TODAY show host Kathie Lee Gifford has long been an open book about her bold Christian faith in the media.
After coming to faith through Billy Graham’s first movie “The Restless One”, an unshakeable joy stirred in Gifford’s soul that she refused to keep to herself.
“If you had the cure for cancer, would you keep it a secret?” asked Gifford in a TODAY segment earlier this week. “I have the cure for the malignancy of the soul, and He has a name, and it’s Jesus.”
However, just because she has the cure for the malignancy of the soul, that doesn’t mean the widowed mother of two hasn’t seen her fair share of trials throughout her Christian walk.
“I’ve been in a desert as many times as I’ve been on a mountaintop, but I’ve learned my deepest lessons from the deserts for sure,” said Gifford in a recently released “I Am Second” interview.
Throughout the course of her testimony, Gifford brings up the various trials that plagued her life that certainly would have crushed her if she was not standing upon the Rock. However, each one of those trials, God turned around to use for good in a way that she could never have imagined.
Through her husband’s infidelity, she was equipped to help thousands of women walk through forgiving their own spouses.
Through being falsely accused of running sweatshops, she was equipped to fight injustices against children.
Through her husband’s death, she was equipped to “rejoice” rather than mourn because she knew he rested in the hands of God.
And through being plagued by loneliness after losing her husband and parents, she was equipped to find assurance that her joy is ultimately found in Christ alone.
“Life does beat you down,” says Gifford. “Loss beats you down, hardship takes its toll, illness destroys your body. But Jesus said it’s not gonna be easy. He said, ‘In this world, you will have trouble, but rejoice, take heart, I have overcome the world. And because I have, I will empower you to overcome your world. My joy is non-negotiable.'”
