The Receive Experience

Two days before their daughter was born, doctors were planning three heart surgeries... then a new ultrasound showed her heart was perfectly normal. In this conversation I have with Jay and Rebecca, we get into that miracle and the quieter, ordinary ways God was speaking to them all along.Jay and Rebecca are the authors of 'Breathless Haste,' a book of the stories of how they've heard from God in their marriage, their family and their ministry. Jay is the executive pastor at their church in Atlanta, where Rebecca led women's ministry and connections for 14 years, and Rebecca now leads Life Story Retreats that help people notice where God has been at work in their own story.Here's what we explore:▪️The verse in Habakkuk a spiritual director read to Rebecca, and why "breathless haste" became the name of their book▪️What a monthly day of silence did for Rebecca, even when she didn't hear anything in the quiet▪️Why Jay says God's timing is perfect, but it's rarely early▪️How God spoke to Rebecca after losing their son, Brock: "There is a heaven"▪️The diagnosis, the delivery room and the doctor who walked in to say their daughter's heart was perfectly normal▪️Living with the why when one child is lost and another is healed▪️A snowy tree, a baby's bonnet in a cornerstone and other everyday moments where they sensed God speakingChapters00:00 Intro01:27 The Verse Behind "Breathless Haste"10:11 What Silence and Solitude Can Do Even When You Hear Nothing13:09 Why God's Timing Is Perfect but Rarely Early17:56 Losing Brock and the Words "There Is a Heaven"19:32 The Diagnosis, the Delivery Room and a Perfectly Normal Heart25:43 Living With the Why When One Child Is Lost and One Is Healed28:21 Helping People Notice Where God Has Already Been at Work33:39 What Connecting With God Looks Like Day to Day40:33 A Snowy Tree, a Baby's Bonnet and Hearing God in the OrdinaryIf you've been wondering whether God has been speaking to you, I invite you to just look back over your own week and notice where He might have been all along. And if you want to go deeper, join us in the Hearing God Challenge... the link is below.🔗 Sign up for the next Hearing God Challenge - https://hearinggodchallenge.com/🔗 OneLife Maps, the maps Rebecca uses in her Life Story Retreats for recognizing and responding to God in your story - https://www.onelifemaps.com🔗 Breathless Haste, Jay and Rebecca's ongoing stories and devotionals - https://www.BreathlessHaste.com🔗 Finding God Today, a free downloadable guide with daily questions for finding God and a weekly guide for finding God through scripture - https://www.FindingGodToday.com

Near the end of this conversation, Chris Cook said something I keep coming back to... a lot of what we’ve called spiritual maturity is really emotional avoidance with a Bible verse duct-taped to it. We get into the truth about spiritual maturity, emotional healing, and his 40 months in the wilderness.Christopher Cook is a pastor, leadership coach, host of the Win Today podcast, and the author of ‘Healing What You Can’t Erase.’ His life’s work is helping people heal from fear, guilt, shame and burnout so they can walk in real transformation and spiritual maturity.Expect to learn what spiritual maturity actually is (and what it isn’t), how so many of us were discipled into managing appearances instead of letting God heal the root, why true worship is surrender and not a slow song, what it means to live as a “functional atheist” (a phrase from the 17th-century archbishop Fénelon), why spiritual growth is slower than we expect and why we’re not healed just to feel better, a simple way to set the Lord before you before you pick up your phone in the morning, what God said to Chris in his wilderness season about healing what couldn’t be erased, why we can’t speed up God’s work in us but we can slow it down, why suffering doesn’t automatically make us mature, and how the church can stop calling repression maturity and start making room for people to meet the Lord in their grief, and more...Chapters00:00 What We’ve Been Calling Spiritual Maturity02:03 What Is Spiritual Maturity, Really?04:08 True Worship Is Surrender, Not a Slow Song06:18 Are We Living as Functional Atheists?08:20 Why Spiritual Growth Is Slower and Bigger Than We Think15:41 A Simple Morning Practice for Setting the Lord Before You18:39 What a 40-Month Wilderness Season Taught Chris20:47 “I Had to Heal What Couldn’t Be Erased”24:27 Why Suffering Doesn’t Automatically Make Us Mature27:07 How the Church Unintentionally Discipled Us Into Emotional DishonestyIf something in this conversation stirred something in you, I’d love for you to sit with it for a bit. And if you want to go deeper in hearing God for yourself, join us for the next Hearing God Challenge... the link is below.🔗 Sign up for the next Hearing God Challenge - https://hearinggodchallenge.com/#SpiritualMaturity #EmotionalHealing #ChristianPodcast

