Road To Redemption
Road To Redemption
Matt Magera - Pruned To Grow Audio Podcast
What if losing the life you built was the first mercy you needed? Matt joins us to tell a raw, hope-filled story of drifting from faith, chasing comfort, and then choosing a simple, costly prayer: “I’ll do whatever You want.” Within months, his stable job disappeared, a relationship ended, and the routine he clung to was gone. It felt like a stripping, but it was a pruning—God cutting back good and bad branches to grow something stronger, truer, and centered on Christ.
We walk through the turning points: learning to recognize God’s voice when your flesh resists, finding real community in a small group, and turning missed moments into a vow to be bold. Matt shares the day he took a cardboard sign to Walmart that read “Free Prayer,” the stranger whose pain could be felt through a simple touch, and the unmistakable sense that obedience had intercepted a tragedy. From there, his lens changed; he stopped seeing crowds and started seeing souls, weighing minutes against eternity and ordinary days against God’s invitations.
If you’re skeptical, tired, or quietly hungry for more, this conversation offers a concrete path: daily Scripture, honest prayer, a Christ-centered church, and a small group that feels like guardrails and gasoline. We talk discernment you can practice, generosity that unlocks purpose, and why it’s okay to say “I’m not okay” while you heal. Expect courage to rise, not because life gets easy, but because God does the heavy lifting when you surrender. Listen, share with a friend who needs hope, and if this spoke to you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what bold step are you taking this week?
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Welcome. I'm John Martin. So excited to be here today. Back on Road to Redemption with my new friend Matt McGuara. Matt. Appreciate it, John. How are you, man? I'm good. Blessed. Blessed you are. So so excited to meet you, get to know you. Well, I've known you for a while, you know, through the the store here you're working in and Mirabar Beach. And I put all that together. I was like, wait, I've known you forever, man. So good to get to know you again. And uh just man, so excited for you to come on and talk to us a little bit about your testimony, your story. Just if you wouldn't mind, give us a little, you know, brief overview.
SPEAKER_00:Uh really the main part of my testimony that God's really put on my heart is just um surrender and what that really looks like at this point in my life. Um, like a lot of people, I had a relationship with God. He'd always been um, I think, with me and talking to me, but he wasn't at the forefront of my life. You know, I don't even know if he was third and fourth place in my life, but he was there and I'd received my salvation when I was like 12 years old, and grew up in church, and then I'd say around college, I drifted away. Um still would have conversations, thought I was living a you know a decent life, uh to secular standards. Um then I got older and you you make a series of mistakes after mistakes after mistakes, and you know, with God's grace he still pulls you out of them, but you you don't really acknowledge it yet. And so I kind of lived a lot of my life like that. Uh got married, like around 30, um, kind of did it because that's what you do, had a beautiful baby out of it, but it in retrospect it wasn't of God, and uh the marriage didn't work out, and so there was another like restart in my life again. And I think um, you know, once again, God kind of just was trying to show me, like, hey man, if you would just surrender things to me, like I can make your past so much easier. And um, so then I got to a point where I started cleaning my life up, trying to get back with God. Um, and I remember sitting in my apartment, and the divorce was hard, you know, a lot of people have been there, uh, some dark times, and uh you're putting the pieces back together. And I got on my knees in my apartment one day and prayed that um God would give me a good woman, put a woman in my life. I didn't know where I was gonna find one, how this was gonna happen. Family's always been a big deal to me, right? And uh, out of nowhere, he puts a girl in my life. She's working at the gym, divorced, kids about the same age as my son. It was, I mean, it was a gift I didn't even deserve. I wasn't living for the Lord at the time, and he puts this in my lap, and um, and it just took off. And it was it was amazing. Um and the first thing I did is I gave him like one little thanks, and I kind of pushed him aside, and I was so happy with this new life I had, but for some reason, instead of keeping him in the center of my life, after he gave me this gift that I was not even deserving of, um I don't know. I just uh I I pushed him away. And um it was good for a while, but like anything, when your order with Christ isn't correct, he's gonna step in and correct that order for you, you know? And um after a while, the uh the relationship about a year ago, and this all ties into where I'm at now, um suddenly my whole life just got really uneasy and unsteady. You know, I thought I had everything I wanted. I had a great woman who was there