Finding Purpose in Suffering, with Katherine Wolf

What could you handle today if you knew that God was working through your suffering? Hear Katherine Wolf's poignant answer in this week's episode of Grounded. You’ll also hear how God is using women in bomb shelters to spread the gospel in Ukraine and why Jesus’ suffering for us is worth celebrating.

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Episode Notes

Make a donation to Revive Our Hearts' Ukrainian partner, Far East Broadcasting Company

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Erin Davis: What could you handle with joy today, if you knew, I mean really knew that God was at work, turning your suffering into something spectacular? I'm Erin Davis, and this is Grounded.

Portia Collins: And I’m Portia Collins, and Grounded is a production of Revive Our Hearts. We are here to give you a dose of hope and perspective. As we move forward toward Resurrection Sunday, we want to offer you a unique hope-filled perspective on suffering.

Erin: When you said Resurrection Sunday, Portia, I wanted to whoop and holler because it's like I always say, “It's like our Super Bowl . . . only better!” It is such an important day in our lives. I listened to a sermon just recently, and here was the whole deal. It was a two-point sermon. Gotta love those. Suffering is normal. And Jesus is faithful. 

That has just stuck with me. Suffering is normal, and Jesus is faithful. But I keep getting surprised by suffering. I wonder if you have that experience? It just seems like it always surprises me. I'm like, “Wait, what's happening? Why is this happening to me? One of our guests today is Katherine Wolf. You might already know her as the author of Hope Heals. She's going to tell us how we can suffer strong. 

Portia: Hmm, I cannot wait for this encouragement. Okay.

Erin: Me too. 

Portia: And you know my struggle, so . . .

Erin: I know.

Portia: I need it. Well, we've also got an update on how God is at work in Ukraine. And we have a special favorite. Leslie Bennett is with us this morning. And she's going to help us get grounded in God's Word. So, you are not going to want to miss a moment, a millisecond…

Erin: We say that every week. But we mean it, we intentionally make sure that every second of your time that we use here for Grounded is time well spent. So, the whole thing, start to finish, is going to be impactful. I just know it. It's what we like to call a stacked episode. Great guests after great guests after great guests. But before you meet those guests, actually, you're going to meet the first one right now. Know what we need first, we always need some good news. And once again, just like in last week's episode, we're going to find that good news in the unlikeliest of places. Ukraine. Take it away Portia.

Portia: I have the wonderful honor of welcoming Victor Akhterov to the podcast. Welcome, Victor.

Victor Akhterov: It's good to be here.

Portia: I'm so glad to have you. So I want to start by asking you to tell us a little bit about the mission of Far East Broadcasting.

Victor: Well, the mission of Far East broadcasting is why we broadcast the Gospel throughout the world. But I'm responsible for the Eurasia area that's Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, specifically now Ukraine is of course where our focus is. And that's what we're going to be talking about. But this is where the heart of the ministry is. We see God using our broadcasters in tremendous ways.

Portia: Amen, amen. I'm gonna read a list of names and if you are watching or listening, I encourage you to write these names down. In fact, we're going to actually throw them up on the screen here. I'm going to read them off. Please forgive me for any mispronunciations. But we have Nadia, Irana, Anna, Irina, more Maria, Nina, Alesia, Nadia, Tinea, and Inna. So, Victor, what do these names mean to you?

Victor: Well, let me start with with Irina. I was just talking to her yesterday. She's a young 24-year-old, young lady. We all just lost a friend. Many of you saw on the news yesterday, today, just in the in these days, and what happened in Bucha. Many people call it genocide. It is hard to see those pictures is especially hard when you see someone that you know, a partner. That's what we all saw. 

Batali was there, just dead on the road. And his brother, who is in Christian education (we work together) . . . As I was talking to Irina, I said, “What what do you feel?”

And she says, “I remember how we were visiting a friend together and ate good Ukrainian borsch together. I'm numb today. I know I'll be okay tomorrow. I know that Jesus can revive me again and again and again. But today I am numb.” 

