I Almost Lost It All
A conversation between Cody Friedrich, guest; and Devaughn Williamson, host.
Trusting God’s Plan When You’ve Lost Everything: How Losing It All Led Me Back to Purpose
Have you ever felt like you were losing faith in God because nothing seemed to be working? Cody Friedrich’s story is a powerful example of what it really means to learn trusting God’s plan when life doesn’t go the way you expect. His testimony reveals how surrender to God and waiting on God’s timing can transform desperation into divine purpose. Through honest struggles with comparison, burnout, and financial stress, Cody discovered that finding your purpose in God comes not from hustling harder, but from trusting God’s timing and beliving that God has a plan for you even when you can’t see it.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck or questioning your direction, Cody’s journey of faith offers hope. This is about finding faith again after drifting, learning that God’s faithfulness never fails, and understanding that God’s will for your life is better than anything you could manufacture on your own.
Drifting from Purpose: How the Comparison Trap Destroyed My Faith and Focus
When Success Becomes the Enemy of Purpose
Cody recalls how he began his faith journey on fire for God, trusting God completely and believing that as he sought first the kingdom, everything else - success, money, provision - would fall into place. And that is exactly what began to happen! God was on his road to success. God’s provision was evident. But somewhere along the way, he started to get distracted by comparison and losing sight of trusting God’s plan. He started to drift.
The comparison trap crept in silently. Instead of celebrating what God was doing in his life and in the lives of others around him, he began measuring his progress against others’ success.
“I started looking at other people’s success as a gauge to confirm to myself that I wasn’t moving fast enough. So I felt like I had to play catch up.” - Cody Friedrich
This pressure led him to:
Overwork to the point of exhaustion
Overthink everything
Burn out spiritually, emotionally, and physically
Question whether he deserved success anymore
The Root: Losing Focus on God’s Will
Spiritual burnout was inevitable. Cody stopped surrendering to God’s will and started striving in his own strength. What was once a joy became a burden because it was no longer aligned with God’s purpose for your life. He drifted from his calling without realizing it.
Trying to force God’s plan causes us to step out of trusting God’s timing when we try to match our timeline. Cody’s story is cautionary for us all - even good intentions can lead you away from God’s will for your life when comparison gets in the way.
Scripture reminds us: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
When Success Feels Empty: Chasing Money Instead of God’s Purpose
The Rollercoaster of Hustle Culture
Cody opened up about how the business was a roller coaster that came with seasons of success followed by downturns that ultimately left him stressed, in debt, and questioning everything. For someone standing outside looking in, Cody was successful. But internally, he was losing faith.
He later admits to chasing money and hustling across multiple ventures, only to find himself:
Exhausted and unproductive
Burdened by pride
Comparing himself to everyone else
Feeling like he was losing God in the noise
“For someone standing outside looking in Cody was successful. But internally, he was crumbling.”
This struggle revealed a crucial truth: waiting on God’s plan is more valuable than chasing quick wins. When we hustle without God’s direction, we trade peace for busyness and purpose for profit.
Rediscovering Purpose Through Surrender to God
The One Thing That Was Actually Working
After exhausting himself, Cody realized that one thing was consistently providing for him - tutoring. It wasn’t because it was flashy or the most profitable on paper, it was because it was what he was created to be!
“This is what God created him to do. “
The answer was right in front of him the whole time. Finding your purpose in God doesn’t require chasing the next big thing. It requires surrender to God and obedience to what He’s already placed in your hands.
The Shift That Changed Everything
Once he realized how far off he was, he quickly humbled himself and repented, and returned to what God had gifted him to do. Trusting God’s will meant believing that His way is the way that leads to peace and provision.
That moment of surrender to God changed his entire life. He learning that trusting God’s plan means waiting patiently in God’s timing instead of forcing doors open.
Scripture confirms this: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Divine Redirection: When God Closes One Door to Open Another
The Blessing Disguised as Failure
During this time, Cody ended up getting let go from his teaching job. To the natural eye, it looked like failure. But in the Spirit, It was a moment of divine redirection, the pushe he needed to step into his tutoring business that God had called him to all along.
“It felt like failure to Cody, but ultimately ended up being a blessing in disguise.”
This transition became a reminder that waiting on God’s timing leads to His greater plan.