supportive. I had two stepkids and a son, and they were all amazing. They were like uh the pride of my life. Um, but now I think what I had done is I had idolized them. I put them at the top of my list. They were my everything, I put everything on them, and uh, we all know God's not a fan of that. And um, just this uneasy feeling in my spirit. I couldn't figure it out. And I started to pray again, but on my own, I would pray in the shower at night. I would sit in the shower and I kept asking God, you know, what do you want me to do with my life? What am I supposed to do? I was in this really area of comfort in my life, and God doesn't want us comfortable and so stretches, right? I had the same job, I was working at the Bella Bonk store where you knew me from. I was there for 18 years, I'd been living on Mac by you for 18 years. My life was so consistent and just boring, but I liked it. It was safe. Um, but it wasn't where God wanted me. So this prayer went on for several months, and then I remember my prayer changed. He wasn't answering, and it changed to God. I will do whatever you want to show me. I'll do whatever you want. And I surrendered. And I remember at that moment, I mean like that day, it seemed like he started moving. And it was in ways I wasn't expecting. In the next few months, my job went away of 18 years, the relationship ended abruptly. Uh, I had to move out. I moved 20 minutes away from where I've always lived, right here on MacBay. I'm, you know, 20 minutes outside of everything. And God basically put me in the wilderness, like in the season of isolation, and he's like, You're gonna lean on me now. This is what you said. And uh at the same time, I met Travis Kring and a bunch of the guys from Destiny at the gym over here at Grant Fitness, and uh they invited me to to church and to small group, and that's really where my life just took off uh with God. And so um that's kind of where I'm at now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Wow. What a what a cool story, you know. God really kind of stripped you of everything, you know, to have you put all the focus and obedience, surrender with him. And obviously, he didn't take your son. You've got your son and your you know, your family and all, you know, but but but still he stripped a lot. Yeah, there was a pruning. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:People I've never really experienced a pruning process, and like you, yeah, you don't realize that he takes it all. The fruit that you think is good and the bad. And so you're just this twig. Yeah. And I remember thinking about the pruning process, and I used to prune my bushes at home. And I can remember I would go out to my beautiful bushes and I would think, like, why am I about to chop all this stuff down? Like, I'm about to just shred these bushes, and I would, I would cut them all down and they would look horrible, but I knew they were gonna come back bigger and more beautiful and stronger than ever. And I really had to hang on to that thought if that's where I'm at. Like at the end of this, it's gonna be a huge blessing. Yeah, you know, uh the fruits from him are gonna be amazing, but they're gonna be of him and for him this time, and so he's really corrected this order. Um, you know, when I look back at what got me here, um, you know, I was talking the other day, but there were some moments now where I look back and God kind of shows you where you need to grow, and there was still a lot of healing from my divorce that I needed. Um, and I've been really big on prayer and being bold in my faith. And I'd like to share, you know, that boldness kind of came from there was a point in my relationship, and it it's hard to talk about and to admit, but you know, God's called me to be bold. Um, towards the end of my relationship, God had put on my heart to really bring him back into the forefront of my life. And uh I was resistant. And I I still don't know why. I kind of know why my past relationship, there was no religion, the person wasn't a godly person at all, and she kind of rejected him. I think there was some fear in this new relationship that if I tried to make God at the forefront and she didn't want to be a part of it, I would know that that was over, and I and I wanted it so bad. Um, and there was no reason. This was an amazing woman, she probably would have been thrilled with it. Um, and I remember me laying in bed at night and God was telling me to uh to pray with her, ask her if you can pray with her at night, and I I forsake them. I just said I said no, and I I would not do it. And I held on to that shame for a bit, and at Freedom I was able to kind of release that. But that's been my motive since then is that you know, we see these people, especially in our lives, that we supposedly love, and we say, We'll do all these things for them, I'll do anything for you. I want to provide for you. You know, the first thing you can provide for anybody is God. If you really love someone, you're gonna provide that pathway to Christ, that pathway to heaven. And so now I have this motivation to just be bold and not miss a single opportunity. It's one of my prayers in the morning is God put someone on my path today that I can lead to Christ.
