Episode 12: From Lost to Found

Reach out to me here!

Ever felt like you've been going through religious motions without experiencing real spiritual connection? You're not alone. 

My journey began as "Fred" – that guy who grew up surrounded by church culture, heard all the Bible stories, yet couldn't recite John 3:16 if his life depended on it. I was the spiritual GPS perpetually stuck on "recalculating," taking every wrong turn possible while trying to fill a God-shaped hole with Fred-shaped solutions. From getting kicked out of Lutheran school to living what looked like a successful life on the surface, something essential was missing – true connection with God.

Everything changed during what I now call my "Rock Bottom Revelation." In a moment of complete vulnerability, with my ego stripped away, I finally recognized my own fragility and what truly mattered. It wasn't a dramatic movie moment with lightning and angels, but a quiet surrender: "Jesus, if you can get me through this, I will follow you." What I perceived as falling apart was actually God clearing the construction site for something new.

The transformation that followed was profound. Scripture that once seemed like distant religious text became alive and relevant. Worship and devotionals weren't background noise anymore but essential spiritual nourishment. Not everyone understood this change – my wife was confused, friends became uncomfortable, my brother stopped speaking to me. Yet despite these challenges, I'd never felt more fulfilled. 

Whether you're knowing about God without truly knowing Him, or you're in your own season of searching, transformation awaits. God meets us exactly where we are but loves us too much to leave us there. Ready to trade your old keys for the one that actually fits the lock? Listen in, and discover why you are loved more than you know.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hey there, faithful foxes, welcome back to another
episode where we dig into faithlife and probably make some
questionable dad jokes along theway.
I'm your host and today we'retalking about transformation,
the real deal, not the new year,new me, stuff that lasts about
as long as your gym membership.
We're diving into what itactually looks like when God
hits the reset button on yourlife.

(00:37):
So buckle up, grab your coffeeand let's get into it.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
The faithful fox, I'm so happy you made it.
I'm just in your host and I'mso glad we're acquainted.
We're praising your name andthe way that he's taken away our
sin.
Yeah, your words give me graceand you're here in this place.

(01:05):
I've been blinded by your holylight.
Give me blessings from abovewhen I broadcast.
Welcome to the Faithful FoxPodcast.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
All right.
So picture this guy.
Let's call him Fred.
Fred grew up going to church,sat through all those Sunday
school classes, heard plenty ofBible stories, but if you asked
him to recite John 3.16, goodluck with that.
Here's the thing about Fred hewas like a spiritual GPS that

(01:44):
kept saying recalculating.
You know what I mean?
He had access to the map, buthe never really learned how to
read it, so he kept taking everywrong turn possible.
Fred was that kid who got kickedout of Lutheran school Classic
Fred move right.
But here's the thing Even whenhe was sitting in those pews
growing up, he wasn't reallygetting it.

(02:04):
He was there more as amandatory volunteer, you know,
Going through the motions,hearing the words, but it was
like listening to a foreignlanguage where you catch every
third word and as he got older,nothing really changed.
He was happy on the surfaceGood job, Nice family, Looked
like he had it all together.
But inside man he felt thisdeep loneliness, this emptiness

(02:29):
that he kept trying to fill witheverything but the thing that
actually mattered.
It's like trying to charge yourphone with a toaster cord.
You can jam it in there all youwant, but it's just not going
to work, so this is Lost andFound to work.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
So this is Lost and Found.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
So Fred's out here living his best life or so he
thinks Partying, drinking,making all the choices that
seemed fun in the moment butleft him feeling more empty than
a politician's promise.
You know that feeling whenyou're scrolling through social
media at 2am and suddenly you'relike what am I even doing with
my life?
That was Fred's permanent stateof being.
He had this God-shaped hole inhis heart but he kept trying to

(03:10):
fill it with Fred-shapedsolutions.
And here's the kicker.
He'd been exposed to all of it.
His mom had raised him right,took him to the Southern Baptist
Church, then Lutheran Church.
He heard all the Bible stories,sat through countless sermons,
but it was like being in mathclass when you're eight.
The teacher's talking, you'renodding along, but you're really
just thinking about recess.
He never actually grasped whathe was learning.

(03:34):
It was just religiousbackground noise.
Fred was searching forconnection, for meaning, for
purpose, but every time hethought he found it.
New job, new relationship, newhobby.
It was like grabbing onto smokeJust nothing there.
The crazy part is Fred wasn'tsome terrible person.

(03:55):
He wasn't robbing banks orkicking puppies.
He was just lost, going throughthe motions, checking the boxes
, but missing the whole point.
It's like trying to use ahammer to eat soup.
You're using the wrong tool forthe job.
My friend Scripture tells us inLuke 15 about the lost sheep.
Right, that shepherd thatleaves the 99 to find the one

(04:16):
that wandered off.
Well, fred was that sheep,except he didn't realize he was
lost.
He thought he was justexploring.
I'm not lost, I'm just takingthe scenic route.
This is Rock Bottom Revelations.
Oh, I really hate Rock Bottom.
So here's where Fred's storygets real, and I mean real, real

(04:38):
.
Picture this Fred's having whathe thought would be just
another night of exploration.
Let's say he decided to trysome natural substances.
You know, the kind that growfrom the ground and make you
question reality.
Well, reality came knocking andit was not delivering pizza,

