Paula White Cain’s life reads almost like a movie. Her father committed suicide when she was 5 years old. She became a pastor’s wife and went through a very difficult and public divorce. God has not only brought Paula through those incredibly difficult times, but He has also blessed her to be a successful pastor, author and even a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump.
She details these events in her new book, Something Greater, which I highly encourage you to read. I was so fascinated by Paula’s story that I invited her to share it on my “Strang Report” podcast, which you can listen to by clicking here or clicking on the podcast icon in this article.
Although some have criticized evangelical leaders for endorsing Paula’s book, I believe her story of redemption is something every person needs to hear. She didn’t hear the gospel until she was 18 years old, but God’s purpose on her life brought her into a calling she never could have imagined.
“God has put eternity in our hearts, and we can align our lives and begin to see through the lens of the Holy Spirit, with eyes of revelation, as we can look at things differently,” she says.
Because Paula’s father committed suicide when she was a young girl, she says she carried a victim mentality much of her life. She thought if her dad were alive, she would be happier.
“When I began to see through the eyes of God, I [realized that] everything I needed from my father, I received in those first five years,” she says.
Paula says other difficult things in her life—such as the emotional and sexual abuse she endured—couldn’t stop her from being the woman of God Jesus intended. She now advises the president of the United States in ways no one else has. (Listen to my podcast with Paula in which she encourages Christians across the nation to intercede for their president!)
Her role in Trump’s life started when he unexpectedly called her because he saw her preaching on TV and became interested in what she was sharing. I remember hearing about that at the time, but I never could have imagined Trump would later on go into politics, let alone be elected president. And of all the famous pastors and preachers God could have chosen to influence Trump in such an impactful way, He chose a pastor’s wife from Tampa. Paula says she still doesn’t fully understand why.
“I don’t think I will ever understand the sovereignty of God, but I do know that this was a God assignment. I lay it out in detail in the book exactly—from the phone call to what would happen next.”
But Paula suspects God chose her because she had already gone through a season of extreme brokenness. When she was going through her divorce, people falsely accused her of many things. Even now, whether people are calling her a heretic or praising her for impacting their lives for good, Paula says it rolls off her—because it’s not about her.
“It’s about Him in whom I live, I move and I have my being,” she says. “That is the greatest blessing.”
That’s the attitude we need right now. As believers, we can’t afford to let people’s words affect us or dictate our actions. We are living in a pivotal time in history where the enemy is trying to drive all biblical values out of our nation. We are sitting on the cusp of either great darkness or great revival.
“Will we go into a place of a closed heaven and darkness or will we go into the Great Awakening and possibly the ushering in of the Second Coming of the Lord and the great harvest,” Paula says. “… We are literally fighting for righteousness right now. There is such blindness, such gross blindness and vileness.”
Paula is right. (Listen to my podcast with her about the Democrats’ blatant attacks against our president.) Just look at what presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke suggested at CNN’s LGBT town hall. He said he believes churches that oppose gay marriage should lose their tax-exempt status, and as president, he would fight to make that happen. Even other pro-LGBT Democratic candidates thought O’Rourke’s idea was extreme, but that’s the level of radical liberalism we’re seeing today.
That’s why I believe Paula’s message and her book are so important today. She emphasizes that Christians can hold on to the Lord during the dark times—whether in our culture or in their personal lives—and trust Him to bring them through to something better.
She encourages believers to hold on to Micah 7:8, which says, “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Although I have fallen, I will rise; although I dwell in darkness, the Lord is my light.”
“For every person whose heart has been shattered, who feels like their dream is done, who doesn’t know how God could ever use them again … we’re all priests of the Lord,” she says. “Maybe they feel like life is over or they don’t know their purpose or their supreme reason for being, their ‘why’ in the earth. I want to help them discover it, discern it, develop it. I show that through God, His redemption, His grace, His mercy, that it’s not over yet. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. He’s the one who writes the script.”
I hope that as you read Paula’s book, you will walk away knowing you can trust the author and finisher of your faith and your story is not over yet. You can click here to buy her book. I encourage you to listen to my full interview with Paula. I believe what she has to say will greatly equip you on your faith journey!
You will also enjoy my interview with her husband, Jonathan Cain, who wrote a touching song in memory of one of the worst school fires in American history. Listen here!