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November 6, 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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0:10 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 help0:22 on the air for over thirty years. I'm Tom Petrosky here with author and speaker June Hunt. We are a ministry of hope for the heart. To find out more about our ministry, go to hope for the0:34 heart dot org. Hi, June. How are you tonight? And what did you wanna share with us?0:40 Well, I was thinking, Tom, about the holidays that were coming up. And the bottom line is0:53 for many, it will be all warmth and love and kindness. But for others, it will not be that.1:05 I remember... I was I was thinking prior to this even sitting down to to do this program.1:17 I was told that I... By my dad, you're the cause of all the problems in our family. And I remember thinking, I'm I'm stunned that he would say1:29 that. Much later, I... Well, my two sisters told me that, June, you're the...1:43 For dad, you're you're like the lightning rod for his anger. And I was a peace... I thought I was a peace person,1:55 but I did... The one thing I did is I would take it from my mom, and at times he would be cruel toward her. And so later, I understood...2:08 And my dad was an atheist. He... I remember he had not been in church for forty years except for weddings and funerals when we2:20 moved into his house. And eleven months later, my parents married, but I I just had a bizarre home. And yet,2:33 I just think it's fantastic when there's unity. I think, when I see homes that don't have the discord...2:45 And, you know, we don't have choices, meaning I did not choose the family in which I was born. We2:58 don't have that as a choice. We have what we have, and yet it certainly has given me huge compassion3:09 for those who likewise have been rejected, who feel that they have bizarre, then I can understand. And I have3:22 several people in my life where things have come out recently and, you know, they hurt. They either don't have a nurturing3:34 mother and for the... You know, that's normal to have a nurturing mom. Yet, I know a number of people3:46 who they... That's not what they had. I did have a nurturing mother, but my dad also forbid her... Well,3:58 forbid all of us kids. I had a brother a year older and two younger sisters, and dad said, you all are not good for your4:09 mother, so once dinner is over, you will have no contact with her. So we were prohibited to be with her. But, you know, so what... We just did4:21 homework, and you you just make the best of it. But I I don't think I knew a lot about what was going on in other families,4:33 but I can tell you it is so endearing when I see a nurturing father or a nurturing mother, especially it's the nurturing father4:45 that gets me. I saw a man the other day at my church and how he was interacting with his little boy. And I thought, oh4:57 my goodness. In fact, at the end, said, I just want you to know, touch me deeply watching you with your son. I said, I didn't5:09 have that. My father, that just wasn't who he was. And I just want you to know, it's quite a testimony to see5:21 how you interact with your son in such a nurturing way. I think it surprised that man, but I hope it encouraged him. The the5:32 point though is we have what we have no matter what it... Whatever it is, and God knows that. And he is the one5:45 who knows if there's rejection. We can look at what the heavenly father is like. The bible says,5:57 for the sake of the name of the lord, he... The lord will not reject his people because the lord was pleased to make you his own.6:10 That's first Samuel twelve twenty two. And in fact, the the bible's very clear. He equates rejection6:21 of Christians as a rejection of him. And so he understands rejection, but the important thing is6:34 we will we will survive and the Lord will be ever close to us. And he has compassion on us6:46 when we have had severe pain in our own homes. Those are my thoughts for today. The7:01 holidays are almost here, and we know they can be difficult with all the busyness, travel, and stress. Maybe you've experienced a loss or you're facing a trial right now and you need some7:12 encouragement. That's why we wanna let you know about a special resource from Hope for the Heart. It's our new Christmas devotional called the God of Hope. In this beautifully designed devotional,7:24 you'll be encouraged by twenty five reflections on the Christmas story along with a daily bible verse and prayer to help you connect with God and reflect on his promises. We'd love to send you a7:36 copy of the God of Hope Christmas devotional. Request your copy today to get it in plenty of time before December and experience the God of Hope this Christmas season. Get your7:48 copy today at hope for the heart dot org forward slash Christmas. That's hope for the heart dot org forward slash Christmas.8:00 Thanks for listening to Hope in the Night with June Hunt. With the holidays coming up, we know they can be a stressful time and even painful for many people. That's why we wanna let you know about our free resource8:12 called Caring for Your Mental Health. It