SPEAKER_01:It's awesome. And I love your you're you're wearing the shirt today, you know. It's just it's so bold because you know, the name of Jesus is the most powerful name ever, but it's also offensive in our world. A lot of people are afraid, you know, to to wear that name or be bold about that name. So first, I love you know, you're you're wearing shirts like that. And and and the things that one number one, you just you you carry joy, the joy of the Lord and the light of Christ, which is just so great, you know. Um and and and but you're also getting out there, God's calling you to. I know you've been out there at Walmart. Talk to us about just some of the things that God's calling you to do, you know, and being bold.
SPEAKER_00:So, you know, it talks in the Bible where God will restore things that were lost and he can accelerate that growth. So I was away from God for over 20 years, and I think he's made up and then doubled that in the last six months for me. And he's been testing me, I think, little by little, like, how obedient are you willing to be? Like, what can I trust you with? I have big plans for you, but I gotta get you there. I can't give you the big plan yet. And so just, you know, started off with small things, just being more outspoken in a group and trying to be a leader in Christ. And um, but then lately there's been other things he's put in my head. And so um, about a month ago, God told me, and I've learned discernment like when it's God, and he's told me, he told me to go to Walmart and make a sign that said free prayer. He said, You're just gonna go out, like through the season of isolation, he's kind of told me you're gonna be of service. That's where you're gonna find your peace in servicing people. And so I didn't do it for like a month, I just thought it was silly. And but he wouldn't let it go. And so there was um, I don't even know, it was like a Thursday. It was Thursday because I had a small group that night, and he was like, You're gonna do it today. I was like, fine, fine. So I literally went to Walmart, got a marker, wrote free prayer, and stood out there for, I don't know, two hours and just offered free prayer to people. And I was shocked how many people actually were receptive of it. And there was a ton of encouragement. And uh there were some people there. Uh there was a guy named Michael, and uh he needed prayer. I don't know if he was a believer or not, but I could see in his eyes that he was hurting, and he told me his whole family had just left him. And uh I put my hands on him to pray, and I could feel I get emotional and talk about it, because I I can feel that pain, I felt his pain. And it was real. Like he was in a dark place. Like I to the point where he may have been going to do something really drastic that day. And uh I prayed over him, and it was probably the most powerful prayer I'd ever felt in my life. Like I could feel it. And um afterwards he just stared at me and he th he thanked me, and I remember he just asked me, Why are you doing this? And I remember just saying, 'Cause God told me. And I I I was there for that guy. But then I think back, my obedience to Christ may have saved that guy's life. Yes. And it may have started the path to save the soul too. Eternal life, yes. And that's a big thing for me now. As mentioned the other day, like God has changed my perspective even when I'm walking around these streets. It's like you know, you see people, but now I see souls. Like these these are these are souls. And this life is this big, it's a speck of dust. And heaven and hell are eternal. And we turn a blind eye to people every day. Like it's so easy for us to to uh talk about God in church or in a small group because you're fellow believers. But the boldness comes into going out and talking to people a God who don't believe. Yeah. And that's just something that's really on my heart that I think he's calling me just to go out there. And uh I told you yesterday after in retrospect I look back of all the things that the devil has taken from me in my life. And by my own demise sometimes, I let him in. But it's almost like I want to spend the rest of my days on earth paying Satan back. And just looking at him and going, You picked the wrong fight, man. Like you you you may have won a few battles, but you're not gonna win this war, and I'm gonna take so many people to Christ right in front of you. And that's that kind of motivates me, that fires me up and kind of just keeps me going.
