Because He Lives, You Can Face Death with Hope, with Colleen Chao and Robert Wolgemuth

On the Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus knew that His death was right around the corner. Grounded guest Colleen Chao knows what it feels like to prepare for the end of life. In this episode, she shares how God has used terminal cancer to turn her eyes to heaven.

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Episode Notes

• “What Happened on November 15, 2014?” video 
• In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God by Colleen Chao 
• Finish Line book by Robert Wolgemuth 

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Erin Davis: Why do we call the Friday of Holy Week Good Friday? What good could possibly come from the brutal murder of Jesus? I'm Erin Davis. And this is a special Holy Week edition of Grounded.

Portia Collins: And I'm Portia Collins. So much happened on this day as Jesus prepared to lay down his life for us. This is the day that Jesus observed the Last Supper.

Erin: It is also the day that Jesus prayed for us in the garden. And it's the day that He was handed over. He endured multiple trials in kangaroo courts—the odds were stacked against Him from the beginning. And ultimately, this was the day that Jesus was sentenced to death.

Portia: Well, we hope you have been reading along with us this week. The events of Thursday of Holy Week are recorded in a bunch of passages in the Gospels. I won't rattle all of those off today. But we will put it up on the screen and drop it in the chat. Drop those passages in the chat and the show notes. We encourage you to go back and read God's Word for yourself. 

Erin: We hope you've been in the gospels this week reading for yourself all of the things that transpired that first Holy Week. Today I'm going to read to us from John chapter 18:1–11: 

“After Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden and he and his disciples went into it. Judas, who had betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas took a company of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and came there with lanterns, torches and weapons.

Then Jesus knowing everything that was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who is that you're seeking?” 

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. 

“I am he,” Jesus told them 

Judas who betrayed him was also standing with them. When Jesus told them, “I am he,” he stepped back and fell to the ground. 

But he asked them again, “Who is it that you're seeking?” 

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. 

“I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you're looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the words he had said, “I have not lost one of those you have given to me.”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 

At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Portia: Peter, Peter.

Erin: Come on! 

Portia: I know. 

Erin: I would have been a sword drawer myself. I just know it.

Portia: I think so, too. That's what I was gonna say that unfortunately would have been me. 

Well, as Jesus spoke those words, He knew. He knew that His death was right around the corner. And our guest today knows something about that feeling. And so, Dannah is going to help us get grounded with God's people.

Dannah Gresh: Hi, guys. Yeah, our guest today certainly does know something about being aware of the end of her life. You may know her name is Colleen Chao. And to know her is to love her. She has an infectious laugh, a memorable smile. She's the wife to Eddie, mom to Jeremy, and also been walking a long and difficult road of terminal cancer. 

Now, if she sounds familiar, if her name sounds familiar, she has been on Grounded before. She's been on our flagship program, Revive Our Hearts. She's written blogs for the ministry. She's appeared at some of our events. And she's the author of In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God, listen to this subtitle, 31 Days of Hope, Honesty, and Encouragement for the Suffer. 

Colleen Chao: Thanks for having me. It's always a joy.

Dannah: You know, many of us have heard your story. So, we've heard like the highs and the lows, we've been praying along with you for God to give you strength in this journey. I wonder if today you might take us back to when you first got diagnosed? What thoughts did you have at that moment?

Colleen: Yeah, I like to tell people that it was otherworldly. It's just a crazy. You almost launch into this different orbit of somebody just told me I don't have long to live. And in one sense, God seemed to put me in a bubble of grace, just so that I wouldn't have to feel the full force of the trauma in that moment. 

So, I feel like in a lot of ways there was this grace shield around me as I started to absorb the reality of it. 

On the other hand, it was, being dropped in the deep end without a life jacket in the middle of the ocean—where are we and what do I do now? You know, what's the next step? So, it was both. It was a lot of grace. And it was a lot of overwhelming in those first moments. 

Dannah: You know, Jesus, when you say the word overwhelm, I think about Him being in the garden and sweating blood. That sounds like overwhelming—the thought of what He was about to face. Have you had moments like that? Where you kind of have prayed, “Father, let this cup pass?”

Colleen: 100% Yeah, absolutely. Quite a few of those moments, actually. I would find myself especially in the first month of the diagnosis. We thought I would go much more quickly. I'm amazed to be here today. This is a miracle. But in those first months, I would go into my closet in the fetal position and just wail before God and weep. I didn't even have words for what I was feeling even physiologically, like physically. I had this grief pain that I didn't know what to do with, and it would keep me awake through the night. It was anguishing. There was a lot of anguish. We have not resisted sin to the point of bleeding, right? Sweating drops of blood. It's not been an experience I've had because Jesus is deeper than my deepest . . .

Dannah: Yeah, right.

Colleen: He's experienced even so much more suffering than I have. But I've shared in those sufferings in a small way, in the last bit for sure.

Dannah: The subtitle of your book is so encouraging: Hope, Honesty, and Encouragement for the Sufferer. How do you on this Holy Week, as you meditate on the death and resurrection of Jesus, find hope and encouragement as you continue to suffer?

Colleen: I mean, it's crazy how full the Bible is of hope. It's nuts. And usually that hope is set in suffering. And honestly, I think . . . I haven't done an exhaustive study on this, but it seems like every time hope is mentioned, it's in the context of suffering, at least a very high percentage. 

And so, there's something that is linked together with that suffering and hope. We experience. even more of God's hope when we suffer with Christ, when we enter in further with Him into His eternal realities and into his experience on earth that He had. 

And so, it's almost like He's prepared special hope for us when we enter into those places with Him of suffering. I think when we understand our mortality, when we face our death, there's a special grace, special hope that comes with that, that we can't experience until we face those moments of I'm not here for long. I'm about to go to be with Jesus. 

So, there are unique doses of hope, if I can say that, that come when God asks us to share the fellowship of His sufferings.

Dannah: What's the hardest thing about leaving this earth?

Colleen: It feels absolutely unnatural and wrong to go in my 40s. Our brains are wired for 80 or 90 or right. We're just in our culture that we think death will come later in life. 

So, it feels so wrong to think of going before I see my son grow up. He's 11. And I'm so blessed to have had these 11 years, like some people don't get that right. So, in one sense I feel spoiled to have been his mom for 11 years so far. But on the other hand, I want to see him grow up and get married and have kids and see what purposes God has for him. I want to live long with my husband and share decades with him. 

And so, there's a lot of just grieving what cannot be what feels in a sense is being taken from us. Death is a robber, and death doesn't get the ultimate word. God has conquered him. He doesn't have power; he doesn't win in the end. But he is definitely the last enemy. You know, he's a fierce enemy to deal with.

Dannah: Yeah, fierce. I think the fact that you're saying it doesn't feel right, doesn't feel natural, you're describing the conflict of what was supposed to be in God's plan and what is because of the fall because of sin, because of brokenness. It’s the very reason why Jesus needed to die for us, so that we could be no longer separated from Him, but be with Him eternally in heaven. 

When you think about that Colleen, what excites you, when you think about Heaven, especially this Holy Week?

Colleen: My heart literally feels joy when I talk about heaven because it feels so near. Things in the Word that talk about eternity are so alive. I'm holding my Bible, that's why I'm looking down. I'm holding my Bible, just this, this is real. This is the real deal. 

And when I think of eternity, I think of those passages that say there will be no more tears, no more death, no more pain, no more sin. I'm not gonna have to wrestle with my sin anymore. The relationships we share are going to be perfect. 

So, the greatest relationship we have here, the most joyful, peaceful, life-giving relationship here, that is only a little tiny, tiny glimpse of what we get to experience in eternity, before we get in the face of Jesus in His presence, perfected relationships that aren't tainted by sin, by suffering.

Ultimately, though, there's something that I think of all the time when I picture eternity. I think of God on His throne. I think of putting my hand in Jesus', walking beside Him and looking up into His face. And just the reality that I'm going to be like all these other good things are beautiful. They would be nothing if it weren't for the fact that eternity means we are in the presence of Jesus, looking into His face, looking into His eyes, and sharing what we've tasted here, right? This is a taste, this is a glimpse, but the full reality of the greatest good, like Psalm 73 says, the nearness of God is my good. We are going to experience that in its fullness, and it's going to be better than we can even begin to fathom. 

Dannah: Right. I believe that. When you talk about it, you talk about it with so much faith, I mean, it can hear it in your voice, so much hope in your voice for heaven. 

I can't help but think there must be someone listening who is dying, maybe they have terminal cancer, or maybe they're in their 80s or 90s. They know they're in those last years or months or maybe even weeks, and they're just not sure about heaven, not the way that you are. Is there a Scripture passage, you would encourage them to open the Bible and begin reading? What where would you direct their hearts to know that they can be sure that they're going to heaven and how they can be sure of it.

Colleen: I love that. Well, I've been studying Hebrews for months now, verse by verse. I keep coming back to this verse in Hebrews 2 where it says, “Since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these so that through his death, he might destroy the one holding the power of death, that is the devil, and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death” (vv. 14–15). 

Hebrews is filled with this beautiful reality that Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, the exact expression of His nature. He came to make purification for our sins. And so, just spending time in Hebrews 1 and 2 is just power packed, looking at what Jesus did for us how He shared in our flesh and blood so that He could destroy death, and destroy our fear of death or slavery to the fear of death, and make us perfect in His sight—because He loves us so darn much, just adores us. 

Dannah: He does. He adores us. And he adores you, sweet girl. And I just love the joy with which you speak about Heaven. You know, if you're watching, listening to the podcast, and you're just really not sure, the Book of Romans says that if we believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and that He raised from the dead, which is what we're celebrating this week, that you can profess that with your tongue, and you'll be saved. 

And as I've been watching revival break out in certain pockets around our country, the simplicity of surrendering to Jesus is something that I think I'd forgotten. It's not hard. He's done all the work; He died on the cross for us. That is what conquers in death. We just have to soak in these words like Hebrews 1 and 2 in the book of Romans, and read it and decide, do I believe this? And if you believe that, you profess it with your mouth, you tell your friend, you tell your pastor, you tell your children, and that is what saves you. Your faith saves you. 

And you can see the peace that it brings someone like Colleen, who is looking death right in the face. And yeah, there are moments, but can you see the peace? I hope you're watching not just listening to the podcast today, because you really do have to see her beautiful face to see the peace. But I think you can hear it in her voice too.

Colleen, we are so grateful. We continue to pray for God to give you strength. Thanks for being with us today, once again to remind us that there is hope. There is encouragement. There is honesty for the sufferer. And we can read about that in your new book, In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God. It's a devotional book for those who are facing suffering. We'll put that in the link to today's show notes. God bless you, my friend.

Colleen: I love you so much. Thanks for having me.

Dannah: I love you too. 

Well, what if it's not your own death you're facing but the you're facing the death of someone you love deeply? Robert Wolgemuth knows all about that. He watched his wife Bobbie fight a long battle with cancer, and ultimately, he had to plan for her future. Watch this short clip, Robert Wolgemuth, another Grounded favorite and the husband of Revive Our Hearts founder, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. He is describing death as the planting of a seed. He's got a great new book on that topic. He'll be here to talk with Erin about hope in the face of death right after this beautiful video.

Robert Wolgemuth: On this day, I attended a funeral service. I did not want to be there. I didn't like why this funeral was necessary. After almost 45 years of marriage, my late wife Bobbie stepped into heaven. For 30 months Bobbie battled stage four ovarian cancer. She was a trooper. In spite of what she was going through, she never complained. She showed me how to die with grace. 

At the end of her service, we showed a video of her walking in our neighborhood. I shot this video from our balcony. Bobbie didn't know that I was recording her. She was singing the old hymn, Trust and Obey. Then at the end, on a black screen, these words appeared “Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” John 12:24. 

Actually, Jesus spoke these words just a few days before His own death. You and I know what the harvest of Jesus’ death was, right? Millions came to embrace salvation, because that seed fell. 

When you die, and your kernel of wheat falls to the ground, what will your harvest look like? What will my harvest look like? 

My daughters and I as we started the cancer journey with Bobbie said to each other. “We are surprised by this diagnosis. God is not surprised. We are not angry. We are not afraid. And our hope is that many will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus because of Bobbie's cancer.” 