provides biblical guidance for navigating stress, anxiety, loneliness, and grief during the holidays. You can download your free copy at hope for the heart dot8:23 org slash free or text the word free to seven zero nine one nine.8:30 Life is full of challenges, but finding help shouldn't be one of them. That's why we created the Care and Counsel Handbook. With biblical guidance on one hundred real life issues, this is Hope for the8:42 Heart's most comprehensive resource so you can find clear answers from God's word right when you need them. You can get your copy of the Care and Counsel Handbook today at hope for the heart dot org8:54 forward slash handbook or text the word handbook to seven zero nine one nine.9:12 Welcome back to Hope of the Night. If you have any questions about our topic tonight or would like to order resources, please reach out to our support team at one eight hundred four eight eight HOPE or text support to9:23 seven zero nine one nine. That team works during normal business hours and can assist you in finding and purchasing materials from our vast library of over one hundred topics. June, let's9:35 get to our caller tonight.9:38 Alright. Anita, I welcome you to hope in the night. It's so good to have you. How can we help you?9:46 Hi, June. Thank you for taking my call.9:49 You're welcome.9:51 So, yeah, I I am the only Christian in my family of origin. So when I became born again in two thousand three,10:04 I've prayed for them all. None none have come to receive Jesus as lord and savior. Okay. The only one I think I really witnessed to10:15 was kinda my mom. Well, I know I witnessed to her, but I don't think I... Before she passed away, I don't think I gave her an opportunity if she wanted to receive Jesus personally just10:27 because there was so much vitriol and like, walls, you know, coming up from her about my having become a Christian.10:39 Wow.10:41 So...10:41 Yeah.10:42 She's gone now. I have... Both my parents are passed away. My dad passed away in ninety seven. My mom passed away in two thousand twenty. So I just have... As far10:54 as, you know, biological family goes, I am... Thank god that we have multitudes in the family of Christ with us. But as far as my biological family, I just have two older sisters and11:06 an older brother.11:07 I11:09 don't have children. My sister right after or right before me, I guess that's the way the birth order is before me,11:20 She and my brother, who are the oldest, they're the only two that have children. So between them, I have three nieces and a nephew.11:29 Wow. Uh-huh.11:31 Yeah. And I guess... So I'm calling because I moved back to the region that we all grew up in. I had been living in the south for years with my husband who decided to go11:43 back to school, and he chose the school in in the south to go to. But I moved back to the northeast in two thousand twenty because my mom had gone into the hospital.11:55 I had... One of my nieces was working in a hospital. You know, this was, like, during COVID. Uh-huh. And then my brother had a heart attack. So I just, you know, I... And I also had the finances to12:06 move. I... We had just been just renting, so it's not like... And we didn't have children, so it's not like we have, you know, to sell a house at... Or it made difficult to pick up and move. So I came back to new... To12:18 the northeast. And so my two... My sister and brother are in the same state as I... That I moved to, and my12:30 other sister is in New England. So... Yeah. It's just ever since then, like, the difficulty between my two sisters in particular has ramped12:42 up. So I don't know. I was kind of calling, hoping that maybe you might be able to kinda help shed some light, you know, from your perspective, from an outside perspective12:54 on on how I, you know, should proceed. Things have just gotten so detrimental between the two sisters and I that I've been considering,13:06 like, maybe I ought to just walk away. You know, there is a lot... As I'm sure you're aware, there's a lot of YouTube videos and a lot of information out there now about narcissism, even, you13:17 know Yes. Some nurse13:18 Oh, yes.13:19 Yeah. And some people do recommend you can either go, like, no contact or gray rock or whatever. I'm sure you've heard those terms before. And13:31 I... It's just gotten so bad. I'm actually kind of wondering, you know, if, like, what what god would have me do. I've been praying about it, seeking him, seeking his13:42 word Because first and foremost, that's... You know, I don't wanna follow like what the secular world... What the world would tell us that how we should treat narcissists if we have13:54 to, like, have no contact. I mean, I need to be responding to them the way the way Jesus would want me to. So... But it just... It has... Yeah. It's just gotten so14:06 painful for me, and and physically, I don't... I'm very... I'm kind of, like, had some physical health issues. So I I feel very vulnerable and weak, weaker than I used to be.14:18 I had cancer surgery in two thousand nineteen, and it really messed some things up in my physical health. So I don't feel as strong as I used to. And so part of the reason why I'm wondering maybe if