Better Together

Can Suffering Lead to Blessing? | Better Together Episode 1169

May 21, 2026 | S8 E1169 | 50:59

Can hardship become a pathway to greater blessing? Although God does not create suffering, He can use it to refine our faith and strengthen our character. Pain is our opportunity to grow perseverance and shape hearts to reflect our precious Savior. | TBN Prayer Line: 714-731-1000

#Blessing #Suffering #Hope #Wisdom #Trials-HardTimes #Faith #Healing #Perseverance #Endurance #Transformation #Restoration #Grace #PromisesofGod #WordofGod #Pain #TrustGod #Testimony #Victim #LaurieCrouch #SheilaWalsh #DeeDeeFreeman #FaithEuryCho #NonaJones

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Better Together | Can Suffering Lead to Blessing? | Better Together Episode 1169 | May 21, 2026

>> laurie crouch: difficult seasons of life are
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Opportunities to grow our spiritual roots deeper into the
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Truth of god's goodness and his love.
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Instead of asking, god, why me?
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Ask him, what do you want me to learn?
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Come on, let's talk about it.
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♪ music ♪
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♪ music ♪
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♪ music ♪
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>> sheila walsh: today we're gonna talk about-- we're gonna
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Talk about blessing, but we're gonna talk about can suffering
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Actually lead to blessing?
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Which sounds kind of counterintuitive.
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But, i was listening to a podcast the other day.
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It was chuck swindoll.
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And he was talking about spending time with this man he
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Respects a lot.
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He's a very successful ceo of a company,
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And a very committed believer.
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And so, chuck asked him this question.
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"how do you get wisdom?"
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He said the man was quiet for a moment.
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Then he said one word.
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He said, "pain."
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The way he said that word,
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I knew this was not an academic understanding.
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It was a lived experience.
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James chapter 1, these great couple of verses.
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Verses 2 through 4.
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"dear brothers and sisters,
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When troubles of any kind come your way,
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Consider it opportunity for great joy."
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That troubles there
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In the original greek means, stretched to the limit.
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When you are literally stretched to the limit,
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"count it an opportunity for great joy.
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For you know that when your faith is tested,
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Your endurance has a chance to grow.
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So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed,
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You will be perfect and complete needing nothing.
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If you need wisdom, ask our generous god,
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And he will give it to you.
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He will not rebuke you for asking."
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I thought that was such an interesting--
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I listened to the whole conversation.
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Because i thought, it's not what we naturally associate
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With blessing.
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We think of blessing as something that
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Enriches our lives.
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So can suffering enrich your life?
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In my own experience, i believe it can.
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Because it strips away things that don't matter as much.
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Even simple things like when my mother-in-law was dying
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With liver cancer.
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She and i had never been particularly close.
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She was not thrilled that her son married me.
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I tried to get close to her, but she was very resistant.
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Until she was in the last days and she was hospice care in the
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House, and we moved in with them.
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I would take the night shift.
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I would sit up with her during the night.
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She was a lutheran.
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And loved the great hymns of the faith.
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And i would sing through the hymn book during the night while
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She was sleeping.
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And that very process of not getting what she prayed for,
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Became the gateway to so much more.
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Because one night she said to me, "if it was you,
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God would have healed you."
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Because we took her to--
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Any person who had a healing ministry,
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Anything she heard of,
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She would say to me, "will you take me?"
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I said, "yeah, i will take you to every single one."
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And she was prayed by many different people.
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But then that night, came this honest thing where she said,
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"i think if it was you, god would have healed you."
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I'm like, "why do you say that?"
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She said, "i've done some things in my life i'm not proud of.
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I know i've not made your life very easy."
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I'm like, i'm sure i have no idea what you mean.
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>> you don't say.
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(laughter)
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>> sheila: but, it was an amazing night.
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I'll never forget that night.
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Because we sat and we talked about what it means to be
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Loved by jesus.
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I said, "you need to understand, eleanor,
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God doesn't love me one grain of sand more than he loves you."
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It's just that sometimes we close doors.
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It's like god wants to come into the space and we close
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That door.
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That's a private place.
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I watched her find in her dying what she longed for
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In her living.
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>> (wow!)
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>> sheila: i don't think it always has to be that process,
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But i think sometimes we try to avoid things.
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Like i read matthew 16-24 through 26.
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"then jesus said to his disciples,
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"if any of you wants to be my follower,
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You must give up your selfish ways,
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Take up your cross and follow me.
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If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.
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But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
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And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose
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Your soul?"
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Is anything worth more than your soul?"
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In the message translation, this is how it reads.
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I'll paraphrase.
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"then jesus went to work on his disciples.
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'anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.
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You're not in the driver's seat; i am.
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Don't run from suffering; embrace it.
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Follow me and i'll show you how.
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Self-help is no help at all.
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Self-sacrifice is the way.
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My way, to finding yourself, your true self.
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What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but
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Lose yourself?
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What could you ever trade your soul for?'"
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Now i don't believe that god causes suffering.
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I believe that only goodness can come from the hand of the lord.
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But i do believe that god allows suffering into our life.
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For me, it stripped away all the rest of the noise.
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When you're in the middle of something that is really painful
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And hard, all the other stuff that once had a place on your
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To-do list, suddenly fades away.
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>> nona jones: there are so many stories i could share with you
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About times when i experienced suffering,
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Whether it was through losing a baby,
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Whether it was from financial challenges.
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Challenges in my marriage.
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Just all types of things.
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But i think the common thread in all of the pain that i
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Experienced was i was never left to my own devices.
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I knew that the presence of god was with me.
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I never felt abandoned by god, even when i didn't hear the
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Answer to the prayer that i was praying.
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I never felt abandoned by god.
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That actually brought to reality for me when god makes the
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Promise that i'll never leave you and i'll never forsake you.
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Before all the suffering, i'll tell you,
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I knew that intellectually.
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But is it was when i felt like i had nobody else to count on,
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And god was there, that i actually began to know it
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In my soul.
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>> sheila: i think about amy carmichael when she
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Was a missionary.
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I remember reading about her with her children.
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She took them to see a goldsmith who would get these nuggets that
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Didn't look like gold, and put them in a crucible and set fire
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To them, and he would take it out and polish it a little bit.
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And put it back in.
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He would turn the heat up.
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He said we can't start on the hottest we will start,
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And then we'll turn the heat up each time.
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And eventually she said to him,
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"when do you know when the gold is finished?"
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He said, "when i can see my face in it."
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There's something about,
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I think when suffering is allowed into our life,
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It purifies us.
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Until we begin to look more like jesus.
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But we all have lived so many different life experiences.
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I would love to hear your perspective.
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I'd love to learn from you whether you think suffering can
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Actually be a blessing.
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>> laurie: i think blessing and suffering aren't opposites.
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I think blessing can come through suffering
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At the same time.
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I think the most i've ever learned is through hardships.
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I put it this way.
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How would we know that god is a comforter if we didn't--
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>> sheila: -- need comforting.
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>> laurie: -- need comforting.
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How would we know that he was the healer of the brokenhearted?
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How would we know that he was our provider
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Unless we were in need?
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>> dr. deedee freeman: when we say we won't know that god is
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Something unless we experience it, how does that look?
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If he says, i'm a healer.
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Now, do i have to actually experience sickness to believe
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Him?
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>> nona jones: i know exactly what you're saying.
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What i think, though, it's the experience that reveals what we
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Truly believe.
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Because i can say, yeah, i believe god's' healer and never
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Experience sickness.
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Until i experience it.
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Then i start panicking.
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>> deedee: then it's like, do you really?
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>> nona: then i start panicking.
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I thought you--
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>> deedee: i think about my kids when it comes to that.
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Like when i had a little one, i would say,
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"hey, this stove is hot."
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I never had to put their hand in a fire to say,
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"okay, now, do you believe me?"
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It's just they developed a relationship with me so much,
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They took me at my word.
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They said: "okay."
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>> nona: that's how it should be.
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>> laurie: if we just became a christian,
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And we had everything we wanted all the time,
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Everybody would be a christian.
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Everybody would want it.
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And so i think through suffering, i mean,
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Jesus taught so much through suffering that he--
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He suffered and died for us.
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And then, the greatest life came from that.
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>> sheila: he even said he learned obedience by what he
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Suffered.
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>> laurie: by what he suffered.
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>> nona: me, it's not even just learning about god, it's like,
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Building a relationship with god.
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>> laurie: digging deeper.
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When your suffering you just dig in.
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>> nona: because you get to a place where you realize that no
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Matter how much power you think you have, you don't have enough.
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And so, you then are at a fork in the road where you can make
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One of two decisions.
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And people make them all the time.
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You can either choose to lean into god,
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Or you can choose to walk away.
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>> faith eury cho: i think every time we go through pain,
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Pain tends to lead us into the deeper things of god's presence.
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There are some things that we will discover about jesus in
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Times of pain, that we will not know in times of celebration.
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And, i would say something that i've personally learned through
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A lot of dark seasons has been that
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God is kind and that he's a lot kinder than i assume at times.
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And it always surprises me just how kind he is.
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Even when he disciplines, he does so in kindness.
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>> nona: i often think about the journey the children of israel
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Took out of egypt because it was so much they went through and so
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Much they learned about god.