On that day, over 1,000 people gathered in the church, as well as many more live streaming. They would give witness to the fact that God was glorified because of Bobbie's death. She was the kernel of wheat that fell to the ground that day.

One day, your kernel of wheat will also fall to the ground, and there'll be a harvest. This book is called Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life.

Erin: What does the resurrection of Jesus mean when the woman you've loved for four decades, the mother of your children, the grandmother of your grandchildren, what does the resurrection mean when you have to put her in a casket? Robert knows the answer to that question. And we knew we wanted to get him on this special episode of Grounded. So welcome back to Grounded, Robert.

Robert: Thank you, Erin. It's wonderful to be with you.

Erin: You said in that video that your wife Bobbie taught you how to die. What do you mean by that?

Robert: Well, she never gave up hope. Even though the diagnosis was terminal. And she didn't complain, she had tremendous confidence in the promises of God. So, as I said, the kernel of wheat fell to the ground and died, but it produced many seeds. That's the hope that we have, that we don't die in vain if we live for Christ. That was her.

Erin: Beautiful. Jesus died. He did go into the tomb, there was a funeral, but He didn't stay in there very long. More than three days have passed since you buried your wife, Bobbie. Her body is still where you laid her to rest. 

So, what does the fact that Jesus didn't stay in the tomb have to do with us when the people we love haven't risen from the dead like He did?

Robert: Well, in the end, we will. You know, the story of Jesus coming to visit Lazarus in John chapter 11 and encountering Martha on the way to the house. Lazarus has now been dead for four days. And Jesus reassures Martha that we will all come back to life because of the death of Jesus. 

And Martha says, “Well, yeah, I know that in the end, but what about now?” And Jesus said, “Well, I'm the Resurrection. I'm the Life.” And then while He stands at the mouth of the tomb where Lazarus, her brother has been buried, He calls his name. That's just a stunning thing, Erin. Jesus called his name. 

Erin: Yeah. 

Robert: And the sound of Jesus’ voice opened Lazarus’ eyes, and he walked out. 

So, I mean, eventually, Lazarus did die again, and Jesus didn't call him back. But there's such great hope in that, that Jesus has the power if He chooses to call us back from death. And that's a metaphor, really, of what it's like to live in Christ. Galatians 2:20, I'm crucified, but I live. It's incredible.

Erin: It is. My father-in-law has often told me that he believes the reason “Jesus wept” is the shortest version in the Bible, when He called Lazarus out is because He knew his friend was going to have to face death again. He knew where His friend was. He knew the what His friend was experiencing, but he called him back. We don't know if that's true or not, but it speaks to the beauty of Jesus being the resurrection.

I've been to funerals of people who were followers of Jesus. And I've been to funerals of people who have not. The difference is pretty stark. Christian funerals are really miraculous. We can face death with hope. But there's also grief. So how did you hold that tension of hope-filled grieving? It's not to slap on a smile. But it's also not to be buried under the grief. What's that hope-filled tension look like? What did it look like for you?

Robert: Well, Bobbie's favorite verse, during the thirty months of her cancer was 1 Corinthians 2:9. “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 

Bobbie was an artist. She painted. When she went to heaven, I had 55 paintings that I had the privilege of giving to friends. So, eye has not seen . . . So, the most beautiful art, the most beautiful setting, the most beautiful landscape, we can't even imagine what heaven is like. 

And then ear has not heard. Bobbie was a musician. When I first saw her in 1967, she was singing, and she was singing her whole life. So, ear has not heard. Heaven’s music is better than the most amazing music you've ever heard.

And then neither has it entered into the heart of man. In our wildest dreams, we cannot imagine what heaven must be like. 

So, we're running this race. We're approaching the finish line. But it's a celebration. It truly is a celebration, because eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of you and me of the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Erin: So beautiful. That's actually my favorite verse about heaven. That's a game I like to play with the Lord. I'll just try to imagine it. Okay, I know they’re streets of gold. Okay, I know there's a sea of glass. I know that the choirs are singing, and I’ll try to drum it up, and then remember, nope, I didn't even get close. He has more for me than that. 

One of the hardest things about death is it just keeps happening. I mean, we all will ultimately attend many funerals. 

