『MercyCast』のカバーアート

MercyCast

MercyCast

著者： Let My People Go
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Have you ever hit a wall and asked yourself, "What do I do now? How will I ever get past this?" If you are human and have a pulse, you probably have. The MercyCast is a podcast dedicated to learning the subtle art of compassion through the adversity of everyday life. Join Raleigh Sadler, the host, as he has honest and thought-provoking conversations with friends he has met along the way. Each Wednesday, listen to the encouraging true stories of people, like you and me, who are learning compassion through hard times. For more information and show notes, go to mercycast.com.

All rights reserved. キリスト教 スピリチュアリティ マネジメント マネジメント・リーダーシップ 人間関係 個人的成功 心理学 心理学・心の健康 社会科学 経済学 聖職・福音主義 自己啓発 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • Wesley Martin on small steps that lead to big changes.

    Wesley Martin on small steps that lead to big changes.
    2026/10/28
    What if the thing you thought would destroy your life became the very thing God used to help you bring hope to others?Addiction rarely begins with one dramatic decision. Sometimes, it starts with a small step—a party, a new crowd, a way to escape the pain. Before long, the thing you thought would bring freedom becomes the thing controlling your life.I've seen how adversity can shape us, but I've also seen how compassion, faith, and the right community can help people discover a new way forward. In this episode of The MercyCast, I sit down with Wesley Martin, a client advocate at the Potter's House, part of Atlanta Mission, to hear his powerful story of drug addiction, incarceration, Christian recovery, and restoration.Wesley grew up in Georgia with the pain of an absent father and a longing for direction. What began as partying and experimenting with drugs eventually led him into methamphetamine and heroin addiction, drug dealing, and nearly four years in federal prison. His life had taken him far from the future he once imagined.But even in prison, God was not finished with Wesley.A Bible beneath a prison bunk became a reminder that God had not abandoned him. His journey toward recovery wasn't immediate or easy. Wesley experienced setbacks, struggled to maintain sobriety, and had to confront the choices and relationships that kept pulling him back toward addiction. Eventually, a Christ-centered rehabilitation program helped him begin a deeper relationship with Jesus.Today, after more than sixteen years in recovery, Wesley uses his experience to walk alongside men facing addiction and other challenges. Through his work at the Potter's House, he helps men pursue recovery through faith, accountability, meaningful relationships, exercise, and the twelve steps.What stands out to me about Wesley's story is that recovery isn't simply about stopping a behavior. It's about discovering where true freedom comes from, learning to depend on Christ daily, and finding a community that will welcome you back when you stumble.In our conversation, we talk honestly about the slow drift into addiction, the importance of accountability, the role of Christian community in recovery, and how God can redeem the very experiences we wish had never happened.Because sometimes the adversity we thought would stop us becomes the story we use to encourage someone else.What You'll Hear in This Episode1. Addiction can begin with small steps.Wesley's story reminds us that life can change direction gradually. What begins as experimentation or a desire to belong can become a destructive cycle. We talk about recognizing the patterns, choices, and relationships that can pull us away from the life we hoped to live.2. The pain we don't address can shape our choices.Growing up without a consistent father figure left Wesley struggling with a sense of direction. His story invites us to consider how unresolved pain, loneliness, and the search for belonging can influence our decisions—and why compassion matters when we hear someone else's story.3. Prison and relapse don't have to be the end of the story.Wesley's journey included incarceration, rehabilitation, and setbacks after he thought he was moving forward. His experience challenges the idea that one failure defines a person's future. Recovery is a journey that calls for honesty, support, accountability, and the courage to begin again.4. Christian recovery is about more than changing your behavior.Wesley found lasting transformation when he began depending on Jesus Christ rather than relying on willpower alone. Exercise, healthy routines, and recovery tools can all play a role, but Wesley emphasizes that his relationship with Christ is at the center of his freedom.5. The right community can help you keep going.After a relapse, Wesley returned to Celebrate Recovery and was welcomed with open arms. Instead of being shamed for stumbling, he was encouraged to keep fighting. That kind of community—one that combines accountability with grace—can make a profound difference for people navigating addiction and recovery.6. Your mess can become a message of hope.Today, Wesley draws on his own experiences to encourage men who are beginning recovery. Through his work at the Potter's House, he helps others find support, build healthier lives, and explore a relationship with Christ. Our hardest experiences don't have to be wasted; God can use them to help us meet others with greater compassion.Why Men's Recovery Needs CommunityMen struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, shame, or isolation may feel pressure to suffer in silence. Wesley's story shows why connection matters. Recovery is not simply a private battle fought through determination. It can involve trusted relationships, structured support, healthy boundaries, spiritual growth, and people who understand the road you're walking.For Wesley, community became especially important when he returned after a relapse and was met with ...
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    27 分
  • Laura Wifler on finding God in the heaviness.

