Suffering is one of life’s deepest mysteries, a challenge that can test our faith, shake our confidence, and leave us searching for answers. Yet, it is often in the midst of pain that we encounter profound truths about God’s presence, love, and redemption. Trusting God is always the right choice to make through our trials. Suffering can become a path to deeper intimacy, resilience, and a peace that surpasses all understanding.

In this episode of The Live from Rest Podcast, host Steve Smith sits down with Eric Sandor, author, speaker, and trustee of David’s Tent, to share his remarkable story of walking through unimaginable loss. Eric explores how pain, when shared with God, can become a gateway to deeper intimacy with Him. With raw honesty and profound spiritual insight, Eric reveals how trusting God can bring comfort, redemption, and even peace amid life’s darkest moments.

If you’ve ever asked, “Where is God when it hurts?”, this conversation will inspire you to hold onto God’s goodness and find rest in His steadfast presence.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Understand how pain and suffering, when shared with God, can become a gateway to deeper intimacy with Him. 
2. Reflect on how the biblical truths of free will, spiritual conflict, and trusting God can help you make sense of suffering.
3. Gain practical wisdom and encouragement to face life’s trials with hope.

Resources

• Live from Rest Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
• Live from Rest App: Google Play | App Store
• Read Strength for the Soul
• Visit David’s Tent

Episode Highlights

Eric Sandor and David's Tent

• Eric Sandor is a trustee of David’s Tent, an annual 72-hour worship event in Sussex that gathers thousands to worship Jesus because He is worthy.
• His devotional book, Strength for the Soul, was written during his recovery from COVID-19. 
• Building intimacy with Jesus as a companion, defender, and redeemer is key to remaining strong in times of trial.
• God’s reliability far exceeds anything we can see or touch.
• Steve and Eric discuss the power of lament; intense suffering revealed God’s presence to Eric, transforming his pain into a deeper relationship with Him.

Eric's Personal Journey of Suffering and Trust

• In 2012-2013, Eric was thriving when God posed a challenging question: Would you still love me if you lost everything?
• Inspired by the book of Job, Eric reflected on God’s love reigning supreme over His power, even amidst suffering.
• He experienced devastating losses, including financial fraud, his wife’s cancer diagnosis, his daughter’s heart failure, and the deaths of his wife and best friend.
• Eric explains that suffering is a result of free will and its consequences in a broken world, not a reflection of God’s absence.

Understanding Suffering and God's Role

• Eric explores the spiritual complexity of suffering, highlighting the role of fallen angels, free will, and spiritual conflict.
• He challenges the idea that God’s will is always done, emphasizing that love governs by giving freedom, even when it leads to suffering.

Eric: “God's love reigns supreme over his power… how does a loving God administer the universe? A god of love, who is love? How does he govern the universe? How does love govern? Love gives power away”

• From the book of Job, Eric explains the cosmic debate where Satan accuses God of valuing power over love.
• God’s response reveals that true love allows freedom, even at the cost of pain.

Navigating Suffering and Maintaining Faith

• Eric chose not to blame God for his loss but instead trusted in His enduring love and presence.
• He shares how lament—honestly expressing his sorrow to God—became a path to healing and deeper intimacy with Jesus.
• A profound moment with his daughter’s suffering taught Eric that God shares in our pain just as we share in the pain of those we love.
• Walking through grief can become a transformative journey of trust and intimacy with God.

Eric: “Suffering can be a springboard to intimacy with Jesus, but only if we share the way we really feel with him.”

Trusting God's Promises and Overcoming Fear

• During a prayer for his wife, Eric declared Psalm 121, experiencing boldness that shattered his fear.
• He explains that trusting God means relying on His presence through any outcome, not just the one we hope for.
• Eric warns against reducing God to a means to an end and emphasizes trusting Him for who He is.
• His conviction that “no weapon formed against me shall prosper” has brought him lasting resilience and fearlessness.

Embracing Redemption and Finding Joy

• Redemption is God’s ability to transform pain into something we can look back on without regret.

Eric: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper when I declared it, and I believed it, and I became the person, and I am that person.”

• Eric has found joy in his new family and witnesses God’s continued healing work in his life and children.
• Trust God as the Way Maker, and look for the path He provides through any challenge.
• Relying on God, instead of carrying burdens alone, leads to greater intimacy, strength, and lasting peace.

About Eric Sandor

Eric Sandor is a speaker, author, and trustee of David’s Tent, an international worship movement that gathers people from all walks of life to worship Jesus through continuous praise. His personal journey through unimaginable loss has shaped his message, offering others a path to navigate suffering with faith and resilience. Through his experiences, Eric has discovered that sharing pain with God can lead to deeper intimacy, comfort, and redemption, providing strength in life’s darkest moments.

Eric is also the author of Strength for the Soul, a devotional book filled with heartfelt prayers, reflections, and personal stories. Written during a season of his own struggles, the book is designed to help readers build a deeper relationship with Jesus and discover inner strength in the face of trials.

Connect with Eric through LinkedIn, or follow him on Instagram and YouTube.

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Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this episode with your friends and family. Invite God into your pain and trust in His steadfast presence. Share your struggles honestly with Him, and discover how His love can bring comfort, strength, and redemption in life’s darkest moments. Embrace the peace that comes from trusting God. He sees you, understands you, and walks with you through every trial.

Have any questions? You can connect with me on Instagram.

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