How has watching your wife die shifted how you see your own death and the deaths of other people you love? Because I know Bobbie wasn't the only person you love that you've ever buried. So, what's shifted inside of you?

Robert: Well, I was so close to it this time. You know, a lot of us have never seen a real dead body. We've seen one that's propped up and plastic then painted and so forth. I had the chance of literally having Bobbie in my arms when she stepped into heaven. She took me by the shirt, she pulled my face right next to hers, and she said, “I love you so much.” And she closed her eyes and she died. 

Now the wonderful thing about all of this is that this funeral that Bobbie had in November 2014 was livestreamed around the world. Nancy Leigh DeMoss watched it and then contacted me a couple days later and said, “Would it be okay if I play part of that funeral service to encourage women who would listen to Revive Our Hearts.”

How could I have ever known what Bobbie's death produced in my own life? When a year and a little bit more later, Nancy became my wife.

Erin: So beautiful. I didn't know that part about her grabbing your shirt, Robert. So, so beautiful. You wrote a new book Finish Line. My eyes are leaking as they often do on Grounded, just bear with me. But you wrote a new book Finish Line. I want to read the subtitle, Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life. 

I want to know what you'd say to the person listening to if they're honest, they are afraid. They know what God has said. They know that heaven awaits those who claim Him as our King. They've heard it. They've heard the verses. They've heard some of the verses we've been saying here. And they're still afraid. They're either afraid of their own death. It's my experience that people aren't always afraid of death, but we are afraid of dying, or they're afraid they know the death of someone they love is coming. How would you dispel fear for that person?

Robert: Be ready. So, I want you to pretend that you're back in college, and you've got a huge exam, right around the corner. You study, you do everything you can. You review your notes, maybe you listen to your professor on audio, if you recorded it. Then how do you feel when you're walking into that exam? You're ready. There's a great sense of confidence because you're ready. 

And then look at the other side of this. Let's say that you slept off, you went out to pizza three or four nights in a row, you didn't study. Now you're walking into that exam, and you're not ready. How different do you feel in the first scenario compared to the second? So, the joy of telling this story is really challenging myself, and challenging the people who I know and love to be ready. That changes everything. 

If you know that your death is an account of your life before God and you're ready to die. You've studied for this exam. It's not by your own righteousness that makes you ready. It's Jesus, death and resurrection. But because you have received Him as your Savior, you're ready. And the fear is dispelled because of that. 

So, what's interesting is, 30% of us will die suddenly. So, if you're a man, the last thing your friend may hear you say is, “Hey, you guys, watch this.”

Erin: That’s right. I have all boys; I know what you're talking about there.

Robert: Yeah, women not so much. But 70% of us will have an exit ramp that will give us a chance to witness to the people who come to visit us. We can show on our faces what hope looks like because we're ready to go.

Erin: Yeah, we're seeing it in this episode of Grounded; you saw it on Colleen’s face. She is a woman made ready by her suffering which has driven her to God's Word. You're seeing it on Robert's face. He's a man made ready. He's able to talk about the funeral of his beloved wife with calmness, with peace, with a smile. And that's part of what we'd hoped for in this episode.

As you were saying that Robert, I was at the bedside of my paternal grandpa and grandma when they died. My grandpa did not know the Lord and I'm telling you he literally went out fists clenched, jaw clenched. He wasn't ready to face it. He went out mad. My grandma on the other hand, who knew Jesus and served in her whole life, she opened her eyes and said, “I'm going on my journey.” She closed her eyes and peacefully stepped into heaven. One was ready. One wasn't. I was young when that happened, but it was part of what the Lord used to get me ready. I'm ready. The Lord could take me today. I'm ready to go. 

Robert: Amen. 

Erin: I know we said we can't really imagine it. But when we close our eyes in death, what do you think we see when we open them?

Robert: Well, different commentators say different things. I love to go to the book of Hebrews that talks about the cloud of witnesses. So, twenty years ago or so, a guy named Rick Hansen, who was a paraplegic as a result of an accident, got in his wheelchair and spun that thing for 26,000 miles. He finished in Canada. He was a Canadian; he finished in British Columbia in front of 50,000 people. It was a cacophony of cheering, shouting, celebrating as Rick crossed the finish line. 

