Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 22

What Will Resurrection Day Be Like?

What will it be like on our resurrection day, when we return with Christ to this old Earth, when we are given new bodies in the knowledge that we will together colonize a New Earth (whether that is immediately, or after a thousand years)? At the end of my novel Safely Home, I tried to catch a flavor of what it may be like:

The battle cry of a hundred million warriors erupted from one end of the heavens to the other. There was war on that narrow isthmus between heaven and hell, a planet called Earth. The air was filled with the din of combat—the wails of oppressors being slain and the joyous celebrations of the oppressed, rejoicing that at long last their liberators had arrived.

Some of the warriors sang as they slew, swinging swords to hew the oppressors with one arm and, with the other, pulling victims up onto their horses.

The long arm of the King moved with swiftness and power. The hope of reward that kept the sufferers sane was vindicated at last. No child of Heaven was touched by the sword this day, for the universe could not tolerate the shedding of one more drop of righteous blood.

Heaven released fury. Earth bled fear. It was the old world’s last night.

At the Lion’s nod, Michael raised his mighty sword and brought it down upon the great dragon. His muscles bulging at the strain, Michael picked up his evil twin and cast the writhing beast into a great pit. The mauler of men, the hunter of women, the predator of children, the persecutor of the righteous shrieked in terror. The vast army of Heaven’s warriors cheered.

The battalions of Charis gazed upon the decimated face of the earth, the scorched soil of the old world. Nothing had survived the fires of this holocaust of things. Nothing but the King’s Word, His people, and the deeds of gold and silver and precious stones they had done for Him during the long night since Eden’s twilight.

Soldiers dropped their weapons, the crippled tossed their crutches and ran, the blind opened their eyes and saw. They pointed and shouted and danced, throwing their arms around each other, for each knew that any now left on earth were under the King’s blood and could be fully trusted. The King gathered children upon His lap. He wiped away their tears. . . .

The sound of a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder, shouted, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” . . .

All eyes turned to the King. The entire universe fell silent, anticipating His words.

“I will turn the wasteland into a garden,” the King announced. “I will bring here the home I have made for you, my bride. There will be a new world, a life-filled blue-green world, greater than all that has ever been. The Shadowlands are mine again, and I shall transform them. My kingdom has come. My will shall be done. Winter is over. Spring is here at last!”

A great roar rose from the vast crowd. The King raised His hands. Upon seeing those scars, the cheering crowds remembered the unthinkable cost of this great celebration.

Warriors slapped each other on the back. The delivered hugged their deliverers, enjoying a great reunion with those once parted from them.

The multitudes innumerable began to sing the song for which they had been made, a song that echoed off a trillion planets and reverberated in a quadrillion places in every nook and cranny of the creation’s expanse. Audience and orchestra and choir all blended into one great symphony, one grand cantata of rhapsodic melodies and sustaining harmonies. All were participants. Only one was an audience, the Audience of One. The smile of the King’s approval swept through the choir like fire across dry wheat fields.

When the song was complete, the Audience of One stood and raised His great arms, then clapped His scarred hands together in thunderous applause, shaking ground and sky, jarring every corner of the cosmos. His applause went on and on, unstopping and unstoppable.

Every one of them realized something with undiminished clarity in that instant. They wondered why they had not seen it all along. What they knew in that moment, in every fiber of their beings, was that this Person and this Place were all they had ever longed for . . . and ever would.

Photo: Pexels

Why Doesn’t God Make His Existence More Evident?

Note from Randy: Last year I was asked to endorse a new book by Josh and Sean McDowell, 12 Critical Truths of the Christian Faith. While I’ve written countless endorsements, it was the only book I’ve ever written three different endorsements for, letting the publisher choose which to use. Here they are, and they not only pertain to this new book, which released in January 2024, but also to the lives and ministries of the authors:

Truth has never been more aggressively denied and resisted as it is today, not only in the world but in the church. And there has never been a father-son team more skillful at defending the truth in a spirit of grace than Josh and Sean McDowell. This book is a Godsend that will help young and old.
God has used both Josh and Sean McDowell in my life, and for many years I’ve passed out their books and linked to their videos defending God’s Word and the Christian faith. 12 Crucial Truths is an outstanding defense of the historic Bible-based and Jesus-centered worldview.
In a culture that scorns the truth, here’s a book that will help you both learn and love the truth. Josh and Sean do a great job clearing the debris that often obscures and keeps people from the truth. As Jesus promised, the truth has set me free and I am grateful to see it honored, defended, and made accessible in this excellent book.

