That question sits heavier than it sounds. Not because I’m overwhelmed by it, but because I’ve learned that challenges are rarely just obstacles. They are invitations. Opportunities. I just told my wife that the challenges we are facing are crossroads where we will either move forward, stand still, or quietly slip backward.

For me, the greatest challenge I have faced and continue to face is my health. It has a way of preaching to you every single day. It reminds you that your body is fragile, that strength is not guaranteed, and that mortality is not theoretical. It’s personal. It’s present. And it does not wait for a convenient moment.

That reality does something to you. It strips away illusions. It forces you to confront a truth about time. In the book I just finished, I talk about the ephemeral nature of life… that time is not our ally. It’s not something we can accumulate. We don’t store it up for later. We are given a portion, and once it passes, it’s gone. That truth presses in on me daily. It asks a hard question: How will you use what you’ve been given?

That, too, is a challenge. Learning to use time wisely. Learning not to waste it on fear, distraction, or regret. Learning not to live as if tomorrow is promised when experience has taught me otherwise. (The key for me here will always be about the Learning…)

Another enormous challenge I carry is discerning purpose in the middle of uncertainty. Thinking through work, provision, writing, calling, and the future. Books yet to be written. Words that are still forming. And doors that are not fully open. And yet, inside me, there is the quiet insistence that I am not done. That what God has placed in me is still meant to be poured out for others.

That tension could feel overwhelming if I let it. But I don’t see these challenges as weights meant to crush me. I see them as reminders meant to anchor me.

Scripture gives language to what my heart has learned to cling to… this is actually my life verse: (Isaiah 41:10 ESV) says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

That promise steadies me.

It does not deny the reality of weakness, uncertainty, or limited time. It meets me there. It reminds me that I am not being held together by my own strength, wisdom, or planning. I am being upheld by God, Himself. That is comforting.

That changes how I see my challenges.

My health no longer feels like a countdown clock. It feels like a call to live present and faithful. Time no longer feels like an enemy. It feels like a sacred trust. The uncertainty around work, writing, and the future becomes less about fear and more about obedience. Taking the next right step while trusting God with what I cannot yet see.

My challenges have not disappeared. But they no longer define me.

They have become opportunities to trust the One who holds me when I cannot hold everything together myself. Opportunities to walk forward, even when the path is not fully lit. Opportunities to live with intention, humility, and hope.

So when I am asked about my biggest challenges, I do not answer with despair.

I answer with resolve.

Because I am not alone. I am not abandoned. And I am not being asked to carry what was never meant for my hands to hold.

He is with me. He strengthens me. He upholds me.

And that is enough.