Couverture de The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

De : Rob Skinner
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The Rob Skinner Podcast will inspire you to: • Live a no-regrets life • Make this life count • Multiply disciples, leaders, and churchesRob Skinner 2024 Christianisme Ministère et évangélisme Spiritualité
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  • 460. Struggling With Your Faith? You're Not a Failure | Before You Quit #14

    460. Struggling With Your Faith? You're Not a Failure | Before You Quit #14
    Oct 23 2026
    You're Not Weak for Struggling | Before You Quit, Day 14 Have you ever felt embarrassed because you're struggling with your faith? Maybe you used to feel spiritually strong. You were passionate about God. You were growing. You were helping others become Christians. But now you're struggling, and people are worried about you. You feel weak. Ashamed. And maybe even like a failure. What if your struggle isn't proof that you're failing, but part of how God is helping you grow? In Day 14 of Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, Rob Skinner reminds us that spiritual struggles are not unusual—and that some of the greatest lessons God teaches us come through seasons of weakness. When the Strong Christian Becomes the Struggling Christian After graduating from UC Berkeley, Rob was hired as a part-time campus intern. During his first semester leading a Bible discussion group in the dorms, he baptized five men. He felt encouraged, successful, and confident. But the following semester was completely different. He struggled spiritually. And suddenly, he was the person everyone was worried about. People offered sympathetic smiles. They encouraged him. They prayed for him. And Rob hated it. He didn't want to be seen as weak or needy. But God was teaching him an important lesson about pride. King Nebuchadnezzar learned something similar: "Those who walk in pride he is able to humble." — Daniel 4:37 Rob realized that if he wanted to be useful to God over the long term, he needed to let go of his pride and learn to rely on God's power and grace. Struggling With Your Faith Is Normal Rob reminds us that experiencing spiritual difficulty doesn't make you unusual, defective, or a bad Christian. You aren't the only person who's ever wrestled with God. You aren't the only person who's experienced fear, discouragement, or weakness. And you aren't the only person who has felt embarrassed about needing help. Sometimes our struggles become God's classroom for spiritual growth. David's Journey Wasn't Easy Either Think about David. He was anointed to become king. He defeated Goliath. His future seemed full of promise. But instead of moving smoothly into his new role, he spent years fleeing from Saul. He lived in the wilderness. He faced danger, rejection, loneliness, and fear. He lost possessions, experienced devastating setbacks, and even faced discontent among his own men. Yet those painful experiences helped shape the man who would write some of the most comforting passages in Scripture. David knew what it meant to feel weak. He prayed: "I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God." — Psalm 70:5 He admitted: "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me." — Psalm 55:4 And he cried out: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." — Psalm 25:16 These weren't the words of someone who had everything together. They were the honest prayers of a man learning to depend on God. Your Struggle Can Become Someone Else's Encouragement The Psalms have encouraged believers for generations because David didn't hide his fear, loneliness, and pain. He gave words to emotions that many people struggle to express. His difficult seasons became a source of encouragement for others. What if God can use your struggles to develop humility, compassion, perseverance, and a deeper dependence on him? What if the lessons you're learning today will eventually help someone else? Don't Drop Out of God's School of Grace One of the biggest mistakes we can make is believing that spiritual struggles should never happen. "What's wrong with me?" "Why am I having such a hard time?" "Shouldn't I be stronger than this?" But suffering and difficulty can become opportunities for spiritual growth. You're not a failure because you're struggling. You're not a misfit because you need help. You're not a bad Christian because your faith is being tested. You're a son or daughter of God going through his school of grace. And Rob has one request: "Please don't drop out now." This is Day 14 of Rob Skinner's Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, a series created to encourage Christians who are discouraged, struggling spiritually, or considering walking away from God and the fellowship. If you know someone who feels weak, ashamed, or discouraged in their relationship with God, share this episode with them. Learn more about Rob Skinner and his books at RobSkinner.com. Rob's goal is to inspire you to live a no-regrets life, make this life count, and multiply disciples, leaders, and churches.