(05:02):
not delivering pizza.
But here's what happened.
It was like his ego just meltedaway.
All the pretenses, all thewalls he built up, all the I've
got this figured out attitudegone, completely dissolved.
In that moment he wasn't theguy with the good job, or the
nice family, or the clevercomebacks.
He was just a raw human beingface to face with his own
fragility.
In that stripped down ego, freemoment, all he can think about

(05:25):
was his kids.
What if something happened tohim.
What if they had to grow upwithout their dad?
What if his wife had to pick upall the pieces?
With his ego melted away, hecould finally see what actually
mattered and how desperately heneeded something bigger than
himself.
Now Fred had been to church.
He'd heard about foxholeprayers.
You know when people suddenlyget religious, when things go

(05:47):
sideways.
But this wasn't just feartalking.
This was desperation meetingrevelation.
In the middle of that tear,with tears streaming down his
face, fred cried out Jesus, ifyou can get me through this, I
will follow you.
And here's the thing.
It wasn't some dramatic moviemoment with lightning and angels
singing.

(06:07):
It was just quiet surrender,like finally admitting you're
lost and asking for directions.
Sometimes the most profoundmoments happen in the most
unlikely places.
But you know what's beautifulabout Rock Bottom?
It gives you a solid foundationto build on.
Fred thought he was fallingapart, but really God was just

(06:30):
clearing the construction site.
This is the New CreationChronicles.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
I've been down before .
Look, I've been down before.
I told him better than this,Craig, get up, Get up Craig.
Come on Craig, Come on Craig.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
So what happened next ?
Did Fred wake up the nextmorning and pretend it was all
just a bad trip?
Nope, this is where it getsgood people.
This is where a secondCorinthians, chapter 5, verse 17
, starts making sense.
Therefore, if anyone is inChrist, the new.
New creation has come.
The old has gone, the new ishere.

(07:05):
Fred started listening toworship, music and devotionals.
I'm talking about actuallylistening, not just having it
out in the background while hethought about lunch.
Every morning, he'd put in hisearbuds and soak it all in.
Suddenly, these Bible storieshe'd heard as a kid but never
really grasped.
They started making sense.
It was like he'd put in hisearbuds and soak it all in
Suddenly, these Bible storieshe'd heard as a kid but never
really grasped.
They started making sense.
It was like he'd been trying toread a book in the dark his
whole life and someone finallyturned on the lights.

(07:27):
He started reading scripturelike it was the morning news,
couldn't get enough of it.
The guy who couldn't reciteJohn 3.16 to save his life was
now staying up late readingabout Paul's missionary journeys
.
His wife probably thought he'dlost his mind.
Honey, are you feeling okay?
You're enjoying Leviticus andchurch.
Well, fred started tuning inonline, which, honestly, was

(07:49):
perfect for a guy who was stillfiguring things out.
No pressure, no awkwardwhere-do-I-sit moments, just him
and the message when timeallowed he'd visit the actual
campus.
But those online servicesbecame his weekly anchor.
It's like having a personaltrainer for your soul, available
24-7.
Now, I'm not going to lie toyou, it wasn't all rainbows and

(08:10):
church potlucks.
Fred's transformation made somepeople uncomfortable.
His wife didn't quite get it.
She's more of theI'll-figure-it I'll figure it
out myself type.
Some Freds started treating himlike he joined a cult.
His brother, straight up,stopped talking to him.
But you know what Fred hadnever felt more fulfilled in his
entire life?
It's like the differencebetween eating gas station sushi

(08:32):
and actual good sushi.
Once you taste the real thing,you cannot go back to the
knockoff.
Fred started thinking aboutbaptism, not just as some
religious checkbox but as apublic declaration, like
announcing to the world the oldme yeah, he's dead and buried,
this new guy.
He's rising up as a newcreation in Christ.
That's the power oftransformation, folks.

(08:54):
It's not about becoming perfect, it's about becoming new,
different, redeemed.
You know I've been telling youabout this guy, fred, and his
journey from lost to found, fromold to new.
And maybe you're sitting therethinking that's a nice story,
but what does it have to do withme?
Well, here's the thing, fred'sstory, it's not just some

(09:19):
hypothetical example I cooked up.
Fred is me.
This is my story.
Every searching heart, everywrong turn, every moment of
desperation crying out to God,that was me.

(09:42):
That night of terror thatbecame a night of surrender,
that was my rock-bottomrevelation.
The transformation, the hungerfor scripture, the joy in
worship, even the lonelinessthat comes with change, all of
it my journey.
I'm telling you this notbecause my story is special, but

(10:05):
because God's faithfulness is.
Whether you're like I wasknowing about God but not
knowing him, or you're in yourown season of searching, there's
hope.
There's always hope.
Maybe you're listening to thisand you feel like that spiritual
GPS stuck on recalculating.
Maybe you've been trying tofill that God-shaped hole with

(10:29):
everything except God, or maybeyou're ready for that old thing
to pass away and for somethingnew to come.
Whatever place you're in, knowthis God meets us where we are,
but he loves us too much toleave us there.
So if you're ready to tradeyour old keys for the one that

(10:53):
actually fits the lock, ifyou're ready to let the old
things pass away and embrace thenew.
Jesus is waiting, not withjudgment, not with a list of
things you need to fix first,but with open arms and a heart
full of love.
Thanks for joining me on theFaithful Fox today.

(11:17):
Until next time, keep seeking,keep growing and remember you
are loved more than you know.
Peace out, fam.