Jim Barnard is known as The Suffering Guy. In this heartfelt episode, Jim shares the pivotal moments of his life story, including countless crises and miracles he’s experienced along the way. His story offers hope for others walking through challenging times, and he’ll encourage you to look to the source of all comfort as you try to make sense of reality. 

Key Takeaways

• The gap between reality and what we hope for is full of disappointment, dissatisfaction, and distress. 
• You’re never alone in your suffering; the God of Comfort is always with you. 
• Your story is your greatest gift because it helps others know that their hard stories can become ones of flourishing, too. 
• God isn’t going to send you in a new direction empty-handed.

Jim Barnard

Jim Barnard is a pastor and the founder of tiller coaching. He offers coaching without barriers to those who are suffering the reality of the expectation gap. Jim has encountered suffering firsthand as he has navigated his wife’s rare chronic illness, but he continues to pursue joy and celebration as his story unfolds. 

Key Quotes

• 3:27 - "As we'll get into my story, there's just been a lot of suffering, a lot of what I call expectation gaps. You know, we all have hopes and expectations for career, for marriage, for parenting, for life. And often reality comes in underneath that. And that gap between reality and what we hope for is full of disappointment and dissatisfaction and distress. And I hate that. Like I've experienced copious amounts of, you know, expectation gaps. And every single time I'm stuck in the gap, there's an invitation to take myself too seriously, you know, like, woe is me, this is awful. I hate it. Like I'm I want to cope, you know, whatever. And I just I love Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline. Like that has been kind of a cornerstone book in my life. Where he says at the end that celebration is the thing that can save us from taking ourselves too seriously. [00:04:32 ][64.9]

• 33:41 - "[My story] is the story that God's given me and I've got to use it. I hope people listening to this are reflecting about their own story. I hear so many people say, I don't have that good of a story or I don't like my story. I don't want to share it. I don't think it's optional, honestly. Authenticity is required of the Christian walk, so in using my story I've been able to help people. "

Links from Today’s Conversation

• Tiller Coaching
• The suffering guy. by Jim Barnard
• MADE ALIVE by Jim Barnard
• The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
• Hope Heals
• Apply to join the Fall 2024 DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org to learn more  

Connect with dadAWESOME

• Make a Donation to dadAWESOME
• Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team
• Receive weekly encouragement by texting "dad" to 651-370-8618