YOU Podcast

The story plays out repeatedly. The multimillionaire lives in a beautiful home right on the beach. Wow! That’s living! But he’s diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and suddenly all the externals can’t cure what’s happening inside him. A young lady has a portfolio that soared to heights she never thought possible. But a pirate on a computer across the ocean gets her personal information and passwords. In a matter of hours, it’s all gone.

There are so many things that can change our status––wildfires, market crashes, bad choices, addictions, illnesses, or even just plain ignorance. There is one certainty. At the end of our lives, we all leave this earth with empty pockets. The only account that matters is your connection to God. People see money as an asset. Jesus views money quite differently. How we manage our money reflects our values, motives, and even our faith. It’s not a money issue; it’s a heart issue.”

There are so many things that can change our status––wildfires, market crashes, bad choices, addictions, illnesses, or even just plain ignorance. There is one certainty. At the end of our lives, we all leave this earth with empty pockets. The only account that matters is your connection to God. People see money as an asset. Jesus views money quite differently. How we manage our money reflects our values, motives, and even our faith. It’s not a money issue; it’s a heart issue.

The post LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITLESS GOD: When Your Finances Fall Short (YOU-Win’26, Study S1, Session 5) appeared first on YOU.

Steven Callahan survived seventy-six days in the Atlantic Ocean after his sailboat sank. He managed to escape on a life raft, surviving in the open water on fish that he speared, some rainwater, and the basic equipment he managed to salvage from his boat. Seventeen-year-old Juliane Koepcke was the sole survivor of a plane crash in an Amazon rainforest. She trekked the jungle for eleven days, dealing with wild animals, insects, and hunger. Both people understood the desperation of survival when provisions fell short. It takes a certain kind of person with strong instincts and a relentless will to live to survive the elements in solitude and uncertainty. Those with less tenacity would surrender to certain destruction, but these two kept struggling, clinging to the hope that they would persevere.

Steven Callahan survived seventy-six days in the Atlantic Ocean after his sailboat sank. He managed to escape on a life raft, surviving in the open water on fish that he speared, some rainwater, and the basic equipment he managed to salvage from his boat.”

Rewind a few thousand years and you’ll find an obscure prophet of God living through threats, a divine drought, and devastating circumstances. This prophet burst onto the Bible scene as quickly as he departed on a chariot of fire. His name, Elijah, wouldn’t be obscure for long. This first chapter of his story gives us a glimpse of how we can trust God when provisions fall short.

The post LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITLESS GOD: When Your Provisions Fall Short (YOU-Win’26, Study S1, Session 4) appeared first on YOU.

“I can’t do everything. But I can do something to help somebody. And what I can do I will do.” These are the simple words of a humble servant by the name of Oseola McCarty from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.8 She lived her entire life in poverty. She spent most of her life doing laundry by hand. Despite earning very little, she lived frugally, saving all she could. In 1995, after her retirement at age eighty-six, Oseola shocked her community when she donated $150,000 of her life savings to the University of Southern Mississippi. Her gift was aimed at providing scholarships for deserving African American students in need. Oseola, who never set foot in a college class, gave her best so that others could succeed.

Mary’s life reminds us once again that God will use anyone who surrenders completely to Him, no matter how small or insignificant they might see themselves.”

As we celebrate Christmas every year, we are reminded of another woman. She, too, grew up in obscurity, but because she was willing to put her life on the altar of God’s sovereignty, she found herself in the middle of God’s greatest brushstroke of grace. Mary’s life reminds us once again that God will use anyone who surrenders completely to Him, no matter how small or insignificant they might see themselves.

The post LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITLESS GOD: When Your Understanding Falls Short (YOU-Win’26, Study S1, Session 3) appeared first on YOU.

The people of New Orleans, Louisiana, knew a storm was coming, but who could have imagined the force of the category 4 hurricane named Katrina? In his documentary, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, famed director Spike Lee, highlights the response and devastation Katrina had on the city and people. Survivor interviews capture the emotion of the calamity that is still impacting lives to this day. What could have been a typical August storm, became a chaotic and life-altering season of difficult phone calls, food lines, counseling, and make-shift shelters.