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What's fascinating, when they were getting ready to go into
00:10:33.778 --> 00:10:37.348
The promise land, god tells moses, he says,
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This is deuteronomy 31:19.
00:10:39.884 --> 00:10:41.853
He says, "now write down this song and teach it to the
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Israelites and have them sing it,
00:10:44.622 --> 00:10:46.257
So that it may be a witness for me against them."
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He says, "when i have brought them into the land,
00:10:47.859 --> 00:10:50.462
I promised on oath,
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A land flowing with milk and honey,
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The land i promised to to their ancestors,
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And when they eat their fill and thrive,
00:10:56.468 --> 00:10:59.170
They will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me,
00:10:59.170 --> 00:11:01.406
And breaking my covenant.
00:11:01.406 --> 00:11:03.508
And when many disasters and calamities come on them,
00:11:03.508 --> 00:11:07.178
This song will testify against them,
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Because it will not be forgotten by their descendants."
00:11:09.481 --> 00:11:12.050
It's interesting how we think that they're
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Getting ready to inherit the blessing.
00:11:15.253 --> 00:11:16.421
They are getting ready to go into the promised land,
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A land flowing with milk and honey.
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God is saying, once you experience blessing,
00:11:19.157 --> 00:11:22.360
You will turn from me.
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You will depart from me.
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It's like, you would think that all the suffering they went
00:11:27.265 --> 00:11:30.101
Through, so-called suffering.
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That would keep them at the -- no.
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But the blessing became the separation.
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So they ended up suffering because of the blessing.
00:11:37.075 --> 00:11:41.012
Because they got to a place where the thing they had been
00:11:41.012 --> 00:11:47.085
Hoping for and wanting was finally given to them.
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And that's the thing that separated them from god.
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So i do think there's another side of suffering, which is,
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Sometimes the very thing you've been praying for,
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When you get it,
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You can feel like, i don't need god anymore.
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I'm good.
00:11:58.363 --> 00:11:59.264
And that can become your downfall.
00:11:59.264 --> 00:12:00.665
We have to guard against that, too.
00:12:00.665 --> 00:12:02.901
>> deedee: what i told us in the scripture,
00:12:02.901 --> 00:12:05.303
When you get all this, don't forget about me.
00:12:05.303 --> 00:12:10.074
I think people believe that once they receive jesus christ
00:12:10.074 --> 00:12:12.477
As lord,
00:12:12.477 --> 00:12:13.778
They're gonna have this garden of eden kind of experience
00:12:13.778 --> 00:12:17.081
Where everything's going to be peaches and cream
00:12:17.081 --> 00:12:19.584
And be perfect.
00:12:19.584 --> 00:12:21.820
And it's not.
00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:22.720
The bible does tell us in john 16:33
00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:24.923
That because we're in this world,
00:12:24.923 --> 00:12:28.026
We are going to have these trials and tribulations,
00:12:28.026 --> 00:12:29.828
Which equates to suffering,
00:12:29.828 --> 00:12:33.631
Because anything you go through it feels like suffering.
00:12:33.631 --> 00:12:37.802
But my thing is, just make sure we're suffering for the lord and
00:12:37.802 --> 00:12:40.371
Not for stuff.
00:12:40.371 --> 00:12:41.973
Because some stuff we seek after, because you understand,
00:12:41.973 --> 00:12:46.444
Even more scripture talks about how the blessings of the lord
00:12:46.444 --> 00:12:51.583
Makes us rich and it adds no sorrow.
00:12:51.583 --> 00:12:54.319
>> sheila: sometimes we suffer because of random things
00:12:54.319 --> 00:12:57.388
That happen.
00:12:57.388 --> 00:12:59.457
Sometimes we suffer because of something somebody else
00:12:59.457 --> 00:13:01.559
Has done to us.
00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.228
And if we're honest, sometimes we suffer because of choices
00:13:03.228 --> 00:13:05.630
We make ourself.
00:13:05.630 --> 00:13:07.498
And does that mean that if it's the choice we made that god
00:13:07.498 --> 00:13:09.968
Withholds his hand?
00:13:09.968 --> 00:13:10.702
Absolutely not.
00:13:10.702 --> 00:13:12.170
But the important thing is, come as you are.
00:13:12.170 --> 00:13:14.272
Be honest with the lord.
00:13:14.272 --> 00:13:17.242
If you know you've been making choices that are costing you and
00:13:17.242 --> 00:13:19.911
Maybe costing those around you,
00:13:19.911 --> 00:13:22.513
One of the greatest gifts we have is
00:13:22.513 --> 00:13:24.582
The gift of repentance,
00:13:24.582 --> 00:13:25.650
Which simply means we stop going in one direction
00:13:25.650 --> 00:13:27.318
And we turn around and we say, no.
00:13:27.318 --> 00:13:29.454
That's the way home.
00:13:29.454 --> 00:13:30.822
That's the way i'm headed.
00:13:30.822 --> 00:13:33.124
God will meet you, even if you brought this on yourself.
00:13:33.124 --> 00:13:35.693
Christ is with you, and he will meet you.
00:13:35.693 --> 00:13:45.003
>> nona: when we have difficult seasons,
00:13:45.003 --> 00:13:47.872
That can be the time when we find it hard to remember the
00:13:47.872 --> 00:13:51.576
Goodness of god.
00:13:51.576 --> 00:13:53.311
But this is why when we're not in a difficult season,
00:13:53.311 --> 00:13:56.381
That is the time we need to saturate our soul with the word
00:13:56.381 --> 00:13:59.884
Of god.
00:13:59.884 --> 00:14:02.020
So that when we feel like we're drowning,
00:14:02.020 --> 00:14:05.156
We can cling on to the life-raft of what the promises of god are.
00:14:05.156 --> 00:14:08.526
One of those that i cling on to is romans 8:28.
00:14:08.526 --> 00:14:12.063
I recognize that while the situation may not be good,
00:14:12.063 --> 00:14:15.466
God has made a promise that he will work even this together for
00:14:15.466 --> 00:14:19.470
My good.
00:14:19.470 --> 00:14:23.441
Because he himself is good.
00:14:23.441 --> 00:14:24.542
That's just an attribute of his character.
00:14:24.542 --> 00:14:26.077
So i hang on to that in difficult seasons.
00:14:26.077 --> 00:14:28.579
♪ music ♪
00:14:28.579 --> 00:14:29.647
>> deedee: let's keep the conversation going.
00:14:29.647 --> 00:14:33.318
>> sheila: connect with us on social media and share your
00:14:33.318 --> 00:14:35.687
Favorite moments from today.
00:14:35.687 --> 00:14:37.422
>> laurie: we are "better together" because of you.
00:14:37.422 --> 00:14:39.057
Join the conversation on our "better together" youtube
00:14:39.057 --> 00:14:41.292
Channel.
00:14:41.292 --> 00:14:42.327
Subscribe today and never miss a new upload.
00:14:42.327 --> 00:14:45.997
Subscribe today and never miss a new upload.
00:14:45.997 --> 00:14:55.641
>> deedee: faith says it's already done.
00:14:55.641 --> 00:14:58.777
I trust god with my life regardless of what i see and
00:14:58.777 --> 00:15:01.814
What i do not see.
00:15:01.814 --> 00:15:02.581
I know god is a god of his word.
00:15:02.581 --> 00:15:04.350
He's always perfecting those things that concerns me.
00:15:04.350 --> 00:15:07.987
That he tells me to cast my care upon him.
00:15:07.987 --> 00:15:11.557
Tells me to trust in him with my whole heart.
00:15:11.557 --> 00:15:14.460
That's a loving father that will keep his word.
00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:17.796
So i don't have to be concerned about what i see and what i
00:15:17.796 --> 00:15:22.835
Don't see, and if god is going to make it happen in my life.
00:15:22.835 --> 00:15:24.937
God will never change his word on you.
00:15:24.937 --> 00:15:28.007
He's the same yesterday, today and forevermore.
00:15:28.007 --> 00:15:31.910
So i can be at peace and rest knowing that god has already
00:15:31.910 --> 00:15:36.048
Worked it out.
00:15:36.048 --> 00:15:39.385
♪ music ♪
00:15:39.385 --> 00:15:42.388
>> faith: i actually don't like that pain at all.
00:15:42.388 --> 00:15:44.857
I will do anything to avoid it.
00:15:44.857 --> 00:15:48.494
I love being comfortable.
00:15:48.494 --> 00:15:51.864
And if there is going to be issues, i will walk away.
00:15:51.864 --> 00:15:54.600
And so, going into ministry, not even just that,
00:15:54.600 --> 00:16:00.172
The actual authentic christian living,
00:16:00.172 --> 00:16:03.776
You're going to have suffering.
00:16:03.776 --> 00:16:05.511
Jesus promised that.
00:16:05.511 --> 00:16:06.879
That's a guarantee.
00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:07.646
There's going to be suffering.
00:16:07.646 --> 00:16:10.416
And, i just could not reconcile that for quite some time.
00:16:10.416 --> 00:16:14.319
To the point if i would experience some sort of pain,
00:16:14.319 --> 00:16:17.923
I would start to get a little bitter.
00:16:17.923 --> 00:16:20.426
God, why?
00:16:20.426 --> 00:16:22.361
Why is this necessary?
