Every one of us experiences setbacks and disappointments in life, but some of those are harder to come back from than others. Whether that’s a season of illness, hardships from life circumstances, or perhaps you are going through issues with your relationship or marriage, some challenges are harder than others.

My guest understands this as he faced a life-changing challenge at just six years of age when a severe childhood illness left him profoundly deaf. In spite of that obstacle, John learned how to read lips and speak clearly through speech therapy. Pastor John Meador today preaches weekly at Cross City Church near Dallas-Fort Worth to a congregation of 3,000 people. This experience prompted him to take a look at some of the Bible’s greatest comeback stories and that’s what I talked to him about in this episode!

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How John lost 95% of his hearing
• A few of the greatest comeback stories in the Bible
• Encouragement for when you face difficulties
• And much more!

This is an episode we all need!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• [BOOK] God’s Not Done with You: Encouragement from the Bible’s Greatest Comeback Stories
• Cross City Church
• John’s Podcasts
  • Walk in the Truth
  • The Prospering Soul
  • God’s Not Done With You
• Connect with John on his Instagram, Facebook, or website
• As a thank you for listening, get your 3 free eBooks.

My Key Takeaways:

1) God can handle your anger and disappointment. We don’t have to hide how we feel from God. Our emotions should not be the only thing guiding us through life, but stuffing them down is not the answer. God has given us many stories in the Bible of others who have felt disappointment and anger when life didn’t work out how they thought. We need to practice taking our feelings to the Lord and allowing Him to help us process them.

2) Comeback stories are all throughout Scripture. I’m sure many of us can name all the stories from the Bible when God greatly blessed people and things worked out. But we tend to forget that before those stories happened there were dark seasons and circumstances. Moses had a dark 40 years and still struggled with his hot-headedness throughout his entire life. Our lives are no different. Life is lived in seasons and it’s important to remember there will be successful seasons and dark seasons throughout our lives.

3) Your story isn’t over yet. Even when we are in the thick of a dark season, it’s important to remember that we can’t see the whole picture yet. On the other side of the challenge we are going through God has a plan and a purpose. He may be teaching you something, increasing your empathy for someone else, or showing you how you can depend on Him. Refrain from self-destructing during this time and remember that you are still in the middle of the journey!

About John Meador:

John Meador is the senior pastor of Cross City Church, author, and podcaster. He is passionate about the Word of God and committed to teaching it creatively. As a small child, a severe illness resulted in an irreversible hearing loss that left John profoundly deaf. In spite of that obstacle, John learned how to read lips and speak clearly through speech therapy. John shares stories from Scripture about God bringing people back from challenging and often paralyzing situations in his book, God’s Not Done With You. John has been married to his wife, Kim, and are the parents to six grown children.

Would you like to be notified by email when a new No More Perfect Podcast episode releases? Just fill in your name and email and we’ll make sure you’re in the know!