I should just,14:30 like, maybe just not speak to them anymore. And by speaking to them, I just mean, like, the random text messages or on Facebook. Mhmm. Or if I should continue and14:42 maybe pursue, like, a... You know, I haven't actually ever said a few things to them in particular about maybe what God's word said. They're very14:54 gung ho on abortion. So I haven't actually, like, spoken to them about what God's word says about abortion. And I I haven't given them an opportunity to receive Jesus himself as Lord15:06 and savior. So I don't know. I've been wondering maybe if I should do that. And then pretty much expect to know where that's gonna land and then just15:18 lovingly wait for them. They'll probably walk away from me forever once I do that. But... Or or if I should just kind of close the door now because15:29 it's just gotten to the point where it's just so... Mentally, it's taking up a lot of my mental thinking, a lot of my thought process, a lot of my time, and it's very emotionally draining and15:41 painful, and it's causing depression to be worse than me. And... Yeah. So I I don't... I just don't know what God has for the relationship going forward15:52 between myself and my two older sisters.15:55 Yes. And, obviously, you're not aligned because you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ yielding your will to his will,16:07 and that is not where they are.16:10 Yeah.16:10 Now help me understand for each of them. What what have they done? Paint the picture for16:22 me. What is so painful that they have... How they've interacted with you?16:30 Yeah. So, basically... So when I had let the one sister who lives in New England know, she's the one right next to me in16:42 birth order. I'll let... Do you mind if I call them, like, so the older one, I'll call sister one and the the one we all call sister two? Okay.16:50 That's fine. Thank16:52 you. So so so sister two, ever since she found out in two thousand twenty that I was relocating back to our our area,17:04 I would communicate with her by text message, and she would start fights and just be very... And it might just be over simple things where she would just get very defensive,17:15 and most of that was done by text message, which isn't the best way to communicate, in my opinion, with someone because you can't always tell the tone and the the inflection. You can't see their body language. You17:27 can't... You know? Yes. You know, if you can't be talking to them in person, it's probably better to be on the phone. Yes. But text message doesn't convey. So granted, I'm not perfect. So17:38 sometimes, you know, I might have taken what she was saying wrong where she was trying to pick a fight, and I may have defended myself. And so with her, it just seemed to open a door for her to be able to just come17:50 back at me and lash out tremendously. I think one of those happened to be on a group text message with with the other sister, the brother, and the nieces, and the18:02 nephew, and she was very upset that I had called her. I think I think it was, like, past eight o'clock in the night or evening, maybe nine.18:14 Okay.18:14 And so I just offended myself. And, anyway, she came back very lashing and so forth. And and then my... Her husband, my brother-in-law, jumped in and and he was18:26 saying, like, in his text message, you know, you know, like, just, you know, just try not to... You know, I go to sleep early.18:38 Try not to contact... You know, try not to send a text message or call after night. And so I was like, okay. So Wow. You know, I was like, well, I'm I'm18:50 sorry. I apologize. So I let that go and whatever. So we... I moved back moved back with the husband and so we19:02 arrived. In the meantime, our mom had passed away and we decided to do a a family celebration of life. Because of COVID, we couldn't do that until two thousand twenty one. So we have gotten together in two19:14 thousand twenty one. We were all... My... That same sister from New England and her husband had rented a house for all of us to, like, kind of get together before and after.19:26 And for some of the other... For her kids, grown kids, adult kids in New England to stay, you know, have a place to stay during the19:37 the funeral and so forth. Yes. And and then19:41 That's appropriate, of course.19:43 Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. Instead of doing a repast, like, out someplace, we basically have the repast amongst ourselves at the rental house, and they were there for the weekend, which was nice. At one point, we're all... It's19:55 like we're all there. There was extended family, like some family friends that grew up with us in the same town. And two of my nieces and that one family friend, she was in the kitchen.20:07 I was in the kitchen. My sister's in that kitchen. My brother-in-law, my sister's lingering around somewhere, you know, next... In the next room or whatever. And I was explaining to my sister20:18 about the traumatic brain injury I had from a bicycle accident years prior, And she whips around to me, and she says in front of everybody, she's like, I feel like you use it as an excuse.20:31 And I... Yeah. So I just... Like, I didn't say anything