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    6 min
  • 459. You're Growing More Than You Think | Before You Quit, Day 13

    459. You're Growing More Than You Think | Before You Quit, Day 13
    Oct 19 2026
    You're Growing More Than You Think | Before You Quit, Day 13 Have you ever wondered why you're not further along in your relationship with God? You've been a Christian for years. You know what the Bible teaches. You've set spiritual goals. You've tried to change. But you're still struggling with some of the same weaknesses, habits, and temptations. And you start asking yourself: "Why am I not growing as I should?" In Day 13 of Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, Rob Skinner addresses the discouragement that comes when our spiritual growth doesn't match our expectations. Rob loves setting goals. Whether it's health, fitness, spirituality, evangelism, or finances, he's always challenging himself to grow. But he admits that most of the time, he doesn't reach those goals by the deadlines he sets. Even after decades of following Jesus, Rob sometimes feels he should be much further along spiritually. He once set a goal to imitate the Apostle Paul as Paul imitated Christ. He was also inspired by Gandhi's discipline and self-denial. Yet he still feels far from those examples. If you've ever felt disappointed by your spiritual progress, you're not alone. 1. Spiritual Growth Isn't Linear When we first become Christians, some changes happen quickly. But the deeper work of transformation—what Christians call sanctification—often takes much longer. We experience seasons of progress. Then setbacks. Sometimes we slip into old habits or struggle with things we thought we'd overcome. That doesn't automatically mean you're a bad Christian. Growth doesn't happen in a perfectly straight line. A setback doesn't erase every step forward. 2. Some Growth Happens Beneath the Surface Rob describes looking out his Boston apartment window during a bitterly cold winter. Snow covered Boston Common. The trees were bare. Everything looked lifeless. But beneath the frozen ground, something was still happening. Roots were expanding. Sap was slowly rising. Seeds were preparing for spring. The growth was real, even though nobody could see it. Our spiritual lives can be the same way. Sometimes we feel like nothing is changing. But God may be working beneath the surface, developing qualities and preparing growth that won't become visible until later. Rob offers this reminder: "If you quit before the snow melts, you'll never see the progress made over the winter." Don't mistake a difficult season for a wasted season. 3. Stop Beating Yourself Up Another obstacle to growth is the way we judge ourselves. "Why am I not further along?" "What's wrong with me?" "If I were really a Christian, I wouldn't still struggle with this." Rob reminds us of Paul's words: "I do not even judge myself." — 1 Corinthians 4:3 Constant guilt, shame, and self-condemnation don't produce the spiritual progress we want. You can take responsibility for your growth without continually attacking yourself. Beating yourself up isn't your job. 4. Adjust Your Expectations God knows we're imperfect. He knows our weaknesses. He knows the work of changing imperfect people takes time. That doesn't mean we stop trying or stop taking responsibility. It means we recognize that lasting transformation may take longer than we expected. Instead of measuring your entire Christian life against an impossible deadline, focus on the next faithful step. 5. Keep Taking One Step at a Time Rob shares a lesson he learned while hiking in the mountains near Tucson, Arizona. Looking up at a massive rock formation near Mount Lemmon, the climb seemed overwhelming. But instead of focusing on how far he had to go, Rob put his head down and walked. Five minutes. Ten minutes. One step at a time. Whenever he looked up, he was surprised by how much progress he'd made. The same principle applies to our relationship with God. You don't have to become the Christian you hope to be overnight. You have to keep moving forward. Keep praying. Keep learning. Keep repenting. Keep growing. And don't give up because you haven't reached the summit yet. Before You Quit, Remember This You may be doing better than you think. Your growth may be happening where you can't see it. Your setbacks don't necessarily erase your progress. And the slow pace of transformation doesn't mean God has stopped working. Rob reminds us: "You'll never see growth if you pull yourself out by the roots." So hang in there. Go easy on yourself. Adjust your expectations. And keep taking one step at a time. This is Day 13 of Rob Skinner's Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, a series written to encourage Christians who feel discouraged, spiritually stuck, or tempted to walk away. If you know someone who's frustrated by their lack of spiritual progress, share this episode with them. Learn more about Rob Skinner and his books at RobSkinner.com.
