Episode 98: Receiving the Gift You Didn't Want with Philip Yancey

“Hope is believing in advance what can only be understood in reverse.”

These words have been the rally cry of my soul for over a decade now, but I didn’t come up with them myself. Philip Yancey did. This gentle, thoughtful writer has spent his career exploring the topic of suffering which, as you can imagine, has meant so much to me. Today I have the honor of sitting down with Philip to talk about some things that we can’t understand today, but trust we’ll understand some day. (Like his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.)

This hour with Philip filled my soul, and I think it’ll do the same for you. Here’s what you can expect if you join us in the conversation:

• Why pain is not the enemy
• The most helpful definition of health I’ve heard yet
• We can receive God’s comfort, even when we don’t understand Him
• Stewarding the suffering we never wanted
• The best thing we can be for God to use us

If you need a compassionate, encouraging voice speaking into your suffering—whatever it may be—then this episode is for you!

Show Notes:

Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/6xf3QxV

The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand - https://a.co/d/3GapVr9

“Parkinson’s—The Gift I Didn’t Want” by Philip Yancey for Christianity Today - https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/02/philip-yancey-ct-parkinsons-diagnosis-gift-i-didnt-want/

How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis A. Schaeffer - https://a.co/d/f5H3bxk

Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/47InSUW

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

2 Corinthians 1:4

Romans 8

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