Become New with John Ortberg

What if the cure for loneliness isn't finding more people... but learning to be alone?

In this reflection on Psalm 139, John Ortberg explores one of the deepest realities of being human: our longing to be fully known and never abandoned.

Drawing on the wisdom of Dallas Willard, John explains why we spend so much energy avoiding solitude—and why silence may actually become the place where we discover God's loving presence most deeply.

This episode explores:

Psalm 139 and being fully known by God
- The difference between aloneness and loneliness
- Why we distract ourselves with constant noise
- Dallas Willard's "strange cure for loneliness"
- Romans 8 and God's inseparable love
- How solitude leads to deeper community

Scriptures:
- Psalm 139
- Romans 8:35–39
- Hebrews 13:5

#Psalm139 #JohnOrtberg #DallasWillard #Loneliness #Solitude #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #GodKnowsYou

📚 Today's Resources:
Dallas Willard, Hearing God 
Ludie Day Pickett, “Never Alone”
Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy  

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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 The Strange Cure for Loneliness
00:30 Psalm 139 Begins
01:01 You Have Searched Me and Know Me
01:47 God Knows Every Moment
02:16 Even There, You Are Present
02:49 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
03:23 Holding My Newborn Daughter
04:28 Dallas Willard's Story of Aloneness
05:17 The Human Condition of Being Alone
06:26 God Can Go Where No One Else Can
07:01 Never Alone
07:56 Why We Distract Ourselves
08:41 The Cure for Loneliness
09:19 Nothing Can Separate Us From God's Love
10:05 God Already Knows
10:33 Present to the Presence
11:06 Solitude Leads to Community
11:32 You Are Never Alone

What do you do when you feel completely forsaken?

In this reflection on Psalm 22, John Ortberg explores one of the most haunting prayers in all of Scripture:

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"

These are not only the words of the psalmist—they are the words Jesus prayed from the cross.

John explores the unique pain of abandonment, the difference between explanation and healing, and the remarkable hope hidden in one tiny word that many of us overlook:

"My."

This episode explores:
- Psalm 22 and the experience of forsakenness
- Why abandonment wounds so deeply
- Jesus' cry from the cross
- The man with the withered hand
- The difference between explanation and healing
- The hope found in belonging to God even in our darkest moments

Scriptures:
- Psalm 22
- Matthew 27
- Mark 15
- Mark 3
- Isaiah 53

#Psalm22 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #Jesus #Cross #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Hope #Suffering

📚 Today's Resources:
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 The Deepest Prayer in Scripture
 00:36 Psalm 22 Begins
 01:21 What It Means to Be Forsaken
 02:09 Why Forsakenness Hurts So Deeply
 03:07 The Question That Won't Go Away
 04:06 It's a Cry for Healing
 04:43 The Man With the Withered Hand
 05:07 God-Forsaken
 06:20 The Fellowship of the Withered Hand
 06:52 Jesus Prays Psalm 22
 07:50 The Cross & Complete Forsakenness
 08:16 One Little Word Changes Everything
 08:50 "My God..."
 09:42 He Is Still My God
 10:18 Meeting Jesus in Our Deepest Pain
 11:06 When the Prayer Becomes Simply... "My God"

Who really gets the good stuff?

In this reflection on Psalm 113, John Ortberg explores what Dallas Willard called the Law of Inversion—one of the great themes running through the entire Bible.

Again and again, God overturns the world's prestige system.

The first become last.

The overlooked become honored.

The humble are lifted up.