Sean will be speaking at my church, Good Shepherd Community Church, for an apologetics conference, May 3-4. I’m really looking forward to what he will share! (If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, or can come here, it’s not too late to register for the Reasons to Believe Conference: Discovering the truth about the Bible, Jesus, and why it matters.)

One of the goals of the conference is to explore the truth that having faith doesn’t mean being unreasonable or blind. As Sean explains in the following article, God has given us evidence for a rational faith and has made Himself known—for those who are willing to see. May God give us eyes of faith to see how He demonstrates His existence every day in hundreds of ways, most of which we take for granted.

Has God Given Us Enough Evidence for Rational Faith?

As a college student, I explored significant doubts I had about my faith. It bothered me that God didn’t make His existence more obvious. In fact, one skeptic made me wonder: Why doesn’t God write “Jesus Saves” on the moon or “Made by God” on each cell?

After carefully examining the evidence, however, I became convinced that God has made himself known (Rom. 1:18–21; 2:14, 15). He has not made Himself known exhaustively, but He has sufficiently. Consider three prominent arguments for the existence of God:

THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: Both scientific and philosophical reasons help us conclude that the universe, at some point, had a beginning. Given that something can’t begin to exist without a cause, the cause must be outside the universe. Since matter, time, and energy simultaneously came into existence at a finite point in the past, the cause is plausibly timeless, immaterial, intelligent, powerful, and personal. Simply put, the beginning of the universe points to a Beginner.

THE FINE-TUNING OF THE LAWS OF PHYSICS: The laws of physics that govern the universe are exquisitely fine-tuned for the emergence and sustenance of human life. The slightest changes in any number of physical constants would make our universe inhospitable. The most compelling and reliable explanation for why the universe is so precisely fine- tuned is that an Intelligent Mind made it that way. Simply put, the fine-tuning of the universe points to a Fine-Tuner.

THE MORAL ARGUMENT: This argument reasons that since objective moral values exist, so must God. If God does not exist, then moral values are ultimately subjective and nonbinding. Yet we know objective moral values are real. Therefore, since moral values do exist, God must as well. Simply put, the existence of moral values points to a universal Moral Lawgiver.

Much more could be said about these arguments. My father and I go into depth on each one of these (and more) in the updated Evidence That Demands a Verdict. And we also explore the historical evidence for the deity of Christ and His resurrection. There is evidence for those who want to consider it.

So, then, why doesn’t God make His existence more evident? Why didn’t God write “Jesus Saves” with the stars? This troubled me until I realized that it’s an absurd request. After all, what language would God write it in? Hebrew? Arabic? English? And if He wrote it in a particular language, wouldn’t all the illiterate people throughout history object? What about all the blind people? Clearly the request for God to write “Jesus Saves” in the stars wouldn’t actually fix the supposed problem.

Remember: God is not interested in proving His existence, but in knowing mankind personally (John 17:1-5). As counterintuitive as it may seem, there is no reason to believe that if God were to make His existence more manifest that more people would repent of their sin and enter into a saving relationship with Him.

God revealed Himself tirelessly in the Old Testament by sending plagues to Egypt, parting the Red Sea, and destroying the enemies of Israel. Sadly, this didn’t produce lasting heart-change in the people. They continually rebelled and followed other gods.

And even in the New Testament, when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, the religious leaders want to kill Lazarus and run Jesus out of town. Therefore, even if God blazoned “Jesus Saves” in the stars, we would have little reason to believe this would generate lasting faith.

God is not interested in merely proving His existence. But for those with eyes to see, and ears to hear, God has made Himself known. He has offered sufficient evidence for rational faith. The question is—Will we trust Him?

This article originally appeared on Sean’s blog, and is used with permission.

Photo: Unsplash

What Does It Mean to Live for the Line, Not the Dot?

We can think of our lives in terms of a dot and a line, signifying two phases. Our present life on Earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief. However, from the dot, a line extends that goes on forever. That line is eternity, which Christians will spend in Heaven. Right now we’re living in the dot. But what are we living for? The shortsighted person lives for the dot. The person with perspective lives for the line.

