Podcast Summary: Christ with Coffee On Ice

Episode: Doubting Christianity
Host: Ally Yost
Date: November 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Christ with Coffee On Ice dives deep into the raw and real experiences of walking with Christ—especially the moments of doubt, transition, and learning to seek God authentically. Host Ally Yost brings vulnerability, encouragement, and hope as she addresses community questions about faith, doubts, the Sabbath, and the importance of simplifying our relationship with God. The central theme revolves around honesty with our struggles, experiencing God in every season (including doubt and confusion), and dropping false expectations about what life with Jesus should look like.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Starting with Prayer and Communion

• Opening and Vulnerability:

  • Ally shares feeling “a little sicky poo” (00:49), facing a hectic move, and being miraculously well after intense prayer and communion:
    • “I woke up feeling really good this morning and I didn’t even really get a ton of sleep. It was strange, actually. It’s supernatural that I’m here and I’m feeling as good as I am today. So praise Jesus.” (01:38)

• Group Prayer:

  • Prayed for healing (physical, emotional, spiritual) and encouragement for everyone listening, emphasizing God’s mercy and newness each day.
  • Encourages listening as community:
    • “We get to come together as a body to lift each other up, to support each other in prayer.” (04:18)
  • Topics: Healing, courage, boldness, discernment, wisdom, deeper intimacy with God.
  • Communion: Ally reminds that the physical elements may be imperfect, but “it doesn’t take away from the power of the blood.” (06:04)

2. How to Recognize When God is Leading You into a New Season

• Question from Emma: “How do you know if God is bringing you into a new season?” (08:00)
• Ally’s Insights:
  • Subtle Spiritual Shifts: Often sensed as an “air change”—not always obvious in external circumstances, but internally undeniable.
    “It’s like when you feel the air change from summertime to going into the fall, and it’s like the air is a little bit more crisp.” (09:04)
  • Loss of ‘Grace’ for the Old Season: Tasks or relationships that once felt easy now feel harder, perhaps signaling God is moving you forward.
    “All of a sudden, when you feel that shift in the spirit, when things change, you also feel the grace lift from that very thing.” (10:58)
  • Grieving What’s Left Behind: Change often comes with grief and resistance, but also a sense of peace in surrender.
  • Spiritual Discernment:
    • Encourages prayerful distinction between spiritual warfare vs. God’s direction. Seeks clarity:
      “God takes those prayers so seriously because he loves you that much and he doesn’t want you to sit in a place of confusion, because confusion does not come from God.” (11:40)
  • God Changes Our Desires:
    “God can really change the desires of your heart to get you on course with his will.” (12:35)
  • Transition Periods are Normal:
    Life with God is often “walking between seasons,” not instant upgrades—require trust and faith even in uncertainty.

3. Dealing with Doubts in Christianity

• Prompt from Zoe: Over 200 listener votes to discuss “doubts in Christianity.” (26:20)
• Ally’s Approach:

  • Unrealistic Expectations:

    • The belief that following Jesus solves all earthly problems instantly is a major cause of doubt.
    • “There can be a pocket of the church that paints it out to be this thing that’s like, and once you give your life to God, everything is going to be great...But it’s not great in the sense of, like, walking with the Lord means that you’re not going to endure any suffering.” (27:15-28:00)

  • Suffering Persists:

    • Suffering and pain are part of fallen, broken creation—not a sign that God is absent or unfaithful.
    • God’s goodness means He walks with us THROUGH hardships, not that He removes them all.

  • Free Will & Brokenness:

    • Ally references Genesis, the fall, and free will as reasons for our struggles:
      “It was never a part of God’s plan. The only reason that we have to endure the things that we do that are painful and hurtful...is because we have free will and because God loved us enough to give us the choice to make our own choices.” (29:01)

  • Love Must be Chosen:
    Choosing God deepens love’s meaning; forced love wouldn’t be real.

  • Ally’s Personal Testimony:

    • Before Jesus, life was “an empty, empty, empty shell of myself, trying to carry the weight...the things that happened to me...things that I had done.” (34:08)
    • “Having a Savior, having Jesus by my side, has not made my life easier, but he has helped carry the burdens...He’s the only one who could have gotten me through that.” (35:05)
    • Life didn’t get “easier,” but became anchored and bearable.