SPEAKER_01:You know, something that get got me thinking a little bit because God He's wanting all of us who believe in Him to be bold and to you know love others and connect with others and pray like you're doing. But sometimes it's hard to know how do we know it's the voice of God? You know, you talk about that that's really telling us, you know, versus other voices. Any any um advice on that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it was a really struggle. And I'm so early in my walk, but it was a big thing that I prayed about a ton was discernment. So, first of all, pray for discernment. Ask God to give you clarity, and and slowly it just starts to happen, but I've noticed that a lot of times if it's something that my flesh doesn't want to do, it's a good clue that it's from God.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Because my initial flesh reaction, like when he said, Go go make this, that's silly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and that was my own flesh or the devil. So usually when it's something maybe that it's not what I would come up with, and it's out of the blue, but it brings peace, it makes sense, and I may show some resistance. Um, an example I I mentioned yesterday was um the first video I'd ever made. I have this little prayer rock in my apartment in front of this lake that I pray on, and I was leaving my apartment gym, and it was one of the first times I really heard God. He told me to go sit on this rock and pray, but record it. And I was just like, okay, you know, I'm gonna do it. I don't, you know, it sounds weird, but uh fine. And I got there and I knew it was him, but then there were distractions and there was doubt coming in my head, and I knew that was it, trying to talk me out of it. So a lot of times, if there's that peace, you know, that you feel inside, that conviction, but it's of peace, it may be uncomfortable. And that's fine. God, like I said, he wants to stretch you and press you and take you out of your comfort zone. That's kind of where I'm at with my discernment. I know it's God. I love that.
SPEAKER_01:I know I've had those in my life where I've missed the mark. It's hard, you know, where God's telling you to talk to somebody and you're like, I just don't feel like this any other day. I'm not in the mood for that. So it's you know, it's good for us to recognize that and just try to get better.
SPEAKER_00:And I think you don't have to stress so much always, like you're gonna get it wrong sometimes. Like it it's hard, you know. He's not sitting here having this conversation, so it it's hard, and and we're we're flogged and we're human, but I think if your heart posture is right, you know, sometimes you just gotta go with your gut. Sometimes that gut is God. You just gotta go do it. And we know we have this gracious, merciful God. So sometimes if we make the wrong call, the great thing about him is he's gonna turn it into something good anyways.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:He's gonna turn into a blessing no matter what. I think if you're just doing it in his honor, at the end it's gonna work out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And he and he speaks to us in you know, in our heart and and and through a still small voice, he'll speak to us. We just have to slow down and put our phones away and really be trying to connect with him and listen to him throughout the day, which is hard with all the distractions we have, because he's got people he wants us to connect with and pray with and you know throughout the day. So that's something we you know I try to work on, and you know, you're doing a great job of it. I mean, I've I've seen your videos. You're guys saying you you kind of reminded me of the guy that Jimmy Darts that was here recently, uh that that does the random acts of kindness, and I love how you're doing that. And any anything you want to share on that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, my next little venture that God put on my heart is uh Saturday, actually, through Destiny, we're doing the um food drive. We're giving out the Thanksgiving dinner bags to just families in need. And uh I signed up for it a couple weeks ago to be one of the people to deliver the bags, and then God had just put it on my heart to um raise some money. So I've raised, I think, twelve hundred bucks, and I'm just gonna put twelve hundred dollars in an envelope and give a family a Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm just gonna hand them an envelope of cash and tell them it was a miracle from God. And I know God's gonna put the right family who is gonna need that. It's either their house payments late, their car payments. It's gonna be life-changing for them, but mainly it's gonna show them you know, God wants us to partake in these miracles. Yeah. He's not always just gonna wave his hand and make a blind person see. Sometimes he wants us actively involved in performing his miracles and being a vessel, and so that's what this is gonna be for someone is just me to go um give someone some money and uh you know, hope it helps them out, gets them through some tough times.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Matt, uh a lot of who we're helping on with this show, who we're speaking to is people looking for hope, you know, to um strengthen their faith in Christ or come back to Christ or come to know Christ for the first time. We want to give people hope on the show. And what advice do you have for anyone listening that's just kind of like, you know, that all sounds great, but I I don't know. I don't know if I I believe. I've got a tough life, you know, that the enemy can really come on people, and it can be hard for them to take that step. What what what advice do you have for anybody that's just not a believer?
