116. Trusting God when nothing is working out

Have you ever felt like you’re doing everything you can and still nothing is working out? That’s where I’ve been. Since February I’ve been showing up and working hard, but it’s now October and I still don’t have a new sale. It feels heavy, especially with a family, growing kids, responsibilities, and dreams that sometimes seem out of reach.

In this episode of Curious for Christ, I’m opening up about what it looks like to trust God in the middle of that kind of season. I share three scriptures that are grounding me, what I’ve been learning about how our brains create thoughts that aren’t always true, and why God is never intimidated by our honesty.

Here’s what you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why our thoughts often repeat the past, not the truth (Isaiah 55:8–9)
• How David shows us that God can handle our raw honesty (Psalm 6:3 + Psalm 34:18)
• Why seasons of loss and struggle may actually be God’s way of bringing new life (John 12:24)

I also share a personal story about what happened when I opened up to a friend about feeling hopeless — and how her acceptance reminded me that community really is medicine for the soul.

If you’ve ever wondered if you’re “allowed” to feel hopeless as a Christian, or if you’re questioning where God is in your own struggle, I think this episode will speak to you.

Join my Facebook group community here: bit.ly/curiousforChristcommunity Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode.

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Transcript

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Hi, and welcome back to Curious for Christ, and if you're new here, welcome. I'm so glad you're listening. Today's episode is called Trusting God. When Nothing is Working Out, I want to be really honest with you. Since February I've been working hard, showing up, trying, doing all the things, and now it's October a new month and I still don't have a new sale. Just past sales closing up but nothing new. And that feels heavy, especially with teenagers that I have and real responsibilities. And I wanna be there for my husband. My family, though I feel like I'm letting them down. And when things don't work out, I notice the thoughts that come in. They're not quiet thoughts. They're very loud and they tell me I'm failing, that maybe God isn't close, that I'm stuck. Then I go back to my past and honestly, sometimes I even wonder, can I feel hopeless as a Christian? Is that even allowed? In this episode, I'm sharing a few things that are helping me right now. Three scriptures that are grounding me, what I've been learning about, how our thoughts work in the brain, and how God has been showing me. He's not afraid of what I'm feeling. If you've ever felt far from God or hopeless in the middle of your struggle, I think this will speak to you. Let's go. Welcome to Curious for Christ. Do you ever find yourself lying, awake at night wondering about God's plan for your life? Maybe you wake up with big dreams, but feel unsure where to start or what your next step should be. If you're curious about exploring your faith and finding purpose, then you've come to the right place. Hi, I'm Alexandra. I too felt lost and sure of the direction my life was taking. I yearned to understand my purpose and have someone guide me, but I kept telling myself I was too busy. The timing wasn't right, and my lack of clarity prevented me from being consistent until I found Christ. He brought peace into my life and revealed the way to find purpose by anchoring myself. In him. In this podcast, we'll journey together exploring the Bible to gain a deeper understanding of him and cultivate your own personal relationship with Christ. So open up your Bible, put in those earbuds and listen up because God is speaking to you. He's making everything new and you don't wanna miss it. Let's get started. So number one, thoughts are not truth. Science tells us our brain creates thoughts from past experiences. If you grew up with criticism, rejection, or struggle, your brain is wired to expect that again, or even if you're just human. Just being human. Your brain works to bring whatever has been. Again, because it's safe, because it can recognize it, and we are wired for survival, it's like a pathway. It goes down automatically. But that doesn't mean the thought is true. It's just familiar, but if you want a different outcome, our thoughts need to be updated as well. They need to be different. They need to come from a different place, and since we don't have anything else, God's thoughts really come in handy. And that's why we need him. And that's why Isaiah 55 verses eight through nine matters so much to me, because it says for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways. My ways. So are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. When I cannot trust my thought, I know I can trust gods. So when my brain says This is hopeless, of course it is because there's never been a different outcome. So when there's a new outcome, then it's like, whoa, but I don't recognize this. Alarm. So here I can remind myself with the scripture that's not God's thought. His thoughts are higher, and even if I can't feel them right now, I can trust this and I can remind myself of that scripture. Number two, God isn't intimidated by honesty. Ah, that's a big one, because sometimes I think if I admit to hopelessness, maybe I'm failing at faith. But then I look at David in the Psalms, he says things like, my soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord? Psalm six, verse three. He cried, he doubted. He wrestled. He felt it was going to be the end of his life, and God still called him a man after my own heart, and that shows me God isn't afraid of what I bring him. He can handle it. It's just going to deepen my connection with him because he is gonna show me a part of himself that I never let in because I never expressed the truth about myself. Does that make sense? And I saw that in my own life. Also. Recently I sent a raw video message to a friend. I had no makeup. It was morning, I was tired, and that's when my thoughts are not the best. That's where I had to, to really wrestle to find something different. So I just decided to send a message and. Let's see what happens. And I told her how I felt, but you know what? She didn't push me away. She accepted me. And that's a blessing because that acceptance felt like medicine. It reminded me we're not made to do life alone. We were created for love and connection. That's why rejection hurts. Because it's the opposite of what we were made for, but love heals because it's what we were made by and made for. And Psalm 34, verse 18 tells me the Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. And that's not theory and that is why also. I created this, Facebook group community so we can share openly and we can reflect on some prompting questions and then be reminded of God's truth. So if you want to join my community, you just need to go to bi ly for slash Curious for Christ Community BIT LY slash Curious for Christ Community and join. I'll be happy to have you there. And then number three, sometimes loss is part of transformation. Jesus said in John 12, verse 24, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. So I don't like that verse. But I need it because it explains why this season feels so hard for me. Something old has to die, so something new can grow. It's like a butterfly breaking out of the cocoon. It looks painful, but without that struggle, it can't fly. So maybe what feels like being lost is actually God preparing me for new life. I hope this helps, and this is it for today. So here is what I'm holding on to right now. My thoughts don't always tell me the truth, but God's thoughts are higher. My feelings don't scare God. He is close to the broken hearted. And then lastly, what feels like dying might be the very thing that leads to new fruit. I don't have it all figured out. But maybe you don't either, and that's okay. Here we are. Thank you for letting me share this place with you today. If this encouraged you, please subscribe so you don't miss an episode, and share it with someone who might need the reminder that God meets us even when life feels overwhelming. Until next time, let's stay awake. Let's not fall back asleep with our own old thoughts. Stay curious for Christ and keep walking forward one step at a time. I will see you next week. Hi, I hope you enjoy today's episode. If so, would you like to take 30 seconds and share it with a friend who may also struggle with knowing God and his purpose for their life? Also, leave a review on Apple. Podcast and let me know what topics you'd like to hear about in the future. Your voice matters. I'll meet you back next Friday for another episode.