to her, but a few minutes minutes later, then she was, like, on my case about wanting to take a cup of coffee in20:43 a paper cup that this rental house had available. Like, they had paper cups and, like, single use coffee. When... Before we were all leaving, I was gonna take a cup of coffee20:55 with me for when we went home. Yes. And she was very upset at me that I wanted to take a cup of coffee, and she was, like, saying something to me, like, why why did I have to21:07 why did... She was, like, asking me accusatorily, like, why did I feel the need to take a cup of coffee with me?21:18 Which which is a typical thing to do when... Yes. That that... No. That that... That's extreme what she did. Yes.21:27 So I pulled her so quietly. I said to her, I said, I don't see what the big deal is. If you have... You know, I don't see what the big deal is. If you have an issue... If you have some other kind of21:39 issue with it, then then we should talk or something like that. Well, she got very suddenly shocked because she had never... I mean, when I got born again, the Lord changed me a lot. I mean, he gave me a voice. I21:51 used to just go along with these two sisters like I did in my adulthood at the same way I did as a child. I guess they sort of just expected me to continue following along with them and agreeing with them about22:02 everything in life the way I used to22:06 Yes. Understand. No. No. That's that's very clear. And so it's like she looks for things or appears that she22:18 looks for ways to be negative toward you.22:22 Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. And that... That's just a22:24 tip. Oh, yeah.22:26 I I have I have other examples.22:29 I'm I'm sure. We we could have a little notebook, and you could write many many examples, I'm sure Right. Which is22:41 not the point. But No. Well, I do have an observation and there were some things also that God says in his word that I'll just22:53 mention to you when we come back.22:55 Thanks.23:00 Life is both beautiful and complicated. We all experience times of great joy and great struggle. Each day brings opportunities to both praise God and to lean on him for23:12 wisdom, strength, and guidance. But sometimes, there are seasons where we feel like we can't make it through the day without some measure of stress and worry. In these moments, we need encouragement. We need23:24 hope. That's why we wanna invite you to check out the Hope talks podcast today from Hope for the Heart. Each week, Haley and Dustin have encouraging conversations and share what God's word says about real life23:36 issues like grief, anxiety, mental health, and spiritual growth. You'll hear inspiring stories of hope and transformation to encourage your walk with the Lord. You'll also discover practical ways to23:48 apply God's word to your life. Check out Hope Talks today wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. You can also text the word talks to seven zero nine one nine to learn more.24:00 Do you ever struggle to believe that God loves you, that he accepts you, forgives you, and sees you as his precious beloved child? So many people have a distorted picture of God that he is distant,24:12 disappointed, or doesn't care about what's going on in our lives. The truth is, God cares about you more than you know. We want to encourage you to check out June Hunt's popular devotional, seeing yourself through24:24 God's eyes. In this thirty one day devotional, June Hunt provides compassionate, biblical insight to help you understand and embrace the life changing identity you have in Christ. Each24:36 day provides a biblical truth along with a short reflection and journaling questions to help you see yourself through God's eyes. We give this devotional to every caller on hope in the night because it has changed24:47 so many lives over the years. Get a copy of June Hunt's devotional for yourself or a loved one at June Hunt dot org. That's June Hunt dot o r g.25:11 Welcome back to Hope in the Night. If you're facing a problem and would like to be a guest on the program, call one eight hundred night seventeen or text caller to seven zero nine one25:23 nine. Leave us a message, and we'll call you back and get started on the scheduling process. If you would like to listen to our program digitally, you can go to hope for the heart dot org and go to shows25:35 to find hope in the night, or you can search for hope in the night on your favorite podcast platform. If you enjoy the program, please consider sending a link to your family or friends so they can be a part of25:47 our hope in the night family. Now let's get back to our caller.25:51 Well, Anita, I can identify with several things that you said. You know, we don't get to26:03 choose what family we are born into. And some people have very26:14 extraordinarily wonderful families, and for others, they're extraordinarily painful. Would you agree with that?26:24 Oh, certainly.26:26 Okay. So this wasn't your choice. Now I want to say, first of all, congratulations that in two thousand three, you26:37 said you came into... It was a life changing relationship with Christ, with the lord Jesus That's huge. What a gift you were given. Yeah. Yeah.26:49 