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Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says, “Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude.” Far too often, though, it’s our arrogance and ingratitude and complaining spirits that are unbridled.

Certainly God sometimes graciously answers our prayers to relieve our suffering. This too testifies to His greatness, and we should praise Him for answering. But when He answers no, we should recognize that He desires to demonstrate His greater glory. May we then bend our knees and trust His sovereign grace.

I honestly don’t see any way God could have made us anything other than automatons unless He gave us the freedom to choose something other than Him. He loves us and wants us to love Him. Forced or legislated love isn’t love.

Someone asked a great follow up question on Facebook, in response to my blog Will We Have Regrets at the Judgment Seat of Christ?: “Will we ask forgiveness of others in Heaven if we weren’t able to make it right here on Earth?”

Perhaps you could consider leaving a set amount to your church that you feel good about, then direct the remaining funds to other ministries that God has placed on your heart.

Rejoicing always in the Lord (see Philippians 4:4) may seem unrealistic at times. But we must remember that this rejoicing is centered not in a passing circumstance but in a constant reality—God Himself, and his Son, Jesus, who died for us and rose again.

Because we give, eternity will be different—for others and for us and our families. Giving away our money, possessions, time, and talents is a sacred opportunity to make a great and eternal difference. And it’s also our opportunity to enter into living the good life now.

A few weeks ago I spoke at the services of my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church. The subject was what God has been teaching me about loss and grief since Nanci went to be with Jesus March 28. One of the most precious things about that weekend at my church was that I was able to share many profound insights from Nanci’s journals.

When Kirk Cousins, starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, interviewed me, one of the great questions he asked was, “Will we have regret in Heaven when we finally see with an eternal perspective?” I really appreciated Kirk’s question because of his Bible-based recognition of a truth many Christians don’t often contemplate, that “each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12).

I love The Valley of Vision, which is a collection of brief and profound Puritan prayers compiled by Arthur Bennett. I find these prayers uniquely powerful and penetrating. So did Nanci, and she often read them in her last few years of going deep in the things of God before Jesus took her home. 

Sharing honestly with our children about our weaknesses and our need for God’s strength can teach them a great deal, as our friend Vaneetha Rendall Risner so beautifully explains in this powerful article. She writes, “Parenting through weakness can bring God glory. As we rely on God and his grace, he shines through our lives.”

The answer is possibly yes—at least sometimes. In Revelation 6:10 we see martyrs in Heaven praying to God, asking Him to take specific action on earth. These are saints who have died and are now in God’s presence.

D.L. Moody wisely said, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter.” As Chad Bird explains in this article, we need not be afraid of living an ordinary, normal, quiet life. Rather, we should fear building our lives around ambition and success, pursuing things that won’t matter eternally.

Secondary happiness, which is found in something or someone God has created, ultimately leads back to Him. Have you ever pointed to something you want a child to see and then watched the child look at your finger instead of what you’re pointing at? The secondary only fulfills its purpose when people follow it to the primary.