How Tragedy Led His Son Back to God

About this sermon

Two weeks after burying his son Christopher, Greg Laurie still preached his scheduled crusade — not because the pain was gone, but because preaching was the one place he found relief, focused on the gospel instead of himself. In this deeply personal conversation with Chuck Swindoll, Greg unpacks Romans 8:28 through the lens of his own worst tragedy: "all things work together for good" doesn't mean everything that happens is good — he's clear he will always call his son's death a tragedy — but that God can bring good out of even the worst things without requiring us to understand how. That good became visible in an unexpected way. The night before Christopher died, he told his younger brother Jonathan, "you need to get right with the Lord." Jonathan, who had also been walking away from his faith, recommitted his life to Christ after Christopher's death and even felt called into ministry. Greg also opens up about the dark moments that still come — memories of Christopher that hit him out of nowhere — and the practice that pulls him back: preaching Scripture to himself, especially John 11:25, until he regains what he calls "a heavenly perspective.” This is a conversation about grief that doesn't get resolved so much as carried — and how God can work good through tragedy without ever making the tragedy itself good. Timestamps: 0:00 – Preaching two weeks after losing his son 0:53 – The relief he found in preaching 1:43 – Fear for his other children 2:04 – "Jonathan, you need to get right with the Lord” 2:32 – Jonathan's recommitment after Christopher's death 2:56 – Romans 8:28: all things work together for good 3:16 – Still calling it a tragedy 3:50 – The dark moments that still come 4:08 – Preaching Scripture to himself #GregLaurie #ChuckSwindoll #Romans828 #Grief #Faith 🌐 Sign up for Pastor Chuck's daily devotional and explore our various resources at https://www.insight.org ❔ Have questions about following Jesus or about the Bible? We'd love to help you. Please visit https://www.insight.org/connect/faqs/biblical-counseling 📲 Take Pastor Chuck's resources with you on our Insight for Living app! - Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/IFLappleapp - Google Play: https://bit.ly/IFLPlay 🎧 Listen to Pastor Chuck Swindoll on . . . YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLteVs-tVfPH8ffZKyrqgAJVXNbutlHyOd&feature=shared Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/IFLapple Spotify: https://bit.ly/IFLspotify TuneIn: https://bit.ly/IFLTuneIn PodBean: https://bit.ly/IFLpodbean Podbay: https://bit.ly/IFLpodbay 📻 You can also find the radio stations that are airing our Insight for Living broadcast at the bottom of this page: https://insight.org/broadcasts/station-finder 📱 Pastor Chuck Swindoll's social media: Facebook: https://bit.ly/SwindollFB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chuckrswindoll/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/chuckswindoll 📱 Insight for Living, the Swindoll's international Bible-teaching ministry, social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insightforlivingministries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightforlivingministries/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/IFL_USA 🤝 Insight for Living operates only on generous gifts and donations. We would be honored to have your support in providing this practical and accurate Bible teaching to those around the world. If you feel led to partner with us, you can visit https://give.insight.org/ or you can watch this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga9nwCtp5bU Copyright © 2025 Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (CRS, Inc.) All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.