What Irina is doing she she's coordinating our counselors; we have about 35 counselors now scattered throughout Ukraine. Most of them used to be in Kiev. Now they are all around the country. It reminds me of Acts when the disciples were kind of thrown and they were just running and evangelizing people as they were going around Israel. And today, the same thing is happening in Ukraine as our counselors are serving people around them and serving those callers that call them every day. We are working nonstop.

So, Irina is doing is doing that, despite all the difficulties of the suffering, all the issues that she has to deal with. She's coordinating those wonderful men and women. So that's, Irina. 

The last name on the list was Inna, and she's definitely not the last one that comes to personal evangelism. We still have five of our seven stations in Ukraine broadcasting today, which is a miracle by itself. One of them was destroyed. We repaired the broadcasting system and was broadcasting again. Two of them were just shut down—one shut down, one just destroyed. This is where we are upgrading. Ina is doing sometimes five hours of broadcasting. She does both on the air broadcasting and broadcasting on social networks. We talk every day. She was down. I said, “What's happening? Are you sick?” 

She said, “No, I'm not sick. I've been just talking for so long for five hours and praying for people and asking people to accept Christ.” And she said, “I asked people to accept Christ, throughout these five hours, and I don't have time to talk to you right now. How about you? You text me? If you want to accept Jesus, then I'll answer you.” She promised that on the air. She said, “It's been two hours of me answering those messages. So many people responded.” She's sending them electronic Bibles and connecting them to churches. 

We have about 140 churches around Ukraine that work with us. We want to make sure that people who accept Christ are connected with a local church as much as possible in today's circumstances. But people are willing to do that and Inna is doing that. 

I can tell you story after story how she meets some personally. Somebody wants to meet her for coffee. Now, it's difficult to get coffee in Ukraine, but she is a coffee drinker. She finds the place and they go, and she brings people to Christ every day. She just turned 30 years old. 

So, these are the kinds of young ladies that I get to minister with. You had the list of of 10 people there. Olesia is one of them. She speaks English well; she's the professor of English. I know that Nancy and Olesia kind of became friends.

Both of them are, I would say, deeply spiritual and know how to have fun. But her mother-in-law as they were evacuating her from Ukraine, died on Saturday. She said, “Victor, how much more can I take on? What is the Lord doing? We left everything. We are out of our home; we lost everything. Now we lost our mother-in-law.” She tells me how she continues to minister to the people of Ukraine. 

And this kind of repeats itself throughout these 40 days now, again and again. People saying, “I cannot do this anymore. I'm frustrated. I'm at the end of my rope. I don't know what's going on.” Some of them are screaming at me because we have this open relationship. They're saying, “How can this be happening?” And then a couple hours later, or a day later, they start ministering to people again. The Holy Spirit is using them in amazing, amazing ways.

Portia: Wow. We see images of families who are displaced. You've kind of already mentioned some of what's been in the news recently, bombed buildings. And all we can imagine is people doing what it takes to survive. But these women are on a mission to share the love of Jesus in this very difficult situation. What we want to know is how can we help? How can we help?

Victor: Well, the best way to help is to pray for these ladies. It is difficult, it is very, very difficult for them emotionally. They're very strong spiritually, but emotionally as they sometimes broadcasting from bomb shelters, you can imagine the feeling. I mean, it's both exhilarating as you're broadcasting into your phone. People around you are crying as they listen to the Word of God being broadcast. Each one of them wants to have a conversation with you after the hearing on the program. But it is also very exhausting. It is very, very difficult. These ladies are not made of steel. They're just normal, normal ladies. So please pray for the emotional strength for them. 

And of course, when I asked them, what can we pray for? They always say, “Please pray for our listeners, especially the new Christians. We don't want them to become war Christians and wartime Christians. We want them to become real Christians and be connected with communities of believers with real people.” It is very important for them, especially to see those people becoming a part of the Kingdom of God becoming a part of the Church. 

