What does it mean to be blessed? Are Christians automatically entitled to happiness, fulfillment, and perfect peace? Should God’s presence guarantee us emotional ease amidst suffering?
Wow! Those are some very interesting questions, aren’t they?
Well today, you’ll get far more than interesting answers. You are going to be enlightened and inspired as we consider our expectations of what a life of faith should feel like as we face difficulties.
Today on the 4:13 Podcast, I’m spilling the beans with some of my favorite people!
Liz Curtis Higgs, Tammy Trent, and Michael O’Brien joined me for a Fresh Grounded Faith event in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and we had a great conversation around the bistro table answering all kinds of questions from the audience.
On February 18th, my whole world changed. My hero dad closed his eyes to this world and opened them to heaven.
I had no idea grief felt so much like fatigue. I didn’t know it would make me feel hollow. My brain knew what death was, but my heart was unaware that death was such a tearing—and an emptying.
Even though it’s been a few weeks, I am still stupefied by the fog I am walking through. It just feels thick and like life should be in slow motion.
Lisa gets it. She’s felt it. She’s lived it. As a widow and single mom of 7, she knows the unmatched power of the words “I love you.” She shares with us today how those 3 words that have sustained her can bring the healing you are looking for. So, pour yourself a cup of java and let’s lean in to Lisa’s story. I just love it when friends join us for coffee! Okay, Lisa… our coffee is poured, our hearts are open… take it away!
I received a frantic text from my daughter with the news.
We were stunned. Our dear friend’s young daughter had been admitted a week earlier to the hospital without any real alarm. The first uneventful night had turned into several critical days and nights and then suddenly, she began to spiral quickly, her organs shutting down one by one.
Her family – siblings and parents now gathered around her hospital bed – held her in the shocking surreal of her last hours, as she passed from this life into eternity.
When I received my daughter’s text with the news, I hurried from our Sunday evening church service straight to their home. Already, friends had begun to gather around this family.
Her name is Sharon. I met her in South Bend, Indiana.
Sharon signed up as a volunteer to help at Fresh Grounded Faith a few months ago. Everything was going well until a week before the event. Her husband had a heart attack. Suddenly, without warning, he was gone.
I didn’t expect to meet Sharon after hearing her story. I would have completely understood why she would have chosen not to volunteer or even attend the event with such a recent, life-altering loss.
Dear Jennifer,
In the past six months I have had more medical problems besides retinits pigmentosa, and the most important man in my life, my father, passed away. Then my childhood girlfriend (since three years old) was murdered by her husband, and two more deaths in the family. Now my cousin that I am close too has M.S. Fear has set inside me…and I haven’t felt so separated from the Lord. Where can I find Him???
Janine
Jennifer’s Answer:
