If you feel weighed down by guilt or shame, there is hope for you. Barbara Rainey explains the solution found only in Jesus.

Barbara Rainey invites us to reflect on the parts of ourselves we’ve always wished were different, sharing openly about her own lifelong struggle with shyness. Through storytelling—from childhood memories to passages in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia—and a deep dive into John 9, Barbara reminds us that God doesn’t make mistakes with our design or our past. Even the things we might view as handicaps, she says, can be purposed for God’s glory. Join Barbara and host Michelle as they explore what it means to find confidence and healing through Jesus, the Son—who is, indeed, enough for every painful chapter in our story.

Timestamps
00:00 "Narnia Storytime"

06:09 "The Paradox of a Good God"

07:17 "God's Sufficiency for Your Past"

12:29 "Jesus' Initiative and Compassion"

15:45 Born with a Shy Nature

18:06 "Embrace Your God-Given Traits"

20:07 "Barbara Rainey Podcast Outro"

Key Topics
1. Introduction: Struggles with Our Insecurities and Personality Traits

• Barbara Rainey poses a reflective question about what personal traits listeners wish they didn’t have.
• Michelle introduces Barbara’s own struggle with shyness.
• Establishing a theme of personal dissatisfaction with innate characteristics.

2. Assurance of God’s Purpose and No Mistakes in Creation

• Barbara asserts that God doesn’t make mistakes in our design or life circumstances.
• She affirms that, even if we never understand why we’re made a certain way, we can trust God’s intentions.

3. The Search for Satisfaction and God as the Ultimate Source

• Michelle discusses universal longings and the tendency to search for fulfillment in things apart from God.
• Introduction to the idea that God—Father, Son, and Spirit—is sufficient for every need.

4. Literary Reflection: Excerpt from The Chronicles of Narnia

• Barbara reads a passage from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
  • The children’s discovery of Narnia and initial encounter with Mr. Beaver.
  • The children ask about Aslan and learn He is both powerful and not “safe,” but fundamentally good.
• Drawing parallels between Aslan and God: Good, not always “safe,” mysterious in His ways.

5. Wrestling with Wanting a Predictable and Safe God

• Barbara shares her own desire for a God she can understand and predict.
• Insights on learning to accept God’s goodness even when His ways are beyond comprehension.
• Introduction of the theme: “God is enough for our past, present, and future.”

6. Focus on God the Son: Jesus is Enough for Our Past

• Plan to examine three aspects: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; today focusing on the Son.
• Context-setting for the selected scripture:
  • The significance of the word “believe” in the Book of John.
  • Exploration of belief as a feminine noun in Greek, and its relational implications (e.g., women’s faith at the tomb).
• Scriptural context for John 9:
  • Story takes place midway through Jesus’ ministry, during the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah).

7. The Story of the Man Born Blind: John 9

• Jesus notices the blind man, highlighting divine initiative.
• Consideration of the man’s lifelong dependence, potential for isolation, and feelings of hopelessness.
• Disciples’ question about the source of the man’s blindness reflects human desire to find blame and maintain control.
• Jesus’ response: blindness is not a result of sin, but an opportunity for the works of God to be displayed.

8. Theological Implications: God’s Sovereignty and Human Struggle

• Reference to Exodus 4:11: God as creator of all abilities and disabilities.
• Wrestling with the discomfort that God can allow suffering or hardship for His purposes.
• God’s higher plans may involve temporary or lifelong struggles to display His glory.

9. Personal Application: Identifying Our Own “Handicaps”

• Barbara shares her own story of lifelong shyness and feeling different.
• Listeners are prompted to identify and reflect on their own “handicaps” or lifelong struggles.
• Sharing experiences of feeling like a mistake within one’s family or community.
• Encouragement to see personal struggles as purposeful in God’s plan.

10. Conclusion: Believing God’s Good Purposes in Our Stories

• Reflection on the blind man’s faith and response to Jesus.
• Posing a question to listeners: Will you trust God’s purpose and believe, like the man born blind?
• Michelle’s summary: It takes faith to believe that Jesus is enough for our past and that God is wise in all He allows.

11. Closing and Next Episode Teaser

• Mention of resources (Barbara’s Substack and epic poem “The Wonder of the Word”).
• Preview of part two: “God the Father is enough for our present.”