Have you ever looked at your life, your ministry, or your daily hustle and thought, “What am I even doing? Is any of this actually making a difference?” If you are wrestling with a deep, quiet sense of failure today, you are in surprisingly elite company. Some of the most influential faith leaders in human history died believing they had accomplished absolutely nothing. When we pull back the curtain on their private journals, we find a shocking amount of despondency, doubt, and perceived defeat. But their stories reveal a beautiful, disruptive truth for our achievement-obsessed culture: No one is a failure when their faith is actively expressed through love. The Secret Heartbreak of Giants We look back at history through a polished lens, but the view from the ground was often messy and heartbreaking. Consider what these giants of the faith wrote when they thought no one was looking: John Calvin , one of the monumental fathers of the Reformation whose theolo...
What Bill Bright Taught Us About Suffering and God’s Favor. Years ago, H.B. London Jr. received a powerful letter from Vonette Bright, wife of the late Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. At the time, Dr. Bright’s health was rapidly declining. In the letter, Vonette shared a conversation she had with her husband.She asked him, “Why do you think you’re suffering? Why would God put you through this?” Dr. Bright’s reply was immediate and profound: “I’m not suffering! It depends on the definition of suffering. Even grasping for breath for extended periods of time does not compare with what Christ went through during His trial and crucifixion. He suffered six hours suffocating on the cross. Think about Peter being crucified upside down, Paul’s persecution and beheading, and the other disciples who were martyred—except John, who was exiled. What I am going through is very minor. ”That perspective changes everything. Trouble Comes to Eve...