That's what this will be like for those of us who have finished the race knowing Jesus as our Savior. It will be a celebration. We don't know, you're right, we don't know exactly. But go back to eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Erin: Amen. I'm gonna see you when I open my eyes Robert, and you're gonna see me, and we're gonna see Grounded sisters who are in Christ. But I gotta tell you, I'm gonna breeze right past you because I'm gonna see Jesus face to face, and that's all I care about. That's how you get ready, you’re prepared to see Him. 

So, thanks for writing this book. Thanks for giving us hope in the face of death. I just want to lay down and weep over the hope we have in the face of death. 

So, we're going to drop the link to Robert's book. If you're feeling afraid, if you don't feel like you're ready, let this book help get you ready. Thanks for being with us, Robert. We love you so much.

Robert: It's my pleasure, Erin. You're precious. I love you.

Erin: Portia, keep us grounded in God's Word.

Portia: That's exactly where we are headed. Erin Davis. You know, I feel like this episode has been packed with nuggets of getting us ready. But if you're still struggling and you're not quite there yet, I want to lay it on thick. We're gonna go to the book of Luke chapter 22. We're going to look at verses 41–44. This is where Jesus is praying in the garden. It says, 

Then he withdrew from them, the disciples about a stone's throw. He knelt down and began to pray. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” An angel from heaven, appeared to him strengthened in him. Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

It's hard to read Jesus's prayer here and not get a bit weepy. Here we have an eyewitness account from one of the disciples of what it looked like, as Jesus kneeled, and He prayed in the face of death. He knew the Father's will. And He willingly accepted that yet, He still experienced deep agony of the soul. 

I guess the question is, why was it death? Was death actually the source of Jesus's agony? Surprise, no, no, if that had been me, it would have been for me. But for Jesus, no, that was not the source of His agony. 

When Jesus said, take this cup away from Me, He was not speaking of death, but of God's wrath and judgment. The cup of suffering, some translations actually say, He says, take this cup of suffering away from me. 

Jesus willingly went to the cross, as an enemy of God. He chose to drink from God's cup of wrath and judgment. Why? So that we would not have to.

This cup of suffering that brought Jesus to such great depths of agony, is the very same cup that every blood bought believer has never tasted, and never will. 

Because of Jesus's death on the cross, because of His burial and resurrection, because of His matchless atoning work, we have hope—real, lasting, unmitigated hope, and we can face hard situations. We can have eternal joy. We can stand boldly in the face of death and say, “Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? Because Jesus lives, we can face every situation whether in life or death with hope.

I'll never forget the days of singing “Because He Lives” with my mama and grandmama in church. I talk about them often. They were the church pianist and organist. I would sit up there beside my mama on the organ bench, and we've seen,

Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fears gone.
Because I know He holds the future
And life with the living because He lives. 

Erin: Amen.

Dannah: Amen. 

Erin: We just had Grounded church. 

Dannah: I've been wanting to sing that all week, every time today because He lives. It just rises up in me. But I don't sound as good as Portia when I sing. 

Erin: No, Portia is our resident singer. That was beautiful, beautiful. 

Dannah: So good. You know the verse that just I feel like God really highlighted in my heart today was that one that Robert quoted from? I believe it's 1 Corinthians 2:9 that no eye has seen no ear has heard our hearts can't even imagine the good things that God has for those who love Him. 

It's like God just kind of circled that verse in my heart and said, “Hey Dannah, I want you to try to imagine, because I want you to imagine how much I love you this week. And as we approach tomorrow, Good Friday, that death that was followed by a miraculous resurrection, bodily resurrection. I am imagining what it'd be like to look in His eyes and to receive things I can't even imagine, because I can't perceive the love of God in this earthly body.

Erin: Amen. My heart is ready. That's why we did these episodes, to get our own hearts ready for Resurrection Sunday, to help get your heart ready. I'm ready to worship a risen Savior. But there's one more stop, a very important stop in the events of Holy Week. We call it Good Friday. It is the best worst day in human history. We want to spend it together, and we will have Randy Alcorn as our guest. He's going to tell us why our hope is blood bought. So, let's wake up with hope together tomorrow on Grounded.

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