As promised, here is the link to the full 28-minute podcast I shared on the More Than Conquerors with Lou Lepore program recently. I hope it’s a blessing to you!
Feel free to share this on all of your social media and with whomever you feel may benefit from it. Thank you so much!
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. THOUGH HE FALL, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
I’m super grateful for the opportunity to share my story of God’s healing grace and power through weakness to a wider audience in just a few days. My new friend, and all-around great guy, Lou Lepore, hosts a podcast featuring stories of those who have met life’s challenges through Christ’s overcoming power, and have come to know Jesus in a more intimate and meaningful way. And, bless him, he saw my video our church’s production team put together for our Easter service and asked my sister Susan (they attend the same church) if I’d be interested in telling my story for More Than Conquerors with LouLepore. Boy would I!
We recorded that interview for his More Than Conquerors podcast a couple weeks ago. Lou and I enjoyed a stirring conversation over the phone (Lou makes it so easy!) and I was just informed it will hit the airwaves later this week.
Check out a sampling of that interview by clicking on the link just below. When the full interview is broadcast, I will leave a link for you at that time. The podcast can be found on multiple platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and Buzzsprout, among others.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4
My wife shared something beautiful with me some time ago that made me think of this passage. She said, “As time goes on, I’m able to feel less and less grief about Graham‘s passing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still there, but less so as the years go by.”
I thought deeply about what she said and told her she helped me see something I’d given so little thought to. At the end of time, when Christ comes and makes all things new, the pain and heartache of our earthly years will be erased. While we will surely remember each other, we won’t remember our sorrows and sadnesses.
“Pain will be no more.” Every grief, all our tears, and the hard sting of pain will be wiped clean in that New Day.
The grace of Sandy’s lessened grief is a foretaste of the new heavens and new earth. Whatever you’re going through, Easter reminds us it’s not always going to be this way.
The resurrection means we can look forward with hope to the day our suffering will be gone. But it even means that we can look forward with hope to the day our suffering will be glorious.
On the Day of the Lord – the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue – on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear.
– Timothy Keller, Jesus The King
Joni Eareckson Tada attended a convention during which a speaker invited the people to kneel and pray. Everyone did except, of course, Joni.
“With everyone kneeling, I certainly stood out. And I couldn’t stop the tears.” Her emotional moment wasn’t out of self-pity; she was crying at the sight of hundreds of people on their knees before God. For Joni, it was a preview of heaven!
Sitting there, I was reminded that in heaven I will be free to jump up, dance, kick, and do aerobics. And…. sometime before the guests are called to the banquet table at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, the first thing I plan to do on resurrected legs is to drop on grateful, glorified knees. I will quietly kneel at the feet of Jesus.
I was blessed to be interviewed for the video at the top of this post that was shown in this morning’s Easter services. Full disclosure: I felt a bit awkward sitting there watching it with everybody else! Plus, it’s not easy to see yourself up there on the big screen. Why didn’t I sit up straighter? Gracious me, I thought I was losing more weight than that! Wow, I’ve really gotten old. Aside from all my wood-hay-and-stubble vanity, I’m very pleased with how it came out.
Those opening words were so important for me to share, and I’m delighted they made the cut. Every morning I wake up, I tell Jesus two things: it’s my honor to do this for You, and please allow me to suffer well — in a way that brings You all the glory.
I don’t love paralysis, but I love Jesus. One day my eyes “will see the King in His beauty, and I will see a vast land…I will no longer see the barbarians…but I will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander…for the Majestic One, our Lord will be there…and none there will say I am sick.” (Isaiah 33:17-24, CSB)
I’ll be easy to spot; you’ll find me at the feet of Jesus.
