Have you ever been in the middle of a busy, successful season only to be hit by a sudden, creeping feeling that none of it matters? You aren’t alone. In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ben Mathew (Professor of Counselor Education at CIU) dive deep into the "existential leg" of the mental health stool.

Dr. Mathew joins us from the middle of a literal storm to discuss the figurative storms of the soul—those moments when we feel like we are "running into the wind" without a sense of purpose. We explore why "existential dread" is often a rational response to a broken world and how the local church should serve as the primary "house" of support before we ever reach for clinical intervention.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Running into the Wind" Analogy: Understanding the baseline anxiety that seeps into our work and daily lives.

• Angry at Existence: How to navigate feelings of bitterness toward God or life itself.

• The Power of Lament: Why we need to stop "shortcutting" to the fix and start making space for groaning and frustration.

• The Church as Triage: Why general community support is the "glass of water" we often need before calling a "neurosurgeon."

• Shared Meaning: How the "pillar and buttress of truth" helps us avoid despair.

If you’ve been feeling the weight of the world or questioning your impact, tune in for a conversation that re-centers our story within the greater narrative of God's work.

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To read James's article on this topic, check out his author page on Christianity.com.

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 #ThinkingChristian #MentalHealth #FaithAndReason #ExistentialCrisis #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalWorldview #Lament #CommunitySupport

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In this episode of TBE podcast, we explore the priesthood of Jesus and its significance:

• The Levitical priesthood was imperfect, but Jesus' priesthood is a change from the old order.
• David's prophecy of a new priesthood in Psalm 110.
• Why do the OT laws change if God doesn't change?
• How to tell the difference between morality laws and other types of laws.
• The old priesthood cannot save, only Jesus can.

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YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle

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Today’s Bible Verse: “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.” — Nehemiah 9:17

Nehemiah 9:17 reflects on a pattern we know well—human failure met by divine faithfulness. As the people recount their history, they acknowledge their rebellion, yet highlight something greater: God’s character. He remained forgiving, gracious, and present, even when they turned away.

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Meet Today’s Host: Reverend Jessica Van Roekel

️ Listen to more daily devotionals with Jessica at Your Daily Bible Verse on LifeAudio

Rev. Jessica Van Roekel is a passionate Christian speaker, author, and worship pastor who shares how God brings beauty from brokenness. Her message centers on God’s power to rescue, restore, and renew, even after seasons of rejection or loss.

She is the author of Reframing Rejection: How Looking Through a Different Lens Changes Everything, a guide to seeing God’s purpose in life’s disappointments.

Jessica and her husband are raising a vibrant family, with two adult daughters, a college-aged son, and a high school daughter. You can explore her teachings, devotionals, and resources at WelcomeGrace.com.

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There is something in all of us that longs for a fresh start — the chance to leave what is behind us in the past and step forward into something new and unencumbered. Tonight's episode reminds us that this longing is not just a human wish. It is woven into the very nature of a God who has been offering new beginnings since the first pages of Scripture.

From the flood to the exodus, from the return of exiles to the conversion of a persecutor named Saul who became Paul — the story of God is a story of relentless redemption and fresh starts. And the greatest of all new beginnings, the resurrection of Jesus, is the promise that no winter lasts forever, no failure is final, and no one is beyond the reach of His grace. Whatever cold season you have been walking through, springtime is in the nature of the God you belong to. He makes all things new — and that includes you.

Tonight's Scripture

"The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does." — Psalm 145:13

Ponder This Tonight

1. No one is beyond redemption. The conversion of Saul — one of the most aggressive persecutors of the early church — into Paul, one of its most powerful voices, is God's permanent declaration that no past disqualifies anyone from a fresh start in Him.
2. Fresh starts are not only for new believers. The invitation to begin again is extended to every believer, in every season, no matter how many times they have stumbled. God's compassions are new every single morning — without exception.
3. God's promises are unlike any other. Human promises come with conditions and expiration dates. His do not. Every promise He has made is backed by a faithfulness that has never once wavered and never will.
4. The greatest new beginning is still ahead. Eternal life — a new heaven, a new earth, freedom from pain and sorrow — is the ultimate fresh start promised to all who believe. Whatever we are walking through now is not the final chapter.

Reflection & Encouragement

Whatever you are carrying into this night — regret over the past, uncertainty about the future, or the quiet weariness of a season that has gone on too long — hear this: you are not beyond God's reach, and you are not out of fresh starts. He is the God who makes all things new, who meets us in our lowest winters and leads us into spring. His faithfulness toward you has not flickered. It will not fail. Rest in that tonight.

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Stephen Meyer, author, philosopher of science, and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, has spent decades making the case that the universe points unmistakably to a designing mind. The Story of Everything is the cinematic adaptation of his book Return of the God Hypothesis, four years in the making and releasing in theaters April 30, bringing together 22 scientists and scholars to walk audiences through the discoveries that are pulling even skeptics back toward theism.

Scientific evidence, intelligent design, and the digital code inside every living cell: Stephen walks through his three core arguments, the universe's finite beginning, the fine-tuning that made life possible against all odds, and the four-character digital code embedded in DNA that Bill Gates himself has compared to software more complex than anything humans have ever written. He also shares how he talks about this with Uber drivers and seatmates on airplanes, why college students are having their faith mocked out of them in university classrooms, and why he believes this film gives both believers and skeptics something they genuinely need.

Highlights

• Why the idea of a designer behind the universe was the dominant view from ancient Greece through the scientific revolution
• How Darwin, Marx, and Freud together shifted the intellectual world toward materialism in the late 19th century
• The three arguments from Return of the God Hypothesis, a beginning, fine-tuning, and digital information in DNA
• Why Bill Gates' comparison of DNA to software is one of Meyer's most powerful 30-second arguments
• What the impasse in origin-of-life research reveals, and why chemistry simply does not move toward life on its own
• Why this film is something Christians can bring their skeptical friends to without fear

Resources / Links / CTA

• Stephen Meyer website: https://stephencmeyer.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drstephencmeyer
• The Story of Everything
• Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer
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Wherever you are today, this biblical meditation, narrated by Melissa Disney, offers a quiet space to pause and reconnect with God.

How does the assurance of joy help you endure hardship? Meditate on Hebrews 12:2.

Abide is a Christian meditation app that helps you experience peace and grow in your relationship with Christ through Scripture, prayer, and reflection.

Try Abide free for 30 days and explore our premium, ad-free meditations here: https://abide.com/peace

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The religious leaders were ready to throw stones. Jesus bent down and wrote in the dirt. Jesus didn't have to be gentle. But He chose it. 

LINKS:
Read with us in April! 
Download Growing in Gentleness
Connect with Christie Thomas
Follow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMoms

A Prayer to Show Gentleness to Others by Christie Thomas

When they finally walked away, it was just Jesus and the woman — face dirty with dust and tears, waiting for the punishment she thought she deserved.

Instead, he said: "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

And that gentleness? It changes people. Just like it changed her. This week, who in your life needs you to put down the stone and offer grace instead? ️

Reference: John 2:15-17

Prayer: Jesus, forgive me for the times I’ve thought gentleness meant inaction as well as for the times I bulldozed my way through justice issues without being tempered by Your gentleness. Break my heart for the issues that break Your heart and help me to stand up for the vulnerable with the firm passion that You displayed on earth. In Jesus’s name, amen.

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Worry often builds quietly over time—through life experiences, disappointments, and the growing awareness that not everything is in our control. But Ephesians 3:20 reminds us of a powerful truth: God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. When we truly understand both His power and His deep love for us, it begins to shift how we carry our worries.

