Finding Peace Through Faith: Struggling & Not Losing Heart
And sometimes you're doing everything you can just to keep moving forward without letting anybody know how heavy things have gotten.
Wolves & Wisemen Reignited — Episode 18
About This Episode
Everybody struggles.
Sometimes it's obvious.
Sometimes nobody around you has any idea.
Episode 18 of Wolves & Wisemen Reignited gets personal with a Check In about struggling, finding peace through Christ, and remembering that the difficult season you're walking through isn't the end of your story.
Using John 16:33 and 2 Corinthians 4:16–17, the guys dig deeper than usual into what these verses actually mean.
Jesus never promised that following Him would make life easy.
In fact, He said the opposite.
“In the world you will have tribulation.”
The promise isn't that suffering disappears.
The promise is that suffering doesn't get the final word.
That leads into a conversation about eternity, giving your burdens to God, the false peace we sometimes chase through money, jobs, relationships or material things, and why studying Scripture can change your perspective even when the situation itself hasn't changed.
Robert also talks about using this week's Bible study personally while working through his own struggles—and how digging deeply into Scripture became a way to process things he normally keeps inside.
The Check In eventually becomes exactly what its name says:
Check in on your people.
Sometimes you don't need to fix somebody.
Sometimes you just need to notice that they've gotten quiet and ask:
“Hey, man. You good?”
Then Fringe Files turns toward something considerably less peaceful:
Artificial intelligence.
AI can write, create music, edit videos, answer questions and save hours of work.
But what happens when a tool designed to help humans becomes something humans no longer fully control?
What We Talk About
The Check In — Struggling
John 16:33
2 Corinthians 4:16–17
Why Jesus never promised an easy life
Tribulation and suffering
Finding peace in Christ
Temporary suffering versus eternity
Why material success doesn't automatically create peace
Giving burdens to God
Not losing heart
Paul's suffering and eternal perspective
“You can do anything for five minutes”
The Marine Corps and rediscovering faith
Being open about your relationship with God
Studying Scripture instead of simply reading it
Using Bible study to work through personal struggles
Faith, positivity and perspective
Checking in on people who suddenly get quiet
Brotherhood
Asking someone if they're really okay
Elsewhere in Episode 18
Rebel Report
The “Ring of Fire” eclipse
Moon conspiracies
Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras
Shia LaBeouf
The Winter Olympics
The Epstein files and public distrust
Sacked
Folks on Fire
Austin Blanchfill and music about perseverance
White-people sayings
Today in History
Boners
Artificial intelligence
AI-generated music
AI social networks
Humanoid robots
AI and human creativity
AI in military systems
AI replacing human work
Whether AI should remain a tool instead of becoming a decision-maker
Technology, faith and human responsibility
Scripture From This Episode
John 16:33
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
This verse becomes the foundation of Episode 18.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples shortly before His arrest and crucifixion.
He knows what's coming.
He knows what they're going to face.
And He doesn't tell them:
Everything is going to be easy now.
He tells them they're going to experience tribulation.
Pressure.
Pain.
Persecution.
Fear.
Loss.
But He also tells them:
Take heart.
Why?
Because He has overcome the world.
The peace Jesus promises isn't necessarily peace in your circumstances.
It's peace inside the circumstances.
You can still have problems.
You can still be hurting.
You can still have no idea how everything is going to work out.
But your circumstances don't have to determine where your hope comes from.
2 Corinthians 4:16–17
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
Calling suffering “light” sounds strange when you look at what Paul endured.
Beatings.
Imprisonment.
Persecution.
Danger.
Shipwreck.
This wasn't a guy describing a mildly inconvenient Tuesday.
So why call it “light momentary affliction”?
Because he's comparing it to eternity.
Paul isn't saying the suffering doesn't hurt.
He's changing the scale.
Put a lifetime of suffering on one side.
Put eternity with God on the other.
There's no comparison.
That's the perspective behind:
We do not lose heart.
Key Takeaways
Jesus never promised an easy life. Christianity isn't an escape from hardship; it's knowing Christ is with you through it.
