Lysa TerKeurst opens up about the end of her marriage and offers insight into the distinction between difficult and destructive relationships.

Lysa shares the biblical grounds for divorce, and Carey...

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Too many leaders assume trust should be unconditional — but Scripture tells a different story.

In this season finale of Behind the Seal, bestselling author and Proverbs 31 Ministries president Lysa TerKeurst reveals why unconditional trust is not only unbiblical, but unsafe — and how to rebuild trust with wisdom, boundaries, and Spirit-led discernment.

Lysa unpacks the difference between blind trust and wise trust, why forgiveness is ultimately about your freedom, and how to discern between a triggered fear and a legitimate red flag. She also shares from her own journey through heartbreak, healing, and surrender — and what it truly looks like to walk forward without becoming hardened, bitter, or closed off.

If you’ve ever been hurt, betrayed, or left wondering if trust is even possible again — in ministry, leadership, or life — this episode will meet you right where you are.

About Lysa TerKeurst

Lysa TerKeurst is president and chief visionary officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the author of eight New York Times bestsellers, including I Want to Trust You, but I Don’t, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, and It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. She enjoys life with her husband Chaz and her kids and grandkids. Connect with her at www.LysaTerKeurst.com
or on social media @LysaTerKeurst.

Additional Resources

·       I Want to Trust You, but I Don’t – Lysa TerKeurst

·       Forgiving What You Can’t Forget – Lysa TerKeurst

·       Good Boundaries and Goodbyes – Lysa TerKeurst

·       Therapy & Theology Podcast with Lysa TerKeurst, Dr. Joel Muddamalle & Jim Cress

·       American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) – for counseling referrals

·       ECFA.org/LeaderCare – Resources for healthy, trustworthy leadership

·       Proverbs 31 Ministries

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with someone navigating hurt, healing, or rebuilding trust.

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The best leaders don’t wait until January to plan what’s next. In this episode, learn six essential evaluations every leader should reflect on to lead ahead of the curve and position your organization to start the year strong.

Get the free leader guide for this episode here: https://www.life.church/leadershippodcast/leaders-dont-wait-until-january.

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ABOUT CRAIG

Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church and one of today’s most trusted voices in leadership. Since 2016, he’s shared practical, empowering leadership insights to help you grow through the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast.

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This Christmas, you can shine the light of Christ into places of darkness and pain with a purchase from the Joni and Friends Christmas catalog. You are sending hope and practical care to people with disabilities, all in the name of Jesus!

Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

If you want to see people on the edge of insanity, just watch the way families treat their babies at Christmastime. The poor child has no warning. Red furry stocking cap, goofy elfish shoes that curl at the toes. And the pictures we take! Baby snoozing under the tree. Baby on Santa’s lap. Santa with wet spot on lap.

Is not Christmas the story of a baby? The moment that shaped all others? Mary’s eyes falling on the face of her just-born son. The first to whisper, “So this is what God looks like!” Never in mankind’s wildest imaginings did we consider that God would enter the world as an infant. John 1:14 (NKJV) says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Would you like to see God? Well then take a look at the baby Jesus.

Read more Because of Bethlehem

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

In the late nineteenth century, few people had access to the great sequoia groves in the US, and many didn’t believe the reports of the massive trees. In 1892, however, four lumberjacks ventured into the Big Stump Forest in California and spent thirteen days felling the grand tree named Mark Twain. Twain was 1,341 years old, three hundred feet tall, and fifty feet in circumference. One observer described Twain as a tree “of magnificent proportions, one of the most perfect trees in the grove.” They shipped part of this remarkable beauty, now destroyed, to the American Museum of Natural History where everyone could see a sequoia.

The reality, though, is that we can’t prove every truth with our eyes alone. Hebrews describes faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith isn’t irrational or a fit of fancy, because the whole story is grounded in a person—Jesus—who has entered human history. Faith includes human senses and reason, but it’s not limited to them. Faith requires more. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,” Hebrews says, “so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (v. 3).

It’s often difficult to trust what we can’t touch or see or completely comprehend. But our faith in Christ, made possible by the Spirit, helps us to believe more than we can see.

• Scarlet is a mom of four, navigating chaos and change.
• Her new book 'Hopeful-ish' addresses personal pain and hope.
• The title was inspired by her husband's suggestion to lighten it up.
• Scarlet's writing process is influenced by her interactions with women facing similar struggles.
• Post-COVID, many are wrestling with feelings of sadness and despair.
• The importance of tending to one's faith like a farm is emphasized.
• Humor can coexist with deeper emotional struggles.
• Scarlet shares a poignant story about a donut and a young girl that brought her hope.
• Being open with children about faith and struggles is crucial.
• Hope is a gift from the Holy Spirit, not something we can manufacture.

• "I want people to read it."
• "I was not running to God."
• "Don't fake your faith!"

Visit www.joniradio.org to gift a wheelchair!

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This Christmas, you can shine the light of Christ into places of darkness and pain with a purchase from the Joni and Friends Christmas catalog. You are sending hope and practical care to people with disabilities, all in the name of Jesus!

Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

No day is accidental or incidental. No acts are random or wasted. Look at Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem. A king ordered a census. Joseph was forced to travel. Mary, round as a ladybug, bounced on a donkey’s back. The hotel was full, the hour was late. The event was one big hassle. Yet out of the hassle, hope was born. It still is.

I don’t like hassles. But I love Christmas because it reminds us of the heart-shaping promises of Christmas. Long after the guests have left, and the carolers have gone home, and the lights have come down, these promises endure: God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God. Perhaps you could use some Christmas this Christmas?

Read more Because of Bethlehem

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

The brain is remarkably small, but stress can make it even smaller. Recent research has revealed that cumulative stress can shrink the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for managing emotions, impulses, and social interactions. This shrinkage is linked to anxiety and depression, highlighting the toll that a lifetime of stress can take. But there’s good news—the brain’s plasticity allows it to heal through intentional practices like exercise, meditation, and meaningful relationships.

The psalmist in Psalm 119 understood this idea of growth and healing after facing stress and hardship, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (v. 71). Affliction, though painful, became the psalmist’s teacher—taking us from being “astray” from God to choosing to “obey [His] word” (v. 67). The psalmist expresses gratitude for his bitter medicine and God’s goodness (v. 68). While he understood that affliction and suffering could diminish him, he trusted God to use those experiences to refine and restore him (v. 66).

Like our brains, our spirits are capable of being stretched. God uses this stretching to cause growth and renewal. Through Scripture, prayer, and a Spirit-inspired perspective, God can reverse the effects of our hardships. He can use our afflictions for our spiritual growth, transforming pain into purpose.