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. 5d ago

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. Apr 27

    36. Living From Purpose Instead of Toward It: How to Stop Chasing and Start Abiding

    Send us Fan Mail You've settled the identity. You understand the calling. You've held your assignments with open hands. And purpose still feels like something out ahead of you — like you're always one assignment away from feeling like you've arrived. That is not a you problem. That is the destination trap. And this episode is about getting out of it. This final episode of The Purpose Arc makes the shift that every purpose conversation eventually has to make — from aspiration to orientation, from living toward purpose to living from it. Drawing from Paul in prison, Brother Lawrence in a kitchen, and the abiding of John 15, this episode gives the purpose framework a foundation that holds in ordinary moments, waiting seasons, and circumstances that don't look like what you imagined your calling would produce. In this episode, we discuss: The destination trap — the belief that purpose will feel fully realized when the right circumstances arriveThe difference between aspiration and orientation — and why most believers are aspirational about purpose but never oriented by itWhat Paul learned in prison that most Christians haven't learned in comfort — and what manthano means in Philippians 4What meno means in John 15 and why abiding produces fruit rather than straining for itDallas Willard on the with-God life as the foundation of all purposeful livingBrother Lawrence and the practice of the presence of God in unglamorous workWhat faithful presence in ordinary moments actually looks like — practically, not theoreticallyEsau McCaulley on faithful presence in unglamorous places as a full expression of callingWhat Colossians 3:23-24 means when it says whatever you do — and why that word changes everythingKey Scripture references: Philippians 4:11-13, John 15:5, Acts 17:28, Colossians 3:23-24 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

  6. Apr 20

    35. What Is My Calling? How do I find it? Primary Calling, Secondary Calling, and Assignment Explained

    Send us Fan Mail You have changed lanes before. A new job, a new ministry, a new chapter — each one entered with real hope that this would be the one that finally fit. And none of them fully answered the question. There isn't something wrong with you. You have been chasing the wrong thing — because nobody ever gave you a map. This episode gives you the map. There are three levels — primary calling, secondary calling, and assignment — and most people have been living entirely at the third level without ever settling the first two. Until you understand how they nest inside each other, you will keep experiencing the end of every assignment as a loss of calling. And that conclusion is costing people their faith. In this episode, we discuss: The three levels of calling — primary, secondary, and assignment — and why they are not the same thingWhy the primary calling gives the secondary calling its character, the secondary calling gives the assignment its meaning, and the assignment gives the primary calling its current addressWhat calling actually is and why it was established before you were bornWhat yada means in Jeremiah 1 and why God's knowing of you precedes your formingWhat poiema means in Ephesians 2:10 and why you are God's poem before you are His workerPractical examples of what primary calling, secondary calling, and assignment look like in a real person's lifeThe three things that happen when calling and assignment get confused: idolatry, restlessness, and guiltHow to hold an assignment with full investment and open hands at the same timeKey Scripture references: Jeremiah 1:4-5, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 8:28-30 Perfect for: Christians who keep changing jobs or ministries looking for the right fit, believers who lost a role or ministry and felt like they lost their calling with it, people carrying guilt because their current assignment feels ordinary, anyone who has been asking "what is my calling" for years without a satisfying answer. Part of our series: The Purpose Arc — Part 2 of The Formation Trilogy (Episodes 34-42) Follow-up to Episode 34: "You Are Not an Accident — What the Image of God Says About Your Purpose" Next episode — Episode 36: "Living From Purpose Instead of Toward It" 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

    39 min

  7. Apr 13

    34. You Are Not an Accident: What the Image of God Says About Your Purpose

    Send us Fan Mail You have been asking the purpose question for years. What am I here for? What was I made to do? And the answer keeps not quite arriving — not because you've missed something, but because you've been looking in the wrong place. Purpose is not found in what you do. It is revealed by understanding whose image you bear. This episode opens The Purpose Arc — Part 1 of The Formation Trilogy — by going back to the beginning. Genesis 1:26-27. The image of God. The foundation that has to be laid before any conversation about calling or assignment or vision can actually hold. In this episode, we discuss: Why the self-help purpose framework produces people who are deeply self-aware and still deeply lostWhat tselem Elohim actually means — and why the ancient Near Eastern context changes everythingThe three places the tradition has located the image of God: rationality, relationality, and dominionWhy the fall damaged the expression of the image but did not destroy itWhat Miroslav Volf means when he says the imago Dei is a relationship, not a propertyWhy the church gave people the second floor without building the first — assignment before identityWhat Howard Thurman and Esau McCaulley say about coming alive and the image as a survival truthWhy the ache you carry is not evidence of something missing — it is evidence of the imageKey Scripture references: Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2, Colossians 3:10 Perfect for: Christians asking what they were made for, believers who have tried every purpose framework and still feel lost, people whose sense of worth is built on what they do rather than who they are, men wrestling with identity and calling, anyone who has ever felt like an accident. Part of our series: The Purpose Arc — Part 1 of The Formation Trilogy (Episodes 34-42) Next episode — Episode 35: "Calling vs. Assignment: Why You Keep Chasing the Wrong Thing" 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

    34 min

  8. Apr 6

    33. Building Again: How to Re-Enter Community After Church Hurt

    Send us Fan Mail You've named the wound. You've done the work. And now you're standing at the edge of trying again — ready and terrified at the same time. This episode is for that moment. Not to push you through the door before you're ready. But to make sure that when you walk through it, you walk through it differently than you have before. In this final episode of The Belonging Arc, we close the three-part series with something honest and practical — a theology of re-entry drawn from Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Hebrews, and Romans. This is not a call to naive optimism. It is a call to wise, grounded, honest participation in the body of Christ. In this episode, we discuss: The difference between naive re-entry and wise re-entry — and why discernment is not the same as suspicionWhat Naomi's return to Bethlehem teaches us about walking back in honestly instead of managedThe things wounded people bring into new communities that sabotage belonging before it startsThe hair-trigger, the walls that look like wisdom, and the audit posture — and how to stand them downWhether house church and alternative community expressions are legitimate forms of the body of ChristWhat Howard Thurman says about re-engaging institutions that have wounded youMiroslav Volf on the will to embrace — and why it must precede knowledge of the otherWhat Ecclesiastes 4 means by a cord of three strands — and why that is what you are actually buildingKey Scripture references: Ruth 1:20-21, Hebrews 10:24-25, Romans 15:7, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Perfect for: Christians ready to try community again after church hurt, people weighing institutional church vs. alternative expressions of community, believers who keep exiting communities before belonging has a chance to form, anyone standing at the edge of re-entry and not sure how to walk through it. Part of our series: The Belonging Arc Conclusion of: Episode 31 "The Wound Is Real" and Episode 32 "Why You Can Be Surrounded and Still Be Alone" 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

    31 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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