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    7 min
  • 458. Are You Faking Your Faith? It's Time to Take Off the Mask | Before You Quit #12

    458. Are You Faking Your Faith? It's Time to Take Off the Mask | Before You Quit #12
    Oct 16 2026
    Are You Faking Your Faith? It's Time to Take Off the Mask | Before You Quit #12 Have you ever looked like a strong Christian on the outside while feeling spiritually empty on the inside? You still attend church. You smile. You give hugs. You say the right things. People may even look up to you as a mature, faithful disciple. But deep down, something has changed. Your prayers have become inconsistent. You've stopped spending time in God's Word. You're struggling with sin, carrying guilt, or feeling ashamed of what's happening in your life. And instead of telling someone, you keep pretending everything is fine. You're wearing a mask. In Day 12 of Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, Rob Skinner addresses a painful reality: sometimes Christians don't walk away from God because they stopped believing. Sometimes they walk away because they're exhausted from pretending. When Christianity Becomes a Performance The word hypocrite originally referred to an actor or stage performer who wore a mask to play a role. Today, we use it to describe someone who pretends to have values they aren't genuinely living. Rob remembers seeking God at 20 years old and knowing one thing for certain: He didn't want to fake Christianity. He wanted to follow Jesus every day of the week, not just on Sundays. Thankfully, he met Christians who were sincere. They weren't perfect, but they were real. Their example helped him make the decision to go all in. But even sincere Christians can gradually fall into the trap of spiritual performance. How the Mask Goes On It doesn't always happen overnight. You get busy. You miss reading your Bible for a few weeks. You fall into sin. You feel embarrassed and ashamed. Your guilt makes it harder to pray. Then you begin to believe you can't talk to anyone because you're a leader, you've been a Christian for years, or everyone else seems too busy. So you rely on habit. You keep showing up. You smile when you're supposed to smile. You say things that used to reflect your spiritual life, even though they no longer feel genuine. Eventually, you're playing the part of a strong Christian while struggling underneath. And the longer it continues, the harder it becomes to admit the truth. Your Guilt May Be a Sign of Spiritual Life Here's the encouragement Rob offers: If you feel troubled about your spiritual condition, that may actually be a good sign. It means your conscience is still responding. The Holy Spirit is still working to reveal your need for God, repentance, and forgiveness. Jesus said: "When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment." — John 16:8 That discomfort isn't necessarily a reason to give up. It may be the warning that helps you turn around. You are not too far gone. Don't Disappear. Come Into the Light. When Christians feel ashamed, they may begin withdrawing from relationships, avoiding meaningful conversations, or even leaving their church. But walking away while hiding your struggles can deepen your isolation. Rob challenges listeners to do something different. Take off the mask. Find someone you trust. Tell them what's really happening. Don't minimize your struggles or hide behind jokes. Be direct: "I'm not doing well, and I need someone to talk about it." Allow someone to listen, encourage you, pray with you, and help you take steps toward spiritual renewal. You may be surprised by the kindness and understanding you receive. Other Christians have struggles too. You don't have to maintain an image of perfection to ask for help. Before You Quit, Get Real If you're exhausted from pretending, don't assume leaving God or the fellowship is your only option. There's another way forward. Honesty. Repentance. Vulnerability. Connection. And the courage to ask for help. Don't walk away. Talk to someone today. This is Day 12 of Rob Skinner's Before You Quit: Hope for the Christian Who Feels Done, a series created to encourage Christians who are struggling with their faith or considering walking away. If you know someone who feels spiritually exhausted, ashamed, isolated, or trapped behind a Christian image, share this episode with them. Learn more about Rob Skinner and his books at RobSkinner.com. Rob's goal is to inspire you to live a no-regrets life, make this life count, and multiply disciples, leaders, and churches.
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    5 min
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