SPEAKER_00:My first advice, and actually there's a bet I have with a guy on TikTok when I posted one of my videos, he he sent back a comment, and basically I was talking to an imaginary friend. And so I made a deal with this guy, I told him, I want you to start praying every day for a month. Just pray, just talk to God, whether you believe or not, just start talking to him. And it's like, and if you don't hear from him in a month, I'll send you a hundred bucks. Wow, I love it. Go for it. Do it. I dare you. Just talk to him for a month. That's awesome. And so if you're not gonna be sure where to go right now, the starting point is just have a conversation with him. Whether it sounds silly and you don't even believe, he he hears you. He believes in you, you don't have to believe in him. He created you, he knows you're real. Just start talking to him. And I promise you he'll move your heart. And the next thing I would say is then find a church, find a small group. And these things come little. A lot of people look at religion, and their first thought is there's so many things I'm gonna have to give up. And it's like, no, the first thing you're gonna get is a gift of eternal life. And then your heart will change, and the things that you give up, you'll give up freely, and you'll get freedom from those things, and you'll inherit all these other beautiful things, and you'll actually feel fulfilled for the first time in your life. And that's where I'm at now, where most of my life I was doing things that I wanted to do. And I thought they were of God because I love God. So if I'm doing these things and they seem like they're good things, but they would always get mucked up, they would get derailed, they would go here, and God would come in and he would redirect me and and fix it all for me. And I finally was like, for the first time at 47 years old, I'm just surrendering everything to him. Like everything. I'm ti- I'm tired of wandering. You know, I'd rather just place my faith in him and just walk this straight path with him. And uh part of the reason I'm glad I'm doing this and I've been making these videos is for the people who don't believe or have to out, I want a series of videos of my season I'm going through where people can go, Man, this is where this guy started. And at the end of these videos, where he's at now with Christ and the blessings he's received, the blessings he's given, the lives he's affected. And it's like, then debate me whether God is real. I mean, I've just shown you.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:You know, however long this process takes. And so I just want to provide some that's right there is just hope for people to be able to just watch something and watch a guy grow and grow closer to Christ. So uh yeah, I think that's yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And that kind of comes into our three key pillars of road to redemption, which is first get into the Word of God and pray. Get out your Bible. Uh if you don't have one, get your phone. Every phone has the Holy Bible on it. And just start reading the Word of God every morning. Spend 15, 20 minutes or more reading the Bible. We promise it'll change your life and pray. You know, as Matt said, just call out to God. He hears you, He'll speak back to you. And and then get into a Christ-centered church and just go. You'll never find the perfect church. But if you go to church, your life will be transformed. And then get into a small group. A small group within that church that you can do life with, be accountable to, and it will change your life. Small groups are just huge. It's free therapy, really.
SPEAKER_00:It is. Um, yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you want to get closer to God, you sit in a room with 10, 12 other men, and you dig in and you commit and you open your heart to it. You're I mean, my life, literally, I mean, people have known me for 20 years because I wasn't outspoken about my faith. They're like, who is this new guy? Like it's still Matt, but it's this like better version of Matt, like this boldness of Matt, and everything's centered around Christ. And um, you know, there's still struggles. You know, there's still, you know, join me in the suffering of God. So there's still plenty of sufferings, but now I get to suffer with God on my side and get to suffer with the thought that I know that in my suffering I'm in this moment where he is basically refining me for some amazing blessings. And some of the most hard times are really when you're you're you really are the closest to God. You're leaning on him. I mean, he's right there, and you're in his arms, and it's it's painful, but it's beautiful at the same time, the process. And um, and really just the gift that you get to take your struggle and make it a testimony. I mean, that's really what I mean, the whole Bible is a love story, but it's a testimony. It's just testimony for testimony of testimony of God's great power and his grace. And so we are put here to do that, to share that testimony.