00:16:22.361 --> 00:16:25.864
Just send me an email of what i need to learn.
00:16:25.864 --> 00:16:28.967
Why do i have to learn it this way?
00:16:28.967 --> 00:16:31.637
And, i know that's very shortsighted.
00:16:31.637 --> 00:16:36.208
But when you're experiencing it, kind of like what you're saying,
00:16:36.208 --> 00:16:38.277
A lot of what you actually believe comes out.
00:16:38.277 --> 00:16:44.583
And, i remember i was doing this deep dive into joshua,
00:16:44.583 --> 00:16:47.886
Because joshua is all about conquering land and crossing the
00:16:47.886 --> 00:16:51.623
River, claiming the promise.
00:16:51.623 --> 00:16:53.725
Winning battles.
00:16:53.725 --> 00:16:55.761
So i'm thinking, yes, impartation of courage is going
00:16:55.761 --> 00:17:01.300
To come on to me.
00:17:01.300 --> 00:17:04.870
But, actually, you know what i realized?
00:17:04.870 --> 00:17:08.674
I'm just reading through all these problems.
00:17:08.674 --> 00:17:11.944
And after one battle, it's an even worse battle.
00:17:11.944 --> 00:17:13.745
It's an impossible situation after impossible situation.
00:17:13.745 --> 00:17:18.450
Painful situation.
00:17:18.450 --> 00:17:21.520
Suffering, if you will.
00:17:21.520 --> 00:17:28.060
But, every conflict was a step towards the promise fulfilled.
00:17:28.060 --> 00:17:30.062
And i realize sometimes battles aren't opportunities.
00:17:30.062 --> 00:17:35.267
And i think when we think god is not good,
00:17:35.267 --> 00:17:40.072
We think our warfare and our challenges and our obstacles are
00:17:40.072 --> 00:17:46.545
Because either we failed or god is failing us.
00:17:46.545 --> 00:17:50.849
But what if god is allowing you to stand on that battleground,
00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:53.685
Deal with what's unfair, deal with misunderstanding,
00:17:53.685 --> 00:17:56.889
Deal with all these things for victory, for gain.
00:17:56.889 --> 00:17:59.458
So the hardship and the conflict was actually a good thing.
00:17:59.458 --> 00:18:04.496
It was a blessing.
00:18:04.496 --> 00:18:05.931
>> laurie: think of it as a storm.
00:18:05.931 --> 00:18:07.466
Suffering whatever it might be, the storms of life.
00:18:07.466 --> 00:18:12.671
So, the whole point in the bible when it talks about storms,
00:18:12.671 --> 00:18:16.775
Jesus is there.
00:18:16.775 --> 00:18:22.648
So jesus is either in the boat or he's calling us out to rule
00:18:22.648 --> 00:18:24.583
Over the storm.
00:18:24.583 --> 00:18:25.217
To walk on the water.
00:18:25.217 --> 00:18:26.952
The whole thing, the way i see that is,
00:18:26.952 --> 00:18:31.156
If jesus is in your boat with you, jesus is with you,
00:18:31.156 --> 00:18:37.696
Does it matter what the storm looks like?
00:18:37.696 --> 00:18:42.034
Right?
00:18:42.034 --> 00:18:42.868
I have jesus.
00:18:42.868 --> 00:18:44.736
Jesus is with me.
00:18:44.736 --> 00:18:45.904
Jesus redeems, he restores, he heals, he provides.
00:18:45.904 --> 00:18:52.144
That's the point.
00:18:52.144 --> 00:18:53.745
It's to rule over the storm knowing that god is with me.
00:18:53.745 --> 00:18:56.248
His grace is sufficient for me.
00:18:56.248 --> 00:19:00.219
>> deedee: in this world you are going to have suffering.
00:19:00.219 --> 00:19:02.688
I know, no one wants to hear that.
00:19:02.688 --> 00:19:05.490
No one wants to believe that.
00:19:05.490 --> 00:19:08.160
We're so quick to say, i bind that in jesus' name.
00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:13.232
That's sure not coming down my dwelling.
00:19:13.232 --> 00:19:14.466
And okay, if that's what you want to do,
00:19:14.466 --> 00:19:16.134
That is totally fine.
00:19:16.134 --> 00:19:21.006
But you also have to look over there in john 16:33 that says,
00:19:21.006 --> 00:19:24.176
In this world you are going to have trials and tribulations.
00:19:24.176 --> 00:19:26.545
So suffering is bound to knock on your door.
00:19:26.545 --> 00:19:31.783
But the scripture gives us a way out.
00:19:31.783 --> 00:19:32.551
He says, to be of good cheer,
00:19:32.551 --> 00:19:36.588
Because he has already overcome it.
00:19:36.588 --> 00:19:38.490
And you won't be able to know if you do not get in his word and
00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:43.929
Get in his presence to note that god has already overcome it.
00:19:43.929 --> 00:19:46.965
So get in that word today.
00:19:46.965 --> 00:19:49.868
Stay close with the father, and you will get through it.
00:19:49.868 --> 00:19:53.672
>> laurie: i've gone through a physical challenge over the last
00:19:53.672 --> 00:19:58.043
Seven, eight years that was horrible for me personally.
00:19:58.043 --> 00:20:01.346
It was-- you guys know about it.
00:20:01.346 --> 00:20:02.581
I couldn't hardly get through a show without coughing.
00:20:02.581 --> 00:20:07.486
They said this is a chronic thing.
00:20:07.486 --> 00:20:09.755
It is funny, because i talked to a lung doctor the other day.
00:20:09.755 --> 00:20:14.026
I said, since i was on that stuff, i feel better,
00:20:14.026 --> 00:20:20.132
It feels like it's moved from my lungs up into my sinus--
00:20:20.132 --> 00:20:22.601
Whatever.
00:20:22.601 --> 00:20:26.038
He goes, okay, just remember, you still have chronic whatever.
00:20:26.038 --> 00:20:29.775
I was like, don't you put that on me.
00:20:29.775 --> 00:20:32.544
(laughter)
00:20:32.544 --> 00:20:34.079
So, every day since, this is new for me,
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:39.384
To be able to breathe and not cough.
00:20:39.384 --> 00:20:44.156
It has been the best thing ever.
00:20:44.156 --> 00:20:47.592
It was something that i have believed god for.
00:20:47.592 --> 00:20:51.129
I have begged god for.
00:20:51.129 --> 00:20:53.899
Even when i don't have to beg, but i have.
00:20:53.899 --> 00:20:59.304
Just god, please.
00:20:59.304 --> 00:21:01.139
And my hope, a lot of it, was having my grandbaby, shai,
00:21:01.139 --> 00:21:05.243
To just sit down with him, because i would start coughing.
00:21:05.243 --> 00:21:07.279
If i laid down with him i would start coughing.
00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:09.815
It was like, i don't want to live that life with my grandbaby
00:21:09.815 --> 00:21:11.216
And wake him up.
00:21:11.216 --> 00:21:12.184
Just all of it.
00:21:12.184 --> 00:21:14.252
This is a new healing for me.
00:21:14.252 --> 00:21:18.023
So walking through believing god,
00:21:18.023 --> 00:21:22.094
And doing what i need to do to get healing,
00:21:22.094 --> 00:21:26.331
The gratefulness that i have in my heart,
00:21:26.331 --> 00:21:29.267
And walking that life of faith, and walking,
00:21:29.267 --> 00:21:31.970
And almost dying from coughing to now being healed, it's like,
00:21:31.970 --> 00:21:36.942
The depth of that.
00:21:36.942 --> 00:21:40.879
I was walking in faith, because i would just say,
00:21:40.879 --> 00:21:42.481
I am the healed of the lord.
00:21:42.481 --> 00:21:44.449
And jesus, i just knew i was going to be healed.
00:21:44.449 --> 00:21:49.287
So i would declare things over what my body was going through.
00:21:49.287 --> 00:21:54.559
And it just deepens your faith.
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.196
It does something on the inside of you that i can't find the
00:21:58.196 --> 00:22:02.300
Words for it.
00:22:02.300 --> 00:22:03.168
It deepens your faith.
00:22:03.168 --> 00:22:05.370
It deepens everything in you.
00:22:05.370 --> 00:22:07.139
That was something i went through for eight years.
00:22:07.139 --> 00:22:12.677
There's other things.
00:22:12.677 --> 00:22:13.845
But, just walking in that faith,
00:22:13.845 --> 00:22:16.314
Knowing that god can do whatever he chooses to do.
00:22:16.314 --> 00:22:20.585
Is healing a problem for god?
00:22:20.585 --> 00:22:23.822
No.
00:22:23.822 --> 00:22:24.890
Is meeting my need right now a problem for god?
00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:30.095
No.
00:22:30.095 --> 00:22:33.098
So what inside of what my circumstances-- since it does
00:22:33.098 --> 00:22:37.235
Not change god and who he is, it's changing me.
00:22:37.235 --> 00:22:40.505
That's the whole point.
00:22:40.505 --> 00:22:44.843
God doing something on the inside of me to dig a little
00:22:44.843 --> 00:22:47.579
Deeper, reach a little further, go deep in god.
00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:52.451
Declaring what his word says.
00:22:52.451 --> 00:22:55.887
Declaring who he is.