Because now everybody you can imagine . . . now mothers are calling us. This is, by far, probably the most common call on our helpline. Our 35 counselors are talking to these ladies. “My son is at war. I don't know where he is. I lost contact with them. My son has died. My husband has died. What do we do now?” How can you counsel these women? The vast majority of our listeners are not churchgoers, and we are missionary radio. These people know virtually nothing about Christ. So please pray for them.

Maybe pray particularly about our women, listeners who are open for Christ who are seeking help or coming to us for help, who are willing to accept Christ. What we need is for the Holy Spirit to continue to work in their hearts to provide comfort and clear way to make sure they fully understand the gospel and that they start loving Jesus.

Portia: Amen, amen. Listen, for everyone watching. We've got our marching orders. We know what to be praying for, what to be petitioning the throne of God about. I really hold a lot of what you just said close to my heart right now because these women are my age. They are doing just tremendous work for God's glory. And so, I am thankful, and I will be praying that they are strengthened, and that God will continue to work through them. 

Also, I want to mention for everyone who is watching or listening right now, if the Lord stirs your heart to give to these women so that they can continue broadcasting hope, then we've got a way for you to do that. Go to ReviveOurHearts.com/Ukraine. Anything that you give will go to help the women that Victor has mentioned today. 

So, Victor, thank you so much for being with us. I'm so grateful for everything that you have shared. Just know that our prayers, our sincere prayers are with you and with the women who are serving throughout this time.

Victor: Thank you so much. Your support from Revive Our Hearts is really meaningful. And not only financial support, but the prayers, we feel them. Our ladies are living by your prayers. So thank you so much. 

Portia: Praise God. Praise God. Take care of Victor. 

Victor: Thank you. 

Erin: Wow. You're hearing it right from the warzone. God is at work. Hope is pushing its way up from those bomb shelters. That's what hope does. This episode is going to be heavy. I know we want to get to the light, hope of resurrection morning. But that doesn't mean anything without the heaviness of what Jesus endured before. 

So, you're going to hear another heavy story here. I want you to imagine being young, being married for just a few years, being a new mama, and then collapsing in your kitchen from a massive stroke that you did not know was coming. That's what happened to Katherine Wolf. She's the author of the books, Hope Heals and Suffer Strong. Welcome to Grounded, Katherine. We have wanted to have you on Grounded for months, maybe years. So I'm so excited that this day has come.

Katherine Wolf: Oh, I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Erin: Okay, Katherine, let's get right to it. I want you to take us to April 21, 2008. Tell us what happened that day.

Katherine: It was just a completely average normal day. I had a baby six months before and no medical problems, no medical history, no family history. Absolutely nothing unusual, my body was totally healthy. I collapsed and ended up having a massive brain stem stroke due to a condition I didn't know that I had. It caused an AVM, which is an arteriovenous malformation, which is a collection of blood vessels that essentially rupture once in a blue moon. They have like a really, really terrible brain aneurysm. Mine ruptured in my brainstem and caused a massive brainstem stroke. 

So, it was a normal morning to this 26-year-old Katherine. And then I would go into a coma April 21 and only wake up two-and-a-half months later, where everything had been turned entirely upside down.

Erin: My momma heart is a little worried. Where was that six-month-old baby when this happened?

Katherine: He was sleeping in the next room and just fine taking a nap through the whole ordeal.

Erin: Well, that's amazing. I read that half of your cerebellum was removed. Now, I'm no neurosurgeon. But it seems like half of part of your brain being removed is a pretty big deal and that many of your vital inner cranial nerves were sacrificed in what happened post the stroke. When you woke up two months later, what had changed about how your body worked? 

Katherine: Oh, absolutely everything after the stroke. I was taken down to zero. I had to relearn to eat and speak and walk again. I would be on a feeding tube for almost a full year having nothing to eat or drink. I would be unable to walk at all or stand up for the first 18 months. And as you can see, my face is paralyzed on one side. I still cannot walk on my own. I'm in a wheelchair today. I have a hand that doesn't work. It can't coordinate movements and a slew of other health problems are on the slate. But life has gone on miraculously, and I have seen the goodness of God and the land of the living has been transformed by seeing just a life of redemption where there should only be death.

Erin: Yeah, that's so beautiful. It sounds like the impact on your body was catastrophic. But what else changed in your life, besides what happened to your body? What happened in your marriage, your parenting, your church community? I mean, where else did the tentacles of this thing have impact?

Katherine: That's a great question. Absolutely. Everywhere is the short answer. The up-ending of my life in every way, perhaps, gave me a more clear-eyed view of the upside-down kingdom of God. And that is the tremendous value in suffering. Somehow, we are being refined by struggles that we go through. I like to say that “the world defines us, suffering redefines us, and ultimately refines us,” enabling us to become different people because of what we've been through. 

I think that happened to my husband and I. The deep suffering when we were young has informed how we live our life. We're now 40 years old. So, it's been 14 years almost exactly since the stroke. I'm still fully disabled today. I cannot drive a car, cannot walk on my own. But I’m doing amazing. I've gone on to have a new baby, I've had a second child biologically. My husband and I have founded a camp for families with disabilities just like us. We've written some books and just really shared our hope in Jesus to sustain us throughout these years. 

I've loved the truth of Isaiah 45:3, that he gives us hidden treasure and darkness, riches stored in secret places so that we may know that the God who summons us by name. I've always been so struck that somehow even in terrible darkness and sadness and suffering, that there was actually treasure that God has hidden for us in the secret places. And we get to hold on to that treasure. 

Erin: We get to keep it forever and ever. It can't be taken away from us. 

Katherine: Yeah.

Erin: That passage has ministered to me. I've talked some on Grounded about my journey I'm on with my mom's Alzheimer's. When she got diagnosed, I said to a friend, there's going to be treasures in this valley. And there have been. I get to keep them forever and ever. That doesn't mean the valleys are not dark. It is. And that doesn't mean I would have chosen another path. I would have. But that verse that you spoke is so true. 

You have some words on your website that are very moving to me. I just want to read them. You said “since 2008, we've been disrupting the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life.” I want you to tell me more about that. That is so countercultural—we live for pleasure, we live for happiness. You're disrupting that myth. Tell me about that idea.

Katherine: Absolutely. I think so deeply, that well, if the Western world could recognize that pain and suffering are a part of the human experience . . . We must stop buying the lie that comfort equals contentment, because it doesn't. There is deep joy even in very painful hard lives. And those are not mutually exclusive that hard things and good things can coexist. I like to say that we're there is a rebellion of joy available even in situations that are painful. That's what Jesus was championing, the joy even in the hardest stories.

Erin: Man, I want to join that revolution, for sure count me in as a joy rebel. I want to hear about Hope Hills Camp you mentioned. What's the goal there?

Katherine: Oh, Hope Hills Camp is just this offering that we had no idea it explode like it has. We saw so clearly a need for rest and just somebody to commiserate in your heart story and just a need for encouragement and resourcing to families. We created this tiny, little camp in Alabama that kind of went bonkers. Now there are people from 35 states coming over with 30 different types of disabilities—everything from spina bifida, to amputees, to autism, and Down Syndrome, and cerebral palsy and everything in-between. Children, adults, everybody's welcome. It's totally free. It's a lottery system to get in. 

We basically bring families to this camp vacation-like setting almost, and do exactly what you referenced earlier. We enable them to disrupt the lie that joy can only come into pain-free life, because, of course, we know that life is both painful and full of joy. And so we celebrate that together corporately in summertime in Alabama . . .

Erin: Drenched in sweat. 

Katherine: Right, no doubt, but you don't even notice. There's a waiting list to be a volunteer, to pay tuition to volunteer. I mean, that's it. Absolutely upside-down Kingdom work. It’s so glorious, it's beautiful.