This Earth as it is now (and our time here) is the dot. Our beloved Bridegroom, the coming wedding, the Great Reunion, and our eternal home in the New Heaven and New Earth—they’re all on the line.

I explain more in this Q&A about what it means to live for the line, and how I saw this at work in my wife Nanci’s life:

Here are some more questions I answered during this same Q&A session:

How Are Lightning and Thunder a Picture of God’s Grace and Our Giving?

What Is the Current State of Christian Stewardship?

How Should We Think about Stewardship in Our Wealthy Society?

Why Might Wise Stewards Think Differently about Giving Their Children an Inheritance?

Does Having Financial Wealth Mean I Have the Gift of Giving? Or Is It a Skill to Develop?

Photo: Unsplash

God Will Give Us More Than We Can Handle—But Not More Than He Can

Note from Randy: There’s a common saying: “God won’t give you more than you can handle” or “…more than you can bear.” Certainly, God gives us things which we can’t handle by ourselves. But He also promises that He is sufficient and able to sustain and strengthen us.

Many people (including me) memorized 1 Corinthians 10:13 in the King James, or the New King James, which says, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation [which also can mean trial] will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Some people don’t believe this verse refers to trials, including the author of the article below. But either way, does God promise we can bear everything or that we can’t? Depends on what you mean by “bear it.” Bear it with God’s help? Yes. Bear it without God’s help? No!

Regardless of what we mean when we answer the question, my thanks to Mitch Chase, associate professor of biblical studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for this response to “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Whether or not you agree with everything he says, he makes some significant points that I believe can be very helpful.

God Will Give You More than You Can Handle

By Mitch Chase

Christians can make the strangest claims when comforting those who are suffering. What do you say to someone whose life is falling apart? If you have but few precious minutes with a person who’s lost a job, home, spouse, child, or all sense of purpose, what comfort do you give?

We might turn to conventional wisdom instead of Scripture and end up saying something like, “Don’t worry, this wouldn’t happen in your life if God didn’t think you could bear it.” The sufferer may object, head shaking and hands up. But you insist, “Look, seriously, the Bible promises God won’t ever give you more in life than you can handle.” There it is—conventional wisdom masquerading as biblical truth. You’ve promised what the Bible never does.

Temptations Versus Trials

In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” His discussion is specific: he’s writing about “temptation,” a snare that breaks a sweat trying to drag us into sin. Using a predator metaphor, God warned Cain that “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Sin stalks us, but God is faithful. Sin desires to overcome us, but there is a merciful way of escape. Sin sets the bait, but for the believer—praise God!—sin is not irresistible.

Now if people apply Paul’s words about temptation to general sufferings, you can see where the line “God will never give you more than you can handle” comes from. I don’t doubt the sincerity and good intentions of those who use this phrase, but sincerity isn’t enough. Even Job’s friends meant well.

The Twin Errors

There are at least two errors in the unbiblical notion of “God will never give you more than you can handle.” First, it plays on the cultural virtue of fairness. Second, it points the sufferer inward instead of Godward.

1. Trials that Are . . . Fair?

If you give your children boxes to load into the car, you make visual and weight assessments that factor in their ages and strength. You don’t overload their arms and watch them crash to the ground with stuff splayed everywhere. That would be unfair. The saying “God will never give you more than you can handle” strikes a tone of fairness we instinctually like. There’s something pleasing about the idea that the scales are in balance, that God has assessed what we can handle and permits trials accordingly.

But there is a glaring problem with the “fairness” that undergirds this conventional wisdom: God has been unfair already, because he has not dealt with us as our sins deserve. He has been longsuffering, forbearing, gracious, and abounding in love. The sun shines and rain falls even on the unjust (Matt. 5:45). God transcends the categories of fair and unfair to such a degree that we have no position to evaluate his actions or weigh his will. His ways aren’t subject to our culture’s standard of fairness.

2. The Power . . . Within?

Suffering doesn’t ask if you’re ready. It may come slowly or with a vengeance, but it doesn’t ask permission, and it doesn’t care about convenience. There’s never a good time for your life to be wrecked. But the saying “God will never give you more than you can handle” tells me I have what it takes. It tells me I can bear whatever comes my way. It tells me God permits trials according to my ability to endure. Think about what this conventional wisdom does: it points people inward.