00:22:55.887 --> 00:23:01.593
And that is just something that changes your life.
00:23:01.593 --> 00:23:03.895
It changes everything about you.
00:23:03.895 --> 00:23:05.831
It's a transforming power of god.
00:23:05.831 --> 00:23:08.867
>> deedee: the impact of what you have gone through,
00:23:08.867 --> 00:23:13.839
It's like, what is the purpose of this suffering?
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:19.945
Okay, now, it didn't just impact you and affect you,
00:23:19.945 --> 00:23:25.650
But you being able to tell your story right now,
00:23:25.650 --> 00:23:27.853
It has given so much hope to those that are listening,
00:23:27.853 --> 00:23:30.956
Regardless of the length of time that you had to believe.
00:23:30.956 --> 00:23:34.326
It did something for you.
00:23:34.326 --> 00:23:36.995
It fortified you in your understanding in your
00:23:36.995 --> 00:23:40.932
Relationship with god.
00:23:40.932 --> 00:23:42.834
But even me, just sitting here, yeah,
00:23:42.834 --> 00:23:44.135
What else have i allowed to trouble me or bother me that i
00:23:44.135 --> 00:23:48.940
Have not given it over to god?
00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:53.245
To say god, i trust you.
00:23:53.245 --> 00:23:55.113
This may be like a thorn in my flesh,
00:23:55.113 --> 00:23:56.882
But i'm still gonna trust you.
00:23:56.882 --> 00:23:59.518
So, when you look at it like it's something that is for us,
00:23:59.518 --> 00:24:02.721
But what we go through.
00:24:02.721 --> 00:24:04.356
>> laurie: a testimony.
00:24:04.356 --> 00:24:06.825
That god wants to do it again for everybody else.
00:24:06.825 --> 00:24:08.593
>> deedee: yes.
00:24:08.593 --> 00:24:09.928
>> sheila: i think one of the hard things to understand is why
00:24:09.928 --> 00:24:13.465
People suffer.
00:24:13.465 --> 00:24:17.502
A lot of people question, god, if you're good,
00:24:17.502 --> 00:24:18.904
If your powerful, surely you would want to stop the
00:24:18.904 --> 00:24:21.239
Suffering.
00:24:21.239 --> 00:24:22.507
But the fact is, we do live in a fallen world.
00:24:22.507 --> 00:24:23.909
This was never god's original plan.
00:24:23.909 --> 00:24:25.777
What i discovered, even though god does not cause suffering,
00:24:25.777 --> 00:24:29.614
God has promised that out of suffering he will bring things
00:24:29.614 --> 00:24:34.119
That are good.
00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:35.086
You see all the way through scripture,
00:24:35.086 --> 00:24:36.121
Perhaps you've seen it in your own life.
00:24:36.121 --> 00:24:38.823
Think of something that you have walked through.
00:24:38.823 --> 00:24:41.326
That you would never have signed up for, but at the end of it,
00:24:41.326 --> 00:24:43.728
Think of how much more you understand about the goodness of
00:24:43.728 --> 00:24:46.031
The lord.
00:24:46.031 --> 00:24:47.599
I know that's true in my own life.
00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:49.467
I would imagine it's probably true in yours too.
00:24:49.467 --> 00:24:52.671
>> nona: as i was listening to you,
00:24:52.671 --> 00:24:56.741
I immediately heard the story of the woman with the issue of
00:24:56.741 --> 00:24:57.976
Blood.
00:24:57.976 --> 00:24:58.610
Like immediately.
00:24:58.610 --> 00:24:59.611
How this woman for 12 years suffered.
00:24:59.611 --> 00:25:03.715
Went to all these doctors.
00:25:03.715 --> 00:25:05.817
Was literally an outcast of society.
00:25:05.817 --> 00:25:10.488
She got to a place of desperation.
00:25:10.488 --> 00:25:11.556
A place where her faith-- she heard about jesus.
00:25:11.556 --> 00:25:15.160
She was like, i've tried everything,
00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:16.995
But i see him healing people and raising the dead.
00:25:16.995 --> 00:25:20.165
He's doing something.
00:25:20.165 --> 00:25:21.166
So i'm gonna go to him.
00:25:21.166 --> 00:25:23.835
The story is so amazing to me, because she literally --
00:25:23.835 --> 00:25:27.973
When people saw her, they were like, unclean, unclean.
00:25:27.973 --> 00:25:31.176
She has to crawl through the ground.
00:25:31.176 --> 00:25:33.011
When we think of somebody crawling on the ground,
00:25:33.011 --> 00:25:35.313
We think of like a sidewalk.
00:25:35.313 --> 00:25:36.548
No, there was like camel droppings and blood.
00:25:36.548 --> 00:25:42.320
She's like crawling through the ground.
00:25:42.320 --> 00:25:43.321
And she does not even have to touch him,
00:25:43.321 --> 00:25:48.026
Like his arm-- i don't have to have him pray for me.
00:25:48.026 --> 00:25:50.295
If i could just get to the hem of his garment.
00:25:50.295 --> 00:25:52.030
Like the level of faith that her suffering built in her was
00:25:52.030 --> 00:25:56.534
Enough to know, if i can touch what's touching him,
00:25:56.534 --> 00:26:00.205
Then i will be healed.
00:26:00.205 --> 00:26:03.575
What is amazing to me about that.
00:26:03.575 --> 00:26:06.911
You said it so beautifully, your testimony now is like globally,
00:26:06.911 --> 00:26:11.116
There are people who have been struggling and suffering for
00:26:11.116 --> 00:26:14.986
Years who hear you and their faith is ignited.
00:26:14.986 --> 00:26:17.689
I think of all the people in the crowd when jesus healed her and
00:26:17.689 --> 00:26:21.526
Then forced her to reveal herself.
00:26:21.526 --> 00:26:25.096
Forced her to have to deal with the shame of what she was
00:26:25.096 --> 00:26:29.701
Carrying.
00:26:29.701 --> 00:26:31.069
He didn't just heal her body, he healed her shame.
00:26:31.069 --> 00:26:32.804
And everybody around had to see what jesus did.
00:26:32.804 --> 00:26:36.041
There is power in the testimony of what he did.
00:26:36.041 --> 00:26:38.543
>> deedee: and that was the first time he called someone
00:26:38.543 --> 00:26:41.613
Daughter.
00:26:41.613 --> 00:26:42.313
He gave her identity back.
00:26:42.313 --> 00:26:46.818
>> faith: speaking of healing, i've seen healing since i got
00:26:46.818 --> 00:26:52.223
Saved.
00:26:52.223 --> 00:26:53.558
So, it didn't take much faith to believe that god can heal.
00:26:53.558 --> 00:26:58.897
Because it was just something that i've seen in plain sight
00:26:58.897 --> 00:27:02.367
For so long.
00:27:02.367 --> 00:27:06.571
So my son, he had a bunch of medical issues for the first
00:27:06.571 --> 00:27:10.675
Couple of years of life.
00:27:10.675 --> 00:27:12.010
Let me tell you, i did everything to pray for his
00:27:12.010 --> 00:27:16.614
Healing.
00:27:16.614 --> 00:27:19.884
So basically, he had a combination of like eczema and
00:27:19.884 --> 00:27:22.887
Allergies.
00:27:22.887 --> 00:27:24.055
When we went to the allergist, the allergy doctor,
00:27:24.055 --> 00:27:27.959
They gave us a packet this thick and said,
00:27:27.959 --> 00:27:31.596
This is everything he's allergic to.
00:27:31.596 --> 00:27:32.931
And he would rate it from one to six.
00:27:32.931 --> 00:27:36.401
Six being like he's gonna die, five being like,
00:27:36.401 --> 00:27:40.772
He needs to go to the hospital asap.
00:27:40.772 --> 00:27:41.740
And all that stuff.
00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:45.176
It was like all from three to five and a half-ish,
00:27:45.176 --> 00:27:50.248
To the basic foods.
00:27:50.248 --> 00:27:51.716
I'm like, this kid's gonna starve.
00:27:51.716 --> 00:27:53.651
How am i going to feed him?
00:27:53.651 --> 00:27:55.019
It was almost like he wasn't designed to exist in this world.
00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:58.022
They were like, the dust in the air can get him,
00:27:58.022 --> 00:28:00.759
The things in the grass can get him.
00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:02.827
Animals can get him.
00:28:02.827 --> 00:28:07.398
He was double-socked, both hands,
00:28:07.398 --> 00:28:10.135
Both feet for the first couple of years of life.
00:28:10.135 --> 00:28:12.403
Because the stronger he would get, he would scratch himself.
00:28:12.403 --> 00:28:14.305
So he had open sores 24/7.
00:28:14.305 --> 00:28:16.207
He needed an oatmeal bath every single day.
00:28:16.207 --> 00:28:19.010
It would take about two hours to put him to bed every night,
00:28:19.010 --> 00:28:23.214
Because he's so itchy, so enflamed.
00:28:23.214 --> 00:28:26.484
Then in the morning we would see blood everywhere in his crib,
00:28:26.484 --> 00:28:30.121
Because he would scratch himself.
00:28:30.121 --> 00:28:32.891
There was blood everywhere.
00:28:32.891 --> 00:28:35.393
Oh, man, this was a couple of years.