Peace isn't the absence of problems. You can still be struggling and have peace because your trust isn't entirely dependent on circumstances.
Getting what you want doesn't guarantee peace. The new job, car, relationship or paycheck can still leave something missing.
What you're going through isn't forever. Your current struggle may feel enormous, but it isn't the end of the story.
Don't lose heart. Paul endured extreme suffering and still viewed it through the perspective of eternity.
You can do anything for five minutes. The guys' longtime saying takes on a spiritual meaning when a human lifetime is compared with eternity.
Studying Scripture can change your perspective. Sometimes slowing down and understanding a few verses deeply can matter more than rushing through several chapters.
You don't have to pretend everything is okay. Faith doesn't require denying the struggle.
Check on your people. When somebody gets unusually quiet, send the text or make the call.
You don't always have to fix somebody. Sometimes simply knowing another person noticed can make a difference.
The Check In — Peace in the Middle of the Struggle
There's an important word in John 16:33:
In.
Jesus says:
“In me you may have peace.”
Not:
You'll have peace because nothing bad will happen.
Not:
You'll have peace because you'll become wealthy.
Not:
You'll have peace because every prayer will immediately be answered exactly the way you wanted.
In Him.
That's different.
The guys talk about chasing things we think will finally create peace.
A better job.
More money.
A new car.
A relationship.
Alcohol.
Whatever it happens to be.
You finally get the thing...
and somehow you're still searching.
Maybe that's because the thing you were actually looking for wasn't something you could buy.
“You Will Have Tribulation”
Jesus doesn't sugarcoat it.
You're going to struggle.
Things are going to hurt.
People are going to disappoint you.
You're going to experience loss.
There will be moments where you wonder why something is happening at all.
Faith doesn't remove those moments.
It changes what you have to hold onto during them.
The guys connect this to spiritual warfare and the idea that believers still face pressure, temptation and hardship.
The promise isn't:
Nothing will happen to you.
It's:
What happens to you doesn't have the final word.
Five Minutes Compared to Eternity
One phrase has come up repeatedly throughout Wolves & Wisemen:
You can do anything for five minutes.
It comes from difficult workouts.
The Marine Corps.
Long hikes.
Pain.
Exhaustion.
Whatever you're dealing with:
Five more minutes.
Then five more.
Episode 18 turns that phrase into something bigger.
Compared with eternity...
How long is this life?
Maybe it's less than five minutes.
That doesn't make suffering meaningless.
It doesn't mean pain isn't real.
It changes the scale you're measuring it against.
Paul calls his suffering momentary because he can see something beyond it.
And that's exactly what faith asks us to do.
Don't Lose Heart
Paul's message isn't:
Don't feel pain.
It's:
Don't let the pain convince you to quit.
There's a difference.
You can have a bad week.
You can get knocked down.
You can question things.
You can be exhausted.
You can even wander away for a while.
But don't surrender your spirit to the temporary situation you're standing in.
Keep moving.
Five more minutes.
Then five more.
Faith Through the Marine Corps
The conversation becomes personal when Robert talks about the Marine Corps.
There was a period earlier in life when he had drifted away from openly practicing his faith.
The Marine Corps helped bring him back.
When everything sucked and there wasn't much else to hold onto, faith became something solid.
Later in life, that faith became quieter again.
It wasn't necessarily that the belief disappeared.
He simply wasn't open about it.
That's changed.
Part of Reignited has become refusing to hide that part of his life anymore.
If somebody doesn't like conversations about God...
that's their choice.
But it doesn't mean the conversation needs to stop.
Scripture as a Way Through
Episode 18 is also different because the Check In itself became part of dealing with the struggle.
Instead of choosing a couple verses, reading them and moving on, Robert spent considerably more time breaking them apart.
Context.
Meaning.
What Jesus was saying.
What Paul was saying.
Why they said it.
And how it applies when you're sitting there dealing with something yourself.
That process changed the perspective.
The situation didn't magically disappear.
But something internally moved.
Sometimes Bible study isn't about checking a box that says:
Read Scripture today.
Sometimes you're searching because you genuinely need the answer.
You Don't Have to Tell Everybody Everything
Not everybody processes struggles by talking.