Yeah. And I'm gonna share a a situation that I had with... I have a a sis... I have two sisters also and a brother,27:01 so we have the same kind of dynamic.27:05 And Yeah.27:06 There was a re... I never understood why my... The youngest of us... Of the four of us,27:18 she she was very capable, very, very smart, gifted.27:30 She could play the harp and the piano, and I could never play the piano or the harp. I did play... I do play guitar. But the bottom line is I knew that there27:42 was something that she was holding against me, but I couldn't figure out what it was. And finally, she27:54 said, June, I can't be a Christian like you and mom. And I was... I I said, why do you say that? She said, I don't28:06 believe the bible. I said, what do you not believe in the bible? I do not believe. Wives submit to your husbands. And then she said, look what dad28:18 did to mother and look what mother did. All she did was submit. I said, well, I... You're right.28:30 I don't know that she felt she had a choice. And then she responded, well, I I agree. I don't think she felt she had a choice either. But, like, for28:42 example, we were told by dad, you know, or I was told I I was the problem for the whole family.28:53 And while I knew that wasn't true, but later I realized, okay. I'm the one who kept trying to defend my mom. I I felt I was29:05 her protector. Now the the bottom line of this, when when she says I can't be a Christian like you, I said,29:18 specifically, when you're saying that that you're... You you are opposed to the scripture wives submit to your29:29 husbands, are you assuming that that scripture means that no matter what a husband insists on, she must submit no matter what?29:41 No matter what. And I said, is that what you think that that says? And she said, well, yes. I said, well, now... I said, you know29:53 that... I said, you're an author and you know that there's a literary law that context is king. If you're reading a book, you look at30:05 the context. What Yeah. Were the words before or after, or what is the the the chapter of the book about, or what's even the theme of the entire book?30:17 And she said, well, yes, of course, I would agree with that. And I said, are you aware that the words right before wives submit to your husbands, which is30:29 math... Is five twenty two. Sorry. Yeah. Well, yeah, there's another passage there there. But...30:42 So she she she said, said, are you aware that the words right before that are submit one to another out of reverence for Christ?30:55 And that means that there must be mutual submission. Yeah. And then I said three verses later, Ephesians five twenty31:06 five, it says, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. So he has to be willing to die for her, not her die at his hands.31:18 And she said, oh my god. Are you serious? The bible really says that. I said, yes. It does. Uh-oh. And she was shocked. And then I said I said, now, tell me, do31:30 you think that there is a law, in the United States against committing domestic violence? And she said, well, yes. Yes. Of course, there is.31:42 I said, well, the bible happens to say submit to the governing authorities. So therefore, if we submit to the governing authorities, if everyone does, there would31:54 not be domestic violence. I said, but what if you're in a country where there is no law? And I'd been in Russia, there wasn't a a law there.32:06 And Mhmm. There was a fascinating exchange I had with certain spiritual leaders because they are taught in Russia32:18 that a wife must submit to whatever no matter what. And and I said I said, well, the bible says, and this is when I32:30 was in Russia, we must obey god rather than man. We must obey god rather than man. So what does god say? Well, in32:43 Proverbs, let me see, nineteen nineteen, do not make friends with a hot tempered man. Do not associate with one easily angered. So if a husband32:55 is hot tempered and dangerous, she has a biblical right to move out of harm's way. Yeah. And Yes. My sister had never33:07 thought of that. And... Because she's not a believer, and she Yeah. Was not... She... But she was exposed to some Christianity, but not as an adult33:19 in the way that I think you and I are. The bottom line is that in Proverbs nineteen nineteen, I gave another. A hot tempered man must pay the33:30 penalty. If you rescue him, you'll have to do it again.33:34 Oh, right. Yeah.33:35 The context of... Regard to domestic violence, there... God is very clearly against33:47 domestic violence. Sure. And so she was stunned, absolutely stunned that I gave... And she said, I I had no idea that the bible33:59 said things like that. And and so then later, she had she had been an ambassador to Austria, and and so she was leaving34:11 and she and she went to Harvard, was employed and employed by Harvard, and then she asked me if I would come. And she said, you I'm34:23 gonna have a conference for two hundred women on on core connections. It's how can people connect even if they're from very different34:35 backgrounds. So you you can invite two or three fundamentalists like you. And I said, thank you. No. I IShow more
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