00:28:35.393 --> 00:28:39.430
I remember the doctor saying, here's the mark.
00:28:39.430 --> 00:28:45.570
By this particular age, i think it was like two-and-a-half or
00:28:45.570 --> 00:28:48.540
Three, this is paraphrased.
00:28:48.540 --> 00:28:54.312
She said, if he gets better by then, then he will get better.
00:28:54.312 --> 00:28:55.647
He will live normally.
00:28:55.647 --> 00:28:59.651
But if he does not, then he's going to have this for the rest
00:28:59.651 --> 00:29:00.919
Of his life.
00:29:00.919 --> 00:29:01.719
We did everything.
00:29:01.719 --> 00:29:04.789
I even went to costco and got a costco size olive oil bottle.
00:29:04.789 --> 00:29:09.127
I anointed him for his third birthday.
00:29:09.127 --> 00:29:11.262
Which didn't work.
00:29:11.262 --> 00:29:12.530
He was just confused.
00:29:12.530 --> 00:29:13.932
>> sheila: and very wet.
00:29:13.932 --> 00:29:16.234
(laughter)
00:29:16.234 --> 00:29:16.835
>> laurie: and oily.
00:29:16.835 --> 00:29:19.604
>> faith: but i remember just being so disappointed.
00:29:19.604 --> 00:29:26.578
Not just because i felt like god was cruel for not healing my
00:29:26.578 --> 00:29:32.083
Son, but also, because i was exhausted.
00:29:32.083 --> 00:29:34.118
We were not sleeping for a couple of years.
00:29:34.118 --> 00:29:38.923
Not only that, i was like pregnant with a third.
00:29:38.923 --> 00:29:42.427
It was a lot.
00:29:42.427 --> 00:29:44.896
When you go through pain for so long, so consistently,
00:29:44.896 --> 00:29:50.869
I know there are people that are listening and that understand,
00:29:50.869 --> 00:29:55.006
Maybe not this particular case, but in any other case where it's
00:29:55.006 --> 00:29:58.109
Just like, god, what's the deal?
00:29:58.109 --> 00:30:03.781
Why can you not relent?
00:30:03.781 --> 00:30:08.253
Just relent for a second.
00:30:08.253 --> 00:30:09.153
>> nona: there is a temptation.
00:30:09.153 --> 00:30:10.788
I'm not sure if this is a human temptation or if it is a
00:30:10.788 --> 00:30:16.461
Temptation because of the culture in the west, but,
00:30:16.461 --> 00:30:17.862
There is a temptation to believe that we have to suffer alone.
00:30:17.862 --> 00:30:19.764
This idea that we have to carry everything by ourselves.
00:30:19.764 --> 00:30:22.166
We have to figure it out.
00:30:22.166 --> 00:30:24.335
We have to work it out.
00:30:24.335 --> 00:30:26.404
It's like, this individuality that we have.
00:30:26.404 --> 00:30:28.673
But what's fascinating, jesus invites us.
00:30:28.673 --> 00:30:30.675
He says, come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden.
00:30:30.675 --> 00:30:35.980
I will give you rest.
00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:37.916
He tells us, take my yoke upon you,
00:30:37.916 --> 00:30:40.818
For my burden is easy and my yoke is light.
00:30:40.818 --> 00:30:44.822
My burden is easy, my yoke is light.
00:30:44.822 --> 00:30:46.624
What we do, we don't believe him.
00:30:46.624 --> 00:30:50.361
So we decide to suffer through it by ourselves.
00:30:50.361 --> 00:30:52.263
God is inviting us.
00:30:52.263 --> 00:30:53.097
Please come to me.
00:30:53.097 --> 00:30:55.900
I want-- not just to help you carry the load,
00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.270
But i will carry the load so you that you can find rest.
00:30:59.270 --> 00:31:03.207
We have to invite god into our suffering because he wants to
00:31:03.207 --> 00:31:04.909
Partner with us in it.
00:31:04.909 --> 00:31:06.077
>> faith: now i know that love is a mission.
00:31:06.077 --> 00:31:09.347
Faith is an action.
00:31:09.347 --> 00:31:11.482
Hope is a position.
00:31:11.482 --> 00:31:13.818
It's a position of expectation that god is going to do
00:31:13.818 --> 00:31:16.254
Something good.
00:31:16.254 --> 00:31:17.855
I remember-- i was doing my hair.
00:31:17.855 --> 00:31:21.059
I saw this ad for this big stadium prayer conference thing.
00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:25.296
It was in california.
00:31:25.296 --> 00:31:28.533
It was across the united states.
00:31:28.533 --> 00:31:30.601
I felt the lord nudge me, i want you to go.
00:31:30.601 --> 00:31:31.569
To which, i was like, no.
00:31:31.569 --> 00:31:34.439
I'm exhausted.
00:31:34.439 --> 00:31:39.010
But, he reminded me of that, that hope is a position.
00:31:39.010 --> 00:31:42.513
And he was like, you fell out of position.
00:31:42.513 --> 00:31:45.750
And i was like, okay.
00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:47.552
He was like, get back into position.
00:31:47.552 --> 00:31:49.988
Get back up on that horse.
00:31:49.988 --> 00:31:52.657
You need to position yourself to expect that i'm still alive.
00:31:52.657 --> 00:31:53.658
That i'm still good.
00:31:53.658 --> 00:31:54.359
I'm still healer.
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:56.060
I go.
00:31:56.060 --> 00:31:56.995
I didn't have big plans.
00:31:56.995 --> 00:32:03.868
By the way, this is an open-air prayer rally.
00:32:03.868 --> 00:32:05.503
For the first 13 hours it rained.
00:32:05.503 --> 00:32:07.338
I was standing in the rain.
00:32:07.338 --> 00:32:10.975
It was a fasting thing.
00:32:10.975 --> 00:32:12.777
I'm hungry.
00:32:12.777 --> 00:32:14.012
I'm cold.
00:32:14.012 --> 00:32:15.446
I'm wet.
00:32:15.446 --> 00:32:18.016
During those 13 hours, i'm like god, why am i here?
00:32:18.016 --> 00:32:22.353
All i heard was, "get back into position."
00:32:22.353 --> 00:32:24.355
"get back into position."
00:32:24.355 --> 00:32:25.656
I think sometimes because healing and just
00:32:25.656 --> 00:32:31.896
Breakthrough from suffering does not happen right away,
00:32:31.896 --> 00:32:34.298
We feel as though, oh, god either forgot about it,
00:32:34.298 --> 00:32:36.768
Or overlooked us, or he doesn't care.
00:32:36.768 --> 00:32:38.102
We create narratives to make sense of the mystery of it all.
00:32:38.102 --> 00:32:40.204
God can bring victory in any form, in any timing.
00:32:40.204 --> 00:32:42.740
I, just for myself, it's been too long.
00:32:42.740 --> 00:32:48.146
Hope is too costly sometimes.
00:32:48.146 --> 00:32:53.351
And, i remember finally it cleared.
00:32:53.351 --> 00:32:57.588
A lady came out on stage.
00:32:57.588 --> 00:32:58.790
She said, i feel led to pray for people with eczema.
00:32:58.790 --> 00:33:04.195
I remember thinking-- this is like thousands of people
00:33:04.195 --> 00:33:08.633
In the stadium.
00:33:08.633 --> 00:33:09.801
But i remember thinking, he's not even here.
00:33:09.801 --> 00:33:12.703
I think hopelessness will do that.
00:33:12.703 --> 00:33:14.605
It will just say, no, to any open door.
00:33:14.605 --> 00:33:19.977
God's not gonna do that.
00:33:19.977 --> 00:33:23.448
We just answer for god.
00:33:23.448 --> 00:33:24.415
We fill in the blanks for god.
00:33:24.415 --> 00:33:26.451
I'm like, he's not even here.
00:33:26.451 --> 00:33:28.519
What's the point, right?
00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:29.187
But i felt this unction.
00:33:29.187 --> 00:33:31.055
Okay, i raised my hand for my son.
00:33:31.055 --> 00:33:33.591
Four or five people started praying for me.
00:33:33.591 --> 00:33:36.194
I go home, i tell my husband.
00:33:36.194 --> 00:33:38.529
And i'm like, i don't know, we will see.
00:33:38.529 --> 00:33:42.133
He's like, let's take off his socks and see what happens.
00:33:42.133 --> 00:33:49.774
We did.
00:33:49.774 --> 00:33:50.875
We put him on the ground.
00:33:50.875 --> 00:33:52.443
He was standing at this point.
00:33:52.443 --> 00:33:56.114
The look on his face to feel the carpet underneath his toes,
00:33:56.114 --> 00:33:58.683
Because he almost never felt that.
00:33:58.683 --> 00:34:02.220
And the little wiggle he would do.
00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:06.657
And, those socks never really came back on,
00:34:06.657 --> 00:34:08.993
But the healing also, it was interesting,
00:34:08.993 --> 00:34:12.663
Because the healing was still gradual from there.
00:34:12.663 --> 00:34:14.732
It would be like one food at a time.
00:34:14.732 --> 00:34:18.436
But, today, he can eat most foods.
00:34:18.436 --> 00:34:20.605
He's just allergic to nuts.
00:34:20.605 --> 00:34:22.306
Like a lot of kids.