Yet the Bible points us Godward. As the psalmist says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (Ps. 46:1–3). When our strength is failing under crushing burdens, the answer is not within. God gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak (Isa. 40:29). The power comes from him to those who wait on him.

Where Trials Direct Us

Trials come in all shapes and sizes, but they don’t come to show how much we can take or how we have it all together. Overwhelming suffering will come our way because we live in a broken world with broken people. And when it comes, let’s be clear ahead of time that we don’t have what it takes. God will give us more than we can handle—but not more than he can.

The psalmist asks, “Where does my help come from?” (Ps. 121:1), and we must be able to answer like he did. We must know and believe, deep in our bones, that “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (121:2). When trials come, trust that the Lord’s help will come. This news is helpful to sufferers since we’re saying something true about God instead of something false about ourselves.

Paul recalled a time when God gave him more than he could bear. In a letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” (2 Cor. 1:8). Paul and his associates had been in circumstances that transcended their strength to endure: “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death” (1:9).

Then he provides a crucial insight into his despair. Why were he and his companions given more than they could handle? To “make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9). God will give you more than you can handle so that his great power might be displayed in your life. Indeed, a greater weight of glory is still to come: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17).

You might not consider overwhelming sufferings to be “light” and “momentary,” but think of your trials in terms of a trillion years from now. In the middle of affliction, sometimes the most difficult thing to hold onto is an eternal vision. Paul isn’t trying to minimize your affliction; he’s trying to maximize your perspective.

Suffering doesn’t get the last line in the script. In this life, God will give you more than you can handle, but the coming weight of glory will be greater than you can imagine.

This article originally appeared on The Gospel Coalition and is used with permission of the author.

Photo: Unsplash

Should Ethnicity and Race Never Cross Our Minds When We Meet Another Believer?

I’ve heard it said, “Ethnicity and background should never even cross our minds when we meet another believer. Unfortunately, we’re being told that the first thing we need to notice about someone in a local church is their skin color.”

I disagree. First of all, it obviously does and will cross our mind, and it’s silly to think we can or should close our eyes to differences.

Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). What he’s saying is that we are all equal and should be in unity with each other. He doesn’t mean racial identity and gender and slavery do not exist. The same Paul speaks openly of Jewish and Gentile believers (Romans 2:10; 9:3-4) and male and female believers (Ephesians 5:22, 25).

The notion of being “colorblind” doesn’t lend itself to oneness but to blindness. It suggests that if we recognize or admit differences, we would be forced to say some are better than others. No, we should recognize the differences and celebrate that God’s image-bearers come in all shapes and sizes and colors, and we are the beneficiaries of His providence in creating us this way. (See Trillia Newbell’s excellent article 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Colorblind.)

Saying someone’s skin color shouldn’t even cross our minds is like saying I shouldn’t notice whether I’m talking to a man or a woman, or that it’s somehow wrong to notice a man is 6’8” or 4’8”. What is wrong is when I judge or stereotype or think less of him, or more of him, because of a physical attribute. I can certainly thank God for creating diversity.

What about noticing someone is disabled, and looking for a way to assist them if needed? What about noticing someone is young or old, and they too may need my help? If I see someone of a different skin color at a store, staring at American money the same way I stared at Chinese money when I was in China, I should offer help. But I won’t if I fail to notice them.

To say that we are all image-bearers is NOT to deny we have differences. It is to say we who are different are all human, and we who are believers are, as Paul puts it, one in Christ. Not ceasing to be male or female, or ceasing to be whatever race we were created as, but fully united regardless of our differences.

The glory of God is greater because people of different tribes, nations, and languages of different times and places will be forever united in Jesus.

Photo: Unsplash

God’s Good Plans for Us Are Better Than We Can Imagine

I ran across these thoughts that Nanci wrote, and we shared on her Caring Bridge page several years ago:

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for Yahweh; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for Yahweh!” (Psalm 27:13-14).

To “look upon the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living” does not mean all of us will live as long as we want or that all of life will go according to our desired wishes. God’s goodness toward us is what He knows to be the best good, now and forever, and not what we think to be the best good for us.

His good may not always feel pleasant or even fair in my limited perspective, but the truth is: His good is always perfectly designed for me. Yahweh’s good carries His plans for my life; and His plans are better than I can imagine.