Some people need to tell somebody every detail.
Others don't.
Robert talks openly about being someone who usually keeps his deeper struggles, pain and sorrow inside.
Digging into Scripture offered another outlet.
A place to work through the problem.
A place to ask questions.
A place to slow down.
A place to give some of it to God without having to explain every detail to somebody else.
That doesn't mean isolation is always the answer.
Because the next part of the conversation may be even more important.
Check In on Your People
There's a reason this segment is called:
The Check In.
Everybody is dealing with something.
Work.
Marriage.
Relationships.
Kids.
Adult kids.
Money.
Health.
Loss.
Stress.
Things nobody else knows about.
Sometimes somebody who's normally around suddenly disappears.
They stop texting.
They stop answering.
They get quiet.
You notice.
So ask.
“Hey, man. You good?”
They may say yes.
They may not tell you anything.
That's okay.
Because now they know somebody noticed.
And maybe they don't talk today.
Maybe they don't talk tomorrow.
But you've opened the door.
Sometimes checking in is enough to remind somebody they aren't alone.
Sacked
After discussing suffering, the guys move into a very different form of suffering.
Episode 18's Sacked includes:
A baseball throw directly into the danger zone
A close-range pickleball shot that finds the same target
Slow-motion footage that absolutely nobody involved needed to see twice
Some suffering may produce perseverance.
Other suffering produces:
“OOOOHHHHHH.”
Folks on Fire
Music That Matches the Message
One Folks on Fire pick fits the Check In almost perfectly.
The guys highlight music from Austin Blanchfill, whose song centers on being knocked down, experiencing pressure, holding onto faith and refusing to give up.
After a Check In built around struggling and perseverance, the connection was immediate.
Sometimes music hits differently because of what you're already carrying.
And sometimes you hear exactly the message you needed that week.
NASA... Sort Of
The other Folks on Fire takes the segment in the opposite direction.
The guys revisit old space footage and jokingly give NASA credit for convincing generations of viewers that everything they were seeing was exactly what they were told it was.
That naturally leads toward another potential Fringe Files rabbit hole:
The Moon.
Its size.
Its distance.
Its craters.
Claims about whether it's hollow.
And the various conspiracy theories surrounding it.
That rabbit hole is officially waiting for another episode.
Today in History
Episode 18's trip through history includes:
Michael Jordan's birthday
The first U.S. women's Olympic hockey gold medal
The Volkswagen Beetle surpassing the Ford Model T production record
Thomas Jefferson
Paris Hilton
Assorted historical disasters that quickly kill the mood
And, naturally, the chat contributes its own historical archive:
Things our parents used to threaten us with.
Including classics like:
“I'll give you something to cry about.”
Some history deserves preservation.
Boners
Episode 18's Boners ranges from internet stupidity to a laptop nearly setting the house on fire.
The guys react to viral clips, snow-covered city streets, bad decisions and the seemingly endless ability of the internet to produce something ridiculous.
Robert also nominates his own laptop after a charging problem melted part of the computer, damaged the bedding underneath it and burned his fingers while unplugging it.
Fortunately, it was caught before the situation became considerably worse.
Sometimes the Boner of the Week isn't another person.
Sometimes it's sitting on your bed trying to burn the house down.
Fringe Files — Artificial Intelligence
Then Episode 18 asks a question that's becoming harder to avoid:
How far is too far with AI?
Artificial intelligence is already everywhere.
Phones.
Cars.
Creative tools.
Social media.
Video editing.
Music.
Business.
Military technology.
And the guys openly acknowledge something important:
They use it too.
AI can be an incredible tool.
It can take hours of work and reduce it to minutes.
It can help create clips from a long podcast.
It can generate voices.
It can help organize information.
It can assist with writing.
But the concern isn't simply that AI exists.
The concern is:
What happens if the tool stops being treated like a tool?
When the Tool Starts Thinking for You
There's a difference between asking AI to help complete a task...
and handing the task of thinking over completely.
That's where the guys become concerned.
If technology handles the writing...
the art...
the music...
the decisions...
the information...
the work...
and eventually even the physical labor...
what happens to the people using it?