Life can turn on a dime. Although we may not have experienced Hurricane Katrina, we’ve all experienced life’s sudden shifts. The apostle Paul experienced too many to count, but he understood that God’s grace can sustain us through our hardest days and darkest nights.”

Life can turn on a dime. Although we may not have experienced Hurricane Katrina, we’ve all experienced life’s sudden shifts. The apostle Paul experienced too many to count, but he understood that God’s grace can sustain us through our hardest days and darkest nights.

The post LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITLESS GOD: When Your Circumstances Fall Short (YOU-Win’26, Study S1, Session 2) appeared first on YOU.

New believers and longtime believers alike have all likely experienced crises or chronic circumstances at one point or another, times when it looked like life was just “lifing.” Though we know faith is important, it’s frustrating when we just don’t have any answers. The voice inside our head whispers, Why? Why me, God?

Though we know faith is important, it’s frustrating when we just don’t have any answers… when we have nothing left to give and no one else to call, Jesus is just getting started.”

These tests, these challenges, at first glance, might challenge everything we know about God, faith, and prayer, but through all our emotions, thoughts, and missteps, we are not alone. We come to see that when we have nothing left to give and no one else to call, Jesus is just getting started.

The post LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITLESS GOD: When Your Faith Falls Short (YOU-Win’26, Study S1, Session 1) appeared first on YOU.

None of us enjoy problems. We imagine that a life free from trouble would bring us peace and happiness. Yet, life doesn’t work that way.

Problems are an inescapable part of our human experience. While we can’t choose the challenges we face, we have the power to choose how we respond to them. This truth is illustrated in Isaiah 38, where King Hezekiah is facing imminent death. However, he did not give in to despair or resign himself to defeat. Instead, he turned to God in heartfelt prayer, seeking God’s mercy and intervention. His response reminds us that problems, no matter how intimidating, are opportunities to deepen our trust in God and align ourselves with His will. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and granted him an extension of life, demonstrating His power and faithfulness.

Problems are an inescapable part of our human experience. While we can’t choose the challenges we face, we have the power to choose how we respond to them. This truth is illustrated in Isaiah 38, where King Hezekiah is facing imminent death. However, he did not give in to despair or resign himself to defeat. Instead, he turned to God in heartfelt prayer, seeking God’s mercy and intervention. His response reminds us that problems, no matter how intimidating, are opportunities to deepen our trust in God and align ourselves with His will. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and granted him an extension of life, demonstrating His power and faithfulness.”

As we reflect on this passage, let us examine our own responses to life’s challenges. Do we allow them to overwhelm us, or do we bring them to God in faith? Let’s discover how His faithfulness can transform even our darkest circumstances into testimonies of His grace.

The post FROM PROBLEMS TO PRAISE (YOU-Fal’25, Study SF, Session SF) appeared first on YOU.

On May 21, 2020, twin brothers Zak and Max Prizant took their first step in their journey across America on foot. They started on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. They finished on the Brooklyn Bridge on New Year’s Eve, completing their 3000-mile journey and raising $15,000 for COVID relief.

On May 21, 2020, twin brothers Zak and Max Prizant took their first step in their journey across America on foot. They started on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. They finished on the Brooklyn Bridge on New Year’s Eve, completing their 3000-mile journey and raising $15,000 for COVID relief.”

Now, repeat that journey 2.5 more times. That’s how far Paul and his companions traveled (over 10,000 miles) as pioneer missionaries. They faced many life-threatening hazards, and unlike the Prizants, they endured physical attacks and prison time to spread the gospel and start churches.

Of all the experiences they had, something unusual happened during the second missionary journey. God paused their plans, rerouting their mission efforts. Let’s take a road trip with Paul and lessons in listening to God.

The post HOW TO HANDLE LIFE’S INTERRUPTIONS- When Doing God’s Work is Interrupted (YOU-Fal’25, Study 2, Session 6) appeared first on YOU.

