The Best of You

227. What Trusting God Really Looks Like When You Can’t Control the Outcome with Susie Larson

Sep 24, 2026
Susie Larson, bestselling author and national radio host, opens up about trusting God through childhood trauma, chronic illness, unanswered prayer, and financial strain. She explores moving from transactional faith to belovedness, contending without striving, expectation versus expectancy, and discerning when trust means fighting, resting, or releasing control. An honest conversation about faith in life’s unresolved middle.
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ANECDOTE

How Childhood Trauma Shaped Susie’s Trust

  • Susie Larson’s childhood assault created lasting fear, secrecy, and insecurity that shaped her ability to trust God.
  • At nine, she hid the trauma to protect her public family, leaving the wound buried in “the basement” of her soul.
ANECDOTE

When Chronic Illness Made God Feel Silent

  • During difficult pregnancies and chronic illness, Susie felt unable to serve, perform, or control her circumstances.
  • When prayers seemed unanswered and frightening symptoms appeared, she experienced God as silent despite her faith.
INSIGHT

Knowing Salvation Is Not Living Loved

  • Trauma and disappointment can leave “open loops” where people intellectually know they are saved but struggle to believe they are loved.
  • Living loved changes how people interpret suffering, spiritual opposition, and God’s ongoing work.
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