Erin: It sounds to me like what the Kingdom's gonna look like when we are finally all there in heaven from every tongue, tribe, and nation. I'd like to get on that waiting list just to come see it. 

Katherine: Absolutely.

Erin: Well, in this episode, because we're so close to Easter, which really is my favorite day, there's so much to celebrate. Jesus accomplished so much through suffering on the cross. He really obliterated the idea that suffering is to be avoided at all costs, because we're such beneficiaries of His suffering. I want to know as you're thinking towards Easter morning with your boys, has your path to suffering changed the way you see who Jesus is? And if so, how?

Katherine: I would say absolutely. The reality of Jesus being super intimate in my suffering, as He suffered so greatly, has encouraged me so deeply. But not only that, the true things of Christ, the true gifts, the goodness of Christ could never be taken from me. It has really changed my life. The truly, God-given gifts of Christ, of His presence in my story, of the peace, the assurance of seeing His face one day, these things can never be taken away from me in my whole life. They deeply encourage and re-inspire me to live my story.

Erin: So good. Bonus question. I thought of it as you were talking. Do you see your suffering impacting your boys? I have four boys. You have two. Part of me wants to shield them from all suffering, and part of me wants to throw them in the deep end of the pool so they can really learn who Jesus is. What do you feel like you're seeing on the impact on the next generation as your boys have a momma . . . ?

Katherine: Oh, for sure. I think that children of parents who suffer end up being the best grownups. Those kids get it. They just have a different perspective when they've seen struggle and hardship and suffering. They engage it correctly with a worldview that points them to Jesus. It's transformative for children. I think it informs the way they live their lives. 

I think we are so coddling our kids these days and trying to shelter them from suffering. But in so doing, sheltering them from the reality of the world, they're very disillusioned. They get to be adults and every dream didn't come true. I think expectations are everything. We must teach them to expect more of God and less of this world. We must show them pictures of suffering and pain and encourage them that Jesus is in the midst of these stories and in your story too.

Erin: Oh man, that's so good. Katherine. I need you to fast track that book on kids who suffer strong because I do want my kids to have those muscles. I want them to see Jesus for who He really is and follow Him. What are your son's names?

Katherine: James and John.

Erin: I want to pray for James and John and for you before we say good-bye. 

So, Jesus, we know You love us. We know You love us because You went to the cross; You suffered immensely. Your work tells us that we were on Your heart and mind as You did it. You know that not all suffering is bad, that suffering can accomplish great good. You model that for us. 

So, we thank You for that example. I pray that it would be so fresh in our hearts, all of us who are listening and watching this podcast, that as we head toward Resurrection morning, we'd have a fresh awareness of what You accomplished through suffering. 

I pray for James and John. Lord, I pray that You would just raise them up as joy rebels, like their mom and dad. I pray they would be a part of a generation who learned through COVID, through a war-torn world, through the suffering of their parents, that you can be trusted in the heart. I pray for Hope Heals Camp. I pray for the ministry of Katherine and her husband. Lord, I pray that You would just bless it and that you would teach all of us in your Church to be joy rebels because we have so much to be joyful in You. It's in Your name I pray, amen. 

Katherine, thank you so so much. You were such a blessing to me.

Katherine: Oh, well, thank you. It's been a blessing to be here. Thanks,

Erin: Thanks, Katherine. Portia . . .

Portia: So good. So, so good.

Erin: So good, there are all kinds of little bits in there that I'm gonna have to go back and grab joy rebels. And, the world defines us but suffering refines us. Good stuff. I can write it all down. 

Portia: As a mama, she put some fire under me. She put some fire in me with how I parent and what I'm preparing my daughter for. 

Erin: I’ve had some wise Christian friends look me in the eye and tell me that I'm not harming my children by exposing them to my journey with my mom's illness. And she really confirmed that, so we're gonna raise suffering-strong kids.

