Faith Over Formula

In this powerful installment of the Blessed + Bossed Up podcast, Tatum continues the deep dive into The Spirit-Filled Life by Dr. Charles Stanley—specifically, Chapter 4: “D-Day.” This episode unpacks what it truly means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, debunking common misconceptions about waiting, working, or striving to receive what is already promised.

Tatum shares her own personal reflections and struggles as she, like many of us, wrestles with the temptation to take control instead of surrendering to God. Drawing from Charles Stanley’s vulnerable moment of spiritual breakthrough and her own season of faith, she explores the liberating truth that the Spirit-filled life is not a formula—it’s a relationship.

You’ll learn:

• Why striving, begging, or waiting for the Holy Spirit misses the point
• The theological and biblical basis for understanding Spirit-infilling as immediate at salvation—not a second-hand experience
• The critical distinction between being filled with the Spirit vs. being filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
• How to recognize if you’re living in survival mode instead of surrender mode—and how to switch postures
• Why dependence and surrender are the prerequisites for Spirit-led leadership, peace, and purpose
• How to study the Holy Spirit biblically: comparing Acts vs. the Epistles

This is more than a book club episode—this is a call to shift your spiritual posture from doing for God to being with God. Let this episode lead you into deeper intimacy, greater peace, and more powerful impact.

📌 Reflection Questions from Chapter 4:

Take time to prayerfully reflect and journal your answers:

1. Have you ever found yourself begging, bargaining, or pleading with God for some spiritual change in your life?
2. Have you worked hard trying to earn something from God that’s freely given?
3. Have you assumed it's your responsibility to wait on the Holy Spirit to fill you?
4. Have you been frustrated with how to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
5. Have you come to a place of total dependence and total surrender to God?