Eric Robinson notices that many of us have suffered heartbreak in our journey with God and the church, and asks how might this be an invitation to open us to living in a new reality?

Reflection Questions:

1. When are the times your heart has been broken in your faith journey? 2. Where do you see your life resonating with the story of Joseph? 3. How might God be inviting you to allow your heart to be broken open?

Lilly Ettinger explores Jonah alongside the prophetic tradition of bringing anger, disappointment, and protest directly to God. What if complaint isn’t a failure of faith, but part of a faithful relationship with God? Lilly considers how making room for honest complaint might expand our understanding of justice, restoration, and God’s surprising mercy. [Jonah 3:10-4:11]

Reflection Questions

1. Where am I waiting for judgment instead of hoping for restoration? 2. Where has God been gracious to me in my discomfort? 3. Where might my idea of justice be smaller than God’s mercy?

Catherine Johnson reframes Jesus’ invitation to “lose your life” not as self-erasure, but as a release from the survival strategies we cling to for safety. Jesus models another way: to live from our deepest values even in the presence of fear and loss—to love what is mortal, hold it fully, and, when the time comes, let it go.

Reflection Questions

1. What survival strategy has helped protect you in the past but may no longer be serving you in the present?
2. Where in your life are fear or self-preservation tempting you to act against what you most deeply value?
3. What might it mean for you right now to practice the movement of loving, holding, and letting go?