  • The Danger of Instant Gratification:

    • Our culture’s “instant gratification” (Amazon, DoorDash, etc.) can become a spiritual stumbling block, making us impatient with God (36:30).

  • Spiritual Warfare at the Start:

    • New Christians especially struggle with doubt as the Enemy pushes back:
      “The beginnings of our journeys are some of the hardest times, because...you're like, God is ripping all these scales from your eyes, and you're seeing all the ways that you've been living in your life, and you're like, oh my gosh, God, I have been so wrong.” (41:45)
    • Community, honesty, and support are critical for those in the early stages.

  • Importance of Honesty:

    • Sharing testimonies honestly means also sharing the pain and challenge, not just the victories.

    Memorable Quote:

    "I'm not comparing Jesus to a dinky little shack. He is the best thing ever...But overpromising that it's going to be perfect is really dangerous. Because if people come into this with the wrong expectations and we're not telling them the full truth...if it's not a full truth, it's probably a lie."
    — Ally Yost (37:55)

4. Honoring the Sabbath

• Question from Kelsey: “How do we actually follow the Sabbath?” (53:36)
• Ally’s View and Advice:
  • Sabbath is about resting—true rest, not just distraction or entertainment. “The Sabbath is honored in the best way that you feel rested. God just wants us to rest.” (54:00)
  • Sabbath rest is personal—could be hiking, reading, being with friends, or “being a freaking couch potato.”
  • The presence of God is what matters most:
    “It is in the presence of Jesus where we actually receive rest.” (56:18)
  • Encourages listeners to prayerfully discern what is truly restful and life-giving for them.
  • Sabbath is also about letting God “fill your cup so it is overflowing for the week.” (55:22)

5. Word of the Week: Simplify

• Reflections on Complexity and Faith:
  • Felt God speak the word “simplify”—urging listeners to drop spiritual performance and pressure.
  • Personal story: Visiting Bethel Church, receiving the word to “not take myself so seriously and to not take God so seriously” (in terms of overcomplicating relationship with Him, not irreverence). (59:17)
  • “God is so vastly complex, actually, but also so simple at the same time where all he truly wants is our friendship. He wants our loyalty, and he wants our love. And then he also wants to give that in return.” (60:50)
  • Encourage “simply being a daughter [or son]” to God, asking Him how to make the relationship more restful and less religious.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I prayed, oh my gosh, did I pray. Because honestly, guys…this isn’t good timing, Lord, for me to get sick…so believe it or not, I sound a little congested today, but I woke up feeling really good…and it felt supernatural.” — Ally Yost (01:38)
• “If you're feeling this weird tug of war where you're really confused, I wouldn't say that's from God. Because confusion does not come from God.” — Ally Yost (11:40)
• “It’s not that my life has gotten any easier, but I do believe that the weight and heaviness and the burdens and the shame and the sin...having a Savior, having Jesus by my side, has not made my life easier, but he has helped carry the burdens.” — Ally Yost (35:05)
• “Overpromising that it’s going to be perfect is really dangerous. If people come into this with the wrong expectations and we’re not telling them the full truth...if it’s not a full truth, it’s probably a lie.” — Ally Yost (37:55)
• “Being in relationship with God—it’s simple.” — Ally Yost (99:09)

Important Timestamps

• Opening, update, prayer: 00:00–07:30
• How to know you’re in a new season: 08:00–17:00
• On doubts in Christianity: 26:20–45:00
• The Sabbath / Rest: 53:36–58:17
• Word of the Week ("Simplify") & closing thoughts: 59:12–99:12

Closing Encouragement

Ally wraps with a call to “walk more like Jesus, talk more like Him, be more like Jesus today,” encouraging listeners to show the world how “cool Jesus is,” live in gratitude, and simplify their relationship with God (99:12).

Episode Takeaways

• Doubt is normal, especially when expectations clash with reality—but God can handle our doubts.
• Walking with Jesus isn’t about a perfect life, it’s about not being alone in its messy reality.
• Rest and Sabbath are vital and deeply personal—rest isn’t distraction. It’s presence with God.
• Relationships with God are both beautifully complex and profoundly simple—don’t let religious pressure or performance steal that simplicity.

This episode is a gentle, hope-filled reminder to be honest with yourself and God; to embrace seasons of change, seek support and community, and to remember—just be His child, be loved, and keep it simple.