Life As Worship

Suffering and Eternal Glory, How Can Suffering Bring Glory?

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What does it mean that suffering can bring eternal glory and how can that help us face suffering now?

Join us this week as we seek to discover just that.

Angela welcomes Christian author, lawyer, comedian, and jazz singer Lara Silverman to discuss an eternal perspective on suffering. Diagnosed with a rare, debilitating illness, widowed after a bittersweet love story, and now a vibrant online storyteller, Lara shares how God meets us in the valley and how clinging to His promise of glory and redemption can sustain joy—right now, not just someday.

Episode Highlights

  •  The context of 2 Corinthians: Paul’s letter to a suffering church, stressing perseverance and the eternal hope that outlasts every earthly trial.
  • Light and momentary affliction: How Paul calls deep, daily pain “light” in light of eternity, not to minimize it, but to magnify what’s coming.
  • The unseen and eternal: Why fixing our eyes on the invisible promises of God—faith, hope, love, and ultimate redemption—transforms our perspective. 
  • Lara’s story: Chronic illness derailing a high-powered legal career, the loss of her beloved husband to cancer, and unexpected platforms for testimony, comedy, and deep faith.
  • Practical encouragement: Honest wrestling with God, humor through grief, and God’s promise that not a single tear or tragedy is wasted, but is prepared as glory for us.
    • Great Quotes
    • “If you’re in the fire and still smiling, the only answer is: God is with me. Glory is coming.”
    • “Paul knew suffering. He isn’t minimizing your pain—he’s magnifying how incomparable eternity will be.”
    • “God’s economy is upside down. He takes our deepest losses and turns them into beauty, joy, and eternal glory.”
    • “Every millisecond of your pain is doing something. God will not waste it.”
    • “He isn’t just the God of someday—He gives us gifts, joy, and even laughter in the hardest places, right now.”
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      Resources Mentioned
      • Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
      • Lara’s Book: Singing through Fire. Affiliate Link
      • Instagram: @singingthroughfire_author 
      • Book trailer: Singing through Fire 
      • Comedy links: The Silverman Show
        • Related Episodes
        • Ep. 29: The Lord Gives and Takes Away (Kelly Arena) 
        • Ep. 13: Sowing Tears and Reaping Joy (Kristi Lowe) 
        • Ep. 27: God's Creative Process When Your World Ends (Dawn Mann Sanders) 
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          Life As WorshipBy Angela Mackey