00:34:22.306 --> 00:34:24.242
>> deedee: i'd be okay with that.
00:34:24.242 --> 00:34:26.644
>> faith: but, the fact that he can go to pizza parties and have
00:34:26.644 --> 00:34:29.113
Ice cream with his friends,
00:34:29.113 --> 00:34:30.548
That was a huge point of grief for me.
00:34:30.548 --> 00:34:32.216
I don't know why it had to take four years or so.
00:34:32.216 --> 00:34:38.356
For some, they might be of the other end of their story, like,
00:34:38.356 --> 00:34:42.226
My child is 16 and is still going through it.
00:34:42.226 --> 00:34:45.763
Or going through something.
00:34:45.763 --> 00:34:47.698
Or maybe i've never had a child and i've been waiting for
00:34:47.698 --> 00:34:50.301
Decades.
00:34:50.301 --> 00:34:52.103
I understand.
00:34:52.103 --> 00:34:53.037
Why does god have to take so long?
00:34:53.037 --> 00:34:56.174
Why does he take the route he takes?
00:34:56.174 --> 00:35:00.244
Why can't it just be like, from one revival service.
00:35:00.244 --> 00:35:03.748
I'm not even smart enough to fully answer that.
00:35:03.748 --> 00:35:08.219
But i know that we have to stay in position.
00:35:08.219 --> 00:35:11.522
Or sometimes we will miss what god is up to.
00:35:11.522 --> 00:35:15.593
We have to stay expecting that god is up to something good.
00:35:15.593 --> 00:35:20.364
Even to this day, i am waiting for god to answer certain
00:35:20.364 --> 00:35:24.135
Prayers, that i felt that he promised me at a very young age.
00:35:24.135 --> 00:35:29.807
I'm still waiting.
00:35:29.807 --> 00:35:30.775
And i realize, hope is costly.
00:35:30.775 --> 00:35:35.146
But we have to stay expectant.
00:35:35.146 --> 00:35:37.949
>> deedee: it's so important that you stay in position when
00:35:37.949 --> 00:35:40.785
You are trusting god.
00:35:40.785 --> 00:35:43.087
There will be a lot of noise going on around you.
00:35:43.087 --> 00:35:47.158
A lot of circumstances may not be in alignment with what you
00:35:47.158 --> 00:35:52.296
Are believing god for.
00:35:52.296 --> 00:35:54.932
But it is so important that you focus on what did god tell you?
00:35:54.932 --> 00:35:59.804
I think about when my husband was sick.
00:35:59.804 --> 00:36:03.107
They told me he was a dead man.
00:36:03.107 --> 00:36:05.676
That he was not going to make it.
00:36:05.676 --> 00:36:07.011
There was so many circumstances that were against what i was
00:36:07.011 --> 00:36:12.216
Believing god for.
00:36:12.216 --> 00:36:13.551
But i kept my focus on the promises of god.
00:36:13.551 --> 00:36:16.821
2 corinthians chapter 1 verse 20 says,
00:36:16.821 --> 00:36:21.459
The promises of god are yes and amen.
00:36:21.459 --> 00:36:28.032
So your word today is, focus on the promises of god
00:36:28.032 --> 00:36:30.067
And not the process.
00:36:30.067 --> 00:36:32.837
Let's keep the conversation going.
00:36:32.837 --> 00:36:34.972
You can find "better together" podcast on your favorite
00:36:34.972 --> 00:36:37.475
Listening platform.
00:36:37.475 --> 00:36:38.809
Subscribe today.
00:36:38.809 --> 00:36:42.991
Subscribe today.
00:36:42.991 --> 00:36:44.348
♪ music ♪
00:36:44.348 --> 00:36:51.389
>> sheila: one of the things hardest in life is when you are
00:36:51.389 --> 00:36:53.891
Just waiting.
00:36:53.891 --> 00:36:56.060
You might feel like you've been in a valley for a long,
00:36:56.060 --> 00:36:59.530
Long time, and when is it ever going to change?
00:36:59.530 --> 00:37:01.465
One of the things i learned some years ago was not to try and
00:37:01.465 --> 00:37:05.903
Rush through what god is doing.
00:37:05.903 --> 00:37:09.707
And rather than think, i'll close my eyes and put my head
00:37:09.707 --> 00:37:12.810
Down until i'm done with this, i say, lord,
00:37:12.810 --> 00:37:14.512
Please help me understand how i can learn more about you
00:37:14.512 --> 00:37:17.982
In this place.
00:37:17.982 --> 00:37:19.150
It's an old saying, but things grow in the valley,
00:37:19.150 --> 00:37:24.455
Nothing grows much on the top of the mountain.
00:37:24.455 --> 00:37:26.424
But if you find yourself in a place right now and you've been
00:37:26.424 --> 00:37:29.293
There longer than expected, ask the holy spirit to help you
00:37:29.293 --> 00:37:31.195
Learn what it is that god wants to show you.
00:37:31.195 --> 00:37:34.098
♪ music ♪
00:37:34.098 --> 00:37:37.001
>> nona: and i hear in my spirit as you were talking, like,
00:37:37.001 --> 00:37:40.171
People who they have been hanging in forever.
00:37:40.171 --> 00:37:45.276
It's been not just years, it's been decades.
00:37:45.276 --> 00:37:49.980
And their hope is literally hanging on by a thread.
00:37:49.980 --> 00:37:53.751
That starts to get into the conversation we had the other
00:37:53.751 --> 00:37:58.089
Day about radical faith.
00:37:58.089 --> 00:37:59.757
It's the type of faith that, okay,
00:37:59.757 --> 00:38:02.193
Will you still trust god if you don't see it?
00:38:02.193 --> 00:38:05.296
That is hard.
00:38:05.296 --> 00:38:08.332
In my counseling practice, i had a young lady who is beautiful.
00:38:08.332 --> 00:38:13.070
She came to me in tears, she said she has a very rare
00:38:13.070 --> 00:38:16.140
Condition, but it's genetic.
00:38:16.140 --> 00:38:19.110
It causes her a lot of suffering, a lot of pain.
00:38:19.110 --> 00:38:21.145
It's in her kidneys and liver.
00:38:21.145 --> 00:38:22.213
She's beautiful.
00:38:22.213 --> 00:38:22.947
But she came to me in tears.
00:38:22.947 --> 00:38:24.582
She said, i prayed, i fasted.
00:38:24.582 --> 00:38:29.019
She said i've been like for literally years -- her brother
00:38:29.019 --> 00:38:31.489
Just had to have a heart transplant because of the same
00:38:31.489 --> 00:38:32.690
Condition.
00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:34.291
And she was like, why is god not answering my prayer?
00:38:34.291 --> 00:38:38.696
And i had to honestly tell her, i don't know.
00:38:38.696 --> 00:38:41.866
But i do know this, that his grace is sufficient.
00:38:41.866 --> 00:38:46.470
>> laurie: yes, amen.
00:38:46.470 --> 00:38:48.406
>> nona: because that's the promise he has made.
00:38:48.406 --> 00:38:50.141
And she even said.
00:38:50.141 --> 00:38:53.277
She was like, i trust that.
00:38:53.277 --> 00:38:57.248
She was like, i just want to know when it's gonna end.
00:38:57.248 --> 00:38:59.383
I said, i don't know.
00:38:59.383 --> 00:39:01.519
I don't know if it will end.
00:39:01.519 --> 00:39:03.087
But, his grace is sufficient.
00:39:03.087 --> 00:39:04.255
And i will pray with you through it.
00:39:04.255 --> 00:39:05.923
And that's the place where it gets hard.
00:39:05.923 --> 00:39:07.158
Because there may not be an expiration date on the
00:39:07.158 --> 00:39:09.026
Suffering.
00:39:09.026 --> 00:39:09.760
There may not be.
00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:11.796
But, i talked to her.
00:39:11.796 --> 00:39:14.198
I was like, have you shared your testimony with people?
00:39:14.198 --> 00:39:15.166
She was like, yeah.
00:39:15.166 --> 00:39:17.802
I've shared it with quite a few who are in a similar situation.
00:39:17.802 --> 00:39:20.004
I was like, how did they respond?
00:39:20.004 --> 00:39:21.205
She was like, they are encouraged that i would even
00:39:21.205 --> 00:39:23.507
Have my faith in the midst of all my suffering.
00:39:23.507 --> 00:39:27.445
I said, see, when i look at the apostle paul, the thorn he had,
00:39:27.445 --> 00:39:30.781
We don't know what it was, but god did such amazing work
00:39:30.781 --> 00:39:34.251
Through him.
00:39:34.251 --> 00:39:35.619
Not just in spite of the throne, i believe it was because of it.
00:39:35.619 --> 00:39:39.590
We won't know until we reach the throne room and can then say,
00:39:39.590 --> 00:39:47.498
Lord, why?
00:39:47.498 --> 00:39:48.532
We won't know.
00:39:48.532 --> 00:39:51.135
But god gives us the grace.
00:39:51.135 --> 00:39:52.636
>> laurie: i know people walk through really hard
00:39:52.636 --> 00:39:54.205
Seasons of life.
00:39:54.205 --> 00:39:55.473
You might be in one that you've been in for years.
00:39:55.473 --> 00:39:58.375
But you're still here.
