Walking With God Through Heavy Seasons with Rory Helart

Who Defines You?

In this episode, Fedhii shares a powerful encounter with the Lord that exposed a subtle but significant struggle in his heart: allowing things other than God to define who he is. Whether through accomplishments, failures, gifts, relationships, or the opinions of others, it's easy to build our identity on labels that were never meant to carry that weight. Together, we explore the question: Who has the right to define us? If we are created beings, can we truly establish our own identity apart from the One who created us? And why do we so often give other people more authority over our identity than God Himself? Through personal reflection and biblical truth, this conversation unpacks how every label apart from Jesus ultimately leaves us unsettled because it was never designed to be our foundation. At the heart of this episode is a simple but transformative reality: Jesus is the only One who paid the full price for our lives, and therefore He alone has the rightful authority to define who we are. To belong fully to Jesus is to surrender not only our lives to Him, but also our right to label ourselves.

Choose It Until You Believe It

In this episode, we explore how easily our circumstances can shape our perception of who God is in a given season. Biiftuu shares a recent encounter with a friend that brought conviction in real time. Despite walking through financial uncertainty and tight circumstances, they continued to live generously because their lives were built on the belief that God would provide—and they chose to live accordingly. But what happens when our emotions, circumstances, and personal narratives seem to contradict what God says about Himself? Through personal stories and honest reflection, we discuss the struggle of believing God is Provider when our own lives seem to tell a different story. While we focus specifically on provision, we also acknowledge the many other false beliefs we can carry about God's character. Together, we unpack the journey of choice—how faith often begins not with feeling, but with deciding to believe what Scripture says is true. We talk about the slow process of repeatedly choosing trust, even when belief feels distant, and how over time those choices begin to shape our hearts. Eventually, what starts as a conscious decision becomes a deeply rooted conviction, where God's truth carries more weight than our emotions or circumstances. Until belief takes root, we continue making decisions in the direction of Jesus, trusting that our inner world will eventually reflect what we have chosen to believe.

Jesus & Ambition

In this episode, we sit down with Fedhii to talk about Jesus and ambition—starting with the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-31. Together, we unpack Jesus’ words about how difficult it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and how wealth itself was never the real issue. Fedhii challenges the idea that money is automatically evil by pointing to Abraham and David—men who had wealth yet still walked with God. The real problem is the love of money and the ambition, attachment, and identity that can become wrapped around it. Throughout the conversation, we talk about how wealth is only one example of the many things that can slowly take the place of Jesus in our hearts. Fedhii makes the bold statement that Jesus and ambition cannot coexist. We discuss the importance of guarding your heart because the very thing God once gave you as a gift—a calling, platform, dream, talent, or success—can eventually become an idol if it is exalted above Him. This episode is a challenging and honest conversation about surrender, lordship, identity, and what it truly means to follow Jesus when He asks for everything.

The Journey of Belonging with Donta Nelson

In the final episode of Biiftuu’s solo series (for now), we sit with Donta Nelson — a creative, pastor, and leader at Bethel Church — for an honest conversation about belonging, healing, and obedience. Donta vulnerably shares his journey of moving beyond triggers, numbness, and survival mode, and how God slowly taught him what it means to truly belong in Him. What started as simple obedience led Donta into places he never imagined — including serving as a pastor at Bethel for the last 10 years. In this episode, we talk about the painful yet beautiful process of surrender, the ways God meets us in hidden seasons, and how dying to ourselves often becomes the doorway into the life God has always intended for us.

Costly Obedience with Barkot Surafel

In the next part of Biiftuu’s solo series, we sit down with one of her closest friends, Barkot Surafel, to talk about what it means to walk in “Costly Obedience” to God. As the associate youth pastor and creative director at Bethel Church, Barkot vulnerably shares about one of the hardest seasons of her life — a season where God asked her to stay in Redding, away from her friends, family, and community, and trust Him to open a door in His timing. What followed was a two-year season of dying — where life on the other side of obedience looked nothing like she expected. In the waiting, Barkot had to confront false beliefs, insecurities, disappointment, and the painful process of surrender. But in the midst of the heartbreak, she also discovered that the most fruitful seasons are often born in hidden obedience. In this episode, we talk about the cost of following Jesus, the tension of trusting God when promises feel delayed, and the beauty of discovering that Jesus Himself is the reward. Barkot reflects on how this season deepened her understanding of the worthiness of Christ and taught her that if she has Jesus, she truly has everything. Even after the pain, tears, and stretching of costly obedience, she can now look back and confidently say: it is always worth it.