Faithformed: Honest Faith for People Who Don't Have it All Together

Justin Belt
  • 4.5 (4)
  • Christianity

Most faith content is made by people already on the other side of the hard season. This isn't that. FaithFormed is for the person stuck in the middle of a story that doesn't make sense. The one trusting God in the waiting and wondering if He's still listening. The one whose faith is being tested by silence, loss, or a season that just won't end. The one who keeps showing up anyway. Host Justin Belt is a writer, minister, and author of The Purpose in the Pause, Slaying the Lion, and Rise Up. He doesn't have neat answers about why God feels silent sometimes. But he brings honesty, biblical truth, and the stubborn belief that God is still working even when you can't see it. Each week Justin offers honest conversations about faith, doubt, spiritual warfare, waiting on God, and what it actually looks like to follow Christ when life falls apart. If you're navigating a hard season, feeling forgotten by God, or just need someone to be honest about the struggle — this show is for you. New episodes every Monday.

  1. 1d ago

    44. Christian Before Black? The Lie Inside a Holy Sentence

    Send us Fan Mail I felt like recently celebrating Juneteenth was as good a time as any to address something I see a lot on social media and something I’ve even said myself.  I used to say "I'm a Christian before I'm Black," but only in one kind of room. Never around people who looked like me. Always in white-leaning spaces, where the disclaimer made everyone else relax and made him feel nonthreatening. This episode takes apart that sentence. It honors the worship underneath it, the desire to make Jesus Lord over everything, then names the lie smuggled in alongside it: that your ethnicity is the thing your faith has to overcome. Through Revelation 7, Acts 17, and a careful reading of Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11, Justin makes the case that God did not erase the nations to save them. He gathered them. And "neither Jew nor Greek," the verse people use to flatten you, tears down the ladder, not the differences. This one is for any believer, Black or not, who has either offered that disclaimer or quietly asked someone else to. It is a loving confrontation and a release at the same time. In this episode: Why "Christian before Black" sounds holy but hides a false choiceWhat Revelation 7 and Acts 17 actually say about ethnicity and eternityThe most misread verse in the conversation: Galatians 3:28, explainedHow Colossians 3:11 seats the "Scythian" at the table without erasing himWhy culture-free Christianity is usually just one culture in disguiseScripture: Revelation 7:9 · Acts 17:26 · Galatians 3:28 · Colossians 3:11 · Matthew 10:37 Voices referenced: Esau McCaulley · Willie Jennings · Andrew Walls · Lesslie Newbigin · N.T. Wright If it lands, share it with someone carrying the same disclaimer. Subscribe so you don't miss what's next, and a quick rating or review genuinely helps other people find the show. Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    29 min

  2. Jun 15

    43. Why Am I So Hard On Myself?

    Send us Fan Mail "Why am I so hard on myself?"  Have you ever wrestled with that question? If so, you've found just the right episode to help you understand it.  There's a voice that gets to you before you're even fully awake. It tells you you're behind, you're failing, you should've done more by now. And most of us never argue with it. We think it's just honesty. This episode is about the most important sermon you'll hear all week: the one you preach to yourself. Drawing on Psalm 42, where a man in the middle of a spiritual drought stops listening to his own despair and starts talking back to it, we look at the difference between honest lament and the quiet self-contempt so many believers have mistaken for humility. With help from Howard Thurman's idea of "the sound of the genuine" and the old pastoral wisdom of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this is a conversation about taking back the pulpit in your own mind. This is for the believer who extends grace to everyone but themselves. For the one who'd never speak to their kids the way they speak to themselves. For anyone tired of waking up already accused. You are not the exception to grace. And the voice telling you otherwise is preaching a sermon the cross made illegal. Scripture: Psalm 42 and 43, Romans 8:1, 1 Samuel 30:6. If this episode meets you where you are, share it with someone who needs it, leave a review, and follow the show so you don't miss what's next. Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    35 min

