LISTEN TO EP.154

Has your effectiveness ever felt compressed, buried under the weight of emotional burden? Diamonds are rare from the Middle East but Tessa Afshar is one of them. A researcher of Biblical history with a Master of Divinity from Yale and an award-winning author, Afshar speaks like one who has probed the Word of God and unearthed the precious. Raised as a nominal Muslim, Afshar thought all religions were the same until one night, in a dream, when Jesus beckoned her to follow Him. Her story is fascinating, but it is her internal struggle with discouragement and anxiety that will keep you riveted. Having experienced abandonment as a teenager and a broken marriage in her early twenties, Afshar found herself dealing with compounded discouragement, not a sinful feeling but one she describes as ‘sin-adjacent’ to self-pity and discontent. Opening the door to those, she soon found herself unable to pray, sleep or function at work, but there were answers. If you are experiencing debilitating anxiety, or know someone who is, you will be encouraged as you discover the gems Afshar found through her journey.