Having faith doesn’t mean being unreasonable or blind. As Sean McDowell explains, God has given us evidence for a rational faith and has made Himself known—for those who are willing to see.

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.

In this clip from his interview on the Revive Our Hearts podcast, Randy addresses faith healing, and the health and wealth gospel. 

Randy Alcorn gave a message at Rise City Church in Gresham, Oregon about the theology of Heaven and the New Earth. He shared the good news that hope is found in an eternal life of “God with us.” The painful life under the curse on this present Earth is contrasted with the redeemed life we were intended for on the New Earth. Earth’s greatest days, as well as our own, are yet to come.  

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy answers the question, “What would you like to be able to tell your younger self?” He talks about learning to say no in order to say yes to God, and about not listening to the voices telling you to avoid being radical in your service to the Lord.

We may want to turn away from world suffering and refuse to reflect on the significance of our own pain; we just want it to go away. But despite the superficiality of our culture, we remain God’s image-bearers—thinking and caring people, wired to ask questions and seek answers.

Please remember that it takes time to reach that place of perspective. Be patient with yourself during this process. It can take three or more years just to get past the fog and confusion of a major loss.

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.

Isn’t it likely that a kind, all-powerful, and very compassionate God routinely prevents terrible tragedies in ways that we do not see and therefore do not credit as miracles? Perhaps one day we’ll hear those stories and marvel at how often God intervened when we imagined Him uninvolved in our world.