What if the twists and turns in your life are not taking you away from God’s plan—but helping reveal it?
When tragedy, loss, caregiving responsibilities, unexpected delays, or difficult decisions leave you wondering what God is doing, how do find hope? In this powerful conversation with Terry Modica, Marvin Wilmes, author of Rising Beyond Hope, shares how God guided him through a lifetime of unexpected circumstances—and why surrender, trust, and hope are essential to discovering what God wants you to do next.
Watch this episode to discover how God may be guiding you right where you are.
Are you wondering?
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How do I know what God wants me to do when my life takes an unexpected turn?
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How can I trust God when I’m going through loss, illness, or other painful circumstances?
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How do I discern God’s will when I’m hearing so many different voices and opinions?
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Could God be calling me to something through the difficult circumstances in my life?
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How do I recognize the little things God is calling me to do for other people?
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How do I surrender my plans to God when I’m afraid of what might happen next?
Chapters:
3:47 Marvin’s Life of Twists and Turns
6:59 When Other People Question God’s Plan for Us
9:27 How Circumstances Can Shape Your Calling
11:46 Caregiving as a Calling
12:58 The Sacrifices and Challenges of Caregiving
16:22 A Sign from God: The Osprey Story
17:41 Recognizing God’s “Signal Graces”
19:38 A Three-Year Ministry of Hope
21:50 Discovering God’s Call in Everyday Opportunities
23:49 Advice for Discerning God’s Will
24:34 The Importance of Surrender
25:25 Trusting Jesus and Hearing the Holy Spirit
26:35 Why the World Needs Hope
27:04 The Difference Between Hope and Wishing
27:51 Hope, Faith, and Love
KEY TAKEAWAY: Surrender your plans to God, trust Jesus, and stay open to the ways He guides you through circumstances, your heart, and opportunities to serve the people around you.
Excerpt:
Terry: In the twists and turns of your life, did you always seek God’s will and how do you discern God’s will?
Marvin: I would say there were lots of times that I didn’t. There was one particular time in 1982 when after I’d come out of the service, I had met someone over in the Philippines. After I got out of the service, I wrote her a letter. Eventually, that led to an engagement through letters. Eventually, that ended up in something that was sort of a disaster. I call it the earthquake of 1980.
I came to learn through that experience that all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord. That became my lifeline during that time as I went ahead and finished college. I was working at a factory job at the time and an overnight crew and taking classes during the day.
I made the decision to leave the job, take some part-time jobs, and finish college. That was a good decision. I graduated in 1982.
I eventually ended up in Hobbs, New Mexico with a starter radio station. That started going south right around Christmas. Also at that time, that’s when I found out that my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
There were seven kids still living at home. My brother and I had already left the home. The job was not that well-founded. We decided together, Mom and Dad and I, that I would come back and help the family out. That was in 1984.
Then I had a situation where I eventually wound up working for my local newspaper. I saw a job which was four hours to the north. I applied for that job. I got that job.
Meanwhile, there were a lot of things that were happening in the background with my father remarrying and several different things. When I went to share this good news, my dad was not that enthusiastic.
It was a good move for me. That’s where I met my future wife. We’ve been married for 36 years.
Terry: That’s something I’d like to point out to our listeners. A lot of times when we’re discerning God’s will and we feel good, we know that this is a good decision to make, like your four-hour-away job. People tell us that no, that’s not God’s will.
They may not say it in those words, but they say no. We need to learn how to be confident when we know what God’s will is. When He’s spoken to us, when He’s given us all kinds of clues, which these episodes (about Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well) with different people’s stories, we cover many of the ways that we figure out what God’s will is, what the clues are to watch for.
We’re ready to proceed ahead. There’s usually somebody who says no. Good News Ministries was founded after that very problem.
My husband and I were raising our kids in New Jersey. I was very involved in my parish. My pastor was very spirit-filled. He was my spiritual director. Ralph and I discerned that God was calling us to “escape” from New Jersey and move to Florida. We had a discernment process for all that that lasted several months.
When we made the decision to move and, feeling very confident that God had shown us this was — His plan — my pastor, my spiritual director, my boss said, no, God’s not telling you to move. I had to stand strong and not be intimidated by his authority. I had to not be listening to his voice.
I had to be standing strong in God’s voice, in my relationship with God. When we came to Florida, it was 30 days after our arrival that we found that God made it very clear that He wanted us to start Good News Ministries. If I had listened to my pastor, this ministry would probably not be existing.
Marvin: Sometimes, circumstances mold our calling as well. That’s sort of the theme that rose out of this Rising Beyond Hope memoir. There were many losses to come yet.
I had started a newspaper and five years later had to decide to sell it. That led me to a whole new career in human services with the developmentally disabled.
That was from my roots as the chief babysitter when the second family came along. There was eight years between my brother and the seven. There’s 21 years between me and my youngest brother, Carl.
We never understand why things happen. I think it was two and a half months, two months after my mother passed, we had a fire in the house. Nobody was home at the time.
It had been the coffee pot that had shorted. Smoke was everywhere. Fortunately, everything in the kitchen was destroyed, but it didn’t destroy the whole house.
They were able to put out the fire, but it uprooted the family. Right before the fire had happened that morning, I had received a phone call and accepted a job in Atchison, Kansas. At the beginning of 1985, I turned a new page and went to Atchison, Kansas.
It wasn’t all roses. There were struggles, but I think keeping God close all the time was important. Now, I’m just finishing up at our local church, a grief share ministry. This is the fourth year we’ve had it. The first year we did it, I had to be called away for a month as my father was in bad health. He passed a month later.
I knew that’s where I needed to be. There are times, the things that I’ve learned that Jesus said, we need to take care of the poor, take care of the sick, visit the sick. I’m paraphrasing the scripture, but that’s what our call is too. Sometimes, we think it’s out there in the world that we have to do it, but it’s in our own inner circle that we have to take care of people too….
📚 Visit Marvin Wilmes’ website: marvinwilmes.com
Connect with him on facebook.com/keypublications
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This episode is a companion to Terry Modica’s workbook “Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well“.
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