‘God Is Still on the Throne’: One Pastor’s Journey Through Pain to Hope

Published: October 10, 2025

ocean — Photo by Camille Minouflet on Unsplash

By Michaela Gordoni

Pastor and author Jentezen Franklin said he thought he knew what pain was — until real trials came his way.

“You say ‘How did this happen to us?’…People need to know you’re not alone,” Franklin said on an episode of PRAISE.

“If things have happened and you can’t get your head around it…As the scripture says, don’t think it’s some strange thing when your life feels like it’s falling to pieces and you get a report and it’s one of your family members that has cancer or dying…God is still on the throne. God is still in control,” he said.

Franklin’s life was transformed after he sought Christian counsel. At a time when he had lost all hope, he reached out to a counselor to get help for his family matters. He felt embarrassed, but he had immense comfort when he took his “guard down.”

“I never thought I’d sit for four hours and walk out of there sometimes like a dish rag, but knowing God was renewing my strength like an eagle,” he said.

Franklin may have been referencing Isaiah 40:31, which he shared on social media in 2024: “’But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’”

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A post shared by Jentezen Franklin (@jentezen)

“I’m healthier now than I’ve ever been, and you’re not going to read a headline about my life, my family, my marriage in the name of Jesus, by his grace,” he said on PRAISE.

He explained that if you want help badly enough, you can overcome whatever you’re facing.

“You’re called to overcome…You can get the resources from God’s word and from the kingdom of God and from people who know what they’re doing. They can help you.”

In one of his devotionals, Franklin explains that it’s important to stay strong in the spirit.

“That’s why setting aside time each day to be alone with God in prayer and Bible reading is so important,” he said. “If Satan can’t defeat you outright, he will settle for an exhausted, ineffective version of the person God wants you to be…’those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint’ (Isa 40:31 NKJV).”

Franklin wants everyone to know that God loves them, knows them, hears their prayers and has great plans for their lives.

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