    Laura Wifler on finding God in the heaviness.
    2026/10/21
    What if the heaviness you're carrying isn't a sign that God is far away—but an invitation to discover He's closer than you think?Life is messy. Grief doesn't always make sense. Doubt can linger. Ordinary responsibilities pile up, and sometimes we wonder where God is in the middle of it all.But what if the holy isn't separate from the hard? What if God is meeting you right in the middle of your unanswered questions, unfinished work, and everyday struggles?On this episode of The MercyCast, Raleigh Sadler sits down with Laura Wifler, poet, bestselling author, and co-founder of Risen Motherhood, to explore Christian faith, grief, creativity, identity in Christ, emotional honesty, and finding hope in everyday life. Laura's debut poetry collection, This Side of the Sky: 101 Poems and Scriptures for the Hungry, Hopeful, and Homesick, gives voice to the complicated places where longing, sorrow, beauty, and hope meet.Laura knows the heart sometimes feels things the mind can't fully explain. That's part of what drew her to poetry—a form of writing that can name our deepest aches, help us feel seen, and give language to emotions we may struggle to express. In this conversation, she explains why we need art that doesn't always tie everything up neatly, but instead invites us to sit with the tension and discover meaning along the way.This isn't a conversation about pretending life is easy. It's about learning to recognize God's presence when it isn't.Laura and Raleigh discuss how the gospel frees us from the exhausting pressure to prove ourselves, manage our reputations, or earn approval through success. When our identity is secure in Christ, we can take creative risks, receive criticism with humility, and pursue meaningful work without making our achievements the measure of our worth.Laura also opens up about disability, parenting, grief, and the tension of loving someone while facing an uncertain future. Some experiences are meant to be shared publicly; others deserve the privacy of trusted relationships. Wisdom means knowing the difference.Laura offers a simple question that can reshape the way we spend our time, make decisions, care for others, and navigate difficult seasons:“What does love require of me in this moment?”If you've been wrestling with perfectionism, fear of failure, grief, creative insecurity, or the feeling that your life is too ordinary to matter, this conversation will remind you that God is at work right where you are.6 Key Takeaways1. Poetry can give words to what your heart already feels.Sometimes we don't need another explanation. We need language that helps us recognize our own pain, longing, and hope. Laura explains how poetry can make us feel seen and help truth move from our heads into our hearts.2. You can be honest about grief without giving up hope.Christian hope doesn't require you to minimize suffering or rush through sadness. Laura discusses lament, the reality of grief, and the promise of a future when God will wipe away every tear. We can acknowledge what hurts while trusting that sorrow won't have the final word.3. Your identity in Christ frees you from perfectionism.You don't have to earn God's love through your accomplishments, reputation, creativity, or success. When your identity is rooted in Christ, you can take risks, make mistakes, learn from criticism, and keep moving forward without letting other people's opinions define you.4. Faith gives you the courage to create and take risks.Whether you're a writer, artist, parent, entrepreneur, or simply someone trying something new, meaningful work requires a willingness to be vulnerable. Laura explains why creativity is an act of stewardship—and why we can offer our work to God without controlling how everyone receives it.5. You don't owe the internet every detail of your pain.Vulnerability matters, but so do boundaries. Laura and Raleigh discuss the pressure to share personal struggles publicly and the importance of protecting the stories of the people we love. Before sharing, ask yourself: Am I serving others, or am I leveraging their pain?6. Ask what love requires of you today.You may not know what the next five years will demand of you, but you can often recognize the loving thing to do right now. Sometimes it's creating something meaningful. Sometimes it's accepting correction. And sometimes it's simply welcoming your child home, listening to a friend, or being fully present in an ordinary moment.Questions Worth Sitting WithWhere in your life are you struggling to see God's presence?Are you measuring your worth by your performance, reputation, or other people's approval?Is there grief you need to acknowledge rather than rush past?What would change if you approached your work as an offering to God instead of a way to prove yourself?What does love require of you right now?Take the Next StepYou don't have to solve your whole life today. You don't have to understand every hardship, prove your worth, or make every ...
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    43 分
  • Nadia Ibrahim Mossburg on disability, compassion, and purpose.