God often blesses us by revealing some of the purposes which propel His goodness in our lives. These are times when it is easier to continue walking the path He has chosen for us. But He sometimes withholds the reasons for His choice of goodness in our lives until we see Him face to face. This too is part of His goodness toward us.

He desires that we trust in His character rather than our circumstances. For me to believe with all my heart in the goodness of God—under all circumstances—blesses my Father, my Savior, and my Comforter. That is to say: it causes God to rejoice in me. What could possibly be better?!

As Nanci affirmed, God knows everything, including every contingency, and He knows what is ultimately best in ways we cannot. God can see ultimate purposes and plans that we can’t. Because He knows all things in the past, present, and future, God is uniquely qualified to know when to ordain or permit evil and suffering and when not to.

Do we criticize a great composer whose symphony doesn’t end in ten minutes or half an hour? Do we complain when he moves from a major key to a minor key and back to a major? No, we celebrate his artistry. When we hear the dark and melancholic sections, we don’t conclude he’s made a mistake. Once we reach the ending, we recognize the symphony as a far greater work than one that consists of only bright melodies.

A concert may last three hours. God’s concert has lasted thousands of years. What if the melody and harmony, major and minor keys all prove in the end to have contributed to the whole?

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). God gave this promise to the Israelites when they lived in a minor key, during a period of melancholic dissonance.

When we view life through the eyes of faith, we can say, “Things appear one way, but my God is sovereign, loving, merciful, and kind. Through His grace and empowerment, I will cling to Him. I will come out on the other side of this evil and suffering a deeper and more Christlike person, marked forever by Jesus’ grace. And someday I will see that every minute was worth it.”

Nanci is with Jesus, the One she loved and trusted through her cancer. Her faith is now sight—and indeed, she knows that every moment of pain and suffering was worth it.

For more related to the subject of suffering and God's purposes, see Randy’s book  If God Is Good , as well as the devotional  90 Days of God’s Goodness  and book  The Goodness of God . 

Photo: Unsplash

Sean McDowell on Why He Thanks God for His Doubts

Note from Randy: I’m very excited that author and professor Sean McDowell will be speaking at my church for an apologetics conference, May 3-4! I believe it will be faith-impacting, so I’m inviting a number of teens I know, including my grandsons, who along with their parents have already signed up. (If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, or can travel here, you can learn more and register for the Reasons to Believe Conference, hosted by Good Shepherd Community Church. The session titles are: True for You, but Not True for Me; Evidence for the New Testament; Evidence for the Resurrection; and If God, Why Evil?)

Sean’s father Josh McDowell had a big influence on me and countless others through his writing and speaking ministry. I will never forget reading through his classic book Evidence That Demands a Verdict and how I used it in youth ministry and pastoring our church (Josh and Sean have thoroughly revised and updated that work, which I highly recommend). For decades I passed out his More Than a Carpenter to unbelievers and young believers more than any other book, and others obviously did the same since it has sold over 15 million copies (Sean assisted his dad in revising that book as well).

Many years ago Josh and I became friends, seeing each other in various parts of the country and getting together for meals and conversation. I love Josh and I love Sean, and I also love how as father and son they have teamed up in such remarkable, eternity-impacting ways.

Listen to what Sean has to say in the following article about how God has used doubt in his life, for great good (including impacting tens of thousands of people through his books, writings, and podcasts!).

Why I Thank God for My Doubts: A Personal Reflection

It might sound crazy, but I can honestly say that I thank God for my doubts. It’s not that I always appreciate having doubts. Sometimes doubts can be a burden. But even so, I realize something deeper about the reason God has for my doubts. Let me explain.

I am a consistent doubter. I doubt almost everything including purchases, beliefs, and my daily choices. It is simply the way I am wired (and probably also the result of having a father who constantly challenged me to think). To be honest, sometimes the doubts can seem crushing.

Why Thank God for Doubts?

The answer is simple: It’s doubts that drive me to seek truth. That’s right, doubts drive me to read, study, think, question, and constantly try to uncover what is true. It bothers me to not know something, and I tirelessly try to uncover truth about it.

Without my doubts, I doubt (yes, pun intended) that I would have written a 300+ page academic book on the Fate of the Apostles or helped my father update his classic book Evidence that Demands A Verdict, which is 700+ pages. I certainly am motivated to create resources that genuinely help people, but so much of my own drive comes from my personal doubts and skepticism. I want to be confident about what I believe.