  3. Jun 8

    42. What to Do When Someone Tries to Talk You Out of Your Calling

    Send us Fan Mail Not everyone who has an opinion about your vision has earned the right to speak into it. Knowing the difference might be the most important thing you do with what God gave you. Episode 42 closes the Formation Trilogy -- nine episodes on purpose, calling, and vision -- with the two questions this arc was always building toward. The first: what does God do with the person who is still standing after the vision was buried? The second: who gets access to what God gave you, and how do you guard it without becoming closed, defensive, or unteachable? In this episode, we walk through John 20, and the moment Jesus commissions the disciples while they are still afraid, still in a locked room, still carrying more questions than answers. The sending does not wait for readiness. It comes through the locked door. And then it goes straight into Nehemiah 2, where Nehemiah inspects the wall in the dark before anyone else gets a chance to speak into the vision -- because he understood that voices enter fast and change what you see. This episode names three specific voices that should not have access to a God-given vision: the voice of unexamined familiarity, the voice of institutional protection, and the voice of wounded wisdom. It gives you concrete language for how to tell the difference between someone who is refining your vision and someone who is replacing it. And it closes with the commissioning word that has been underneath this entire trilogy: you were not given a vision to hold forever in private. You were given a vision to be sent with. If you have been carrying something God gave you and you are not sure who to let in, this episode is for you. If you have been through a formation season and you are not sure what comes next, this episode is for you. If you are still standing after something that looked like the end, this episode is for you. In this episode: -- What it means to be sent before you feel ready (John 20:19-23) -- Why Nehemiah inspected the wall in the dark before he told anyone the vision -- The three voices that should not have access to a God-given vision -- How to tell the difference between correction and replacement -- What the word poiema (Ephesians 2:10) says about why your specific history matters -- The Joseph narrative: what God does with vision that was buried and survived -- Theological voices: Willie Jennings and N.T. Wright This episode is for you if you are asking: -- How do I know who to trust with my vision? -- What do I do when people mishandle what God gave me? -- How do I protect a God-given vision without becoming defensive? -- What does it mean to be sent by God when I don't feel ready? -- How do I know if I'm hearing from God or just from the loudest voice in the room? -- What comes after a season of waiting, formation, and loss? FaithFormed is a biblical discipleship podcast for people who are serious about building a faith that actually holds up. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    47 min

  4. Jun 1

    41. When God Buries the Vision

    Send us Fan Mail What do you do when the thing God gave you goes into the ground? Not stalls. Not pauses. Collapses. When the vision you carried for years ends in a way you did not choose and cannot fully explain, and you are left holding the pieces trying to determine whether what you are standing at is a burial or a death. In this episode of FaithFormed, we walk through the full arc of Joseph's journey from the pit to the prison to Pharaoh's court, not as an inspirational overview, but as a serious theological and pastoral examination of what God is actually doing in the seasons where everything appears to be falling apart. This is not a pull-yourself-up episode. This is an episode for the person who did the right thing and still ended up in chains. For the person who has been faithful in the silence and is not sure what faithfulness is supposed to feel like this deep into the wait. For the person whose two years after the cupbearer forgot them has stretched into something much longer. In this episode: Why the pit is often the enemy's response to a calling, not God's correction of a mistake. What Joseph's posture in Potiphar's house teaches us about seasons we are tempted to treat as waiting rooms. The devastating pastoral truth that obedience sometimes produces the second pit, not protection. What Psalm 105:17-19 means when it says the word of the Lord tested Joseph, and why that reframes everything. Why Joseph asking two prisoners how they are doing is one of the most theologically significant moments in the entire narrative. What it means that God meant it for good when the brothers clearly meant it for evil, and why that is not a comfortable answer but an honest one. Theologians Referenced: Walter Brueggemann (Genesis: Interpretation Commentary), James H. Cone (God of the Oppressed), Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest) Scripture: Genesis 37, 39, 40, 41, 45, 50 | Psalm 105:17-19 FaithFormed is a biblical discipleship podcast for people building a faith that holds up. Not a faith for the highlight reel. A faith for the long middle. Subscribe wherever you listen. Leave a rating and review if this episode met you somewhere real. Find more at justindbelt.com Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    57 min

