<description>&lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US"&gt;&lt;span class="TextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;Michael Ritchason grew up feeling like he was on the losing end of the comparison game&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;Insecurity drove him to chase affirmation and attention. It worked for a time, but then his girlfriend left, his cool car&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;crashed&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;, and&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;the rest of&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;his world&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;seemed to be&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;falling apart&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;Soon Michael was falling apart, too. Discouragement led to disconnection, and that led to depression. One night, he began to believe the lie that he was utterly alone. Then God, the One called Immanuel – God with us, did something supernatural&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;It was a reminder that Michael&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;wasn’t&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;alone, and God had plans and a purpose for him&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;Michael is the lead pastor at &lt;a href="https://www.riversidepeoria.com/"&gt;Riverside Community Church&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun CatchUpActivityHoveredHighlight CatchUpActivityHighlightBegin CatchUpActivityHighlightMiddle SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;, a multi-cultural, multi-generational, and multi-socioeconomic church in the heart of Peoria, Illinois&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun CatchUpActivityHoveredHighlight CatchUpActivityHighlightMiddle CatchUpActivityHighlightEnd SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="EOP SCXW68172936 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":0,"335551620":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":257}"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US"&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW68172936 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335557856":16777215,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}"&gt; Follow Michael on YouTube and Instagram.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US"&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW68172936 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335557856":16777215,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}"&gt; To hear &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href= "https://www.wowgod.com/podcasts/in-fulfillment/"&gt;In Fulfillment&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;/em&gt; our Biblical Audio Drama, and go deeper into the Christmas story, go to&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "TextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a class= "Hyperlink SCXW68172936 BCX0" href= "https://www.wowgod.com/podcasts/in-fulfillment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"&gt;&lt;span class= "TextRun Underlined SCXW68172936 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US" data-contrast="none"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW68172936 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle= "Hyperlink"&gt;https://www.wowgod.com/podcasts/in-fulfillment/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW68172936 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335557856":16777215,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW68172936 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;</description>

The Unfolding

Meridith Foster

Page 222: Michael Ritchason: From Struggle to Strength- the Power of Surrender

DEC 13, 202440 MIN
The Unfolding

Page 222: Michael Ritchason: From Struggle to Strength- the Power of Surrender

DEC 13, 202440 MIN

Description

Michael Ritchason grew up feeling like he was on the losing end of the comparison game.  Insecurity drove him to chase affirmation and attention. It worked for a time, but then his girlfriend left, his cool car crashed, and the rest of his world seemed to be falling apart.  Soon Michael was falling apart, too. Discouragement led to disconnection, and that led to depression. One night, he began to believe the lie that he was utterly alone. Then God, the One called Immanuel – God with us, did something supernatural.  It was a reminder that Michael wasn’t alone, and God had plans and a purpose for him.  Michael is the lead pastor at Riverside Community Church, a multi-cultural, multi-generational, and multi-socioeconomic church in the heart of Peoria, Illinois.   

Follow Michael on YouTube and Instagram.

To hear In Fulfillment, our Biblical Audio Drama, and go deeper into the Christmas story, go to https://www.wowgod.com/podcasts/in-fulfillment/