A Personal Lament

A few years ago, I was lamenting that God didn’t give me more faith. I have a pastor friend who clearly has the gift of faith. He’s always optimistic about his family, faith, and church. No matter how dim things get, he’ll constantly say, “Don’t worry. God is in control. He’s got this.”

Yet, as much as I believe him, I still find myself thinking, “But how do you really know? What if God has other plans? Are you sure?” I just can’t help it. I question things. But why? Ultimately, I think there are two reasons.

The Benefit of Doubt

First, as I mentioned above, doubts motivate me to study, research, learn, and go deeper in my understanding. If I were not such a skeptic, I would probably never spend so much time trying to learn and educate other believers. If you have a weakness, have you ever considered how God may have a deeper purpose for it?

Second, and perhaps most important, my doubts drive me to rest in God’s grace rather than my own understanding. When doubts plague me, and I can’t resolve something in my mind, I am driven to God for His mercy. Jude 1:22 says to “have mercy on those who doubt.” And I often think of the powerful words spoken by the Apostle Paul, when he reflected on his own weakness: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

God uses our weaknesses to draw us into deeper relationship with Him and for greater personal sanctification. In fact, God seems to enjoy using our weaknesses and shortcomings, so that He gets the glory. These are life-changing truths for which I rarely doubt.

This article originally appeared on Sean’s blog, and is used with permission.

Photo: Unsplash

An Index of What I’ve Written on Loss, Grief, Eternal Hope, and Nanci’s Life and Homecoming

In the years since Nanci’s cancer diagnosis, and her subsequent homecoming in March 2022, grief has become my companion—a friend, and a necessary part of my growth. It is not an enemy; rather, it’s an instrument in the hand of the Master Artist, or the anvil on which the blacksmith crafts and hones his metalwork. Indeed, as painful as they are, these “light and momentary troubles are achieving in us an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

The only way to avoid grief is to avoid love. The only way I could grieve Nanci less is to have loved her less. I’m so thankful to have had a relationship so great that the absence of it has left that great hole in my life. The hole doesn’t feel as big now, not just because of the passing of time, but because of healthy grieving and my certainty that our relationship hasn’t been terminated, just interrupted. 

Writing about Nanci’s life, my grief, and our blood-bought hope in Christ has been therapeutic for me. I’ve often wished for a single page where what I’ve written is listed in one place, to share with those who ask questions and want to know Nanci’s story. Stephanie Anderson, part of our wonderful EPM staff, categorized our resources, so you can click on ones that especially interest you or that you’ve missed entirely. Even people who regularly read my blog don’t see them all, and those who do will have forgotten some that they might want to reread or send to a friend.

Articles about my personal grief process:

Nanci’s Death Isn’t the End of Our Relationship, Only a Temporary Interruption

The Opening Weekend of NFL Football, and Christ’s Companionship in Unanticipated Grief

A Season of Many Firsts without Nanci by My Side

Eternity Changed Because Nanci and I Met 55 Years Ago

The Four Biggest Assets in My Grief

The Great Reunion Awaits: Reflections a Year After Nanci Entered Heaven

A Brief Interruption in Our Relationship: Our Daughter Angela’s Reflections about Her Mom

What I’ve Learned about Grieving with Hope in the Two Years Since Nanci’s Homegoing

Articles about Nanci’s life and walk with Jesus:

Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Four Years

Why the Year After Her Cancer Diagnosis Was the Best Year of Nanci’s Life

She Was Like a Tree Planted by Water

Nanci’s Memorial Service and Life Story

Ordinary Faithfulness Has Great Eternal Impact: My Message at Nanci’s Memorial Service

Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed: Thoughts from Nanci’s Family at Her Memorial

She Loved Her Life: Thoughts from Some of Nanci’s Friends and Pastors at Her Memorial

An Introvert Can Have Great Impact in God’s Kingdom: Thoughts from Nanci’s Friends at Her Memorial

Articles written by Nanci, or with many quotes from her:

A Prayer to the Shepherd of My Life

“My Cancer Is God’s Servant”: Reflections by Nanci Alcorn

What Faith Is, and Is Not

We Would Do Well to Dig Deep into God

Jesus Accomplished the Healing from Sin We Need, Even More Than Healing from Cancer

Contentment Turns All It Touches to Gold

God’s Purposes Prevail in Both Good News and Bad News

What Do You Like Most About Jesus?

