Why Unbearable Pain Refines You Like Gold

About this sermon

Chuck Swindoll and Greg Laurie sit with a difficult A.W. Tozer quote: "It is doubtful God can use anyone greatly till he has hurt him deeply." Rather than painting God as cruel, they unpack how deep grief — the kind Greg and his wife Cathe carry after losing their son — deepens compassion, quiets the soul, and forms the kind of shepherd's heart that can't be learned from a book or a course. Chuck shares another Tozer line about pausing to learn "the true value" of life rather than chattering through it, and points to Job 23:10-12 — "when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold" — as a picture of how suffering, rightly carried, becomes something that ministers to others. They also reflect on the story of Joe Bailey, who lost three sons and wrote about it in "A View From the Hearse," and the simple, powerful truth that sometimes the most ministering thing you can do for someone in grief is say very little and just stay. This is a tender, honest conversation about how pain — when surrendered to God — becomes the very thing that equips us to help others carry theirs. Timestamps: 0:00 – The Tozer quote: hurt before use 0:46 – How grief deepens compassion 1:06 – "Some things are better felt than told” 2:18 – Learning to "say less, minister more” 2:56 – Another Tozer quote on presence over noise 3:38 – Job 23:10 — tried like gold 5:35 – Joe Bailey's story: "A View From the Hearse” 6:41 – The gift of simply staying #GregLaurie #ChuckSwindoll #Grief #Faith #ChristianTestimony 🌐 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.

Topics

• Suffering & Trials