What happens when a stage 4 cancer diagnosis brings you closer to God than you've ever been before?When Nathan Bailey was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma that had spread to his brain and lungs, his entire life changed. But during those difficult months of treatment, Nathan experienced God's love and presence in extraordinary ways. He describes moments when the veil between heaven and earth felt so thin he could almost reach through it.Nathan and I talk about what cancer taught him about hearing God's voice, why he now calls every day the best day of his life, and what it means to walk in step with Jesus rather than striving to produce results. We also explore why so many Christians struggle to hear God, how fear and expectations can get in the way, and why sometimes God doesn't want us to do anything—He simply wants us to receive His love.Want to practice hearing God for yourself? Join the Hearing God Challenge: https://hearinggodchallenge.com/Connect with Nathan and Business Church: https://mybusinesschurch.com/CHAPTERS00:00 From Religious Duty to Hearing God's Voice06:14 Stage 4 Cancer and Experiencing God's Presence11:04 Why Every Day Is the Best Day of His Life15:39 Walking With Jesus Instead of Chasing Results23:39 A Simple Method for Hearing God's Voice31:41 Why Christians Struggle to Hear God37:19 How Fear, Safety, and God's Love Affect Our Ability to Hear Him #HearingGod #ChristianTestimony #ChristianPodcast

What do you do when you believe God led you somewhere, but following that call leaves you overwhelmed?After adopting two children, Megan B. Nilsen found herself on a counselor’s couch, exhausted and questioning everything. Then her counselor said something she never expected: “Motherhood is not your highest and greatest calling.” That moment changed how Megan understood her identity—and what it meant to live by the Holy Spirit rather than her own strength.Megan and I talk about hearing God in everyday life, journaling through difficult questions, and the fear and control that can make it hard to trust what we hear.Want to practice hearing God for yourself? Join the free Hearing God Challenge: https://hearinggodchallenge.com/Connect with Megan: https://meganbnilsen.com/CHAPTERS00:00 The words that changed Megan’s perspective03:49 Hearing God’s call to adopt09:01 “Motherhood is not your highest calling”12:29 Learning to listen to God throughout the day17:56 Megan’s journaling practice for hearing God29:12 Fear, control, and barriers to trust48:51 Finding identity beyond motherhood#HearingGod #IdentityInChrist #ChristianPodcast

What if the reason you struggle to hear God isn’t because He’s not speaking—but because part of you doesn’t feel safe enough to listen?
In this conversation, Christian counselor Stefanie Hinman explains how our nervous system, attachment wounds, trauma, shame, and past relationships can affect the way we experience God.
Sometimes we can believe in our heads that Jesus is loving and safe while our bodies respond as though connection is dangerous. Stefanie describes how learning to quiet, regulate, and experience safety can create space for a deeper connection with Jesus.
We also talk about why people often withdraw when they’re hurting, how to support someone without trying to fix them, and why simply being seen and known can be deeply healing.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
Why fight, flight, or freeze can make connection with God difficult
The difference between knowing God is safe and actually feeling safe with Him
How childhood and attachment wounds can shape your picture of Jesus
Why regulation can sometimes come before deeper emotional or spiritual processing
What to do when you pray or listen and feel like you “got nothing”
How to respond to someone’s pain without minimizing or fixing it
How to notice the things that cause you to withdraw from God—and reconnect
Stefanie describes flourishing as becoming aware of what draws us toward connection and what causes us to withdraw, especially patterns rooted in fear, shame, lack, or striving.
Learn more about Stefanie and her resources:
https://bounceproject.org
Want to learn how to hear God more clearly?
Join the free Hearing God Challenge:
https://hearinggodchallenge.com

Chapters
00:00 Why hearing God can feel difficult
03:10 Learning to experience Jesus as safe
08:24 Trauma, attachment, and the need for safety
16:45 How your nervous system affects hearing God
22:59 Stop trying to fix people who are hurting
34:09 What to do when you hear “nothing” from God
40:48 Striving, withdrawal, and learning to flourish