Articles about grief:

Recommended Books and Resources for Those Who Are Grieving

Christians Grieve the Death of Believing Loved Ones, But We Don’t Grieve Without Hope

Rediscovering Your God-Given Identity after Loss

Articles about helping others who are grieving:

Comforting Grieving People and Encouraging Them to Hold on to Solid Truth

Three Things to Remember When Giving Comfort to Grieving People

Helpful Things to Say to Those Grieving or Suffering

How to Care for Those Who Are Suffering and Grieving at Christmastime

Audios and videos about suffering, grief, loss, and Heaven:

A Theology of Suffering and Grief (message at Liberty University)

Trusting His Loving Purposes (message on Nanci, Suffering, and Heaven at California Baptist University)

Having Loved Ones in Heaven Makes Our Anticipation of Eternity Stronger Than Ever (video Q&A with fellow widower Steve Silver)

Remembering Nanci, Anticipating Heaven (interview on the Chris Fabry Show)

God’s Promise of the New Earth Gives Us Hope and Perspective in Loss (interview with Dr. Lee Warren)

An Eternal Perspective on Suffering, Loss, and Grief (message at my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church)

Real Grief, Real Hope (interview on Revive Our Hearts Podcast)

Walking Through Cancer with a Loved One (podcast episode for Joni and Friends)

No More Curse (message about the New Earth, given at my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church)

Articles about death, including Nanci‘s:

Dying Is but Going Home (written right after Nanci’s homecoming to Heaven)      

Joining the Real Party in Heaven

We Are Not Dying Out; We Are Hastening on to a More Glorious Life

What Happens to Us When We Die?

Why We Don’t Need to Fear the Moment of Our Death

Articles written during Nanci’s years of suffering and facing her cancer, and after her death:

Discovering the Wonders of God in the Low Tides of Life

Delighting in God and Trusting in Him through Cancer

Sorrow’s End

Suffering Is No Accident

Freedom and Comfort in Truth

Honest Faith Can Cry out to God

God’s Providence in Joseph’s Story—and Ours

God’s Word Sustains Us When Life Is Hard

Finding Resurrection Hope, and How Suffering Can Drive Us Deeper into God’s Love

Articles about Heaven and the New Earth, and our loved ones who are already in Christ’s presence:

Our Best Life Yet to Come: The New Earth, Our Eternal Home

What’s the Difference Between the Present Heaven and the Future Heaven?

Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty

Meet the Resurrected You

What Are My Loved Ones Experiencing in the Present Heaven?

Can We or Should We Talk to Loved Ones in Heaven?

Can Our Loved Ones in Heaven See Us During Important Times in Our Lives?

Is It Right to Long for Reunion with Loved Ones Who Have Died?

Does Our Marriage to Christ in Heaven Mean Our Earthly Marriage Partners Won’t Be Important to Us?

Photo: Unsplash

How Does Understanding God’s Happiness Change Lives?

A teenage boy came to me with questions about his faith. He’d attended church all his life but now had some doubts. I assured him that even the writers of the Bible sometimes struggled. He wasn’t questioning any basic Christian beliefs, and he didn’t need six evidences for Christ’s resurrection, so I talked to him about holiness and happiness.

“What does God’s holiness mean?” I asked.

His clear, biblical answer: “He’s perfect, without sin.”

“Absolutely true. Does thinking about God’s holiness draw you to Him?”

He responded sadly, “No.”

I asked him whether he wanted to be holy 100 percent of the time. “No.”

“Me neither. I should, but I don’t.”

Then I surprised him, asking, “What do you want 100 percent of the time?” He didn’t know.

“Have you ever once thought, I don’t want to be happy?” “No.”

“Isn’t that what you really want—happiness?”

He nodded, his expression saying, “Guilty as charged.” Friendships, video games, sports, academics—every activity, every relationship he chose—played into his desire to be happy. But I could see he felt that this longing was unspiritual, displeasing to God.

I told him the word translated “blessed” in 1 Timothy 1:11 and 6:15 speaks of God being happy. I asked him to memorize these verses, replacing “blessed God” with “happy God.”

Then I asked him to list whatever pointed him to God’s happiness—backpacking, music, playing hockey, favorite foods. I said, “God could have made food without flavor, but He’s a happy God, so He created a world full of happiness. That means you can thank Him for macaroni and cheese, for music, for Ping-Pong, and above all, for dying on the cross so you can know Him and be forever happy.”