SPEAKER_01:And one of the things you you and I were talking about yesterday that I just loved is is meeting people where they are, and you know how like you said, you know, everybody in the world just wants to say they're doing great, life's great, and you know, but you were like, no, sometimes it's not great, you know. Talk to them a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_00:So when I made my first video, and you know, a lot of people knew I was going through a tough season uh through the relationship ending, and it was it was hard on me. Uh that relationship was uh meant a lot, it still means a lot to me, and I'm still praying on that. But um a lot of people reached out to see if I was okay. What it which was sincere, it was fine, but it it got on my heart that like you know, people share their vulnerabilities, and then people are like, Are you okay? There's something wrong with you. Um and God put it on my heart to make a video one night, and so I make this video, and I really didn't know what I was gonna talk about, but I started, you know, hit record on my phone and just the Holy Spirit took over. And I remember starting off saying, you know, hey, appreciate everyone checking on me and asking if I'm okay, but I'm not okay. And that's okay. It's okay to not be okay. I mean, the most broken people are the ones sitting in that in those church pews. I mean, sometimes what puts us there is we're so broken. And so some people have this idea of Christianity of we're just these happy, we do nothing wrong, and I think there's that's only I can never go there, and I'm so broken I can't walk into that building.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:And I think if anything, it draws people to Christ and they see someone like me who's just being vulnerable and showing the hurt, the pain, the mistakes I made, the repentance, and they go, That's me, I can relate to that, and that's where I need to be. So I make this video of just, you know, man, it's okay to be not okay. And the next day, I go to the gym, and this guy, Ray, who I've kind of been a mentor too, shows up, we're using out there at the same time, and he asks if he can talk to me. So we sit down this couch, and I guess he had had a rough weekend, he'd kind of backslid and did some things that he used to do in his his secular life because he said he was just uneasy, he couldn't, he was just feeling restless, and it was his spirit, his spirit was being, you know, Satan was attacking. And he said, nothing can settle his spirit or his soul that night. And about 9 30, my video pops up, and uh I almost didn't make the video because it was late. I didn't feel like doing it, but God was like, No, you're going to do it now. And so through obedience ties in. I went and did the video, and he literally starts crying, and he's like, I I needed that video. That video was for me, and it was the only thing that kind of recentered me and got me back on my path. And so that's how powerful obedience can actually be. I mean, for that one guy, yeah, and who knows who else it touched, but that was God putting someone physically in front of me to go, look what you listened and look look look at the fruit of that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And so um, it was pretty powerful, it was pretty cool to see.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Well, you have such a great testimony, Matt, and and and just you know, it's like you said, you've still got a lot of problems, a lot of the world we're in a tough world, but you're walking in true freedom, joy, peace, love, and that's what our Lord wants for us to have this short time we're on on earth, and and you have eternal life, which is most important. But just for people to see out there, a guy that's been broken and stripped, and you know, you're walking around with great joy and peace, and our Lord wants you to have that, he wants everybody to have that. So take the steps. We just encourage everyone to start praying, yeah. You know, and and call out to God and read the word of God, get into a church, get in a small group, it will change your life, right?
SPEAKER_00:100%. I I've never met, I tell people this all the time, I've never met anyone in my life that told me they started going to church and that their life got worse.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, no one I regret going to church, I regret, you know, getting close. No, I just I don't hear it. So I mean, it's guaranteed, not that you're not gonna still have trouble times.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, things Satan's never going away, he's always gonna attack. And sometimes as you elevate and your walk with Christ gets stronger, he attacks harder. You know, you're a threat. The people he doesn't, Pastor Steve one day at church talked about being a cruise ship Christian, and you're just chilling. I was that way, I was just chilling, you know, and Satan doesn't go after those people, you know, it's the the people who start to want to do more and become more powerful. But the difference is now I have God and I have the tools he's given me now. So I have someone to fight the battle for me. I don't have to fight the battle. He's fighting the battle for me now. And so that's that's one of the reliefs you get as coming to Christ is you have this all powerful God that has your back through thick and thin and will never forsake in you, he'll never turn his back on you, and he'll unconditionally it'll be the only person who unconditionally loves you for eternity.