  5. May 25

    40. What to Do With a Vision That Hasn’t Happened Yet

    Send us Fan Mail You stopped saying it out loud. Not because you stopped believing it. Because you got tired of the look on people's faces when the evidence didn't match the declaration. In Episode 40,  we open the Vision Arc of the Formation Trilogy by naming one of the most disorienting experiences in a life of faith: carrying a God-given vision when the conditions for it have not yet arrived. Drawing from Habakkuk 2:2, 2 Corinthians 4, and theologians Howard Thurman, Esau McCaulley, and Justo Gonzalez, this episode confronts the slow, subtle habit of negotiating your calling downward until it fits inside what is currently visible, and offers three concrete postures for staying faithful to what God placed on you in the in-between. This episode is for the person who has been carrying something that has not landed yet and needs to hear that the waiting is not a mistake. It is where the formation happens. Scripture: Proverbs 29:18, Habakkuk 2:2, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Psalm 77 Voices: Esau McCaulley, Howard Thurman, Justo Gonzalez, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson If this episode meets you somewhere real, share it with someone who needs it. Subscribe to FaithFormed on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don't miss the rest of the Vision Arc. A review takes about a minute and helps other people find the show. Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    38 min

  6. May 18

    39. How Do I Know What God Wants Me to Do? When Calling Is Clear But the Path Is Not

    Send us Fan Mail You are not waiting for God to speak. You are waiting for God to be clearer. And if you have been treating those as the same problem, it may be the reason you have been standing still longer than you needed to. You have a sense of the direction. The calling is real. But the path is obscured and you have been telling yourself you cannot move responsibly until you can see further than you currently can. This episode closes The Calling Arc with the most practical question of the three: what do you actually do when you cannot see the assignment clearly? Drawing from the burning bush conversation between God and Moses, Peter walking on water, Abraham leaving Ur not knowing where he was going, and Peter being restored by the charcoal fire,  this episode makes the case that the fog is not a stop sign. It is the condition in which faith is formed. In this episode, we discuss: The difference between genuine confusion and fear wearing the costume of confusion — and why one requires more information and the other requires obedienceThe two wrong responses to fog: paralysis and presumption — and what Moses and Peter reveal about bothWhy Moses's five objections at the burning bush were never really a clarity problem — they were a fear problemWhat the Greek word distazō reveals about why Peter sank on the waterHebrews 11:8 — Abraham went out not knowing where he was going — and why the not knowing was the condition of the obedience, not a problem he overcame firstWhy Psalm 119:105 describes a lamp to your feet, not a floodlight to your futureIsaiah 30:21, Exodus 13:21, and 2 Corinthians 5:7 — three passages that reveal God's pattern of guidance as cloud-following, not map-readingWhat obedience before clarity produces that clarity before obedience never canA direct pastoral word for the person who took a step and it went sidewaysThe charcoal fire of John 21 — and what Jesus said to Peter in the exact atmosphere of his worst failureKey Scripture references: Hebrews 11:8, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5-6, Exodus 3-4, Matthew 14:28-31, John 21:9-19, Isaiah 30:21, Exodus 13:21, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Genesis 12:7 Perfect for: Christians who know their calling but cannot see the next step, believers paralyzed by fog who are waiting for certainty that isn't coming, people who took a step in faith and it went wrong, anyone asking how to know what God wants them to do, men and women ready to move but afraid to move without full clarity. Part of our series: The Calling Arc — Part 3 of The Formation Trilogy (Episodes 34-42) Conclusion of: Episode 37 "How Do I Know My Calling?" and Episode 38 "What Is God Doing While I Wait?" Next episode — Episode 40: "Write It Down: What Habakkuk 2 Says About Vision" Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    50 min