The real turning point comes when we stop asking if God will show up for us and start trusting that He both can and wants to. Worry loses its grip when we root ourselves in the truth of God’s character—His goodness, His care, and His capability. As we continually return to His Word and surrender our fears, we begin to trade anxiety for peace and control for trust.

Highlights

• Worry often develops gradually through life experiences and uncertainty
• Even strong believers wrestle with worry—it’s a shared human struggle
• Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that God is both willing and able to do more than we imagine
• Understanding God’s love is key to releasing fear and anxiety
• Worry is often rooted in fear and a desire for control
• God’s Word is a powerful tool to combat anxious thoughts
• Trusting God fully opens the door to greater peace and freedom

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Full Transcript Below:

Give Your Worries to the God Who Gives So Much More
By Keri Eichberger

Bible Reading:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20) 

I was once quite the worrier. I’m not sure exactly what the trigger was. But it likely began during my youth as life started to get more real. As I slowly lost the innocent beliefs that everyone is nice, parents always stay married, only old people die, and you don’t get in trouble unless you’re actually guilty. And one life disappointment at a time, I observed mean kids making fun, moms and dads splitting up, classmates getting in fatal car crashes, and people getting punished for things they didn’t do. Hurt happened, heartbreaks began to haunt me, until, without notice, I began living in such a way to protect myself from any pain. Worry was brewing, and I hardly noticed. 

And sadly, as the years progressed through my teens and early adulthood, so did my life experien

Dios no nos llama a perseguir lo nuevo, nos llama a volver a Él. Porque solo cuando Cristo es el centro, los círculos se rompen y el camino se endereza. Tal vez hoy no necesitas algo nuevo… necesitas un corazón rendido, porque cuando Dios es el inicio, la vida deja de dar vueltas y comienza a avanzar con propósito.

Escrito por Mercy Cosme

CANAL EN TELEGRAM

GRUPO EN WHATSAPP

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This week, we’ll hear from Rebecca St. James, a Grammy and Dove award-winning contemporary Christian music artist. When Rebecca’s family moved from Australia to the U.S. when Rebecca was a teen, they faced serious financial struggles—the kind that forced them to rely completely on each other and outside support for basic survival like food, transportation, and medical bills. This intense period of “making it work” became the bedrock of her career and is the focus of the film Unsung Hero. 

Next, we meet Zahriya Zachary, an artist and worship leader with Bethel Music who experienced a major pivot in her early twenties. She shares how she shifted from the pursuit of a traditional career to an unexpected music career. Her story explores the struggle of unlearning the need for perfection and performance, and the profound freedom found in simply showing up as yourself.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jesus Always

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Darlene Zschech

Upcoming interview: Maria Lee

Jesus Listens for Moms

Rebecca St. James

Unsung Hero

“You Make Everything Beautiful”

My Utmost for His Highest 

www.rebeccastjames.com

Zahriya Zachary

“Stay”

www.bethelmusic.com/roster/zahriya-zachar

Rediscovery

Interview Quotes:

“[Hardship] really did encourage us to turn to God as a family, because we needed Him in a way that we had never needed Him so desperately before.” - Rebecca St. James

“My parents were definitely the kind that encouraged us to flourish in our own gifts. I think that they were very attentive to specialized giftings within the family and encouraged us to be unique.” - Rebecca St. James 

“I remember my parents being very available for just talking things through, and that’s something that I’m also trying to do with our kids, [is to be] available and present.” - Rebecca St. James

“I think God’s design for the family is so beautiful, and I think when we can live that out privately in our lives, but then also if God allows us to to live that out in the public space too, there’s an undeniable loveliness to it.” - Rebecca St. James

“I think something that I am currently unlearning is my performance being the thing that makes God stay, and even that makes other people stay. I’m really unlearning that because it can tend to be this driving force of, If I do good enough at this, if I can just be perfect at this, then God will just stay. The Lord is revealing to me, ‘I love you because I love because I love you.’” - Zahriya Zachary