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Have you ever believed something about yourself for so long that you stopped questioning whether it was true?

Maybe the sentence sounds like:

I’m not smart enough.
I’ll never change.
I’m just a failure.
This is simply who I am.

In this episode of Shadows, I share how repeated struggles with college slowly became something more than disappointment. Failure became evidence, and eventually I accepted the identity of someone who simply wasn’t capable of moving forward.

For years, I worked, supported my family, and lived an ordinary life—but beneath it all, I had stopped asking what I might still become. That false identity eventually spread beyond education and contributed to a difficult season of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

Through therapy, renewed effort, scripture, and the tender mercies of God, I began learning an important truth:

Using the story of Gideon and Mormon’s teachings in Moroni 7, we explore the difference between spiritual correction that invites us toward Christ and shame that tells us there is no reason to keep trying.

This episode is for anyone who has ever allowed a failure, weakness, label, or difficult season to become a verdict about who they are.

Your story is not finished.

Content note: This episode includes a personal discussion of depression and past suicidal thoughts.

Scriptures and references

Judges 6:11–16 — Gideon sees himself as insignificant and unqualified, while the Lord calls him a “mighty man of valour” and promises to be with him.

Moroni 7:16–17 — Mormon teaches that the Spirit of Christ helps us discern good from evil and that influences which invite us to do good and believe in Christ come from God.

Additional study note: The “Spirit of Christ” referenced in Moroni 7 is also called the Light of Christ and is distinct from the gift of the Holy Ghost.

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Have you ever worked hard at something good and quietly wondered, "Is any of this actually making a difference?"

Discouragement rarely tells us to quit overnight. Instead, it whispers that our efforts don't matter, that progress should be happening faster, or that we're wasting our time.

In this episode of From Hollow to Holy, Justin shares a personal struggle he is still walking through—not a story with a perfect ending, but one that explores what it means to keep moving forward when the outcome is still uncertain.

Through Galatians 6:9, we'll discover that weariness isn't always a sign we're on the wrong path. Sometimes it's simply part of faithfully walking the right one.

Because faith isn't believing the harvest is already here. Faith is planting another seed while the field still looks empty.

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In Episode 6 of Shadows, Justin reflects on one of the quietest tactics we often fail to recognize: isolation.

Not the kind of isolation where we disappear from everyone around us—but the kind where we continue showing up, smiling, working, providing, and saying, "I'm fine," while quietly carrying burdens no one else can see.

Through personal experiences, honest reflection, and Christ's invitation in Matthew 11, this episode explores how isolation often begins with good intentions, but can slowly become a place where our burdens grow heavier than they were ever meant to be.

Maybe strength isn't carrying everything alone.

Maybe strength is trusting God—and the right people—with the weight you've been hiding.

Scripture referenced:

• Matthew 11:28–30

Reflection Question:

When did carrying it alone start feeling like strength?

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In Episode 5 of Shadows, Justin reflects on the labels we carry — especially the ones that stop sounding like accusations and start sounding like our own voice.

This episode explores the tactic of false identity: how Satan can use labels, assumptions, comparison, public perception, shame, and insecurity to reduce us to something smaller than what God has already called us.

Through personal reflections on working as a pharmacy technician, wrestling with the label “not legitimate,” living with an invisible health struggle, and learning to recognize God’s voice, this episode asks a simple but powerful question:

Who told you that?

And maybe the deeper question:

Does God call you that?

Scripture referenced:

• Moses 1

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In Episode 4 of Shadows, Justin reflects on the moving horizon — the tendency to reach something we once thought would finally make us feel settled, only to find ourselves already chasing the next thing.

Through personal reflection on becoming a Program Director, building a pharmacy technician program, burnout, ambition, and the quiet pressure to keep proving ourselves, this episode explores how good desires can become restless when we ask them to give us what only Christ can give.

This episode is an invitation to pause, notice what God has already done, and ask a difficult but important question:

When is it enough?

Scripture referenced:

• Philippians 4:11–13

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In Episode 3 of Shadows, Justin reflects on the trap of comparison and how measuring our lives against others can quietly steal our joy, distort our perspective, and distract us from our own God-given path.

Through personal stories about mountain biking, fitness, faith, and life's expectations, this episode explores how comparison often reveals what we truly value and why Christ's counsel in Matthew 6:21 remains so relevant today.

This episode is an invitation to stop measuring yourself against someone else's highlight reel, appreciate how far you've come, and refocus your heart on what matters most.

Scriptures referenced:
• Matthew 6:21

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In Episode 2 of Shadows, Justin explores how fear often disguises itself as wisdom, caution, and practicality, quietly keeping us from moving forward in faith.

Through personal experiences, scriptural examples, and lessons from Nephi, Joshua, Peter, and Ether 12, this episode examines the fear of not being enough, the fear of rejection, and the fear that demands certainty before action.

This episode is an invitation to trust God with the next step, move forward despite uncertainty, and recognize when fear is masquerading as wisdom.

Scriptures referenced:
• 1 Nephi 17
• Ether 12
• Joshua 1
• Doctrine and Covenants 6

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In Episode 1 of Shadows, Justin explores how distraction, busyness, overstimulation, and doom scrolling quietly pull us away from peace, stillness, and spiritual connection.

Using teachings from the Book of Mormon, this episode examines how modern life keeps us constantly occupied, emotionally exhausted, and “slow to remember the Lord.”

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reconnect with God, and create intentional stillness in a noisy world.

Scriptures referenced:
• 2 Nephi 28
• Helaman 12
• Doctrine and Covenants 88