  7. May 11

    38. What Is God Doing While I Wait? The Purpose in the Pause Between Calling and Commission

    Send us Fan Mail You know what you're called to. That's what makes the waiting so hard. You've prayed, prepared, and positioned yourself as best you know how. And still the door stays shut. The opportunity doesn't materialize. And over time the silence starts to speak — maybe I missed God, maybe I did something wrong, maybe He changed His mind about me. This episode goes directly into the waiting room — the season between the call and the commission — and asks the question most calling conversations never answer honestly: what is God actually doing while you wait? Drawing from Justin's own book The Purpose in the Pause, from the lives of Joseph, Moses, and David, and from Scripture's most honest descriptions of divine silence, this episode reframes the waiting season from empty time to the most intentional formation work God does in a person's life. In this episode, we discuss: The specific grief that comes from knowing your calling and watching nothing move — and why it deserves to be named honestlyThe difference between being stuck and being stationed — and why that distinction changes everythingThe three specific things God is doing in the waiting room: working in you, working around you, and protecting you from premature elevationWhat Psalm 105:17-19 says about Joseph — "till the word of the Lord proved him true"Why Abraham and Saul's impatience cost them more than the wait ever would haveThe Silent Saturday framework — what the day between crucifixion and resurrection teaches about divine silenceWhat partnering with the wait looks like practically versus passively enduring itA direct word for the person who walked through the door they waited for and found themselves in a new kind of waiting roomKey Scripture references: Psalm 105:17-19, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 64:4, Genesis 16, 1 Samuel 13 Perfect for: Christians in a long season of waiting on God, believers who know their calling but can't see the commission, people who feel stuck while everyone around them seems to be moving forward, anyone who has experienced the grief of a delayed or disappointed promise, men and women asking why God is taking so long. Part of our series: The Calling Arc — Part 2 of The Formation Trilogy (Episodes 34-42) Follow-up to Episode 37: "How Do I Know My Calling? What Jeremiah 1 Says That Most People Never Hear" Next episode — Episode 39: "What Do You Do When You Can't See the Assignment Clearly?" Featured resource: The Purpose in the Pause by Justin Belt — available wherever books are sold Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    41 min

  8. May 4

    37. How Do I Know My Calling? What Jeremiah 1 Says That Most People Never Hear

    Send us Fan Mail How do I know my calling? Have you ever asked that question?  You are still waiting for the moment. The clear sign. The unmistakable confirmation. The voice that finally says this is it. And it hasn't come the way you expected — not with the clarity and certainty you've been told should accompany a real calling from God. So you keep waiting. And the waiting has slowly made you feel like you are the problem. This episode opens The Calling Arc by going deep into Jeremiah 1 — the most complete and pastorally honest description of how calling actually works in all of Scripture. The burning bush is not the standard. Calling is not an event you are waiting for. It is an identity you already have. And this episode is for everyone who has been standing in an empty field, wondering if they heard something or imagined it. In this episode, we discuss: The specific grief that accumulates in a long calling-wait, and why naming it honestly is an act of faithWhat Jeremiah 1:4-10 actually says about how calling works and what most teaching missesThe burning bush expectation — why it paralyzes people and why it is the exception, not the norm in ScriptureHow Samuel learned to recognize a voice he was already hearing — and what that means for youThe fear underneath Jeremiah's resistance — and why God's answer was a promise of presence, not a pep talkThe difference between calling as an event and calling as an identityWhat Esau McCaulley says about calling being rooted in being, not productionA direct word for the person who stepped out in obedience, and it went wrongWhat one concrete step looks like before the burning bush arrivesKey Scripture references: Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Exodus 3-4, Isaiah 6:1-8 Perfect for: Christians waiting for clarity on their calling, believers who have never had a dramatic calling moment and wonder if they've missed it, people who stepped out in faith and it didn't work the way they expected, anyone carrying the calling question alone for years, men and women in long seasons of waiting. Part of our series: The Calling Arc — Part 1 of The Formation Trilogy (Episodes 34-42) Follow-up to: The Purpose Arc (Episodes 34-36) Next episode — Episode 38: "The Waiting Room: What God Does Between the Call and the Commission" Connect with us via our Instagram: @faithformed_pod Email us any questions or comments to yourpursuitpodcast@gmail.com Order your copy of my latest book, "The Purpose in the Pause", here Learn more about me at www.justindbelt.com

    42 min
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Most faith content is made by people already on the other side of the hard season. This isn't that. FaithFormed is for the person stuck in the middle of a story that doesn't make sense. The one trusting God in the waiting and wondering if He's still listening. The one whose faith is being tested by silence, loss, or a season that just won't end. The one who keeps showing up anyway. Host Justin Belt is a writer, minister, and author of The Purpose in the Pause, Slaying the Lion, and Rise Up. He doesn't have neat answers about why God feels silent sometimes. But he brings honesty, biblical truth, and the stubborn belief that God is still working even when you can't see it. Each week Justin offers honest conversations about faith, doubt, spiritual warfare, waiting on God, and what it actually looks like to follow Christ when life falls apart. If you're navigating a hard season, feeling forgotten by God, or just need someone to be honest about the struggle — this show is for you. New episodes every Monday.

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