“I told myself that I could never fail,” Jess reflected on her struggles from a year earlier. “I needed to be in control because I needed things in my life to go a certain way, and that kept me from connecting authentically with other people. I didn’t want anyone to think poorly of me. What if someone corrected me? I had fears about what that would say about me.”
When Jess signed up for the free online YadaFactor course, she embarked on a journey without clear expectations. Little did she know the profound impact it would have on her life. Armed with her Bible and journal, she approached the experience with a simple prayer, “Jesus, help me break free. Move me from head knowledge to heart knowledge.”
When We Struggle To Connect Genuinely
Connecting with others on a deep and meaningful level is something we all crave. It’s a fundamental part of being human and intricately linked to our spiritual well-being. But despite our desire to connect, many struggle to form genuine, lasting bonds with others. Control issues and other sin struggles cause significant roadblocks to creating authentic connections with the Lord and others.
Like Jess, many people find the core principles of YadaFactor help them trust in God and build more profound, meaningful connections with others. Genuine connections thrive on authenticity, empathy, and understanding. These qualities flourish when we learn to wrestle truthfully, reorient our lives vertically, and listen fiercely to the Lord and each other.
Six Ways Yada Helped Jess Genuinely Connect
- Believe God’s Truth
Jess began her transformation by wrestling truthfully with the Lord about her control issues and insecurities. She started evaluating her feelings and thoughts against God’s Word—the ultimate truth.
In a posture of humility, she approached Jesus with her emotions and experiences, allowing Him to speak into her life. Through daily journaling, God graciously revealed a profound truth to Jess. She is not (and never has been) the one in control.
The truth of God’s word began to transcend her feelings, fears, or thoughts about any situation. She began to place her confidence in the Lord and trust that he wanted to speak to her.
- Trust The Lord
Trust is a cornerstone of genuine relationships, and it became a central theme in Jess’s Yada journey. The Lord’s trustworthiness became increasingly evident as she learned to break down Scripture and apply it to her life.
Trusting God was the key that allowed her to surrender control. Jess realized that trusting God leads to spiritual growth and not vice versa. Her trust in God’s grace and peace fueled her spiritual maturity.
- Seek The Holy Spirit
Jess’s journey led her to a profound realization: the Spirit of God resides within her, and she can hear him speaking. She began seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and the Lord became her strength, conviction, and comfort.
- Find Authenticity
Jess’s desire for others to perceive her as someone who loved Him had overshadowed her genuine identity. She had forgotten what it felt like to rest in the identity He declared over her and simply rest in Him. Jess found real connections thrive on authenticity and accepting herself as Christ made her.
- Listen To Others
Authentic connections require active listening, empathy, and understanding. Yada taught Jess how to listen thoughtfully and attentively to others. Instead of listening solely to respond or control the conversation, Yada allowed her to step back and truly hear others. Jess has transformed her approach to listening. She now listens thoughtfully, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to respond.
- Listen To God
Her time spent with her Bible and journal has evolved into a meaningful conversation with the Lord. The more she engages with Him, the more she recognizes His voice. Although sometimes listening to God’s voice might be challenging and require persistence, God consistently shows up and speaks to those who earnestly seek Him. Looking back at her journal entries, Jess recognizes that the wisdom she found there was not her own—it was divinely inspired.
Jess’ Story Can Be Yours
Jess’s journey is a testament to the transformation that can occur when we relinquish control and place our trust in God, allowing authentic, meaningful connections to flourish. She would not have experienced this transformation without the impact of the free online YadaFactor course, which gave her essential skills and pointed her toward listening to the Lord in her daily life.
We run our courses several times a year. We intentionally keep them small and intimate, which means they also fill up quickly. Sign up for our emails and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out when our next session of courses is open for registration.
Help People Connect To God And Each Other
YadaFactor runs on the donations of generous people like you who believe in the importance of hearing the voice of God and growing in our connection to His Word and each other. To continue offering this online course for free, we need financial partners to help us reach more people worldwide. Gifts of all sizes are valuable, and we make monthly donations easy.