Portia: Yes, yes. 

Well speaking of suffering strong, does suffering strong mean that we are always stoic? Or that you never cry about your trials or lament over what you're going through? Well, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Erin discussed that very question not long ago. Check out this short clip.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: I think it's important to point out, and you've illustrated this, that trusting God to write your story in those hard times doesn't mean that the pain evaporates, that it's not hard, excruciatingly hard. Sometimes it doesn't mean that there are no tears. I mean, there are tears till we get to that place where there are no more tears. And so, it's not evidence that I don't trust God. What's the line? How have you come to say, here's the line between where I'm resenting God's choices, or I'm trusting God but I'm still able to express that emotionally?

Erin: Well, I never let go of hope. The hope is: Yes, this is hard and this may be hard for a long time, but I have hope. I don't have hope in myself to get myself out of this situation. I have hoped that the Lord is working right now in a million ways that I can't see. I have hope. And for a girl who was abandoned by her father, to be anchored in the fact that I'm never alone. That's a supernatural work of God in my life. I can face hard things. I can't face hard things alone. And so, it is walking through and choosing to believe the truth. I still never let go of hope. 

Leslie Bennett is going to be who gets us grounded in God's Word today. And if you're watching Grounded right now or listening, it might be because of Leslie Bennett. She's been behind the scenes praying for you since Grounded began. She’s one of my favorite Bible teachers. When I knew the topic for this episode, I knew we needed a Bible teacher. There was no question; it was going to be Leslie Bennett. So, what a treat you're in for today. Leslie, get us grounded in God's Word.

Leslie Bennett: Thanks, Erin. It's so great to be with you today. All right, ladies, you know, on Grounded, we always need our Bibles. So, I want you to grab yours and put your finger in Isaiah 53. I'll come back to it in just a moment. 

Katherine was talking about treasures in suffering, and we've got some more treasures to share with you this morning. And here's what I want you to hear today. Suffering is at the heart of every Christian story because suffering is at the heart of the gospel. You know, I've been serving in women's ministry for 25 years now. And as I was listening to Katherine and Victor share this morning, it was just a fresh reminder to me of the hurting women, not only in my life and in my church, but all around the world. 

So, Grounded friends, if you are not suffering today, then I know you're praying for someone who is suffering. Or maybe like me, you are grief stricken over the evil and the suffering in the world. Just yesterday during our church service, I looked around the Worship Center, and there was a cancer patient who had just completed chemo clapping her hands. And then I looked across the aisle, and there was a young mama who'd miscarried, and she was singing her heart out. And then that friend that was sitting right behind me, she lifted her hands to worship. Her marriage had been rocked by infidelity, and this couple is still fighting for their marriage and trusting God to restore it. 

Each one of these sisters in Christ is suffering in different ways. Yet each one was beaming with radiance of a suffering Savior. I asked myself, how do you explain this? It makes no sense to my human mind. 

As I said, suffering is at the heart of our Christian stories. Because suffering is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus, our Savior, was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. He was crucified, He died a criminal's death, He lay in the grave for three days. Then He rose victorious and later ascended to heaven where He now lives to intercede for you and for me. 

Well, 700 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah to come in chapter 53. Let's look at verses four through six together. As I read them for us, you'll see them on the screen. I want you to notice the work of Christ on the cross.

Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds.
We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished him
for the iniquity of us all.

Wow, did you hear that my friend? He bore our sicknesses. He carried pain. He was stricken. He was struck down. He was pierced. He was crushed. He was punished, so we could be healed by His wounds. 

So this Easter, let's remember what was required for you and I'd have a relationship with a holy God. You know, the Bible teaches that the penalty of sin is death, and someone had to pay for my sins. Logic says, “It should have been me. My verdict was guilty. It was my cross with my name inscribed over it.” Not only me, but you too, my dear sister. 

