope for the Heart is excited to announce that we are partnering with Pray dot com to make hope more accessible. Now you can listen to Hope in the Night and the Hope Talks podcast anywhere,24:11 anytime, on any device through the Pray dot com app. You'll also find encouraging devotionals to help you grow in your walk with Christ. Download the Pray dot com app today in the24:23 App Store or text the word pray to seven zero nine one nine to learn more. Thank you24:30 for listening to Hope in the Night. For over thirty years, this program has been a place where people find biblical hope and practical help. We would love to hear how Hope in the Night has24:42 impacted you, especially if a conversation encouraged you or even if you were one of our callers. Just visit hope for the heart dot org slash story or text the word24:53 story to seven zero nine one nine and share your story with us.24:59 Welcome25:15 back to Hope in the Night. If you're facing a problem and would like to be a guest on the program and talk to June, call one eight hundred night seventeen or text caller to seven zero nine one nine.25:27 You just leave us a message and we'll call you back and start the scheduling process. Just as you heard our caller tonight say, she said, I heard you talk about something, and I thought it would help me. So please, if25:38 there's something that you're hearing that we... You think can help you through a problem, let us help you. And if you have questions about our topic tonight and would like to order resources, once again, support team25:49 can be reached at eight hundred four eighty eight HOPE, and they can help you find the resources that you need. Let's get back to Linda and June.25:57 Well, my friend, I think I'm hearing that you have recently, very recently26:08 experienced a major trauma. I mean, you were not in the trauma, but is it26:20 that your brother died in a car crash? Now I'm asking, and and and your niece was in the car also,26:33 but she did not die. She's she's getting help right now. Correct?26:40 So it was... She's my granddaughter. He had adopted her from my from my daughter, so she's a legal guardian, but he's sick. He he changed her name to, like,26:52 keep her from us, basically. And so it was my brother and my granddaughter and my mother. They were They're our mother. They went down a three hundred foot cliff,27:05 It landed upside down on its roof. And, like, the granddaughter was trapped in there for, like, three hours or something, and they were able to get her27:17 out. She had a broken arm, like, right underneath her shoulder and a broken pelvis. Oh. And everything, but she walked out, like, two27:29 weeks later. It was it two weeks whenever she walked out of the hospital, and that was just because I was27:40 witnessing God's healing hands on that child.27:45 Wow. So I'm and so I'm think I'm hearing that your mother died also.27:53 My mother did die also. Yes. Was seventy nine years old and very brutal. It was very violent, if you... As you28:05 can imagine. Yes. The car looks like... It doesn't even look like a car, and the only spark that's, like, not wrinkled or or, you know,28:17 like, the passenger side as it's... You know, the, you know, right side and everything else is just... You can't even recognize it. It's just28:29 mangled. I mean, the the the license plate is, like, completely upside down and twisted or I've never seen anything like that. And for her to survive that, you know28:42 you know, that was... She had these cuts on her hips, and that was the god's arms holding her into that seat, you know, because outside down in the creek, the water was not high. There are so many28:54 factors that played with God's hand, you know, just... It's insane. And it was so sudden, so I don't know about my brother29:05 because he was... We were raised Catholic, and I am not Catholic anymore because Mhmm. I just don't even go into that right now. But we just... He29:17 he... You know, we do believe in God. I believe in God. I do believe that Jesus is God. And29:23 Yes. Yes. He is.29:25 I didn't I didn't I didn't know that, you know, through the Catholic teaching, and so I got ripped off because we never even cracked the Bible my whole time when I was a Catholic. Yes. And29:37 so my brother did not... He said he didn't believe in God, and he was... I don't know why he was so negative and just anti Jesus.29:49 And he would say stuff that I would cringe whenever he would say it. And in his heart, I know that he didn't believe, but he cried out for God, I30:01 guess. He said, oh, God, whenever... Right before it went down, my granddaughter said. So I don't know. That's why I'm so worried about his soul.30:12 Well, my friend, I I just have to say that you have been through a major major30:24 trauma as... And it... It's traumatizing for your family. But when... And and I appreciate what you're saying that you30:35 had not really been taught the bible, and I know what that's like also. But then now it seems that the bible is important to you. It is.30:47 That's huge. I think we have to look at at Romans for clarity,30:58 and the bible is very clear. It... That the bible actually says in Romans. Romans is a book... Think of it as like31:11 the constitution, like we have a United States constitution. Well, that should govern our lives in a major31:22 way. Now, obviously, some people could say, well, that's not a great illustration, But I'm I'm explaining the importance of the book of Romans Okay.31:34 Doctrinally. And the bible says beginning in verse eighteen that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against31:46 all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain31:58 to them because God has made it plain to them. And the verse twenty is very important. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible32:09 qualities, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood by what has been made32:21 so that men were... So that men are without excuse. Meaning, when we look at creation32:31 Mhmm.32:31 We have to admit, something cannot come from nothing. Now it used to be that they did not teach that in science. But now it is very32:43 clear. Something cannot come from nothing. And that's because once the microscope proved32:55 that things... There's not what is called spontaneous generation. In other words, it... There is matter because there is where you have a creation,33:07 there is a creator. And that is what is being said in that first chapter of Romans. And I'm saying... I'm just... I'm gonna cut it straight with you33:19 because the bible lets us know that we do have a choice and that people... What what God does is initially, I'm gonna say it this way, it's like33:30 like God is giving us all a candle of truth by looking at creation, whether it is the trees, the33:42 oceans, the mountains, whatever. It did not come from nowhere. So where there is a creation, there's a creator, And and that is the33:53 implication here. And so we... What what what God does is as we accept the truth, he34:04 increases the light. And more and more do... It's like it could be34:11 a34:12 multiplication of of candles or it it... But but he lights... He presents the light of truth so that more and more we understand34:23 who he is. And, obviously, you seem to certainly have grown from years34:35 ago to now of your understanding because you're willing to acknowledge that there is a god of creation.34:47 Yeah. And then we we learn who that god is as we are exposed to the bible where, in fact, the very first34:59 chapter of the bible, the first words of the bible in Genesis one, it just says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the35:11 earth. Mhmm.35:13 By the35:14 way, just just to tell you this, lots of people don't know this. That word god in Hebrew is elohim, e l o h I m. Now35:25 the l part is god. Mhmm. The I m at the end is plural. Now we don't see that in English,Show more
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