00:39:58.375 --> 00:40:00.344
God is still good.
00:40:00.344 --> 00:40:03.414
Your circumstances, our circumstances don't change the
00:40:03.414 --> 00:40:06.217
Nature of god.
00:40:06.217 --> 00:40:07.017
They don't change his goodness.
00:40:07.017 --> 00:40:11.522
And his mercy for us.
00:40:11.522 --> 00:40:14.725
The bible says to not be weary in well doing.
00:40:14.725 --> 00:40:16.560
Because in due season we're gonna reap what we have sown if
00:40:16.560 --> 00:40:18.662
We faint not.
00:40:18.662 --> 00:40:19.630
I encourage you, god is with you.
00:40:19.630 --> 00:40:23.534
God is for you.
00:40:23.534 --> 00:40:25.035
His grace is sufficient for you.
00:40:25.035 --> 00:40:27.338
I pray that your faith is strong.
00:40:27.338 --> 00:40:30.574
Keep going, keep stepping.
00:40:30.574 --> 00:40:31.442
Keep walking in faith.
00:40:31.442 --> 00:40:33.544
Let it fuel your fire to believe even better.
00:40:33.544 --> 00:40:38.315
Even more, that god is a good god.
00:40:38.315 --> 00:40:40.150
That he's for you.
00:40:40.150 --> 00:40:42.920
That he has everything that you need.
00:40:42.920 --> 00:40:44.021
Keep your eyes on jesus.
00:40:44.021 --> 00:40:45.589
Stay focused.
00:40:45.589 --> 00:40:47.157
>> deedee: we are an extension of god.
00:40:47.157 --> 00:40:49.493
We are his body in the earth.
00:40:49.493 --> 00:40:51.462
And we have a responsibility and a role to play here in the
00:40:51.462 --> 00:40:56.867
Earth, to just be a witness of the goodness of god,
00:40:56.867 --> 00:41:00.104
Regardless of what we go through.
00:41:00.104 --> 00:41:01.338
Because we're gonna go through things.
00:41:01.338 --> 00:41:03.073
We are all going to experience something in our lives.
00:41:03.073 --> 00:41:08.812
It's not because it's god or the enemy or whatever,
00:41:08.812 --> 00:41:11.849
It's because we are in this world system.
00:41:11.849 --> 00:41:16.554
And, i did this test.
00:41:16.554 --> 00:41:24.528
We were in schools years ago, a case study.
00:41:24.528 --> 00:41:28.799
It was to see how many christians have just walked away
00:41:28.799 --> 00:41:31.435
From the things of god at some point in their relationship.
00:41:31.435 --> 00:41:34.939
They said 80 percent of believers have turned their back
00:41:34.939 --> 00:41:39.176
On god at one point in time in their life.
00:41:39.176 --> 00:41:41.679
And then they proceeded to ask, why?
00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:45.049
It's because they would come into christianity with all of
00:41:45.049 --> 00:41:48.786
These carrot kind of promises, thinking, okay,
00:41:48.786 --> 00:41:51.922
You jump this high, you're gonna get this.
00:41:51.922 --> 00:41:54.058
You come to christ, you're gonna live in a bed of roses.
00:41:54.058 --> 00:41:57.528
God has never promised us in his word that we were not going to
00:41:57.528 --> 00:42:03.000
Experience hardship.
00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:05.869
But he said to endure it.
00:42:05.869 --> 00:42:08.405
>> laurie: it's that shallow ground,
00:42:08.405 --> 00:42:10.174
Where we are going off of experience.
00:42:10.174 --> 00:42:13.143
And that's not what faith is.
00:42:13.143 --> 00:42:15.879
>> nona: when jesus said, if you're gonna come after me,
00:42:15.879 --> 00:42:19.116
Take up your cross and follow me.
00:42:19.116 --> 00:42:20.017
We have to remember what that means.
00:42:20.017 --> 00:42:23.354
Because the cross was an instruments death.
00:42:23.354 --> 00:42:26.991
Which means, at any point, because you have it with you,
00:42:26.991 --> 00:42:29.860
You can be called to suffer and die.
00:42:29.860 --> 00:42:31.595
At any point.
00:42:31.595 --> 00:42:34.164
If you're gonna follow me, you have to be prepared at any
00:42:34.164 --> 00:42:35.799
Moment.
00:42:35.799 --> 00:42:37.267
Because you're taking your cross with you.
00:42:37.267 --> 00:42:39.737
But, to your point, we're like, i didn't sign up for that part.
00:42:39.737 --> 00:42:43.607
>> faith: when you want to support others who are
00:42:43.607 --> 00:42:46.977
Experiencing their own valleys of suffering,
00:42:46.977 --> 00:42:50.748
That is usually when we can be thankful for the sufferings we
00:42:50.748 --> 00:42:53.550
Have gone through.
00:42:53.550 --> 00:42:54.618
2 corinthians, god says to the corinthians,
00:42:54.618 --> 00:42:59.423
You suffered so that the comfort of the lord that you experienced
00:42:59.423 --> 00:43:02.826
Can overflow to others who are in need as well.
00:43:02.826 --> 00:43:05.396
So, i would say share your testimony.
00:43:05.396 --> 00:43:07.731
Share who god is to you.
00:43:07.731 --> 00:43:13.504
Because you went through things as well.
00:43:13.504 --> 00:43:17.107
And god's going to redeem it for such a time as this.
00:43:17.107 --> 00:43:21.912
I also want to clarify this one small thing.
00:43:21.912 --> 00:43:24.415
Just because i feel like when we talk about suffering,
00:43:24.415 --> 00:43:27.251
Oftentimes everyone's perspective through their
00:43:27.251 --> 00:43:29.887
Suffering is that they're the victim.
00:43:29.887 --> 00:43:30.721
>> deedee: right.
00:43:30.721 --> 00:43:32.356
>> faith: sometimes we suffer for different reasons.
00:43:32.356 --> 00:43:34.058
A lot of the suffering that is referenced in the new testament
00:43:34.058 --> 00:43:37.995
Is suffering for jesus.
00:43:37.995 --> 00:43:39.196
It's for the gospel.
00:43:39.196 --> 00:43:40.931
Sometimes we suffer because of foolishness.
00:43:40.931 --> 00:43:45.736
Because of our own foolishness.
00:43:45.736 --> 00:43:47.271
>> deedee: stuff that we bring on ourselves.
00:43:47.271 --> 00:43:51.608
>> faith: yeah, stuff that we bring on ourselves.
00:43:51.608 --> 00:43:54.144
I think sometimes we have to really be honest about that.
00:43:54.144 --> 00:43:56.013
Because i think when we keep saying, oh, like, my cross.
00:43:56.013 --> 00:44:01.685
When actually--
00:44:01.685 --> 00:44:02.486
>> nona: it's your consequence.
00:44:02.486 --> 00:44:05.122
>> faith: right.
00:44:05.122 --> 00:44:06.457
>> deedee: it's like your son.
00:44:06.457 --> 00:44:07.891
Think about your son right now.
00:44:07.891 --> 00:44:10.894
He's gone through all the what he has gone through.
00:44:10.894 --> 00:44:12.596
Thank god he is so much better now.
00:44:12.596 --> 00:44:14.364
But if he was to decide, you know what?
00:44:14.364 --> 00:44:18.001
I don't care how peanuts make me feel.
00:44:18.001 --> 00:44:22.306
I'm going to eat these peanuts.
00:44:22.306 --> 00:44:24.641
Okay, now, that's the suffering you brought on yourself.
00:44:24.641 --> 00:44:29.046
>> faith: sometimes i ask people that come for pastoral
00:44:29.046 --> 00:44:33.550
Counseling.
00:44:33.550 --> 00:44:34.651
What exactly are you losing from the situation?
00:44:34.651 --> 00:44:39.356
And if all you could think of is, ego.
00:44:39.356 --> 00:44:43.861
If that's what you are losing, let them take it.
00:44:43.861 --> 00:44:47.998
Because you don't need that anyways.
00:44:47.998 --> 00:44:49.099
I say that.
00:44:49.099 --> 00:44:52.836
It is easier to say than to go through it.
00:44:52.836 --> 00:44:54.371
But when you go through, it oftentimes it's like,
00:44:54.371 --> 00:44:58.208
I'm suffering for jesus.
00:44:58.208 --> 00:45:02.045
But really, it could be your pride.
00:45:02.045 --> 00:45:04.014
It could be our issues, our stubbornness, our rebellion.
00:45:04.014 --> 00:45:09.553
And so i think we also have to be very aware of--
00:45:09.553 --> 00:45:11.688
Why am i here?
00:45:11.688 --> 00:45:12.756
Is it really for the glory of god,
00:45:12.756 --> 00:45:14.858
Or is it because my character brought me here?
00:45:14.858 --> 00:45:17.227
And what needs to go?
00:45:17.227 --> 00:45:18.929
It's painful to part with it, but part with it we must,
00:45:18.929 --> 00:45:23.534
Because that is the blessing of that particular kind of
00:45:23.534 --> 00:45:26.236
Suffering.
00:45:26.236 --> 00:45:27.371
>> laurie: the bible calls believers to rejoice,
00:45:27.371 --> 00:45:29.173
Not because suffering feels good,
00:45:29.173 --> 00:45:30.574
But because god is at work in it.