Cody’s job loss teaches that:
God’s faithfulness shows up in painful moments
God is with you when you can’t see the full picture
Trusting God’s timing means believing delays are not denials
God’s will for your life sometimes required His redirection, forcefully
The Fruit of Obedience
Cody shares how he had to learn the hard way that trusting God’s plan leads to God’s peace and God’s provision. It only comes when your plans are aligned with God’s plan and God’s purpose for your life. He shared that success isn’t about doing more, but doing what you were created to do. And by doing so, grace, favor, and success will automatically be on your path.
Finding faith in the middle of loss positioned Cody to receive what he had worked hard to force. Trusting God brought the breakthrough hustle never could.
Lessons in Comparison and Contentment
Breaking Free from the Comparison Trap
The comparison trap is something Cody candidly spoke about. He highlighted how it took his focus away from God’s will and placed it on others. This ended up turning celebrations into a competition. Joy became jealousy.
Since being freed from that divisive spirit, he’s learned to
Celebrate others without feeling he has to compete with them
Recognize that in God’s kingdom there is no competition
Trust that God has a plan for you that doesn’t require you to outpace anyone else
Rest in the truth that God’s timing for you is perfect, even if it’s different from everyone else’s
“In God’s kingdom there is no competition, but a path on which everyone thrives.”
Contentment: The Fruit of Surrender
Tusting God’s plan led to contentment. Instead of comparing what others had, he began stewarding the gift God gave him. It unlocked:
Peace in the wait
Clarity in decisions
Confidence in God’s plan and his calling
Gratitude for God’s faithfulness
Scripture teaches: “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6)
What God Restored: The Power of Trusting God’s Timing
Restoration Beyond Expectation
By embracing surrender to God and trusting God’s timing, God started to restore everything that was lost to Cody. This season deepened Cody’s faith in God and reminded him that surrendering to God’s will brings freedom and clarity.
God will restore what was lost when you:
Stop forcing outcomes
Surrender to God fully
Wait on God’s timing
Agree with God’s purpose for your life by aligning with it
Patience is an Active Faith Practice
Cody ended the podcast by encouraging the listeners to be patient, and trust God's timing - not passively but as active faith. He encouraged others to not to try and force blessings before you’re ready for them because premature success will quickly turn into a burden. If you end up rushing it, you will ultimately end up hurting yourself and burnout.
Trusting God’s plan isn’t passive. It’s
Active faith in God
Daily surrender to God
Intentional patience
Obedient alignment with God’s will for your life
“Even when we get off track, God is faithful to restore, redirect, and bless us.”
Key Takeaways: Finding Your Purpose in God
Cody’s journey of faith offers powerful lessons for anyone struggling with comparison, burnout, or feeling lost:
Trusting God’s plan is better than chasing your own
Surrender to God brings clarity and peace
God’s timing is always perfect even when it feels slow
The comparison trap will rob you of joy and purpose
Finding your purpose in God comes through obedience not hustle
God’s faithfulness never fails even in your darkest moments
Divine redirection often looks like failure but leads to breakthrough
God has a plan for you that’s far better than anything you could think of
Frequently Asked Questions About Trusting God’s Plan
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Scripture says: “…Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21). When your heart drifts from God’s purpose, you feel spiritually empty.
Scripture reminds us that rest and peace are a sign that you are in God’s will not constant striving. “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy ladened and I will give you rest for your soul (Matthew 11:28).”
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Scripture teaches us surrender to God is a continual decision to submit to His will: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1)
The heart of true surrender is found in Jesus’s prayer in the garden in Matthew 26:39 - “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
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Scripture promises that you were designed with intentionality and God’s plan was established before you were born. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).”
Additonally, trusting God leads to clarity in your path. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).”
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Trusting God’s timing is believing God’s plan is better than yours. Faith in God grows when you wait in Him. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).”
Waiting on the Lord requirs courage and faith “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)”
God’s timing is purposeful and perfect. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1).”
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Shift your focus from others’ success to God’s faithfulness in your life. “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones (Proverbs 14:30).”
Paul reminds us that contentment comes from trusting God’s plan for you: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11).”
If Cody’s story inspired you, consider sharing it with someone who needs encouragement. And I encourage you to partner with Faith Ignite to help bring more stories of hope to the world. Together, we can spread messages of God's faithfulness to those who need it most.
Devaughn Williamson President, Faith Ignite Inc