    Nadia Ibrahim Mossburg on disability, compassion, and purpose.
    2026/10/14
    What do you do when life doesn't turn out the way you hoped? When healing doesn't come, suffering continues, and God seems silent? How do you hold on to faith when you can't understand the why?On this episode of The MercyCast, Raleigh Sadler sits down with Nadia Ibrahim Mossburg, disability advocate, ministry leader, and author of the forthcoming book Divinely Disabled, for an honest, moving conversation about disability, faith, suffering, unconditional love, grief, and hope in Jesus.Born with cerebral palsy, Nadia spent years wondering why God had allowed her disability. As a teenager, the emotional weight became so overwhelming that she struggled with depression and nearly ended her life. But through the faithful example of a camp counselor, conversations about Scripture, and a growing relationship with Jesus, Nadia began to see her story differently.One passage that deeply shaped her perspective was John 9, where Jesus rejects the assumption that a man's disability was caused by his sin or his parents' sin. This encounter with Scripture challenged Nadia's belief that her disability meant God was disappointed in her—and helped her discover a deeper understanding of God's character.Nadia and Raleigh explore a powerful shift that can change how we navigate life's hardest seasons: moving from asking “Why?” to asking “Who?” We may never receive the explanations we want, but we can learn to trust who God is even when our circumstances remain painful and uncertain.The conversation takes an especially personal turn as Raleigh shares about the recent loss of his mother, who lived with a disability for more than two decades. Reflecting on her life, he describes how suffering shaped their family, deepened his understanding of unconditional love, and taught him that love can reach people even when circumstances limit what we can do.Together, Nadia and Raleigh discuss Christian disability advocacy, caregiving, depression, grief, marriage, sacrificial love, lament, and emotional healing. Nadia reminds us that people with disabilities are more than the inspiration their stories may provide others—and that God is working in ways we cannot always see.Her message for anyone walking through a difficult season is simple but powerful: Don't believe the lie that today's circumstances are the end of your story. Jesus rose on the third day. The story isn't over.Key Takeaways1. Ask “Who?” when you can't answer “Why?”Suffering naturally leads us to search for explanations. But we may never connect all the dots or understand why certain things happen. Nadia and Raleigh encourage listeners to turn their attention toward God's character and trust His love, goodness, and faithfulness even when answers remain elusive.2. Disability does not diminish a person's worth or purpose.Nadia's story challenges assumptions about disability and suffering. People with disabilities are not defined by their limitations or by how their experiences inspire others. They are whole people with relationships, gifts, struggles, faith, and purpose.3. God can work through suffering in ways we cannot see.Our hardships affect more than ourselves. Raleigh reflects on how his mother's experience with disability shaped his character and taught him about love. Even when we cannot see the full picture, God can use our lives and relationships to encourage, strengthen, and transform others.4. Unconditional love is lived out in the messy moments.Love isn't always easy or joyful. Sometimes it means showing up when you're tired, helping when you've had an argument, sacrificing for someone you love, and choosing humility when your feelings pull you in another direction. Nadia explains how caregiving and marriage have taught her that genuine love is often revealed in ordinary, difficult moments.5. You don't have to rush through grief and difficult emotions.Moving forward doesn't mean pretending you're okay or pushing painful feelings aside. Nadia points to the Psalms as a model for lament—bringing our questions, sadness, and struggles honestly before God. Sometimes growth comes not from escaping hardship quickly, but from allowing God to meet us in the middle of it.6. Remember: it's still day two.When life feels hopeless, it can seem as though your current circumstances will define your future. Nadia points listeners back to the resurrection of Jesus as the foundation of Christian hope. If you're struggling to imagine what comes next, focus on the next five minutes or the next hour. Your story isn't over, and you are not alone.Take the Next StepWhat if you stopped trying to solve every “why” and started remembering who God is?If you're facing grief, disability, depression, caregiving challenges, or unanswered prayers, give yourself permission to be honest about what hurts. Bring your questions to God. Let yourself lament. Reach out to someone who can walk alongside you, and take the next small step in front of you.And if someone you love is ...
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    31 分
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