00:45:30.574 --> 00:45:33.277
He is producing endurance, deepening roots and revealing
00:45:33.277 --> 00:45:37.281
His glory through it.
00:45:37.281 --> 00:45:39.683
There is always a reason for it.
00:45:39.683 --> 00:45:42.286
And god never wastes a moment of it.
00:45:42.286 --> 00:45:44.855
>> sheila: for me it's like, you're understanding of who god
00:45:44.855 --> 00:45:49.626
Is when you come through that has changed.
00:45:49.626 --> 00:45:51.161
Because it's like, as a little girl, over my bed,
00:45:51.161 --> 00:45:54.731
I had the picture of christ as a shepherd carrying a little lamb,
00:45:54.731 --> 00:45:59.036
And i love that picture.
00:45:59.036 --> 00:46:01.405
I knew the psalm, "the lord is my shepherd.
00:46:01.405 --> 00:46:02.973
I shall not want."
00:46:02.973 --> 00:46:05.409
It wasn't until i ended up in a psychiatric hospital
00:46:05.409 --> 00:46:07.477
And can no longer--
00:46:07.477 --> 00:46:10.247
When i'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death
00:46:10.247 --> 00:46:12.983
And discover--
00:46:12.983 --> 00:46:14.117
The reason i don't have to be afraid right now
00:46:14.117 --> 00:46:15.819
Is because he is with me.
00:46:15.819 --> 00:46:17.187
I knew it in my head before.
00:46:17.187 --> 00:46:22.826
But when you walk through it, it becomes lived out faith.
00:46:22.826 --> 00:46:24.595
>> laurie: the bible says,
00:46:24.595 --> 00:46:26.063
"yea thou i walk through the valley the shadow of death,"
00:46:26.063 --> 00:46:28.599
I wish it said "yea though i run,"
00:46:28.599 --> 00:46:30.701
[laughter]
00:46:30.701 --> 00:46:31.935
God is with us.
00:46:31.935 --> 00:46:33.136
And the things and the trials of our faith,
00:46:33.136 --> 00:46:35.806
The things that we go through,
00:46:35.806 --> 00:46:39.843
I know people are going through some things.
00:46:39.843 --> 00:46:41.511
People are suffering inside some things.
00:46:41.511 --> 00:46:45.349
I just want to bless you today, because god is with you.
00:46:45.349 --> 00:46:52.623
And through the suffering and the things that we go through,
00:46:52.623 --> 00:46:55.225
God is doing something on the inside of you.
00:46:55.225 --> 00:46:57.461
Please know that.
00:46:57.461 --> 00:46:58.862
Please don't go through suffering as a victim,
00:46:58.862 --> 00:47:03.867
And that everything is against me.
00:47:03.867 --> 00:47:06.270
And i'm gonna die from this.
00:47:06.270 --> 00:47:08.605
Or this is just gonna ruin me.
00:47:08.605 --> 00:47:11.408
Please know that god is with you.
00:47:11.408 --> 00:47:13.477
God is for you.
00:47:13.477 --> 00:47:16.046
It's not that your circumstances just changed and everything's
00:47:16.046 --> 00:47:19.549
Made right.
00:47:19.549 --> 00:47:20.751
It's that god is on the inside of you transforming you.
00:47:20.751 --> 00:47:22.619
Ask for his help.
00:47:22.619 --> 00:47:24.454
He says, call on me and i'll answer you.
00:47:24.454 --> 00:47:26.790
But let him do his work on the inside of you.
00:47:26.790 --> 00:47:29.660
Don't waste a moment of your pain,
00:47:29.660 --> 00:47:31.962
Because this too shall pass.
00:47:31.962 --> 00:47:35.999
>> sheila: i think it would be great if we could pray for
00:47:35.999 --> 00:47:38.969
People who may be in the middle of something right now,
00:47:38.969 --> 00:47:40.203
And just want to know that they're seen and god is with
00:47:40.203 --> 00:47:43.440
Them, because he does and he is.
00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:46.009
Father, we pause in your presence.
00:47:46.009 --> 00:47:49.813
There is something about your presence
00:47:49.813 --> 00:47:54.051
That changes everything.
00:47:54.051 --> 00:47:56.486
So many times in life i think i want an answer.
00:47:56.486 --> 00:47:58.956
I discovered what i really want is your presence.
00:47:58.956 --> 00:48:03.060
Because your presence changes everything.
00:48:03.060 --> 00:48:06.029
Lord, just as five of your daughters here,
00:48:06.029 --> 00:48:10.133
We want to pray right now, lord, for anyone who is listening and
00:48:10.133 --> 00:48:14.137
Watching who are going through something right now,
00:48:14.137 --> 00:48:17.574
And questioning, why?
00:48:17.574 --> 00:48:18.709
Why am i still in this place?
00:48:18.709 --> 00:48:20.644
Why haven't you healed me?
00:48:20.644 --> 00:48:22.346
What am i doing wrong?
00:48:22.346 --> 00:48:23.714
All those questions.
00:48:23.714 --> 00:48:25.749
Lord, i pray that by your holy spirit you would give them the
00:48:25.749 --> 00:48:30.787
Gift of faith and the grace to know that you are with them
00:48:30.787 --> 00:48:33.757
Right now.
00:48:33.757 --> 00:48:36.259
And to keep their eyes fixed on you.
00:48:36.259 --> 00:48:38.829
Lord, you showed us what it looked like to live in a world
00:48:38.829 --> 00:48:42.232
That did not understand or receive you.
00:48:42.232 --> 00:48:44.468
But you never lost sight of where you were going.
00:48:44.468 --> 00:48:47.904
So i pray for your comfort right now for people
00:48:47.904 --> 00:48:51.041
Who are suffering.
00:48:51.041 --> 00:48:52.776
We pray for hope, lord.
00:48:52.776 --> 00:48:54.945
And just the idea of hope as a position.
00:48:54.945 --> 00:48:58.482
By faith we choose to get into that position where we will
00:48:58.482 --> 00:49:03.286
Determine to keep hoping because of who you are.
00:49:03.286 --> 00:49:05.922
You don't change.
00:49:05.922 --> 00:49:07.124
Who you were yesterday you are right now,
00:49:07.124 --> 00:49:08.425
And who you will be tomorrow.
00:49:08.425 --> 00:49:11.061
I thank you for that.
00:49:11.061 --> 00:49:12.763
And i pray, lord, that every day we will have a little greater
00:49:12.763 --> 00:49:16.666
Understanding of the blessing that comes from knowing you.
00:49:16.666 --> 00:49:21.204
You change it all.
00:49:21.204 --> 00:49:23.340
In jesus' name.
00:49:23.340 --> 00:49:24.541
Amen.
00:49:24.541 --> 00:49:25.809
(all saying amen.)
00:49:25.809 --> 00:49:29.446
>> laurie: connect with us on social media and let us know how
00:49:29.446 --> 00:49:31.615
Our team can pray for you.
00:49:31.615 --> 00:49:39.956
>> sheila: this is anonymous question.
00:49:39.956 --> 00:49:41.091
"what if the pain you're experiencing--"
00:49:41.091 --> 00:49:44.361
Gosh, this makes me sad.
00:49:44.361 --> 00:49:46.129
"what if the pain you're experiencing is your own fault
00:49:46.129 --> 00:49:49.066
Repeatedly?
00:49:49.066 --> 00:49:50.400
How much grace does god give us when we fail him over and over
00:49:50.400 --> 00:49:52.035
Again?"
00:49:52.035 --> 00:49:54.738
>> deedee: yeah, god's grace never runs out.
00:49:54.738 --> 00:49:57.174
It's so beautiful.
00:49:57.174 --> 00:50:00.644
There is no start, finish to god at all,
00:50:00.644 --> 00:50:05.048
In any area that he offers us.
00:50:05.048 --> 00:50:07.951
We all have messed up at some point in our life.
00:50:07.951 --> 00:50:11.788
But what you do, you get up.
00:50:11.788 --> 00:50:15.125
You brush yourself off and you start over again.
00:50:15.125 --> 00:50:17.594
The more you do it, the more strength you will gain,
00:50:17.594 --> 00:50:21.331
And the more you will begin to trust in god.
00:50:21.331 --> 00:50:24.901
You will look back one day and that thing that has been really
00:50:24.901 --> 00:50:29.406
Pulling you down will no longer exist.
00:50:29.406 --> 00:50:32.242
So you don't fail until you quit.
00:50:32.242 --> 00:50:35.545
And we decree that you will never quit.
00:50:35.545 --> 00:50:37.647
>> sheila: in jesus' name.
00:50:37.647 --> 00:50:39.916
>> laurie: watch "better together" on the go.
00:50:39.916 --> 00:50:41.852
Download the free tbn+ app to stream all of your favorite
00:50:41.852 --> 00:50:44.788
Conversations.
00:50:44.788 --> 00:50:47.824
Be the first to know all the latest "better together"
00:50:47.824 --> 00:50:50.560
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00:50:51.862 --> 00:50:55.198
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♪ music ♪
00:50:59.870 --> 00:50:59.870

Can Suffering Lead to Blessing? | Better Together Episode 1169

May 21, 2026 | S8 E1169 | 50:59

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