After the past few years, we’ve all had, facing the prolonged effects of the pandemic and what feels like constant social unrest, our friend Lisa Whittle’s new (and 8th!) book could not come at a more welcomed time. Released in September of 2021, The Hard Good: Showing Up For God to Work in You When You Want to Shut Down addresses, with profound wisdom and without platitude, the struggles of living in a painful world where hard things just keep on happening.

When Lisa’s father died in 2017, she says his passing “was the catalyst to writing [the book], but in so many ways I feel like it’s just been an account of the ongoing journey of my life.” Each chapter recounts a hardship she’s walked through and her resilient work to discover God’s nuggets of good, even in very not good seasons. She never shies away from what real heartbreak looks like, but she also confidently and consistently lets Scripture have the last word in whatever she faces.

 Here are a few topics we hit on in our conversation:

Redefining good - The lies about the good life are pretty but covertly exhausting.

Holding both – Grief and joy can exist in the same space, but you often have to fight for joy!

Replacing shutting down with showing up - Take the power back from your emotions.

Kingdom purpose vs. Kingdom usability – You will determine your level of useability in the Kingdom by how you respond to the hard things.

Waiting - When we have to wait on God, we have to need God. Waiting is one of the best producers of what we need.

Through Lisa’s courageous yet tender storytelling, we are reminded that some of the greatest goods in this life come on the heels of some awfully hard things. It’s not our job to make diamonds from the coal or lemonade from the bitter lemons life hands us; but it is our job to entrust the hard to the good, good God who loves to bring beauty from ashes. This life will be hard, Lisa reminds us, but when we endure the hard with reliant and expectant faith, God can bring good from any hard if we let him.

 Our friend Lisa Whittle’s new (and 8th!) book could not come at a better time. Released last fall, The Hard Good: Showing Up For God to Work in You When You Want to Shut Down addresses, with profound wisdom and without platitude, the struggles of living in a painful world where hard things just keep on happening. Through Lisa’s courageous yet tender storytelling, we are reminded that some of the greatest goods in this life come on the heels of some awfully hard things and that God can bring good from any hard if we let him.

• Follow Lisa.
• Buy The Hard Good.
• Listen to: Jesus Over Everything podcast.