Convenience can be useful.
But convenience can also make people dependent.
The guys argue that AI is most useful when it extends human ability rather than replaces human responsibility.
AI Without Human Morality
Fringe Files explores several alarming AI stories and scenarios involving autonomous systems, chatbots, robots and military applications.
Some of the examples discussed during the show are anecdotal, disputed or speculative, so they're better treated as questions rather than established conclusions.
But the question behind them is legitimate:
How do you give a machine enormous capability without also giving it human morality?
An AI system can optimize toward a goal.
But understanding why something is technically possible doesn't automatically mean understanding why it is morally acceptable.
That's where the guys see danger.
What Happens When AI Doesn't Need Us?
The rabbit hole gets considerably darker.
Machines can already build things.
Software can write software.
AI can communicate with other systems.
Robots continue becoming more capable.
So the guys imagine a future where AI can increasingly maintain the infrastructure AI itself depends on.
Then comes the uncomfortable question:
What purpose do humans serve in that system?
That's where Terminator, I, Robot and practically every other robot-apocalypse movie inevitably enter the conversation.
The guys aren't claiming the robot apocalypse has arrived.
They're asking whether continuing development without meaningful safeguards is worth the risk.
AI, Ancient Civilizations & the Reset Theory
Then Fringe Files goes full Fringe Files.
What if humanity has reached this point before?
The guys connect AI to theories about ancient civilizations that may have possessed technology far beyond what conventional history attributes to them.
If advanced civilizations existed before ours...
what ended them?
War?
Natural disaster?
Some kind of reset?
Or could they have created technology they eventually couldn't control?
There's no established evidence in the episode proving ancient civilizations created artificial intelligence.
But as a Fringe Files question?
It's one hell of a rabbit hole.
Technology & Evil
The conversation eventually becomes spiritual.
Technology itself doesn't necessarily have a moral alignment.
The people using it do.
So what happens when incredibly powerful technology is controlled by people motivated by greed, power or evil?
The guys wonder whether technology could eventually become a vehicle through which evil operates at a scale humans couldn't previously achieve.
That doesn't mean:
AI = the devil.
It means human beings still carry responsibility for what they build, what they allow and what they hand authority over to.
Keep AI a Tool
Despite the darker conversation, the guys don't argue that all AI should disappear.
They use it.
They see the benefits.
The podcast itself benefits from it.
The distinction is simple:
Use the tool.
Don't let the tool replace you.
Use it to save time.
Use it to create.
Use it to organize.
Use it to help.
But don't surrender your judgment.
Your creativity.
Your morality.
Your relationships.
Your faith.
Or your ability to think for yourself.
The Bigger Conversation
Episode 18 starts with struggling.
And somehow it ends with artificial intelligence potentially taking over civilization.
Which is pretty normal around here.
But there's actually a connection between the two conversations.
What are you depending on?
When life gets difficult, where do you look for peace?
Money?
Stuff?
Alcohol?
Social media?
Technology?
Artificial intelligence?
Or God?
Tools can help you.
Friends can support you.
Technology can make life easier.
But none of them replace the foundation.
John 16:33 doesn't promise that everything will work out exactly the way you want.
It promises something stronger:
Christ has already overcome the world.
So don't lose heart.
Keep moving.
Keep studying.
Keep praying.
Keep checking on your people.
And when somebody around you gets unusually quiet...
don't assume they're fine.
Send the text.
Make the call.
Ask the question.
“Hey, man. You good?”
Sometimes that's all it takes to remind somebody that they aren't walking through their five minutes alone.
Watch & Listen
Watch the full episode and join the conversation.
Follow Wolves & Wisemen Reignited
Wolves & Wisemen Reignited is three imperfect guys strengthening their faith while talking honestly about life, brotherhood, Scripture, current events, history, the unexplained and whatever rabbit hole they fall into next.
We don't pretend to have every answer.
We read.
We question.
We talk about it.
And we're learning as we go.
New episodes every Tuesday night.
Like. Follow. Subscribe. Join the chat.
And remember:
You can do anything for five minutes. Don't lose heart.