In this episode of Wake Her Soul, Shawna and Camille begin the final mini awakening arc of Season 2 by asking a question that reaches beyond what we prioritize into what we are actively building our lives toward:
What am I pursuing—and is it actually what God has for me?
After walking through Pressure, Purity, and Priorities, this final arc turns toward our pursuits…the dreams, goals, accomplishments, responsibilities, opportunities, and assignments that consume our time and move our lives in a particular direction.
And they begin with the mind.
Because one of the hardest things to discern isn’t the difference between something obviously wrong and something right.
Sometimes it’s the difference between something good and what God says is better.
In Luke 10, Martha wasn’t doing anything sinful. She was serving. She was being responsible. She was taking care of the people in her home.
But Jesus tells her she is distracted by many things while Mary has chosen what is better.
That distinction becomes the foundation for this conversation.
Shawna and Camille explore how easily our own good intentions, ambitions, careers, businesses, parenting decisions, responsibilities, and even ministry can become pursuits we assume God wants simply because they appear worthwhile.
But a good opportunity isn’t necessarily a God-given assignment.
Through their own stories of releasing careers, businesses, income, expectations, and plans, they talk honestly about learning to hold the things of this world loosely—and allowing God to redirect pursuits that once seemed completely right.
Because ultimately, the question isn’t simply:
“Is what I’m doing good?”
It’s:
“God, is this what You are asking me to do?”
And sometimes discovering the answer requires becoming quiet enough to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen.
Takeaways
* Not everything good is necessarily God’s assignment for us.
* Our intentions and personal preferences can feel right while still leading us somewhere God never asked us to go.
* Martha wasn’t distracted by something sinful; she was distracted by something less important than what Jesus was offering her.
* Busyness can make us feel productive while quietly pulling our attention away from God.
* Following Jesus requires learning to distinguish between what seems good and what He says is better.
* Careers, businesses, achievements, parenting goals, sports, ministry, and other worthwhile pursuits can still become distractions.
* We are called to hold earthly pursuits loosely and remain willing to place them back on the altar.
* God may ask us to release something for a season before entrusting it back to us from a different posture.
* Our work still matters—but we are called to do it for God’s glory rather than allowing it to become the ultimate pursuit.
* An eternal perspective changes how we evaluate success, achievement, and productivity.
* Hearing God requires humility, relationship, prayer, Scripture, and a willingness to be corrected.
* Anything we believe we hear from God must remain consistent with His Word.
* Obedience will not always make sense according to worldly measures of success.
* Following God may mean choosing something that produces no obvious financial, social, or personal reward.
* Our pursuit is ultimately not a platform, career, accomplishment, income, or perfectly constructed life.
Our pursuit is Christ.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome to the Final Mini Awakening Arc: Pursuits
03:20 — What Are You Pursuing?
04:30 — Mary + Martha: When Good Things Become Distractions
06:10 — Choosing What Is Better
07:45 — The Mental Load of Busyness
09:00 — Developing an Eternal Perspective
10:00 — Holding Good Things Loosely
11:30 — Motherhood, Responsibilities + the Pressure to Keep Going
13:00 — Glorifying God Through the Work We Still Have to Do
14:45 — Running the Race Without Losing Sight of Jesus
16:40 — When God Begins Redirecting Our Pursuits
17:45 — What Are Our Choices Teaching Our Children?
20:00 — Baptism, Conviction + Beginning to Hear God Differently
22:00 — Releasing Careers, Businesses + Income to God
24:00 — How Do We Discern What God Is Saying?
25:20 — Obedience vs. What Makes Sense to the World
26:30 — When Even Ministry Requires Surrender
28:20 — “Lord, Lord”: Relationship Over Religious Activity
30:00 — His Will Is Greater Than Our Will
31:15 — Humility, Blind Spots + Self-Deception
32:00 — Using the WAKE Framework to Examine Our Pursuits
34:30 — Closing Prayer: Keep Your Eyes on the Heavenly Prize
(Timestamps follow the transcript and may be adjusted slightly once final audio is live.)
Scriptures Referenced
* Luke 10:38–42 — Mary and Martha and the difference between being distracted by many things and choosing the one thing Jesus calls necessary. This serves as the primary anchor for the episode.
* Matthew 7:21–23 — Jesus’ warning that outward spiritual activity is not the same as truly knowing Him and living according to the Father’s will.
* Matthew 7:7–8 — The invitation to ask, seek, and knock as we turn toward God for wisdom and direction.
* Philippians 3:12–14 — Pressing forward toward the heavenly prize and keeping our ultimate pursuit centered on Christ.
* 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 — Running the race with purpose and keeping our eyes on the prize.
* Colossians 3:23–24 — Doing our work for the Lord rather than allowing earthly accomplishment to become the goal itself.
* James 5:16 — The power of confession within trustworthy Christian community, referenced as Shawna and Camille discuss bringing what God reveals into the light.
Together, these passages challenge us to move beyond asking:
“Is this a good thing?”
and begin asking:
“Is this the thing God is asking of me?”
Because we can spend years climbing toward something worthwhile only to discover that our definition of success was different from His.
Reflection Questions
* What am I actively pursuing in this season of my life?
* Which goals, responsibilities, dreams, or achievements occupy the most mental space?
* Is there something I have assumed God wants simply because it seems good?
* Where might I be like Martha—doing something worthwhile while distracted from what Jesus is actually inviting me into?
* Is there a career, dream, business, activity, expectation, or outcome I am holding too tightly?
* Where am I measuring success according to the world rather than according to obedience?
* Have I become so busy doing things for God, my family, or others that I am neglecting simply being with Him?
* What might God be asking me to place back on the altar?
* If income, recognition, productivity, or achievement were removed from the equation, would I still pursue what I am pursuing?
* What would it look like to choose the better portion in this season?
Closing
Some of the hardest things God asks us to surrender aren’t bad things.
They’re the things we worked for.
The things we dreamed about.
The things we believed were part of our future.
The things that seemed successful, responsible, helpful—even purposeful.
And sometimes God asks us to loosen our grip long enough to ask:
“Is this actually what You have for me?”
Download the Bible Study to dive even deeper into this week’s conversation.
This week, spend time with God asking:
“Lord, what am I pursuing that You never actually asked me to pursue?”
Then become quiet enough to hear the answer.
Maybe He confirms the path you’re already on.
Maybe He changes your motives.
Maybe He asks you to hold something more loosely.
Maybe He redirects you entirely.
But whatever He reveals, remember:
His will is greater than our will.
We don’t have to figure out the entire path.
We simply have to remain humble enough to ask, surrendered enough to listen, and obedient enough to follow.
Because awakening isn’t simply realizing that God should be part of our plans.
It’s waking up to the possibility that He may have an entirely different pursuit for us.
With love in Christ,
Camille & Shawna
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