You and I have an issue: we hate waiting, yet we are forced to do it a lot. Think about how much of your life is spent . . .

Standing in a grocery store check-out line.

Growing older in a traffic jam.

Listening to that terrible canned music song cycle again while on hold.

Anticipating test results that seem to take forever and ever.

One UCLA professor humorously suggested the creation of a new unit of time called “the honko-second.” Defined as “the time between when the light changes and the person behind you honks his horn,” it would be the smallest measure of time known to man.”

One UCLA professor humorously suggested the creation of a new unit of time called “the honko-second.” Defined as “the time between when the light changes and the person behind you honks his horn,” it would be the smallest measure of time known to man.

Those of us who want things in a “honko-second” find waiting annoying. Isn’t that why we enjoy fast food, microwaves, freeway express lanes, and Amazon Prime? But what if God has something in those gaps for us that we can’t learn any other way? Let’s not waste our waiting anymore. Jesus’s disciples were in a waiting room with lessons to show us how to wait well.

The post HOW TO HANDLE LIFE’S INTERRUPTIONS- When A Time of Inactivity Slows You Down (YOU-Fal’25, Study 2, Session 5) appeared first on YOU.

Peter Greig was on his way home to England. As he hurried through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, he soon learned that the Iceland volcano had grounded all flights. Peter asked God how He wanted him to use this interruption and his thoughts flew to his friend Joe, 150 miles away in Madison, Wisconsin. “Hey, I’m in Chicago,” he emailed. “Can I come crash on your couch?”

Joe had just received terrible news. His wife asked, “Who do you wish you had on your couch right now?” Joe answered, “I wish Pete was on my couch, but I know that’s crazy.” Within hours of Joe’s stated longing, Peter was sitting on his couch. Sometimes, God interrupts our lives with people in ways that feel like an answer to prayer.”

What Peter didn’t know was that Joe had just received terrible news. His wife asked, “Who do you wish you had on your couch right now?” Joe answered, “I wish Pete was on my couch, but I know that’s crazy.” Within hours of Joe’s stated longing, Peter was sitting on his couch. Sometimes, God interrupts our lives with people in ways that feel like an answer to prayer. In our passage, Jesus was surrounded by people, but He took time for two desperate people. He responded with such spiritual sensitivity and power, it changed them.

The post HOW TO HANDLE LIFE’S INTERRUPTIONS- When Well-meaning People Interrupt Your Plans (YOU-Fal’25, Study 2, Session 4) appeared first on YOU.

I’m fascinated with stories of “chance encounters.” History is full of them. And so is your life. Ever made a left turn when you should’ve gone right? Maybe you knocked on the wrong door or stood in a long line only to discover thirty minutes later you were in the wrong line?

We don’t usually see these as life-changing encounters. But they could be. James Chadwick stood in the wrong line—and science is glad he did. James was only sixteen when he enrolled at Manchester University. This young upstart had his eye on studying mathematics—until he got in the wrong line.

Chadwick got in line to register for mathematics, but it turns out he was registering for physics. He decided to stay enrolled because he liked the professor he talked with, Dr. Ernest Rutherford. This wrong line and chance encounter led to a lifelong friendship and partnership. Was that a big deal? It turns out that Rutherford, who mapped out the atom, instilled in Chadwick a love for physics. Chadwick went on to discover the neutron, and he became a pioneer in nuclear science.

All because of the mistake of getting in the wrong line. I’m not saying that every mistake or wrong turn in your life is divinely ordained by God. But since you’re there, look around. God may want to use you in that situation.

We sometimes wonder if God writes us off when we
make bad or sinful decisions. But Moses shows us
that God can use the mess we make of things to
refine us if we let Him.”

Just don’t assume your mistake is just that: a mistake. That mistake could be an opportunity. We sometimes wonder if God writes us off when we make bad or sinful decisions. But Moses shows us that God can use the mess we make of things to refine us if we let Him.

The post HOW TO HANDLE LIFE’S INTERRUPTIONS- When Your Actions Cause an Interruption (YOU-Fal’25, Study 2, Session 3) appeared first on YOU.