The Happiest Lives Podcast
The Happiest Lives was designed for Christian women who want to stop being disappointed in their relationships and feel more loved and loving. Here you will learn to think better, feel better, and love better.
This podcast is hosted by Jill M. Lillard, MA LPC, a licensed counselor and Gottman Certified Couples Therapist. Jill has been helping people manage their minds, process their feelings, and have better relationships for over 25 years.
For application exercises and support in applying the concepts learned on the podcasts, get your FREE podcast guide www.myhappyvault.com/podcast
Learn more at www.thehappiestlives.com
Discover tools at www.myhappyvault.com.
Contact Jill at jill@thehappiestlives.com.
The Happiest Lives Podcast
E157: Stop Trying To Act Spiritual
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What does it mean to abide in God when your quiet time feels empty and your spiritual life feels flat?
You’ve been showing up — reading your Bible, praying, doing all the things — and something still feels off.
This episode is about what’s actually happening when that occurs. Not what you’re doing wrong. What’s actually going on. We go deep into John 15 to unpack what Jesus actually meant when he said remain in me — why the fruit that grows from genuine abiding was never meant to just feed you, and what it looks like to stay when everything in you wants to fix the flatness or conclude that God is gone.
Abiding is not a feeling you achieve. It’s a posture you return to.
In This Episode
•Why doing all the right spiritual things can still leave you feeling completely disconnected
•What John 15 actually says about dependence, pruning, joy, and friendship with God
•Why reading God’s word alone doesn’t produce transformation — and what has to be added
•How the fruit of abiding flows outward and feeds others not just yourself
•Why hormonal shifts can affect your spiritual life in ways nobody warned you about
Key Takeaways
•Chase the feeling and you end up performing. Stay in the posture and the fruit takes care of itself
•The Word has to abide in you — not just pass through you
•Grace positions you in the vine. Faith keeps you there. The fruit grows as the overflow of both
•The flatness in your quiet time might be the Father pruning — not evidence that something is wrong
•The fruit you bear isn’t yours. It’s Christ’s life flowing through a branch that stayed connected
Series Note
Episode two of the Simply Remain series. Start with episode 156 or jump in here — either works.
Resources
The True Vine by Andrew Murray
Keywords
•How to abide in God
•Spiritual disciplines and faith
•Feeling disconnected from God
•John 15 abiding in Christ
•Perimenopause and spiritual life
•Andrew Murray abiding in Christ
If you want to take this work and apply it, visit myhappyvault.com. That’s where I share free resources and ways to stay connected.
Discover ways to work with me at www.thehappiestlives.com or www.myhappyvault.com
Questions? Email Jill directly at Jill@thehappiestlives.com