But the truth of the gospel is absolutely staggering. Christ cancels out our name. And if you can get to the comments or the chat, I want you just to throw some big X’s in there, because Christ canceled out your name as well. The sinless Lamb of God, Hebrews 12 tells us, “for the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

You know, my pastor sums up the gospel like this. We lost it all. Christ did it all, and we gain it all. 

Well, the Bible isn't silent about human suffering. So, as we wrap it up here, let's ask a question: What does the suffering of Jesus gain for Christians, in addition to gaining our salvation and the assurance of heaven, if that isn't enough. I want to just give you three more reasons to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Lord” in your everyday life. 

And there are more, girls. So, I'm counting on you just to dig them out in your Bibles. I want to encourage you to do that this week as you ponder the cross of Christ. 

So real quickly, here's three: Jesus removed our curse. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Number two, Jesus covered our shame. Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And finally, Jesus clothed us with righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.” 

The world needs to see suffering Christians who are weeping yet simultaneously proclaiming the joys of a faithful and loving God. Our hope of heaven means that we can endure suffering just like we heard from Katherine and from Victor this morning. When we embrace suffering as part of our story, we become like Jesus. Suffering doesn't make us godly. But we won't become godly women without suffering as part of our story. 

So, remember this, your life can flourish in suffering, and by His grace, followers of Jesus can patiently endure and glorify God while they suffer. Suffering is at the heart of our stories. But suffering isn't the final stroke of the pen. When we see Jesus, we will be like Him. In comparison, to the eternal joys that are waiting for us in heaven, we know from 2 Corinthians 4, that our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable, eternal weight of glory. 

You see, when we get to heaven, our suffering will be like a brief blink of an eye, and the weight of our hardship will feel comparatively light, and it will seem like it was easy to bear. We will say with all the saints, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Amen.

Portia: Amen, amen, amen. Thank you so much. I truly enjoy when you are teaching, when you're sharing from God's Word. So, thank you so much. 

Leslie: You’re welcome.

Portia: Well, this has been a heavy episode, but it's been a good one. I am sure that you know someone who is suffering and they need some real hope. We wanted to let you know that a lot of Revive Our Hearts resources, including some that would make very meaningful gifts, are a part of our spring sale. And so, we want you to check it out. And you can learn more at ReviveOurHearts.com.

Erin: Leslie, I want you to head on back. Portia, here you come back. We'd like to go from heavy and meaningful to a little lighter on Grounded sometimes. Here's my million-dollar question to end this up: What is the dish that you are going to win all the brownie points with when you cook on Easter Sunday morning? I know we all gotta be cooking all week long. I want to know what your winning dish is. Leslie, what is it?

Leslie: Okay, well guess what? My daughter is hosting our family, and right now, I'm not even fixing a dish.

Erin: Okay, what are you most looking forward to eating?

Leslie: Macaroni and cheese.

Erin: Nothing wrong with that. Portia, what are you cooking?

Portia: I am but you know, it's such a love / hate relationship right now because I'm like on this restricted diet.. I think in celebration of Jesus getting up out of that grave. 

Erin: You’re going to eat some pie.

Portia: I'm going to need to eat my famous cornbread from scratch and like the technique, everything, you got to do it just right. And it comes out so buttery and golden brown. And so yeah . . . 

Erin: I'm coming. I'm coming to your daughter’s, Leslie. I'm coming to your house Portia. I'm cooking Easter Sunday, and I will have no less than 7,000 dishes. I just want it all. I want the ham, and I want the potatoes. I want the rolls, and I want the salad, and I want the bag of cheese and the cornbread. I want it all. 

Anyway, by the time we're together again like this, we will have already celebrated Jesus rising from the dead, but He's risen right now. So, I'm glad that we can celebrate that together. Be sure and hurry back next Monday. 

We always say we have great episodes lined up for you because we do. Kristen Wetherall is going to be with us. She's going to be talking to us about her new book Humble Mom, so we've got extra reasons for hope this week. Jesus is risen; He's risen indeed. See you soon. 

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