QUICK Qs: How Do You Find God in Dark Times?

When life's storms hit hardest, how do we keep our spiritual footing? David, Javi, and Jason tackle this profound question with raw honesty and practical wisdom drawn from their personal faith journeys.

Javi opens with a vulnerable admission many believers can relate to – the tendency to rely on personal strength rather than God's when life gets overwhelming. He shares how even the smallest prayer can become the first step back to spiritual groundedness, gradually rebuilding the daily practices that reconnect us with God's presence. His journey from self-reliance to divine dependence offers a roadmap for anyone feeling spiritually disconnected during challenging seasons.

The conversation takes a refreshingly honest turn when Jason acknowledges that sometimes God's presence doesn't feel tangible during our darkest moments. Rather than offering platitudes, he emphasizes the role of sheer determination – continuing to live faithfully even when the emotional connection feels absent. This gritty perseverance, continuing to pray even when those prayers become more raw and questioning, demonstrates that authentic faith can accommodate doubt, frustration, and the full range of human emotions.

Drawing from his background as a martial artist, David highlights the crucial role of community in maintaining spiritual groundedness. He describes the transformative impact of surrounding himself with godly mentors who have weathered decades of faith challenges, knowing when to offer wisdom and when simply to be present. This reminder that we weren't designed to navigate our spiritual journeys alone offers hope to listeners feeling isolated in their struggles.

Whether you're currently weathering a difficult season or preparing for inevitable future challenges, this conversation provides practical strategies for maintaining spiritual rootedness when life feels anything but stable. Join us for this honest exploration of faith during hardship that acknowledges the reality of spiritual struggle while pointing toward sustainable practices for remaining connected to God through it all.

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Episode Transcript

David (00:02):
Welcome to the Boundless Bible.
My name is David Shapiro, hey,I'm Javi Marquez and I'm Jason
Holloway.

Jason (00:13):
Quick questions with David.

David (00:16):
Here we are.

Jason (00:16):
We have a new question, guys what are we doing today?

David (00:19):
Today it is how do you stay grounded with God when life
gets hard?
That's a good one.

Javi (00:26):
Anybody want to go first, I'll go first.
I think the biggest one is justprayer, even a small prayer,
yeah, I think the smallestprayer it's one step closer, one
step that helps me get closerto God, to know that he's there
to help me through it, to knowthat I could go deeper in my

(00:50):
relationship and get me out ofwhat I'm going through.
There was something recentlythat was going on with me and I
noticed lately, whenever I getinto like not burnout, but when
I'm doing too much and jugglingthings a lot, I always rely on
my own power.
Yeah, and rely on my own power,my own strength and trying to
figure out my schedule and tryto figure out tasks and let me

(01:10):
prioritize this and that that'sall me.
And I'm hitting a wall and Inoticed that I'm trying to
figure it out all at once withmy strength, not God's strength,
with my strength, not God'sstrength, and that's my thing
that I'm trying to fix andtrying to change.
And I think this questionrelates to that and the way I
get back to seeking God andseeking God for that is by

(01:33):
praying.
One small little prayer becomesa bigger prayer, becomes a
prayer at night, becomes aprayer in the morning devotional
Bible reading and gets me backon track to go.
God, you're with me and you'regoing to help me through this.
Yeah, that's a good one.

Jason (01:45):
Mine is.
I mean, prayer is always theright answer.
Right, that's always the rightanswer.
But sometimes that presence ofGod doesn't feel like it's there
when you're in a hole.
And when you're in that hole,you know, prayer for me
sometimes, just I want it sobadly and it's not there, that

(02:06):
ends up hurting a little bitmore.
And so for me now, when I'm inthat hole, it's about grit and
determination and saying tomyself I know God's out there.
I may not see it right now, Imay not feel it right now, but
I'm going to keep going.
I'm going to keep living mylife like a follower of Christ,

(02:27):
even if I'm not feeling it, evenif I'm feeling really dark,
even if I'm feeling reallynegative, even if I'm feeling
really, and I'm still going topray.
And maybe my prayers get alittle more harsh, but God can
deal with it, right.
Maybe my prayer is like whereare you?
Maybe my prayer is like youknow what?
What am I not doing and what doI need to do to get your
presence back, or something likethat.
But it's it.

(02:48):
For me now it's about grit.
And if I'm feeling really,really far from God, I just say
you know what.
I committed to this.
I'm going to keep going thedistance and if I have to slog
every step through this mud, I'mgoing to get through it and I
keep going, and I keep going,and then it comes back and and
for me that's been, that's beena big, a big revelation for me

(03:08):
this year is that it's notalways going to feel big and
special and spicy and fun andexciting like sometimes it's
going to be work, it's going tobe life.
It's going to be life, it'sgoing to be work, it's going to
be working life I'm going toanswer mine with just a quick,
uh little tale about me.

David (03:26):
Um, growing up as a martial artist I was.
I had the benefit of trainingwith some of the world's
greatest martial artists in manydifferent styles.
Uh, it was a real privilege forme to work with them and they
made me a lot better.
Uh, they've been doing it a lotlonger.
They just worked harder.
It was great to be around allof these people, to know that I

(03:47):
was improving in that way.
And I do the same thing stayinggrounded with God.
In these tough times in life,when life gets hard, you know,
it's hard to just hear just keepdoing this, just keep praying,
everything's going to be fine,and you're like what I'm going
through right now.
So what I've done is surroundmyself with these really great
godly men yeah, men who havewalked this path for 40, 50

(04:10):
years.
Yeah, what a great.
And they mean the world to me.
And these are moments wherelife gets tough and they
actually know when to give meadvice, when to go hey, I've
been through this, I knowsomeone's been through this.
And they also know when to justbe silent and just be present
with me, and that has been thedifference for everything.
For me to stay grounded withGod is just to have those people
around me, and you guysincluded.

(04:32):
There are times where you knowI talk to you guys about things
I've never talked to anybodyelse at, just because I know I'm
going to feel grounded andclose to God.

Jason (04:39):
Yeah, Just in sharing with you, gentlemen, and, and
the genuine care you have backfor me so well we're glad to be
here.
Yeah, we love you, man, anddon't worry that boil is going
to go away soon.

David (04:54):
Just kidding, just kidding.
All right, guys, have a goodday, see you later.