God may be using the tension you want to escape to strengthen your faith, courage, and capacity. Thomas shares how comfort, chronic illness, accountability, and a major career transition taught him to take the next faithful step before he had the full map.

Are you in an uncomfortable, uncertain, or painful season—and wondering what God is doing through it?

In this episode of The Pursuit of Calling, Thomas Carney explores why the tension between where you are and where you could be may be an invitation to grow rather than evidence that God has abandoned you. He shares how a COVID furlough exposed the difference between rest and drift, how muscular dystonia stretched his faith and discipline, how a friend challenged his excuses, and how leaving software development to pursue coaching expanded his capacity.

Grounded in John Maxwell’s Law of the Rubber Band and biblical principles from Philippians 3, Romans 5, and Proverbs 27:17, this episode will help Christian men respond to discomfort with faith and take one practical step toward their God-given calling—even without a complete map.

IN THIS EPISODE

• How comfort quietly turns into drift

• Why God may use discomfort to stretch your vision, faith, courage, and capacity

• What suffering can produce without pretending it does not hurt

• Why people who challenge your excuses are essential to growth

• Three questions that reveal your next faithful step

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Where have I become so comfortable that I’ve started drifting?

2. What might God be developing in me through this season?

3. Who is stretching me—and am I willing to listen?

FREE RESOURCE

Download the Grow On Purpose Workbook: https://grow.pursuitofcalling.com

If this episode helped you see your current season differently, share it with another Christian man who may need the encouragement and leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Chapters

0:00 When Comfort Becomes Drift

0:37 Welcome to The Pursuit of Calling

1:02 How COVID Exposed My Drift

2:40 Why God Uses Stretching Seasons

3:43 Comfort Won’t Make You Come Alive

5:11 Question 1: Where Have You Started Drifting?

6:11 When Pain Stretches Your Faith

9:04 Question 2: What Is God Developing in You?

9:38 How God Uses People to Challenge You

11:22 Question 3: Who Is Stretching You?

12:03 Leaving My Job Stretched My Capacity

13:18 The Pattern Behind My Growth

13:42 Three Questions for Your Week

14:20 Choose Your Next Faithful Step

15:27 Don’t Waste the Stretching

Most people aren’t stuck because they lack opportunity—they’re stuck because of limiting beliefs, fear, and identity confusion they don’t even realize they’re carrying.

In this episode of The Pursuit of Calling, I sit down with licensed trauma therapist Michelle Croyle to talk about Christian mindset, emotional healing, and how internal beliefs shape your ability to step into your God-given calling.

We unpack how fear of failure, comparison, and past trauma patterns quietly keep Christian men and women stuck in cycles of self-doubt, procrastination, and settling for less than their potential.

This conversation is especially for you if you’re searching for things like:

• how to stop feeling stuck in life as a Christian man
• why am I afraid to pursue my calling
• how to overcome limiting beliefs and fear
• Christian mindset for purpose and direction
• how to find your God-given calling
• overcoming comparison and insecurity as a believer

We talk about:

• Why it’s actually “selfish” not to use your God-given gifts
• How fear and comfort quietly shape your decisions in life and career
• Why discomfort is often a sign of personal growth and spiritual development
• The hidden beliefs that keep you stuck in identity confusion and comparison traps
• How small, consistent steps lead to long-term purpose and calling clarity
• What it actually looks like to begin emotional healing and mindset renewal

If you’ve ever felt stuck, behind, unqualified, or unsure of your direction—this episode will challenge the way you see yourself and your calling.

🎧 Subscribe for weekly episodes on Christian personal growth, discipline, identity, and pursuing your God-given purpose.

📌 CHAPTERS

00:00 - It's Selfish Not to Use the Gift God Gave You | Welcome to The Pursuit of Calling

01:02 - Michelle Croyle Intro + EMDR Therapy Explained

03:21 - Why This Applies to Men Too

05:01 - Breaking Out of Limiting Identity

07:06 - Why People Settle for Less

09:00 - Living Below Your Potential

11:02 - Fear and Survival Wiring

13:00 - Catching the Lies You Believe

14:26 - Turning Weakness Into Strength

17:09 - The Measuring Stick Problem

19:01 - Opinion vs Wisdom

21:39 - Discomfort vs Danger

23:55 - 13 Years of Small Steps

26:46 - Tools for Self-Discovery

27:38 - Where to Find Michelle Croyle

Most men are focused on success on the outside—but struggle with who they are on the inside.

In this episode of The Pursuit of Calling, we explore John Maxwell’s Law of the Ladder and what it really means to grow into your calling through character development, humility, and inner transformation.

I also share personal stories from leadership in the local church and my journey through muscular dystonia—how losing physical strength forced me to rebuild identity from the inside out.

This is a conversation about becoming the kind of man who can carry the calling God has placed on his life.

📌 In This Episode

• Character vs appearance and why it matters
• How identity gets shaped in hidden seasons
• Leadership lessons from early church responsibility
• What muscular dystonia taught me about purpose
• Why humility unlocks growth
• The Law of the Ladder explained in real life

🧠 Episode Themes

Character development, Christian identity, purpose, calling, leadership growth, humility, inner transformation, faith and adversity, men’s spiritual growth, personal development, John Maxwell laws of growth

🔥 Listener Takeaway

God is not only concerned with where you are going—but who you are becoming on the way there.

Your character is being formed in the unseen places long before your calling is fully revealed.

Follow The Pursuit of Calling on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for weekly episodes on identity, purpose, and growth.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who is in a season of transition or searching for direction.

👉 Join the Pursuer Circle (group coaching for Christian men in transition): https://circle.pursuitofcalling.com