This boy had seen Christianity as a list of things he should do that wouldn’t make him happy and a list of things he shouldn’t do that would have made him happy.

Since we’ll inevitably seek what we believe will bring us happiness, what subject is more important than the true source of happiness? Just as we’ll live a wealth-centered life if we believe wealth brings happiness, so we’ll live a God- centered life if we believe God will bring us happiness. No one shops for milk at an auto parts store or seeks happiness from a cranky God.

As much as I believe in the holiness of God, I also believe in emphasizing God’s happiness as a legitimate and effective way to share the gospel with unbelievers or to help Christians regain a foothold in their faith.

God feels love, compassion, anger, and happiness. He’s never overwhelmed by unsettling emotions, nor is He subject to distresses imposed by others. But He does feel his children’s suffering deeply.

If your human father said he loved you but never showed it through his emotions, would you believe him? If we think God has no emotions, it’s impossible to believe He delights in us or to feel His love. That’s one reason believing in God’s happiness can be a breakthrough for people in their love for Him.

We’re told of God, in relationship with His people, “In all their affliction he was afflicted. . . . In his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9). What a moving portrayal of the tenderness of His affection for us and devotion to us!

But if God is so moved by our sorrows, how can He still be happy while we’re suffering?

God Himself models His inspired command to rejoice always. He sympathizes with all his suffering children, but He rejoices in purchasing our redemption and making us more like Jesus. He joyfully prepares a place for us, and He has eternally happy plans. He has the power to accomplish everything, as well as the sure knowledge that it will happen.

While I’m grateful that God cares deeply for me, I’m also grateful that when I’m miserable, it doesn’t mean God is. As any good father will be moved by his daughter’s pain when her boyfriend breaks up with her, God can feel our pain while retaining His own happiness. God the Father has an infinitely larger picture of eventual, eternal good that He will certainly accomplish. Nothing is outside His control. Therefore, nothing is a cause for worry. God does not fret.

Yes, our distress can involve feelings God doesn’t have, such as helplessness or uncertainty. But clearly God intends for us to see a similarity between our emotional distress and the affliction He feels on our behalf. If God experiences various non-sinful human emotions, as indicated by Scripture, it stands to reason that He feels happiness, too.

Loving Father, you are all-knowing, so nothing takes you by surprise. You are all-powerful, so there’s nothing you want to do but can’t. You are completely loving and good, so you can never and will never betray or abandon us. You are the source of all happiness, so you’re able to fulfill our deepest longings for joy and pleasure. Thank you for being both capable of and committed to bringing ultimate goodness to us, your children.

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy's books, including  Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

Did You Know Our Ministry Has Resources in 28 Languages?

Our ministry has recently been posting several new resources we had translated into other languages. That brings the list of resources available in languages other than English to 28:

Afrikaans (2)
Albanian (1)
Arabic (10)
Bosnian (3)
Chinese, Simplified (19)
Czech (1)
Dutch (7)
German (17)
Spanish (159)
Farsi (5)
French (66)
Hindi (6)
Hungarian (2)
Indonesian (6)
Italian (5)
Japanese (6)
Cambodian-Khmer (1)
Kurdish (1)
Nepali (2)
Portuguese (53)
Romanian (1)
Russian (6)
Tajik (1)
Turkish (8)
Ukrainian (7)
Urdu (18)
Uzbek (5)
Vietnamese (5)

I get excited about reaching people of every tribe and nation and language, and while we don’t have resources in every language, of course, we have something to offer in an increasing number, which is very encouraging!

If you know readers of these languages, please use and share what we have available! We are continuing to translate new resources. If anyone has suggestions about particular articles or languages we should consider, we are open to ideas and welcome you to send us a message.

We also have several of my books available in Spanish (and one in Portuguese) in our online store, including ¿Proelección o Provida?, the Spanish version of Pro-Choice or Pro-Life?. (My books have been translated into over 70 languages total; some may be available online from other retailers.)

(Here’s a past blog where I share about some of the translations of my books, and a message we received from a reader in Nepal. And here are some funny translations back to English of the titles of my books in other languages.)

“Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy, for you judge the peoples with fairness and lead the nations on earth” (Psalm 67:4).

Photo: Unsplash