From Abel to Jacob, Hannah to Mary, the Beatitudes to Jesus washing His disciples' feet, Scripture tells one remarkable story: God's kingdom operates differently.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 113 and God's care for the overlooked
- The Law of Inversion
- The world's pecking order
- Hannah's prayer and Mary's Magnificat
- The Beatitudes
- Jesus' upside-down kingdom
- Why every person has access to "the good stuff"

Scriptures:
- Psalm 113
- Genesis
- Exodus 15
- 1 Samuel 2
- Luke 1
- Matthew 5
- John 13
- Philippians 2

#Psalm113 #JohnOrtberg #DallasWillard #KingdomOfGod #Beatitudes #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Humility

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Who Gets the Good Stuff?
 00:35 Psalm 113 Begins
 01:15 God Raises the Poor From the Dust
 01:40 The World's Prestige System
 02:10 Dallas Willard's Law of Inversion
 02:30 Cain, Abel & the First Reversal
 02:53 Jacob, Joseph & God's Pattern
 04:00 Miriam's Song of Victory
 04:21 Hannah's Prayer
 05:16 Mary's Magnificat
 06:05 The Pecking Order Explained
 07:21 Jesus Turns the World Upside Down
 08:07 The Beatitudes & the Blessed Life
 09:33 Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
 09:56 The Great Law of the Kingdom
 10:26 Remember: You Are Blessed
 10:53 See People the Way God Does
 11:16 Live the Law of Inversion

What if the two most freeing words you could say are:

"I can't."

In this reflection on Psalm 143, John Ortberg explores why admitting our limitations isn't failure—it's the beginning of faith.

Through a humorous story about assembling a chair, the story of Elijah's exhaustion, and a fresh look at Philippians 4:13, John reminds us that we were never meant to carry life on our own.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 143 and praying from weakness
- Why self-sufficiency is a spiritual trap
- Elijah's burnout and God's compassion
- "The journey is too much for you"
- A better understanding of Philippians 4:13
- Why "I can't" opens the door to God's strength

Scriptures:
- Psalm 143
- 1 Kings 19
- Psalm 127:1
- Philippians 4:13

#Psalm143 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #Faith #DependenceOnGod #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #SpiritualFormation #Philippians413 #Hope

📚 Today's Resources:
Gerald F. Hawthorne, World Biblical Commentary: Philippians 

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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Two Words That Can Change Your Life
 00:23 Psalm 143 Begins
 00:59 My Spirit Grows Faint
 01:52 Teach Me the Way I Should Go
 02:14 The Barrel Nut Story
 03:11 Two Life-Changing Words: "I Can't"
 03:59 What You Cannot Control
 05:06 Why We Need God
 05:31 Elijah's Exhaustion
 06:03 "The Journey Is Too Much for You"
 06:58 Unless the Lord Builds the House
 07:19 Rethinking Philippians 4:13
 08:04 "I Can Face All Things"
 08:38 I Can't. He Can.
 09:00 The Honest Prayer of Psalm 143

Is denial always a bad thing?

In this reflection on Psalm 39, John Ortberg explores one of the Bible's strangest prayers:
"Look away from me."

Why would anyone pray that?

Drawing on insights from Dallas Willard, Søren Kierkegaard, and Greg Ten Elshof, John explains the surprising difference between healthy denial and unhealthy denial, and why God often reveals truth gradually rather than all at once.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 39 and radical honesty
- Why Job, Peter, and Jonah wanted distance from God
- Healthy vs. unhealthy denial
- Self-deception and procrastination
- Why Jesus said, "You cannot bear it now"
- The grace of gradual transformation

Scriptures:
- Psalm 39
- Job 7
- Luke 5
- Jonah 1
- John 16

#psalm39  #JohnOrtberg #DallasWillard #SelfDeception #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Truth #Healing

📚 Today's Resources:
Gregg A. Ten Elshof, I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life 
Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death 
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart 

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at connect@becomenew.com

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

 00:00 One of the Strangest Prayers in the Bible
 00:33 Why We Need Denial
 00:59 Psalm 39 Begins
 01:22 Silence Isn't the Goal
 02:12 "Look Away From Me"
 02:51 Job's Similar Prayer
 03:40 Peter & Jonah Run From God
 04:29 How Self-Deception Works
 05:08 "I'll Deal With It Later"
 05:35 Kierkegaard on Denial
 06:13 "You Cannot Bear It Now"
 06:58 Dallas Willard on Healthy Denial
 08:05 "You Can't Handle the Truth"
 08:50 Healthy vs. Unhealthy Denial
 10:30 Are You Ready to See?
 11:16 God Reveals Truth With Love
 11:57 Denial Is an Emergency Brake